VOA新闻杂志2023--Young Indonesians Clean up Waterways, Better Solution Needed

Young Indonesians Clean up Waterways, Better Solution Needed

Children in the Indonesian city of Bogor are cleaning up a local lake on their own.

The young people take small boats, called kayaks, out on the water. They direct the kayaks toward floating trash. They remove the trash from the water and place it in their boats. Later, on land, all the trash is examined and dealt with.

About 20 children take part in the effort to fight pollution but it began with one boy. Ten years ago, Giri Marhara decided¹ to start cleaning up the lake. He was just 16 years old at the time and had a habit of cleaning up his environment.

Young people like Marhara have been at the front of environmental and climate change movements in recent years. Movements like school strikes for climate action, protests at United Nations climate talks, and local clean ups have often been youth-led.

The small-scale campaigns in Indonesia have been popular with younger people, gaining support and attention.

"For me, cleaning up is catharsis, cleaning up is refreshing²," said Marhara. He said children playing nearby would often ask if they could help him with lake clean up.

They formed a group last year, called the Situ Gede Cleanliness Warrior³, named after the lake. They boat across the lake, pick up trash, and identify what can be recycled.

Marhara and his friends have collected more than 2,700 kilograms of trash in and around the Situ Gede lake.

The trash problem in Indonesia is widespread. Its Environmental and Forestry⁴ Ministry⁵ says the country produced more than 35 million tons of waste last year. It estimates that 35 percent of waste in the country is unmanaged. Garbage along roadways, waterways and natural environments is a common sight.

Waste is also responsible for around 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions⁶, says the World Resources Institute. Much of that comes from food waste. If left to decompose⁷ in landfills, food waste can release methane⁸. The gas warms the planet and is around 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide.

The trash problem has raised health concerns: Plastic waste, for example, gets broken down into tiny pieces called microplastics, which can enter the human body. Studies suggest it can damage the endocrine, nervous and immune systems, and can carry an increased risk of cancers.

There are alternatives to landfill or littering for some waste products: food waste can be composted, for example. Some other types of waste, like certain types of plastic, can be reused or recycled. But environmentalists also say the world needs to make less waste in the first place, as much of it ends up in landfills or in the world's oceans.

But as waste continues, youth-led clean ups can still make an impact, even if it is just for small areas or communities.

Marhara believes that lasting⁹ change will require ending "behavior that is causing trash to be out there in the environment," he said, saying the country has a "littering culture."

"I think that the only way to counter that culture is by developing a counterculture," a clean up culture, he said.

Words in This Story

habit — n. a usual way of behaving

catharsis — n. the act or process of releasing a strong emotion

refreshing — adj. pleasantly new, different, or interesting

manage — v. to have control of

decompose — adj. to cause something to be slowly destroyed and broken down by natural processes, chemicals, etc.

endocrine — n. relating to glands¹⁰ which release hormones¹¹ or other products directly into the blood

compost — n. a decayed mixture of plants (such as leaves and grass) that is used to improve the soil in a garden

landfill — n. a system in which waste materials are buried under the ground

counterculture — n. a culture with values and customs that are very different from and usually opposed to those accepted by most of society

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

3 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

4 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 decompose   

vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂

参考例句：

• The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
• Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。

8 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

9 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

10 glands   

n.腺( gland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a snake's poison glands 蛇的毒腺
• the sebaceous glands in the skin 皮脂腺

11 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。