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Plastic pollution causes harm
Plastic pollution has quickly become one of the world’s most serious environmental problems. This problem is evident in developing countries where the production rate of plastic has outpaced their ability to recycle or how to efficiently dispose of them.
Widespread littering and indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste are increasingly becoming a threat to our existence as plastics pollute the land, water and air. The hazardous impacts of plastics to the environment, human health, marine life and sustainable development cannot be overlooked.
Plastics have become necessary in our daily lives because their benefits are undeniable across sectors, from households, medicine, clothing, agriculture, transport etc. However, plastic pollution has now become an albatross.
Experts say that most plastics are made from fossils, that is, petroleum, and as Ghana is discovering large quantities of oil by the day, it means in a global and circular economy, plastics will reign for some time, if not for a long time.
Single use
A lot of single-use plastics, such as drinking straws, shopping bags, plastic drinking containers, plastic bottle caps, food packaging (Styrofoam, which contains styrene and benzene), among others, have been and are indiscriminately disposed of in an unfriendly and unsightly manner.
This affects our environment and obviously our health. All plastics contain toxic additives, which are used to make them flexible, flame-retardant, or meet other performance demands. The cocktail of these toxic additives that go into making plastics enter the environment when plastics break down.
In the ocean, plastics quickly become microplastics, attracting toxic industrial chemical hitch-hikers. These are incorporated into the food chain and fishes eat them, creating one pathway for toxic microplastic accumulation in larger animals, like us, when we consume fish.
Bio-degradable
Most plastics do not decompose or biodegrade except the bio-based ones. Plastics will remain in the environment, especially the soil and water bodies, for years and even at the end of their decomposition or biodegradation (if they are biodegradable) they are more dangerous.
According to experts, when plastics enter the environment and oceans, they break into minute particles called microplastics and or nanoplastics.
These microplastics enter the food chain and finally end up in the foods we eat. Our bodies do not become the resting places for them, rather they get into the biochemical processes in the body by imitating the natural chemicals (hormones) produced.
Once in the body, these substances can lead to the malfunctioning of the target organs ending up in nervous systems, lungs and reproductive organs. Humans are exposed to a large variety of toxic chemicals and microplastics through inhalation, ingestion, and direct skin contact, all along the plastic life cycle
Consequences
Single use plastics choke drains and create breeding sites for mosquitoes, or when left on dumpsites, where animals sometimes mistake them for food and get choke to death. They are burnt openly causing smoke containing hazardous substances like furan and dioxins, which are cancer causing agents.
Again, plastic waste that ends up in landfills contributes to the contamination of groundwater, land and air pollution. Undisposed plastics can block our drains and lead to flooding.
The stagnant water from pollution-induced flooding also facilitates the outbreak of waterborne diseases like malaria and cholera among vulnerable people living in highly polluted areas.
I believe that, if current practices and attitudes towards the production, handling and disposal of plastics are not modified, then we are heading towards a non-achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the consequences would be more graver than we have today, leaving a heavy burden for the future generations.
The way forward
To reduce the menace of plastic waste is to reduce its production, use and to institute better disposal mechanisms, which must come from research and development to fill existing and future knowledge gaps.
Solutions must be built on transparency, participation and the right to remedy. Transparency is required to identify the nature and breadth of exposure to toxic material, as well as assess possible health and environmental impacts of technologies touted as “solutions,” such as incineration and plastic-to-fuel technologies to find alternatives which would be environmentally friendly.
At every stage of its lifecycle, plastic poses distinct risks to human health, arising from both exposure to plastic particles themselves and associated chemicals.
Addressing plastic pollution requires adapting and adopting legal frameworks to ensure access to information regarding the petrochemical substances in products and processes.
A broader stakeholder consultation is a must to find possible pathways to the legislation in decision-making about plastic-related risks. Let every right – thinking Ghanaian help to accelerate the reduction of plastic waste and pollution in the country. It is our collective responsibility.
By Ernestina Kwakye
The writer, Ernestina Kwakye is a student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) Writer’s email: frimpomaat75@gmail.com
One of the issues we have been grappling with as a nation is corruption, and it has had such a devastating effect on our national development. I have been convinced that until morality becomes the foundation upon which our governance system is built, we can never go forward as a nation.
Our traditional practices, which have shaped our cultural beliefs, have always espoused values that have kept us along the straight and the narrow and have preserved our societies since ancient times.
These are values that frown on negative habits like stealing, cheating, greediness, selfishness, etc. Our grandparents have told us stories of societies where stealing was regarded as so shameful that offenders, when caught, have on a number of instances committed suicide.
In fact, my mother told me of a story where a man who was living in the same village as her mother (my grandmother), after having been caught stealing a neighbour’s cockerel, out of shame committed suicide on a mango tree. Those were the days that shameful acts were an abomination.
Tegare worship, a traditional spiritual worship during which the spirit possesses the Tegare Priest and begins to reveal secrets, was one of the means by which the society upheld African values in the days of my grandmother and the early childhood days of my mother.
Those were the days when the fear of being killed by Tegare prevented people from engaging in anti-social vices. These days, people sleeping with other people’s wives are not uncommon.
These wrongful behaviour was not countenanced at all by Tegare. One was likely going to lose his life on days that Tegare operates, and so unhealthy habits like coveting your neighbour’s wife was a taboo.
Stealing of other people’s farm produce, for instance, could mean certain death or incapacitation of the whole or part of the body in the full glare of everybody. People realised that there were consequences for wrongdoing, and this went a long way to motivate the society to adhere to right values.
Imagine a President being sworn into office and whoever administers the oath says, “Please say this after me: I, Mr. …., do solemnly swear by God, the spirits of my ancestors and the spirits ruling in Ghana, that should I engage in corrupt acts, may I and my family become crippled, may madness become entrenched in my family, may incurable sicknesses and diseases be my portion and that of my family, both immediate and extended.”
Can you imagine a situation where a few weeks afterwards the President goes to engage in corrupt acts and we hear of his sudden demise or incapacitation and confessing that he engaged in corrupt acts before passing or before the incapacitation—and the effect it will have on his successor? I believe we have to critically examine this option to curb corruption.
My grandmother gave me an eyewitness account of one such encounter where a woman died instantly after the Tegare Priest had revealed a wrong attitude she had displayed during the performance on one of the days scheduled for Tegare spirit manifestation.
According to her story, the Priest, after he had been possessed by the spirit, declared that for what the woman had done, he would not forgive her and that he would kill. Instantly, according to my grandmother, the lady fell down suddenly and she died—just like what happened to Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts Chapter 5.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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Emotional distortions can indeed have a profound impact on an individual’s mental health and well-being. These distortions can lead to a range of negative consequences, including anxiety, depression, and impaired relationships.
Emotional surgery is a therapeutic approach that aims to address and heal emotional wounds, traumas, and blockages. This approach recognises that emotional pain can have a profound impact on an individual’s quality of life and seeks to provide a comprehensive and compassionate approach to healing.
How emotional surgery can help
Emotional surgery can help individuals:
Identify and challenge negative thought patterns: By becoming aware of emotional distortions, individuals can learn to challenge and reframe negative thoughts.
Develop greater emotional resilience: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop the skills and strategies needed to manage their emotions and respond to challenging situations.
Improve relationships: By addressing emotional wounds and promoting emotional well-being, individuals can develop more positive and healthy relationships with others.
The benefits of emotional surgery
The benefits of emotional surgery can include:
Improved mental health outcomes: Emotional surgery can help individuals reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Enhanced relationships: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop more positive and healthy relationships with others.
Increased self-awareness: Emotional surgery can help individuals develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their emotions.
A path towards healing
Emotional surgery offers a promising approach to addressing emotional distortions and promoting emotional well-being. By acknowledging the impact of emotional pain and seeking to provide a comprehensive and compassionate approach to healing, individuals can take the first step towards recovery and improved mental health.
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BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON
