Questões de Concurso

         English’s rise as an international language has been accompanied by an increase in emphasis on English language education in traditionally EFL setting. Learners worldwide are often accustomed to taking mandatory English language classes within their national school systems, and assessing practices used within these educational systems are often positioned as gatekeepers for further educational progression. In Japan, for example, English is compulsory for all students, and is often the only foreign language taught in school. Success in English language tests in high school directly impacts learners’ access to higher education due to the fact that English tests make up a large component of junior high school, high school, and university entrance examinations. Upon entering university, undergraduate students take at least two years of English classes, even in unrelated majors. In China, English education is compulsory in primary schools from Grade 3, although many schools start earlier than this. Like Japan, it’s also compulsory in most Chinese colleges and universities for the first two years, and the College English Test is becoming an increasingly predominant measure of success in these programs, with some universities requiring it for graduation. South Korea also tests English in the national College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), which is necessary to enter South Korean universities. Neighboring countries in Asia are also starting to follow suit; in Vietnam, over 90 percent of children are engaged in English language study, and it is compulsory in most secondary schools, where all students must pass an English test in order to graduate. Similar situations can be found across Europe and Latin America. In Italy, for example, English language has been promoted in educational policy that encourages Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), where students are taught subjects such as history, mathematics, sciences and sport through English. Thus English knowledge not only affects performance on language tests but also the teaching of other subjects of study.

    In March, the global community agreed to establish a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. To deliver on this goal, the treaty needs to cover all issues of plastics chemicals as an inseparable part of the problem.

    Plastics are complex materials consisting of chemical mixtures, including polymers, additives, residual monomers and processing aids, and non-intentionally added substances. Such mixtures release across the plastics life cycle, from feedstock extraction, production, and use, to reuse, recycling, and disposal; they also recombine along complex, unplanned pathways. As a result, humans and environments are ubiquitously exposed to plastics chemicals, often with serious consequences.

    Out of more than 10,000 known plastics chemicals, at least 2,400 are classified as toxic, such as many phthalates and brominated flame retardants. Documented health effects span generations and include premature births, low birth weight, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, endometriosis, infertility, and cancers. In the United States alone, associated costs of endocrine-disrupting chemicals amount to USD$300 billion/year. The total burden on community, ecosystem health, and biodiversity is far greater.

    Even with material recycling, plastics chemicals ultimately proliferate in the ecosystem, whether as emissions or by entering new products, exposing waste-laborers, consumers, and frontline communities to new chemical cocktails. An effective, fair, and safe circular economy can only be achieved by phasing out toxic chemicals from plastic production. 

    As negotiations for a global treaty begin, plastics chemicals need to be front and center. However, preparatory meeting documents focus on downstream plastic waste and work from a narrow definition of chemicals as hazardous additives. To enable the treaty to fully address plastics’ ecological, health, and environmental justice problems, it is essential to redefine plastics as complex chemical mixtures and to integrate chemical issues across the life cycle within the scope and core obligations of the legal instrument.

Adapted from: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf5410.