Learning Objective: This is a news class. At the end of the session, the participants are expected to be able to comment on the issues included in this text. In the event, the participants critical thinking skills are expected to be sharpened.


First Part

Well-built: What Makes Refrigerators from Swaziland Environmentally Friendly?

Swaziland, the small kingdom in southern Africa, is among the world's poorest countries. A large part of the country's population makes a living on farming and cattle ranching, and very few people own their own cars. Though residents share little blame for the global climate change problem, they've had to bear the brunt of its effects - particularly through rising temperatures.

The hot local climate makes refrigerators all the more important, since groceries and medicines spoil quickly in extreme heat. Refrigerator manufacturer Palfridge runs one of the country's few factories. Some 70,000 fridges and freezers are produced there each year - and the company has recently focused on environmentally-friendly fridges that don't use harmful CFCs.

News Summary

Please get ready for a discussion.

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Second Part

Well-researched: Why is Waste Threathening the Earth's Oceans?

Large amounts of trash can be seen floating in the oceans along coastlines in Europe, Asia and North America. The situation has reached extremes in the northern Pacific, where up to 100 million tons of waste form a giant "trash vortex" between Hawaii and the North American continent, 90 percent of it plastic.

Surveying the true extent of the problem requires an up-close look at the water, where plastic waste has disintegrated into countless small particles. Researchers are calling it a "plastic soup." Through Project Kaisei, scientists are taking a systematic look at the phenomenon and studying its effects on the marine ecosystem.

News Summary

Please get ready for a discussion.