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This is a video of how in Agbogbloshie people burn e-waste in order to provide for their families through selling the copper wires burned- one of the most polluted areas in the world, this also done in some areas of Kenya, thus is a vital problem which has a great deal of consequences such as polluted water, air and environment full of toxic chemical.

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Polluted air in Kenya

Now, air pollution became the most “hot” issue in the countries we’ve been. In Kenya, it became a tragical since more than 18,000 premature deaths in Kenya every year are linked to air pollution, according to figures from the WHO. Kenya’s dirty air contained more than two times as many of the deadly PM2.5 as the WHO guideline for outdoor air pollution. This is really depressing knowing that the corruption in the country make it even worse.Nearly a million people died from air pollution in Africa alone in 2016. Sadly the majority of the victims were Children, women, older adults and the poor. The polluted air is remaining as the leading factor of early death in Kenya.

Like many countries in Africa, Kenya does not  monitor and report its air pollution on a regular bases. It obviously lacks financial support from the government to be able to purchase monitoring networks. The data for air quality instead, (usually) comes from different NGO’s in order to report the pollution, for example: institutions like the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).

The cause of air pollution is different but for the most part it is urbanization. The rapid urbanization and population growth have made the air polluted.  Main sources of air pollution in Kenya also include traffic, roadside rubbish fires, road dust, industry and the use of solid fuels such as charcoal and wood to cook in open fires and leaky stoves(indoor air pollution).

80% or more people in the sub-Saharan Africa are reported to have been cooking using solid fuels such as wood, according to the World Bank. These fuels are widely spread and used in Kenya, likewise Africa as a whole, and this again comes back to the political system of the county.

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Deforestation in Singapore

Main reason of deforestation is to clear land for economical uses, to satisfy a rapidly growing population and also using the materials gained from the forests. And you guessed it Singapore has had this crippling problem for quite a while now.

Here are some statistics we found: Since the founding of Singapore in 1819, development and increased pressure for land usage has led to Singapore losing more than 95% of its estimated 590 square km of vegetation, 67% of its birds, 61 of its original 91 bird species due to many native forest plants not being able to reproduce because of loss of seed dispersal and pollination. 40% of its mammals and 5% of its amphibians and reptiles. At first for short-term cash crops and later because of urbanization and industrialization.

Deforestation can be harmful to the soil. If the soil is exposed to sun for a long time it won’t be suitable for plants to grow back and that means reforestation is not going to be an option for some of Singaporean forests.

There is much confusion about the rates of deforestation and specially the direct and ultimate causes. Different industries have been blamed over the years for causing deforestation, but rarely has data been available to back these claims.

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Solution ?

-Potential solutions-

We would believe that finding a solution to fix these issues is beyond our reach, especially that all we can do is give suggestions based on how severe the issues really are. Preferably on which of these issues should have more priority over the others. To which we say, the issue regarding desertification of the Aral sea and pollution of air, water, and earth. Any solution we can think of to discourage the use of pesticide, to keep in mind the used quantity within the soil. 

Regarding the nuclear contamination of the northeastern region, is to encourage the relocation of the inhabitants until a viable solution of containment can be properly established. It’s so that further damage caused by the radiation. Similarly just how the Ukrainians in Chernobyl and the Japanese in Fukushima have done, to dig up multiple meters of topsoil from the surrounding contamination zone and to then dispose of the affected soil accordingly.

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Kazakhstan- pollution

-Pollution-

Pollution is a common issue globally, especially compared to countries such as Kenya and Singapore. For Kazakhstan, they have to deal with water pollution, air pollution, and earth pollution. All of which are caused by the one and only, the Soviet Union. Largely in the sense where the actions that contribute to the environmental damage they stand for, is that they are caused by Kazakhstan’s lack of a pollution control.

They pollute the waters of the Caspian Sea by dumping chemical waste, just as what the Soviets did to the Aral sea at some point. Just like the Aral sea, the Caspian sea is also shrinking in size. But in part the sea is not a problem of Kazakhstan, but the countries around them. There are multiple countries that border the Caspian sea and they all suffer from the toxification of the lake.

The way the air is polluted is very obvious: Excess emission from industries. Although it is not as serious as earth pollution. Through which Kazakhstan is overusing pesticides. 

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Poaching in Kenya

When we think of a vocation in Africa, almost everyone would think of safari, right? Who doesn't want to see an elephant huge as the size of a  room ? or a tiger who we only saw in cartoons and movies? We’re sure everyone would want to do that. But unfortunately it doesn't with nowadays poaching it will soon become impossible to see some of the most famous animals on earth. 

Poaching had been a source of income for many for the past few decades, and for those who don’t know what it is, it is when people hunt illegally instead of hunting while informing the government and only by their permission hunt. 

In seven years, between 1970 and 1977, Kenya lost more than half of their population of elephants and that due to the high prices of ivory which is what the elephant horn is made of. Although 40 years have passed, poverty in the country did change yet as mentioned in the previous post, corruption became the  major problem instead. So the reason for poaching would be survival, or to get out of poverty but that won’t make poaching ethical anyway. The price range for one kilo of elephant tusks is about $60,000 to $200,000 on the black market overseas. 

Although Kenya has many national parks and reserves protecting wildlife, elephant populations are still at risk, a problem which is made worse by corruption and some officials supplementing their income with permitting poaching.

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-Nuclear contamination-

Nuclear contamination in Kazakhstan

When it comes to the most “dangerous” issue regarding Kazakhstan, it usually comes to nuclear contamination.

Nuclear pollution has been the main topic of Kazakhstan ever since its Soviet days. As it stands, it’s never a fun subject in my opinion. As the Soviets tested nuclear warheads just in the northeastern region in Kazakhstan in modern day Semey. As bombs explode, they always leave off tons of fallout, contamination from hazardous waste, and an overall rise in dangerous environments.

Nuclear contamination has ruined large parts of the country in terms of diseases. Where people are born with disfigurements and incurable diseases such as cerebral palsy.

Kazakhstan isn’t anywhere close to being as contaminated as Chernobyl or Fukushima, where their respective events were accidents, and not deliberate acts whose consequences were put to mind. The school of thought regarding bombs is as follows: 

Bombs that use unstable elements that combine with other unstable elements then ignited, usually always leave behind an everlasting coat of radioactive particles on the ground. 

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Corruption in Kenya

KENYAAA! 

We finally made our way to Africa!

 We’ve been waiting for this breathtaking trip for so long and a few weeks ago we got a call from our visa counselor to tell us that we’re going to Kenya ! We got our tickets right away and flew over to Uganda, then took a bus to Kenya, and let me tell you, the people here are so FRIENDLY and WELCOMING ! We asked an elderly man about their secret of happiness and he said “ It’s hope that keeps us smiling”. As he continued talking, he mentioned government quite a few times, which he later expressed as the “ cancer of society “. What he meant was that government corruption in the country has been a major problem and according to a study, 91% of kenyan citizens think that this is the number one issue that has to be dealt with. The number two,  three and four issues would be lack of job opportunities (87%) and crimes (82%).

Another study had shown that there is clear linkage between corruption and crime, corruption is said to “foster terrorism” by not taking the right measurements to fight it, instead the government is busy taking their relatives up the hierarchy and taking money which doesn’t belong to them. 

At one point, Kenyatta, Kenya’s prime minister called upon youth to “arrest” the corrupt and take them to the police, ignoring the fact that the police themselves are among the most corrupt in the country. Their job is to fight terrorism and extremism, and when they are corrupt, corruption is said to “fuel terrorism”. 

Recently the newspaper Brookings mentioned that Kenyan security forces along the Somali border regularly take bribes in exchange for allowing people to cross illegally though the border, meaning that al-Shabab operatives usually have unlimited access into Kenya and back across to Somalia. 

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Desertification in Kazakhstan

We were in the northern region of Kazakhstan for most of our time. To the west was once a great lake, the Aral sea.  

The situation regarding the Aral sea is not widely known. What is known about it is that the Aral sea was once the fourth largest inland sea in the world in the 70’s and 80’s. Over the last 30 years has the lake largely dried up, with its current size being only 10% of its former size.

The Soviets initially used the lake as a way to maximize crop production, as the rivers that lead to the lake could be diverted to irrigate the lands around. The sad part is that the Soviets expected the lake to dry up per their project. To some Soviets, they thought of the lake as “nature’s error” stating that it would dry up sooner than later regardless of what decisions they made.

The effects of this lake drying up are equally devastating to both nature and humans. Ecosystems that depended on the lake are now vanishing. 

The lake was also affected by the many bomb tests by the Soviets, as chemical waste is in the lake. The less water there is, the more likely people are going to get sick.

Even the fishing industry of the Aral is disappearing due to the fact that the lake is turning into a desert! SAD! I tell you; SAD!

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Air pollution in Singapore

Air pollution has been one of the main concerns of the Singapore government for quite a while now and since long ago they have tried to identify and solve this problem. In 1996, Singapore’s was ranked amongst one of the highest levels of emissions in the world with 65.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Apparently pig farms have been a rather large contributor to the air pollution. But the government has greatly decreased the number of the working pig farms. That has helped the environment but there are far more important issues such as vehicles for transportation. Even Singapore’s strict regulations haven’t yet been able to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles every day in the country. We surely can’t forget about how the country had been blanketed in haze for a period of time, which was contributed by smoke from Indonesian fires.

Recently the government has taken a questionable step in reducing air pollution. They have banned smoking in some of the most populated streets of big cities. Instead they have made smoking zones here and there. But it has not been as helpful as it has been expected.

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KENYAAA

The other side of ur trip to Kenya!

After our amazing trip to Singapore, we headed west to Kenya ,a country full of wildlife. We read a lot about Kenya in newspapers, blog posts and so on, everyone seemed very fascinated by the panoramic landscapes, the vast variety of animal species and the incredible weather. The country draws many tourists to do different activities and explore African nature, eat  good food and spend a lot of money on safaris etc,  but has anyone ever taken off their rosy glasses ? What I mean by that is that Kenya has many problems that could be solved if people didn’t only think about  pleasing themselves and fulfilling their desires. Rather contributing money to a good cause, that will bring benefit to people who wouldn't otherwise have the chance to get their needs fulfilled. 

One big issue that has been on the minds of many teenagers in Europe, is the environmental change. Which is also happening around the world. In Kenya for instance, water resources now are under pressure from agricultural and industrial chemical wastes. Water-quality problems in lakes,have contributed to fishing businesses to resign. Water in these areas has always been a bigger issue than others. In the upcoming posts we will discuss these issues in detail, to enlighten the youth of the west to not only take action locally, but also globaly !

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INTO TO KAZAKHSTAN !

Since our visit to Kazakhstan, there were a lot of nice things we saw. But the country is not without fault. There are some things that Kazakhstan share along with Kenya and Singapore(of which we also visited).

Through numerous posts, we will be talking about a few things that trouble a certain nation. The intention is to partly or generally shed some light on the issues that plague Kazakhstan. The prominent issues are environmental of conscious and unconscious origin. That is, that some of these problems are a product of history. Most of Kazakhstan’s issues stem from its Soviet days. Nowadays, Kazakhstan suffers from polluted water, earth, and air both from industry and nuclear contamination of the northeast.

We feel these topics because normally ignoring your problems makes them go away doesn’t apply here. Sure, what we’re saying (writing) doesn’t happen in close vicinity to where we live but it’s important to show empathy to those who suffer. Especially though these problems are caused not by Kazakhstan (other than direct or voluntary actions such as pollution), but by a force that once was powerful, is now dormant.

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Singapore !

During our visit to Singapore with our friends, Albin and Diana, we learned a lot about the country since we like to gather information and talk to natives. What they all had in common to say was how beautiful the country was and we had no argue with that. But it was hard to ignore all the environmental problems going on around us.

First thing we noticed is the much polluted air. We all had sore eyes for the whole trip going from the clear air in Sweden to Singapore’s polluted skies. When we talked to a local who had a small cabin and was selling fruits there, he mentioned the fact that most of those fruits had been imported from other countries and that the production rate of vegetables and fruits in Singapore has been dropping for the past 100 years! “It’s all due to deforestation that all these big companies do.” he said “All they think about is to benefit themselves without knowing theactual harm it’s causing our beautiful country”. As my friends and other people joined in the conversation other issues started to come up. Like how deforestation has affected different animal species that used to live in those forest, how many bird species have gone extinct because they don’t have a place to live anymore.

After hearing all these terrible things we had to do some research and gather some information for myself. So we looked up some statistics and things for

Singapore’s environment is even worse than we though.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

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OUR TRAVEL BLOG !

HELLO EVERYBODY !!!

We’re a group of friends who LOVE travelling to different countries and explore the culture of different cities. Here you will be introduced to mainly 3 countries which are Kazakhstan, Kenya and Singapore. The core focus will be on the “unheard” issues existing in the countries. Travelling the world we gain experience and knowledge which make us have the oppertunity to analyse and compare the issues. Some fun facts about us; Arad is the brain of our group, he always comes up with interesting ideas to talk about. Albin is the second half of the brain, very productive and help out with the blog. Diana on the other side is the creative “directer” so to say, she takes pictures, writes and helps out too. 

Our main purpose is to enlighten the youth of the west about the issues that are outside of our “comfort zone”. To be open minded, humble and thankful for what we already have.

Please help us share our experience and make the world a better place !

HERE WE GOOOO!!!!