Theme: Lights Out – The Silent Threat
Budget: RM3000
Venue: PJ Live Arts Theatre
Purpose: To promote the wise usage of energy and to reduce light pollution.
Reason: Many people think that light pollution is just a problem for astronomers. They think that since they don’t own a telescope, they are unaffected by the problem. This is simply not true. Light pollution is a problem that affects us all. Typically, people are not even aware of it. But, that doesn’t reduce its affect one bit.
Light pollution wastes incredible sums of money nation-wide. While the cost to the typical homeowner might be in the $150-250 range per year the cost to the nation is approaching $10 billion annually. This is an absurdly large amount of money to waste. Diseases could be studied, the hungry could be fed, our nation’s children could be better educated.
Light pollution wastes incredible amounts of energy, energy that our nation simply does not have. The very least we can do is use it wisely.
Light pollution pollutes our environment. By wasting electricity, we force our utility companies to consume more energy and therefore emit more toxins into the environment. How many of you have, or know someone who has a lung ailment? Many respiratory problems are caused by or intensified by these airborne toxins. There are a number of factors which may increase the chances of developing asthma. High on their list was exposure to environmental pollutants.
Light pollution itself is a threat to human health. Recent studies by medical researchers indicate that light at night interferes with our body’s immune system.
Light pollution is a threat to wildlife. It’s true. Many types of wildlife are simply unable to cope with such disruption of their nighttime environments.
Theme: The Nightmare – It’s Time To Wake Up
Budget: RM3500
Venue: Kiwanis Centre (To donate money to The Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation)
Purpose: To inform people of the suffering poverty causes and how they can help.
Reason: Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s people and nations. Why is this? Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight?
What about their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less discussed.
Behind the increasing interconnectedness promised by globalization are global decisions, policies, and practices. These are typically influenced, driven, or formulated by the rich and powerful. These can be leaders of rich countries or other global actors such as multinational corporations, institutions, and influential people.
In the face of such enormous external influence, the governments of poor nations and their people are often powerless. As a result, in the global context, a few get wealthy while the majority struggle.
Theme: The BIG Problem – You Are What You Eat
Budget: RM3000
Venue: GSC Cinema, Tropicana City Mall (For convenience)
Purpose: To promote a healthy lifestyle and to help the obese.
Reason: Obesity typically results from over-eating (especially an unhealthy diet) and lack of enough exercise.
In our modern world with increasingly cheap, high calorie food (example, fast food — or junk food), prepared foods that are high in things like salt, sugars or fat, combined with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, increasing urbanization and changing modes of transportation, it is no wonder that obesity has rapidly increased in the last few decades, around the world.
The number of people overweight or obese is now rivaling the number of people suffering from hunger around the world. Obese people were thought to be mainly from richer countries or wealthier segments of society, but poor people can also suffer as the food industry supplies cheaper food of poorer quality.
Environmental, societal and life-style factors all have an impact on obesity and health. While individuals are responsible for their choices, other actors such as the food industry are also part of the problem, and solution. Unfortunately, the food industry appears reluctant to take too many measures that could affect their bottom line, preferring to solely blame individuals instead.
