Our club members worked hard on their articles for the May 2025 Edition, exploring different journalism techniques such as cultural, entertainment, fashion, and news journalism. They have also investigated various issues that need awareness. Don’t let it go to waste by skipping any of the four pages!
Page 1:
- Rice Cultivation: How it Produces Methane and Solutions to Reduce These Emissions by Charlotta
- What Does Thailand’s Same-Sex Marriage Bill Mean for the rest of South-East Asia? by Maya
- The Power of Mindset: How Growth vs Fixed Thinking Shapes Your Success by Tisya
- Water Insecurity in South Sudan by Zainab
Page 2:
- The Harm and Issues with Book Censorship by Elsa
- Craving, Comfort or Compulsion – Is Fast Food an Addiction? by Anonymous
- Modern Slavery: Not Legal but still Ignored by Jia
Page 3:
- AI “art” is Destroying a Generation of Creatives – Revisiting Ghibli’s ‘Whisper of the Heart’ in the age of AI by Maya
- Tariffs, Tensions, and Trade: Trump’s Tariffs and China by Zainab
- Between Two Worlds: Hiroshi Yoshida by Jia
Page 4:
- We Might Have Found Extraterrestrial Life – But it Happened in 1905 by Elsa
- Fast Fashion Fuels Waste and Exploitation by Charlotta
- Can We Still Trust Genetic Ancestry Tracing by Anonymous
- These colours will define your Spring and Summer! by Tisya
Rice cultivation: How it Produces Methane and Solutions to Reduce These Emissions
Rice farming is the leading agricultural contributor of methane (CH4) to the environment, emitting about 12% of global CH4 emissions every year. Rice production further releases CO2 due to the burning of rice straw. This is a major issue which many institutes such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the consultative group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) are working on solving. This article will address the reason for this high CH4 and CO2 production and ways to reduce these emissions, as well as the projects operating on these issues at the moment.
How and why methane is produced
The reason rice farming has such a high CH4 production rate is because of how it is farmed. Rice farmers typically flood their rice paddies with water, this is done mainly as rice is a semi-aquatic plant, and studies have shown that the productivity of rice grown in standing water is a lot higher than rice grown in dry soil. Additionally, farmers flood their paddies is to prevent unwanted weeds from growing such as weedy rice which is a grass related to rice with a strong resemblance, making it difficult to differentiate between the two. This standing water creates anaerobic conditions as bacteria decompose organic matter, mostly rice straw residue, and release CH4.
Reducing methane emissions
There are some solutions for this issue which people are working on. Firstly, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) of the rice paddies is a good way to reduce CH4 production as the water the rice is grown in is controlled and not all year round, meaning that less CH4 is produced due to the drying method. Furthermore, farmers tend to transplant their rice, meaning they grow seedlings outside the field in containers before planting them directly into water. This means that the plants are grown submerged in water for the whole season generating a lot of anaerobic activity leading to high production of CH4. This method is beneficial for the farmers as they are able to choose and control the best seedlings. This also creates a faster turnover of seasons; for example, Indonesia has four rice-growing seasons, whereas the average is one or two, depending on the country. An alternative for this is direct seeded rice which is when farmers directly plant rice seeds into the soil. This creates less CH4 production as the seedlings are grown in dry conditions, leading to AWD. Also, direct seeded rice is a lot less labour intensive, reduces seed rate, meaning not as many seeds are wasted, and there is less standing water, leading to reduced CH4 emissions.
Rice straw releasing carbon dioxide
Rice straw is another issue in the rice industry as farmers tend to burn the rice straw after their harvest to get rid of it faster. This is optimal for the farmers as they want to have a quick turnover of seasons, and it is a very fast method. However, it also releases large amounts of Carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, further contributing to the climate crisis. It has been shown that burning 1 tonne of paddy straw releases around 1,460 kg of CO2. Decomposing this rice straw would be a lot better for the environment, but it takes around 45 days to fully decompose, and most farmers can’t afford to wait that long as they lose revenue. This is a big issu,e especially in areas of North-West India such as the states of Punjab and Haryana, as every year in the months of October and November, rice farmers burn their rice straw, which releases big clouds of CO2, and as the temperature is low and there is increased rain during those months, the CO2 is held in place due to the formation of clouds and creates a big cloud of smog. This smog is extremely bad not only for the environment but also for the health of the inhabitants of affected cities such as Delhi. In 2019, the bad air quality of Delhi caused over 2.3 million premature deaths as the health of its inhabitants deteriorated over time.
Alternate uses for rice straw
The rice straw could alternatively have different uses. For instance, bio-char, which is charcoal produced from organic matter such as rice straw, produces fewer greenhouse gases and can be sold, therefore creating more money and aiding the economy and rice farmers themselves, this however is not widely practised but is a viable solution which some institutes are exploring at the moment. Rice straw could also be used as animal feed and bedding. Some institutes, such as the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Scottish Agricultural College (SRUC) are looking into the benefits and possible problems to this possible solution. Furthermore, IRRI is looking specifically at Vietnam and mushroom production. Oyster mushrooms are an essential part of Vietnamese cuisine and IRRI is working on using rice straw as a substrate for the oyster mushrooms to grow on. Lastly, rice straw could also be used for biogas in rural areas to fuel stoves and as it is controlled in a combustion chamber and then used for energy production, it isn’t wasted as much.
The rice farming industry is a major industry, specifically in Asia and West Africa, which is a huge CH4 and CO2 input into the atmosphere. There are projects all around the world looking to reduce these emissions while also looking at the needs of the farmers. Solutions include AWD, using rice straw for a variety of things; bio-char, biogas, substrate for growing mushrooms and animal feed and bedding.
By Charlotta
What does Thailand’s same-sex marriage bill mean for the rest of Southeast Asia?
As of September 24, 2024, Thailand is now the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Since then, thousands of queer couples across Thailand have gotten married, some having waited decades, in celebration of the historic bill. In a constantly progressing world with more people than ever becoming open about their sexuality, what does the future for queer people look like in Southeast Asia?
Attitudes and Legislation
The word most emblematic of Southeast Asian attitudes towards LGBT issues is ‘tolerance.’
Curiously, many countries in Southeast Asia do not have specific laws outlawing homosexuality or gender. However, there is also little legislation made to protect LGBT rights. Vietnam is an example where the ban on same-sex marriage was lifted, but no law legalising it replaced it. Similarly, Singapore famously operated under their penal code Article 377A, which criminalised sexual relations between men until it was decriminalised in 2022.
Many leaders and politicians in Southeast Asia often push for the recognition of queer rights but do not take legislative action to solidify their statements. There are many instances where even when legal action is taken, government enforcement of those laws or even public opinion has not shifted.
There is also the notion in many countries that queerness is a “Western” idea and that by shielding the youth from it, they are then preventing corruption by Western forces. This is, of course, a post-colonial attitude that does not consider the deep history of Indigenous peoples’ practices of transcending the gender binary, such as the Malaysian Bissu as well as Timor-Leste’s Indigenous history of gender fluidity.
What’s to come
Some are confronted with the conflict between universal rights and religion, some are preoccupied with more pressing conflicts to consider queer issues, and others are paralysed in their decision to do something. Southeast Asia still has many things to consider surrounding LGBT matters, and there is still much to be done to protect these communities—but with Thailand being the first to take a stand, there is hope yet for other nations to follow in their footsteps. Though it is a small win, no country in Southeast Asia besides Malaysia actively criminalises same-sex relations, and with the queer community growing faster than ever, it will hopefully not be long until the next country is celebrated having legalised same-sex marriage.
By Maya
The Power of Mindset: How Growth vs. Fixed Thinking Shapes Your Success
Does our mindset have anything to do with our success? Well, Dr Carol S. Dweck is an American psychologist, now the author of one self-helping book, “Mindset”, thinks so. In this book, she argues that people tend to have two types of mindsets, either fixed or growth, which affect their past, present and future. She also discusses the effect of mindsets on students through several studies and research.
According to Carol Dweck, a fixed mindset is “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone—the fixed mindset—creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.” On the contrary, a growth mindset -the one she favours throughout the book – is “T based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others.”. Now you would ask that, if all of this is true, is it not better to have a growth mindset? Well, of course, it is, but it is not as easy as that; many factors cause people to have a fixed mindset. The four main factors include praise and labelling; this is when children are praised for their intelligence, “you are so smart”, rather than their effort, where they start to believe that intelligence and ability are inherent and unchangeable. Another factor is the fear of failure that we force into people; when someone is continuously criticised for their mistakes, they start seeing failure as an identity rather than an action relating it to personal inadequacies. Moreover, comparison and competition reinforce a fixed mindset, for example, environments that emphasise ranking or natural ability over learning. Lastly, cultural and educational influences, such as In terms of schools that tend to focus on grades more than learning and effort, nurture students to believe their abilities are fixed.
Therefore, It is crucial to understand the importance of mindset in children and students to allow them to grow as people rather than stunt their growth. Mindset and future success do have a very prominent correlation with one another, as one’s mindset changes their response to life. For example, people with fixed mindsets, when given a challenge, would avoid it ( Mindset) to maintain their image of intelligence, as compared to those with a growth mindset who would take on changes in order to grow. In a school like ISK, where risk-taking is valued, students must take risks and are not scared of them, so in order to develop students into successful beings, it is crucial to encourage challenges and mistakes by normalising struggle as a part of learning, praising effort, persistence and improvements more than ability, teaching that intelligence can grow, and giving good constructive feedback. Thus, mindset shapes our potential way more than we realise, and by shifting our mindset to proving our worth to improve ourselves, we can open the door to endless possibilities. Success starts with the right mindset!
By Tisya
Water Insecurity in South Sudan
South Sudan, one of the youngest countries in the world, only gaining independence in 2011, faces various conflicts and suffers from many issues, including water insecurity. The nation is regarded as one of the world’s most politically fragile countries and ranked as one of the most vulnerable countries, meaning it is highly susceptible to a vicious cycle of water insecurity. In fact, South Sudan has suffered a water crisis since 2013, when the civil war began.
One form of water insecurity South Sudan faces is economic water scarcity. According to UNICEF, many families in South Sudan are forced to drink dirty water, which puts them at a high risk for waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea. UNICEF also states that 59% of South Sudanese lack access to safe drinking water, with the majority exposed to contaminated water. This is one of the leading causes of child mortality in South Sudan, with 90% of the population not having access to improved sanitation.
Despite the White Nile passing through the country, clean water is still an issue. In the country, groundwater has become the primary source of drinking water. Frances Wajo, a water scientist, addresses the chemicals from agriculture and mining activities contributing to groundwater pollution and stresses environmental concerns. According to USAID, oil extraction in the floodplains of Jonglei lakes and the upper Nile has dramatically affected groundwater quality, with seepage from oil fields increasing the salinity and concentrations of heavy metals in the water, along with pipe leakages and spills causing more damage. The government and donor support for water resource management has been considered a low priority compared to other factors, worsening communities’ challenges with water. As South Sudan faces severe catastrophic floods, droughts, development, and humanitarian issues, the focus on water insecurity is diverted elsewhere, hence the low government and support. In addition, water is very costly, with a drum of clean water from a water tank truck costing SSP 3,000, which is around KES 2,970.
Many organizations are working to address this issue. For example, UNICEF provides safe water to communities across South Sudan by drilling boreholes. In regions where long-term assistance is necessary, UNICEF provides trucks with fresh water or purification tablets. Along with this, sanitation facilities, such as bathrooms, are being constructed and maintained as communities urge the implementation of a sanitation plan. Improving water security will prevent disease spread and provide children a safer and healthier future.
By Zainab
Elements Magazine 