Year 12 Environmental Science

Over the summer holidays the Year 12 Environmental Science students were asked to read two different articles, one relating to the overuse of plastic water bottles and one discussing the ramifications of the use of Palm Oil in Ramen noodles. They were then asked to decide upon an object they could attempt to go without. The following is an essay written by Annaliese Broom.

Ramen Noodles

While reading the ramen noodles article I noticed that I had heard most of the facts and information from Geography class a couple years ago when we studied palm oil plantations. However, I was still taken aback by some of the facts such as ‘about 50% of household products contain palm oil’ and ‘due to palm oil expansion, Indonesia will lose 98% of its natural rainforests by 2022’. It makes me wonder whether or not countries like Indonesia understand what their palm oil plantations are doing to their native animals and forests. If they do realise the impact, then what are they doing to improve the situation. For me, this article also highlighted the fact that due to the increase in demand for palm oil, there has been such an enormous need for labourers, that many of the workers are children or have been forced to work. This shows that palm oil plantations don’t only affect plants and wildlife, but they also affect society, especially the people living in or near these rainforests.

Once finishing this article, I thought about what the future would hold for the rainforests in areas such as Indonesia or Malaysia. These areas are extremely essential for the survival of endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutans, and if strict boundaries aren’t put in place surrounding the palm oil plantations, these endangered species will soon become extinct. However, another major problem is knowing when to stop. If companies such as Nissin Foods Holdings and Toyo Suisan Kaisha continue to support the growth of palm oil plantations then Indonesian workers will continue to replace the natural and essential rainforests with palm oil plantations. I believe they are replacing the rainforests because they believe that the money is more important and valuable than the safety of the labourers and the survival of the plants and wildlife. I’m not exactly sure what is going through the minds of those in charge of the plantations or food companies that buy from them, but all I know is that if I can reduce how many products I use containing palm oil and encourage others to take notice of their own usage, then that’s a start to fixing this major problem.

I didn’t enjoy reading the second article as much as the first because it is a very common discussion topic and we are always learning or hearing about the impacts of plastic bottles, bags, lids, straws, etc. I knew the facts and there was nothing in the article that really intrigued me. I believe that if the information had been put into a video or documentary with real life situations it would have had more of an impact on me.

On the other hand, I did find the last paragraph of the article useful. It wasn’t in great detail, but it provided some simple solutions on how we can make little changes in our own lives. The advice only listed a few ideas on how to improve our daily lives, however I believe that it may have influenced some people to research into the ideas a bit more and find out some more information or ways to improve.

One Small Thing

The one small thing that I am going to change in my life is using homemade shampoo instead of bought shampoo. I decided to find alternatives for bought shampoo as it is something I use about 3 times a week. My regular use of shampoo will make this change challenging, however seeing as I don’t use it every single day, it is easier to swap out shampoo rather than something like soap or my phone. If I can continue to make and use my own sustainable shampoo, then I may even consider making my own sustainable soap. Although the plants that I have chosen are easy to grow, they may not have their flowers all year. However, in some of the articles that I have read they state that you can also use the stem or leaves as well. Another problem may be that the mixture doesn’t actually clean my hair, or it leaves a bad smell. Furthermore, it would be easier and more convenient to just continue buying shampoo from the supermarket. Instead I will have to go through the processes of planting, maintaining and harvesting leaves and flowers from the plants and then adding the plants into boiling water and letting them simmer for about 15 mins.

If my method becomes too time-consuming, instead of returning to old habits, I will try buying from eco-friendly shampoo brands such as True Botanicals and Plaine Products, which aren’t only made without harmful ingredients, but are also packaged in sustainable and reusable packaging.

My shampoo will most likely be a mixture of three plants namely soapwort, rosemary and calendula, two of which are already growing in our family garden. I have chosen these three as my main plants to use, because while researching possible plants, I found out that soapwort is also used for acne, eczema and psoriasis, rosemary is known for having a rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds which boost the immune system, as well as promoting hair growth. In addition, Calendula is also packed with antioxidants and is often used to prevent muscle spasms, reduce fevers and treat stomach ulcers. These three plants in particular have so many positive attributes other than just cleaning hair. Unlike many of the substances used in bought shampoo, these three plants don’t have any harmful or damaging chemicals in them.

Before beginning this challenge, I mainly use two brands of shampoo, Schwarzkopf and Tresemmé and I think there has only been one time when I decided to read the ingredients on the back of the bottles. There were only about three or four labels that I have actually heard before, a few being water, citric acid and fragrance. I wasn’t sure what fragrance consisted of, so I did some research and found out that they are generally made up of synthetic musks such as galaxolide and tonalide. I then found out that synthetic musks are often linked to hormone disruption as they can build up in our bodies and have previously been detected in blood and breast milk. Isn’t it alarming that something that smells so nice and makes you feel so pretty can affect your body majorly in the future?

Now on to the environmental side of things. Without any research there was one environmental factor that stood out to me; the containers. Although most shampoo bottles are recyclable, not everyone puts them in recycling and not all parts of the shampoo bottle can be recycled. If I made my own shampoo I could continually reuse one or two of my own bottles at home therefore reducing the number of containers I throw out. If the rest of my family also began to use my shampoo, that would completely eliminate our purchase of shampoo bottles. Even though its only four people, it would still be a start, and it may even encourage others to do the same (or similar) by swapping out bought products for homemade, sustainable ones.

There are many other environmental effects from the usage of shampoo, some directly impact the flora and fauna, while others go through various processes to then impact the environment. A major environmental effect is the release of chemicals into water supply through drains. This effects marine life and animals that drinks the water as most shampoo contains Sodium Laureth Sulphate, which is mutagenic to animals. If the animals consume large amount of water, this can have detrimental effects to them. Furthermore, sulphates are known for being added into cleaning products and pesticides, therefore it’s pretty obvious what they can do to insects as well as marine animals. Another common ingredient in shampoo is Dimethicone which is a substance that makes your hair feel really soft, but it actually creates a plastic-like layer on your hair and scalp. Dimethicone is not degradable, and therefore stays in the environment for a long time once being washed down the drain.

Annaliese Broom (12 Aherne)

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