Fafe and the environment: a class report
While studying the module “The World around us” our class decided to make some research about the quality of the environment here in Fafe.
During our English lessons we have realized that environmental problems can be classified as local, regional or global on the basis of the area they are affecting. The way we have worked to write this class newsreport has also been quite different from the usual because in order to explain what we have learnt we decided to interview our colleagues and to listen to what they had to say. Thus, with our classmates’ pre-work, their research and their remarkable oral presentations in class, our mission became much easier.
The issues we questioned were recycling in Fafe, water pollution in Rio Ferro, fires, the European Car Free Day and Wind Power.
Recycling is one of the simple ways to help the world and consists of a process used to give “new life” to products. It brings us some benefits, for example, conserving resources, preventing emissions of greenhouse gases and water pollution, saving energy, create jobs and stimulating people to use green technologies. Our class discovered that most people in Fafe know what recycling means and say that they separate their garbage putting each item in the adequate container.
In what concerns water pollution, Rio Ferro seems really to be in bad hands. The majority of the population doesn’t care about it so they keep on polluting. People continue to dump their waste into the river. But the members of this group also told us that the contamination of the waters is mainly due to industrial / chemical discharges from some old factories that are still operating. It is deeply polluted because of the residues which are thrown into it without any previous treatment, similarly to what happens to many other Portuguese rivers. Unless there are successive and serious investments there seems to be no viable solution to get things right.
Another topic that we have studied is fires. Fires pollute the planet because they release huge amounts of CO2 and other toxic gases into the atmosphere. Apart from contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer, fires also destroy the habitat of many species. In Fafe they are one of the biggest causes for the loss of forests since lots of green places have already burnt. Population negligence and arsonists are the main causes for the fires that happen in our area. To prevent fires we have to clean and cut down the trees that are close to the houses, make conferences to educate and inform people and construct infrastructures. According to local firefighters, from 2001 to 2005, the villages of Várzea Cova and São Gens were the most affected ones in our region and in 2006 the villages which suffered the most were Santa Cristina de Arões and Vila Cova, with 836 hectares burned.
The European day without cars is an interesting idea and our city embraced this event since 2000. The main goals of the European day without cars is to influence people to choose public transport, create the opportunity to travel in the city with a different way and to demonstrate that less cars in urban areas is a synonym of higher quality of life to citizens. Vehicle emissions are responsible for millions of deaths and respiratory problems worldwide. So, each year on the same date, 22nd September, the European towns taking part in the operation (including Fafe) reserve an area for pedestrians, bikes and other "clean" vehicles. In our city we could practise several activities such as cycling, sliding, riding pedal cars, using inflatable. It is not a question of simply limiting traffic in certain streets but of enabling city dwellers to discover other means of transport and to experience this day without restricting their mobility. From a survey that our class did, it seems that most people, at least those who live and work in the city centre, aren’t still very fond of the idea.
Speaking of Wind Power, we discovered that one of the largest wind farms in Iberian Peninsula was built in Fafe. Indeed it is a big investment for us. As everybody knows wind energy is an alternative source of energy that must be supported and incentivated. European countries, including Portugal, lack energy resources in the form of fossil fuels, emit increasing amounts of CO2, but, at the same time, are world leaders in renewable energy and in the most promising and mature renewable technology - wind power. Some classmates questioned some locals and discovered that these people are already aware of the importance of the use of wind to make energy. Most of them said that the wind farm is really good for us because it is a renewable energy, non-polluting and it has a long durability. But they also said that there are some disadvantages too. The landscape destruction, the constant noise and some television interferences are some of the major troubles.
Fafe belongs to each one of us. Just keep it like a place where it is still enjoyable to live!
This report was written by
António Pedro Souto
Beatriz Carneiro
Catarina Soares
Cláudia Ribeiro
11ºF
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