Week #35 {August 30 '21}
- The Bulletin Buzz
- Aug 30, 2021
- 9 min read
Articles by Ananya Nayar and Misaki Tomiyama
Articles of the Week:
Order:
Kid's Articles:
Other:
Lego to Build Bricks with Recyclable Plastic
Article by Ananya Nayar
The plastic lego toys that we’ve grown up with are revolutionary. They came about in Denmark in the 1950s, they have a ‘clutch power’ and allow creativity with their toys suited for children and adults alike. The company has said that they've started producing material to build their famous bricks with a more environmental-friendly material.
The initial years had bricks made of wood, but by the 1960s the company switched to ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic which is very tough. The problem is that they are made of plastic, and can’t be recycled and will only break down a long long time later. Since Lego makes 110 billion bricks every year and there’s a huge plastic waste issue and climate change problem in the world, Lego decided to do their bit and switch the material of their bricks to something better for the environment.
PET is a recyclable, soft plastic that is used in bottles. A single one-litre plastic bottle can produce 10 large bricks. The company still has to find a way to add colour to the bricks and they need a material to make them harder.
Lego aims to make everything in their company sustainable by 2030, and they began taking small steps in 2015.
Tim Brooks said: “We are super excited about this breakthrough. The biggest challenge on our sustainability journey is rethinking and innovating new materials that are as durable, strong and high quality as our existing bricks – and fit with LEGO elements made over the past 60 years. With this prototype we’re able to showcase the progress we’re making.”
Afghanistan Airport Attacks
By Misaki Tomiyama
T.W- Mentions of death and violence
On Thursday last week, two suicide bombers and a couple gunmen barged into Kabul airport, and attacked crowds of Afghans. There were a total of around 100 fatalities. Majority of the civilians were seeking to escape from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan..
There are still ongoing investigations regarding the incident, however, it has been reported that the attacks took place at 18:00 local time, near one of the gates of the airport.
According to UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, a suicide bomber wearing a suicide vest, walked into the airport and carried an attack. According to another account, following the blast, an attacker fired guns at the crowd. Many were killed and injured, and victims were quickly rushed to an emergency hospital for treatment.
Among the fatalities were 13 US military personnel, 15 US troops, two British nationals and their child.
Because of the takeover of the Taliban, many have been trying to evacuate, and this incident has complicated matters. Many countries have ended their evacuation flights as a result.
IS-K, claimed that they have been responsible for the suicide bombing attacks in the airport.
Who is the IS-K?
By Misaki Tomiyama
T.W- Mentions of death and violence
IS-K, Islamic State Khorasan Province, is a regional organization connected to the Islamic State, IS, in Afghanistan. It is the most extreme group of the jihadist groups in Afganistan.
Not a lot about it’s members are known, but at its peak, the IS-K had around 3300 members.
The group was first set up in January 2015, when the IS’s power was at peak. IS-K consists of both Afghan and Pakistani jihadists, who were former members of the Taliban, and members who didn’t see it as extreme enough.
The IS-K have been extremely violent, and have been attacking a wide range of people and groups, including Afghan security forces, Afghan political leaders, the Taliban, US and NATO forces and many more. They have also been notorious for targeting girls’ schools and maternity wards and shooting innocent schoolgirls and pregnant women.
The group is based in Nangarhar, an eastern province. They are linked to the Taliban via a group called the Haqqani network.
When Does a Pandemic End?
Article by Ananya Nayar
The Spanish Influenza last century affected the world’s population, it was deadly and caused a lot of trouble, but three years later the crisis and threat had passed. At that time, much less was known about viruses and medicine.
We’ve gone through around 5 recorded pandemics like the plague of the early 18th century and of course, they all slipped away within a decade or so.
An endemic is when there is herd immunity (either by vaccination or tolerance,) so there is a chance of contracting the virus but the circulation rate will be slower. Our immune systems learnt to fend off these deadly infections.
Viruses have never gone away, but medicines and vaccines have stopped them from entering and infecting our bodies. They still circulate, or come as seasons change, history tells us that viruses burn out or fade away.
Take the plague for example, it has less than 5,000 cases these days but medication can be taken. When it was in circulation during the 1720s, hundreds and thousands died daily.
Well, 16 months from December 2019, the W.H.O declared the pandemic ‘over’ but that doesn’t mean it’s ended.
Endemics are what every country hopes to see, India is reaching that stage, areas in Europe, South East Asia and America are there, however everyone is still cautioned to wear their masks and vaccinate because the threat is still there even if it isn’t right in front of us.
Let’s look at the world’s worst pandemics and their conclusions.
The Plague of Justinian
It arrived in Constantinople in 541 CE, it spread over Europe, Asia, Africa and Arabian land and killed around 50 million people on its journey. Since things weren’t as involved, the only solution at that time was to isolate from sick people and let the influenza pass.
The Black Death
The concept of quarantining only came about here. During the middle ages it arrived in Europe and contaminated cities, in fact, it never really went away, just visited again 800 years after 1347 and killed 200 million people in a span of 4 years.
The Great Plague of London
This infamous disease was a variant of the Black Death, 20% of Londoners died. These times were horrible and marking of doors with hay etc to keep people out of sickly homes was seen on almost every door.
The Great Influenza/ Spanish Flu
This deadly global pandemic killed 50 million and lasted for two years. It was an H1V1 virus with avian origins that affected people worldwide.
Kid's Articles
Kids’ Corner: The Paralympic Games!
By Misaki Tomiyama
Many of you might have watched the Olympic Games earlier this month, and enjoyed the games and sports of if. Well, the Paralympics started this week, and it's about to get just as exciting.
The Paralympic Games, just like the Olympics, are a series of international sporting events, except the Paralympics involves athletes with a range of disabilities, such as limb deficiency, impaired muscle power, intellectual impairment, short stature, and more.
You might think to yourself- If a wide range of athletes with completely different impairments compete, wouldn’t it be slightly unfair since everyone has different capabilities? Well, yes, so the allowable impairments are broken down into ten eligible impairment types, and athletes with similar athletic limitations compete in the same class groups. Also, impairments of athletes can change over time, so depending on the changes, athletes can change classes too.
The opening ceremony of the Paralympics took place on the 24th of this month, and the games are expected to continue until the fifth of September. There are around a total of 4400 athletes participating in the games.
Kid’s Corner: What Tusks Tell About us a Mammoth’s Life
Article by Ananya Nayar
17,000 years ago, the Woolly Mammoth walked over earth. The species died out around 10,500 years ago at the end of the last ice age due to rising temperatures.
Recently, preserved tusks of the mammoth species have been found, and chemical analysis has told us a story about these fascinating creatures.
Matthew Wooller, from the University of Alaska said “this really is one of the very first insights into the life history of an Arctic woolly mammoth.”
The five-feet long tusk was discovered with other bones. It was extraordinary that all these fossils were found together, so it was certain that the spot they were discovered on was the spot the mammoth died.
After the scientists split open the tusk they found rings with deposited material and isotopes. Lasers were used to take samples from every ring, where the mammoth first grew from and and its final days.
DNA results revealed that this mammoth was male and died at 28 years old.
In the last year and a half, the mammoth went up to a region in north Alaska within the arctic circle, a distinctive isotope showed that the animal probably starved to death.
Other Articles:
This Week in History
By Ananya Nayar
We’ve heard of Mt. Vesuvius- the giant volcano in Pompeii, Italy that wiped out an entire city? Well, on this day (24th August) in 79 A.D the volcano proved that it wasn’t dormant and erupted.
The Roman city of Pompeii was buried in ash and pumice, and thousands died. Under all the volcanic material, the cities were ‘erased’ from history and were never rebuilt. Yet remains are open for visits from people and you can even climb Mt. Vesuvius! The city's occupants fled during the 12-hour-period of eruption, but it was hard to, especially as a 10-mile cloud of ash was sent into the stratosphere and intoxicated many peoples lungs.
In 1920, on the 26th August, the 19th Amendment was adopted which allowed women the right to vote. So in the mid 20th century, the role of women in society had increased and they were allowed to work, receive a better education and so much more.
On the 28th of August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech to 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
“When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'”
Did you know? August 30 is International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance
By Misaki Tomiyama
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance is a day observed by the UN in order to spread awareness of the number of enforced disappearance victims.
Enforced disappearance is an act of making someone disappear against their will, which also refers to the arrest and abduction of a person, which is then followed by a “a refusal to acknowledge the fate of that person” (by the Trial International).
Victims of enforced disappearance often get imprisoned in poor conditions, or worse get stranded in inhospitable regions.
A lot of the cases of enforced disappearances occur in countries with poor political capability, such as Iran, where thousands of politicians are imprisoned and believed to be either missing or dead.
The UN spreads awareness of enforced disappearances every year on this day. A lot of activists share stories of missing friends or families and it is important to share this idea, since enforced disappearance is a huge violation of human rights.
You can help and try to make change by spreading awareness of this day, or even joining Amnesty International and becoming a member. This is a platform where members campaign and come together to speak out against violation of human rights. (For more information visit their website!)
Book and Movie Reviews
By Misaki Tomiyama
Movie Review- Wolf Children
Ages- 10+ Star rating- ⅘
Wolf Children is an animated movie by Japanese director Hosoda Mamoru. This movie is about a single-mother Hana and her two children, who have faces of both human and wolf. The movie explores the difficulty Hana faces as a single mother, in not only raising her child, but protecting them from the society, who don’t know the childrens’ true identity. This movie is one that spreads strong messages about family bonds and understanding others’ differences and making their way into the world. Another charm of this movie is the wonderful animation- the nature depicted in this movie is wonderful, and will definitely stimulate the viewer’s imagination! It’s a movie you should definitely watch with your family!
Book Review- Letters From The Lighthouse
Book by Emma Carroll
Rating- ⅘ Ages- 8+
Letters from the lighthouse is a historical fiction, a book revolving around a brother and sister, Cliff and Olive. This book explores the world of Europe during the time of the second world war, and the story after Cliff and Olive get evacuated from London to BudmouthPoint. Olive finds a mysterious coded note, and realises it can possibly reveal the secrets behind his elder sister Sukie’s sudden disappearance, and is determined to find the truth. This book will allow you to explore the life of people during the war, and will make you understand how it is so much different from the lives we have now. This book will definitely teach you the importance of life, and the importance of family bonds.
Comments