Get Into the Habit of 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

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We will be talking to our kids about turtles, whales and other marine animals as if these are "myths". These animals are at risk of extinction.

Rs: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle, is what we all must be in the habit of. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, in his article in the NST on 8 May 2012, preaches that we ought to make 3Rs a way of life. This is an education matter. It should start from the lowest level, i.e. elementary all the way up to professional level. We have been talking about sustainability in a higher technological manner such as green building, renewable energy and what not, but we fail to understand that it is not a matter of technological shout! it is a matter of human behaviour. Hence, educational in perspective.

Tan Sri Lee said "3Rs is not difficult. just be a smart shopper, disciplined home owners and helpful/caring neighbour". This sounds sweet and all but I think we should take a more bold action. We should look at the educational system and ensure that adequate material is effectively conveyed to children of today. The kindergarten that my son goes to has 3 of those huge rubbish bin. I think green, orange and blue. I cannot remember. One for paper, one for bottles and the other for plastics I think. This is a bold step. From thereon, something more advance should be taught at primary schools and then secondary schools. A more intellectual discussion should be introduced at tertiary level and implementative actions seriously considered at professional level.

... over 250 species of marine animals are known to have ingested or become tangled in plastic. Animals often mistake rubbish for their prey, such as jellyfish, and they choke on rubbish

On a more serious note, rubbish can be lethal. It will destroy our beloved Earth if not managed appropriately. I don't have a proper statistic for the world but I do have some information from the NST 10 May 2012 in an article "Plastic Soup Endangering Ocean Life".

35 billion plastic bottles are thrown away in the ocean a year in the US. 500 billion plastic bags used annually worldwide. Over 40% of plastic usage is in packaging. 8% of world's oil production goes into plastic manufacturing. A 2002 UN study estimated USD7 trillion a year of economic risk from plastic pollution. And the saddest of all, over 250 species of marine animals are known to have ingested or become tangled in plastic. Animals often mistake rubbish for their prey, such as jellyfish, and they choke on rubbish.

There is a swirling mass of waste in the Pacific and it has grown 100-fold in 40 years threatening the ecology. Scientists warned that the killer soup of microplastic (particles smaller than 5mm) are accumulating in 2 mega patches formed by the ocean and wind currents, one in the West of Pacific Ocean and the other in the East. Scientists estimate that the patches are the size of Texas each. The garbage patch cannot be seen by satellite as most are of confetti sized flecks spreading over thousands of kilometres across the ocean. Such size is the consequence of the rubbish being broken into pieces by way of natural forces such as pressure from ocean currents. All these disturbing news came from University of California as reported by NST on 10 May 2012 article "Plastic Soup Endangering Ocean Life".

The article further reported that such patches provide new habitat for ocean insects called Sea-Skaters, which preyed on plankton and fish eggs. I repeat, preyed on plankton and fish eggs. These insects spend its entire life at sea and lays eggs on the flecks from rubbish, which was previously limited, but now being made available widely. What a disastrous evolution. Are we saying that fish will be extinct by this double sworded ecology development, i.e. death of their eggs and death of their source of food, i.e. planktons?! The plankton and fish eggs were fed on by seabirds, turtles and other fish species. With the increase in population of the Sea-Skaters, it will disrupt the food source of other marine animals which have been living in the habitat for thousands of years.

I cannot imagine how the world would be, say 5 decades from now. Ya! only 5 decades, it'll all be different for our kids. We will be talking to our kids about turtles, whales and other marine animals as if these are "myths". These animals are at risk of extinction. At a very, very high risk actually. It will be really sad that our kids will not be able to see real life dolphins, turtles, seals and many other beautiful creatures of God's creation. In fact, our kids may also know the world in a manner that we have never imagined before. For example, they may understand that Hermit the Crab only uses man-made bottles as their home! Why not? It is possible! If not, how on Earth would I be able to get this image (above) of Hermit the Crab using the bottle as its home? Fascinating! Horrifying! I hope we will not be forced to use rubbish as our home, like the Hermit.



* kopihangtuah



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