Water pollution

1 Problems
. High level of pollutants in rivers
e.g. Sungai Semenyih and Bukit Tampoi in Selangor water treatment plants had to
completely stop operating on Sunday (4/10/2020) as Sungai Semenyih was
polluted. Odour pollution, 7-8 TON (threshold odour number)]
Authorities have found waste as well as organic compounds dumped in a bush
in the upstream of Sungai Semenyih near the Nilai Industrial Area, Negeri
Sembilan.
e.g. Sungai Gong in Klang

How rivers are polluted

exp. Pollutants come from the effluent from factories, farms and commercial premises.
Cleaning activities at factories, plants and livestock pens could pollute water if the
wastewater treatment facilities are not available at the premises. Without
wastewater treatment facilities, dirt, chemicals, manure and other wastes would be
discharged straight into drains. From drains, the effluent would flow into streams.
Illegal factories which are mushrooming nowadays, make this problem hard to be
controlled.

Solutions
1. Effective enforcement
i) Carry out preventive and preemptive checks and inspections
a) Control the rise in illegal factories by the local authorities. (Local
authorities are responsible in issuing licence for factories).
b) Supervise and enforce proper wastewater treatment systems in
factories by the Department of Environment (DOE).
ii) Punish those who violate a regulation or commit an offence.
a) Direct an entity to stop operations unless violation or an offence is
rectified. (Suspend or revoke business licences)
b) Punish regulatory and enforcement agencies who are blind or bribed
to look away.

Solution using science and technology invention

iii) Use a more advanced water treatment technologies such as membrane
technology to efficiently remove odour and colour pollutants.

2 Agencies responsible
. i) Local authorities
ii) Department of Environment (DOE)
iii) Police Department
iv) Environment and Water Ministry
v) National Water Service Commission
vi) Water Regulatory Authority (e.g. Syarikat Air Selangor)
Climate change / global warming

1 Problems
. Climate change
Natural causes
Natural causes have influenced the earth’s climates such as volcanic eruptions, ocean
current, the earth’s orbital changes and solar variations. The eruptions of volcanoes
cause a cooling effect on the earth.

How
When a volcano erupts it throws out large volumes of sulphur dioxide (SO2), water
vapour, dust, and ash into the atmosphere. The volcano eruptions will affect the
climatic pattern for years although the eruptions occur in a few days. The sulphur
dioxide gas will reach the upper level of the atmosphere. The tiny particles, dusts and
ashes will block the incoming sun rays and this will leads to cooling at the atmosphere.
This is because the bouncing of sunlight to the space is cooling the atmosphere of the
earth.

Global warming
Deforestation
Petaling Jaya: Malaysia will face new weather phenomena including extreme weather
if the effects of global warming and environmental pollution continue to occur in the
country due to deforestation for the construction of industrial areas and factories
How
trees in the forest are a tool to absorb carbon dioxide in the air. when one of the biggest
sources of absorption of carbon dioxide will only disappear, there will be nothing left
to regulate the gas. Thus, it will result in global warming. Steps must be taken
immediately to stop global warming and make the earth better again.

Solutions
Solution
1. Effective enforcement
i) make the forest area a forest reserve so that it is free from forest destruction
a) Control the construction of factories that release carbon dioxide authority
responsible for issuing licenses for factories).
b) Supervise and enforce the problem of excessive smoke and carbon dioxide
emissions

ii) Punish those who break the rules or do wrong.

a) fines for anyone who trespasses and destroys the forest without a valid
license
b) fines on factories that fail to control emissions of smoke and greenhouse
gases that exceed the limit
 Solution using science and technology invention
arge and small industries are required to filter the smoke emitted. Wet scrubber
is a factory smoke filter by spraying water and limestone on the smoke. This
process can reduce sulfur dioxide up to 90%.

2 Agencies responsible
. 1. Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Malaysia
2. Department of Environment Malaysia
3. Gerakan Alam Sekitar Rakyat Malaysia (Gerak)

Deforestation

1 Problems
. the construction of numerous industrial areas
In 2010, Malaysia had 20.3Mha of natural forest, covering over 87% of its land area. In
2021, it will lose 123ha of natural forest, equivalent to 86.6Mt of CO₂ emissions due
to the construction of numerous industrial areas

How

Trees absorb and store carbon dioxide. If forests are cleared, or even disturbed, they
release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Forest loss and damage is the
cause of around 10% of global warming. There's simply no way we can fight the
climate crisis if we don't stop deforestation.

Solutions
1. Effective enforcement
i) make the forest area a forest reserve so that it is free from forest destruction
ii) make specific plans to carry out more planned forest destruction

Solution using science and technology invention

All Ears
 White created a device he calls a Guardian. It’s a recycled smartphone powered
by solar panels. Guardians can pick up the sound of a chain saw from nearly a
mile away. They are mounted on trees.

When a Guardian detects a chain saw, it sends an alert to rangers. The rangers
then set off to stop the illegal activity.

2 Agencies responsible
. 1. Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Malaysia
2. Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Kementerian Tenaga dan Sumber
Asli (KeTSA))
3. Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia
4. Pertubuhan Sahabat Alam Sekitar Malaysia (SAS)
5.

Plastic pollution
1 Problems
. widespread use of plastic
Malaysia is the biggest contributor to Asia's plastic pollution
The increase in plastic use by Malaysians is 1.16 kilograms per capita in 2018 to 16.8
kilograms per capita in 2020

How
Plastics produced from fossil fuels are just over a century old. therefore, plastic is
difficult to dispose of. The widespread use of plastic causes non-biodegradable plastic
waste. The invention of plastics came from studying the chemistry of polymer chains.
Now plastics can be made rigid or can be bent and molded into almost any shape to
make toys, appliances - in fact most products of the modern world.Alcohol, acid or
gasoline can be carried in a light plastic container without dissolving the container
itself. A plastic called acrylic can be made so clear that light can travel through a
meter-thick sheet and still retain 80% of its strength. Plastic can be stronger than steel
for some purposes while weighing less. some plastics can also be bulletproof.
Polycarbonate can be made practically unbreakable. It's hard to imagine how many
modern devices like solid-state electronics and medical instruments could exist without
plastic. Recent advances in chemistry continue to make plastics more useful.

Solutions
1. Refuse the use of plastic bags
-If we go to the supermarket, we ourselves have to insist on not using plastic bags
even if offered by the cashier when paying. In addition, now each plastic bag is
charged 20 cents.

2. Say no to plastic straws

A good start is to refuse the use of plastic straws because without them you can
still sip drinks.

Solution using science and technology invention

The German start-up Plastic Fischer was founded in 2019, after the three founders
witnessed the pollution in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The social enterprise is one of
the first companies worldwide to tackle marine plastic pollution already in rivers and
identifies itself as an “3L Initiative” - Locally, Low-Tech, Low-Cost.
To collect environmental plastic in the most effective way, the company develops very
simple technology in the place of operations while boosting the local economy.
Avoiding any kind of imports saves time, money, and likely carbon while ensuring
quick maintenance and repair.
2 Agencies responsible
.