Sweet Sugar and Sulphar Mining
Have ever thought of the process that goes into making sugar?
Yes, we are talking about sugar. The irresistible sweet particles are the star players in our diets. Even those on strict dietary plans, require some sort of form of sugar goodness. Most Savoury dishes are also prepared with a bit of sugar. Its presence is almost inevitable, yet highly acceptable. The process that goes into refining sugar is as complicated as any others conducted to prepare raw materials into ready-to-be used end products. But on this case, we will concentrate on the use of sulphur in sugar refinery.
Sulphur is a natural chemical element primarily used in producing sulphuric acid, the most utilized chemical in the world. It is also used to bleach sugar and as food preservatives. It prevents the growth of bacteria, and so added in foods such as dried fruits and wines.
One of the locations where sulphur is of abundance is in kawah Ijen, an active volcano in Indonesia. What looks breathtaking to the naked eyes is in fact far more disturbing to its surrounding environment. The story that lies beneath the cloud of gas masking the volcano is beyond belief.
Sulphur mining is an extremely dangerous work, with serious consequences to the miners. From the environmental point of view, the rapidly reducing availability of sulphur actually affects plants growth. Sulphur provides naturally derived nutrients for the plants to grow. However, it can be argued that the existence of sulphur mining provides the necessity of life for the population in the area. Surely, it was not a matter of choosing a job, but more of what was available for them to survive, even if it meant risking their health and lives. This is not an easy case of educating the related public about health and the environment. Clearly, the environment has been their saviour, which ironically works the opposite way for their health. Sulphur miners have to walk up-hill and down again, sometimes right at dawn in darkness with the help of a simple torch, equipped with minimal tools both to protect themselves and to actually obtain the sulphur. A typical 11 hour day of work contains of breathing in dangerous acidic gas, walking in steep volcanic surrounding, carrying baskets loaded of sulphur weighing up to 80 kg and earning something around 5 pounds at the end of the day. It is miraculous how human body can be put to such strains, when the goal is to provide food on the table for your family. These miners are aware of the danger that follows each and every step. But how do we even begin to educate them on their environment and the impacts on their health. Recent research has shown how breathing in the sulphuric gas alone would lead to serious health problems. Adding to this the long strenuous hours and the highly dangerous path, it is the silent battle between the environment and its people.
Finally, what do we need to do as a good individual living in a community and being part of the world? Is our health a priority? Is the environment building up concerns to our daily lives? How much exactly do we depend on our environment? Do we require more education on these aspects, which obviously, extremely important to promote a sound living?
Personally, I would answer ‘yes’ to all those questions. My health is without a doubt a priority. But the statement carries a whole lot more of definitions, alterations and explanations. I define my health as a super body of energy that allows me to look after my family and my self. Once this is achieved, more likely than not I would then feel supported to enjoy my surroundings. At times, I do take part in altering the level of priority the health is at, in both positive and negative way. Positively, and on a calm day, I carefully sort the rubbish, accordingly for recycling. I would dedicate more time at the supermarket to read what stuff goes into each and every product. I would even remember to bring my sturdy ‘bag for life’ to carry all this healthy food. However, waking up to a hectic day usually leaves me with no choice. Empty plastic bottles, food packaging from yesterday’s teas, the unbelievably bulky box from the kids’ new toys, have all been thrown in a chaotic manner into the same bin liner. Having realized that today is not the day I contribute to the environment, which in the long term may affect my health, I can only have a simple explanation. When time is not on my side, I would think that it is acceptable to concentrate on the current demands, which include doing everything with shortage of time. Most of the time, when there are so many things to do and so little time to do them, we chose to think in haste.
I would expect that this is a common scenario for the people around me. However, I also believe that we do really care about the environment. We genuinely worry when watching documentary on global warming, drought and floods in other countries and the hard-to-miss pollution. But do we also immediately think, is every one in the community doing their part for the environment? If I neglect to support this act, would it really matter?
At this time, I am thankful everyday and feel truly privileged to have access to the necessities in life. It has not been a struggle and some of them are even in abundance. The struggle has been to understand the importance of looking after our environment in a long term, and to be fully aware of how to contribute, to be willing to make sacrifices, and ultimately, dedicate time and energy to complete this journey and achieve the ideal of healthy populations living in a healthy environment.