The Ethics of Green Energy

By Melissa Gallone

In recent years, governments across the world have taken action to reduce the devastating effects of global warming, especially in Arctic communities where thawing permafrost has wreaked havoc on infrastructure, natural landscapes and water supplies. While it may seem that installing wind turbines and solar panels would help indigenous communities like the Sámi in Europe and Inuit in North America, it has become apparent that the people who are affected the most by climate change are also suffering under the proposed solutions to a problem that they did not cause.

Sámi reindeer herding has a long history, dating back to at least the 17th century when reindeer were used for labour, food, clothing and trading. This practice has continued into the 21st century and is integral to reindeer and mountain Sámi culture in Sápmi, a region spreading across Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. However, due to rising temperatures in recent years, the Norwegian government has occupied Sámi land to provide enough wind-powered energy for approximately 170,000 homes. Centuries-old grazing patches and migration paths have been disrupted by the noise these turbines produce, severely impacting the livelihoods of Sámi communities. Not all Sámi are reindeer herders, however. Only around 10% of Sámi are involved with the practice. Other Sámi communities survive by fishing, such as the Juliussen family from Kvalsund, Norway who have been fishing in Torskefjorden for 3000 years, but the government's plan to extract 74 million tons of copper from the nearby Nussir Mountains has put the future of this tradition into question. The copper will be used to power climate-friendly energy, but will also pump approximately two million tons of waste into the Repparfjord per year, potentially driving away the cod and crabs that Einar Juliussen makes his living off of and forcing his family to leave their traditional home.

But the Sámi aren’t the only Arctic-indigenous group to be negatively impacted by clean energy sources. The Inuit community of Rigolet, located in the Canadian Labrador province, is experiencing widespread food insecurity due to the isolated nature of the town and skyrocketing local food prices. This has left hunting jar seals as the only viable food source for many citizens, but the construction of the New England Clean Energy Connect power line will make maintaining this lifestyle much more dangerous. This project will supply electricity to around one million households in Massachusetts by flooding land to create a new hydroelectric reservoir, allowing for methylmercury to be released from the soil and transported to the ocean. This toxin will then accumulate within the bodies of the seal population and can cause serious physical and neurological problems if ingested by humans.

So what should we do? Immediate action needs to be taken to slow the effects of climate change, but we can’t ignore how often solutions to the problem only make things worse for the people who know the most about the environment we are trying to save. The only way for things to get better is to listen to indigenous groups and not sideline their livelihoods for government profit in a society that has continually looked down on their long-held, sustainable traditions.

'But I can't vote yet'

By Millie Dowdall

More and more students are choosing to take A Level Politics in Britain than ever before, with the number of girls choosing it to surpass the number of boys for the first time ever in 2022. Students are choosing to get this type of education, with the introduction of the course to many schools who didn’t previously offer it. Are students disengaged with politics, or is the education being disengaged from them? When speaking with our newly elected Member of Youth Parliament Macey Young, one of her key priorities is pushing the involvement of young people in politics, providing more opportunities and information on how people can become involved. She began her involvement with our local youth council in 2021, with a project called The Rights Ambassador Project and then started attending frequent meetings by the end of 2021. Recently, she ran for MYP and was successful, meaning she will be attending Parliament with MYPs from all across the UK, debating manifestos and delivering information on what they believe should be prioritised for the youth of the UK. 

Macey is incredibly passionate about all the work she has done by being involved with the Vale. She is looking forward to pursuing a career in politics but has stressed that even if that’s not something you are directly interested in for the future, you can still be a part of change. There are numerous projects stemming from the main body of the council, one being Her Voice. The group consists of young girls who have recently begun piloting the Safe Spaces scheme in Vale, taking inspiration from the same scheme that has been successfully implemented in Cardiff. The scheme will introduce designated space safes across Vale that can be identified by a logo, in which women and girls will be able to seek help from trained people if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. All this work has been brought about by young people in the local area who are passionate about having their voices heard and their ideas discussed. 

Being young doesn’t mean all the doors are automatically shut. There are so many programs that support engagement in the local community from young people. The best part is if they are open to everyone, and you don’t have to have any ‘existing’ knowledge of how these groups work. Engagement in these groups are already high, but they could be higher, and with the evidence to show that young people are interested and passionate about politics I believe the opportunity for more and more people to become involved would be invaluable to how these organisations operate. 

Thank you and congratulations to Macey Young, a current Year 11 student, for achieving her position in the council and working to project young people’s voices. 

See @vysvale on Instagram for more information about how to become involved.

A lack of DNA

By Ruby Redford

I feel as though the human genome, the science of humans, is that of which we should know the most about. Our metacognitive tendencies cause us to strive to know the particularities of every intricate detail about ourselves. I have concluded as of recently that humans have a deep-rooted desire to understand it all; our heritage, our ancestry, some wish to know which dog breed they are (as according to BuzzFeed). This baffled me, once learning that 20% of our own DNA, the constituents of life as we know it, are unbeknownst to us. We simply know nothing about it. Sure, we can identify its name; but then when it comes to its proteins, enzymes, and catalytic reactions, that is where we become lost. 

A recent investigation (August 2023), was performed on fruit flies. Strange, I know, but you’ll see my point soon. Scientists performed extensive research on about 20,000 genes. These genes were then grouped together based on their functions and their similarities. They were then left with about 7500 ‘protein clusters’, all performing similar functions under similar conditions. 

Despite how incredibly niche this sounds, there is actually a massive repository of information known as the Gene Ontology Resource. It pretty much has everything you could ever possibly want or need to know about every Gene. Or I should say every gene that has been written about. Biologists consolidated at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University and composed a well-devised ranking system. Any gene which has been documented frequently, or which has been written about through reliable means receives a high score (any score over 100 is classed as high), and some genes which only have one or two articles written about them will obtain a lower score. To put this into practice, the infamous protein referred to as “Sonic the Hedgehog” (bonkers I know), which is involved in embryonic development, scored 168, and the protein P53, which helps to stop the development of regular cells into cancerous cells, scored 128. Shockingly, we had 2,200 proteins received a score of 2, 1,100 scored 1 and over 800 scored 0! 

The conclusions that the Biologists finalised on were that these genes were unimportant and inefficient. Surely we would be writing novels on them if they provided vital functions? However, after using an invasive RNA interference technique, they removed 260 proteins from the 60 flies. All 60 of these flies died. The conclusions were mistaken, and despite there being minimal and sometimes no articles or research done into these proteins and genes, they clearly have an indispensable role in our survival and ability to thrive.

It is human nature to become frustrated and miscalculated when stumped with a problem we cannot solve. However, when that problem indeed becomes human nature, that is when we hit a wall. The true and arguably only way we can ever improve and learn more about ourselves is in fact learning what we do not know, and being open to unlearn what we once believed. These 800 genes and proteins that we know simply nothing about could be the reason we hiccup, or why fetuses are actually formed, or even why laughing releases serotonin and we feel good because of it; all things that we are yet to discover about ourselves. With more extensive research and opening our minds to the illusion of explanatory depths, I am confident that those 800 proteins will eventually become 0, and every gene, protein, enzyme and reaction will have a degree of research. 

Why The 1975 hits the right note for all

By Francesca Coleman

I feel like we can all agree that music is the one thing in the world that everyone at least likes. We all have a genre or certain artist that is our holy grail. For me, that band is The 1975. Consisting of four members, the notorious frontman and rhythm guitarist Matty Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer/producer George Daniel, The 1975 is my favourite band in the world. From what people see online of Matty Healy on the bands most recent tour ‘The 1975: Still, At their very best’, many think he’s an absolute idiot and maybe even a bit problematic. This makes the band seem slightly questionable however, I believe they are musical genius and once the lyrics are heard it can be seen they are not as bad as people think.

A silly article on one of the wackiest films I've ever watched:

by Naomi-Claire Lloyd-Latham

The film industry is massive. An ever-expanding collection of movies that cover a variety of topics and genres. It’s all up to personal preference. Will you watch the latest Marvel film in cinemas? A cheery rom-com from the comfort of your front room? Maybe a group gathering to watch the latest horror so you can collectively be scared together? There is so much variety to choose from. However, one genre that seems to have disappeared from mainstream cinemas is the iconic spoof. A beautifully crafted genre that involves taking the micky out of popular films. Perhaps it’s their “out of pocket” nature. Or bizarre sense of humour. Say what you will spoof/parody films are some of the best cinematic pieces in history, proving that to make a good film cinematography isn’t always essential. If I haven’t convinced you yet then you’ll have to take my word, ignore Rotten Tomatoes and IMBD’s critical reviews, and see for yourself what exactly “spoofs” are like.

With that being said, here is my honest opinion on “Monty Python, and The Holy Grail”.

Rating 5/5

If you don’t like films that make no sense – no sense in the slightest – don’t watch it. The plot is non-linear and non-sensical. To summarise King Arthur, after finishing his quest to select the knights of the round table, is chosen by God to find the Holy Grail. Simple enough? Right? Well on the face of it, the film appears to be your average fantasy/historical epic. In reality, the “Holy Grail” is a collection of historical themed Monty Python sketches. It’s satirical in the fact that it makes fun of the unsanitary conditions of the time and difference between the higher and lower classes. As well as these marginally political comments it includes a colourful cast of characters such as the Knights who say “Ni”, Brave Sir Robin with his band of Minstrels, and the creature with “nasty, big, pointed teeth”. In addition, this film is the origin of the famous “tis but a scratch” meme, featuring the iconic stubborn Black Knight. Overall, I’d be inclined to say the less you know about “Holy Grail” the better, as going in cold makes the start and end of the film more shocking – particularly the ending! My only word of advice would be to continue watching. As strange as it may seem, keep watching.

Objectively, it’s an old 70’s film with a lot of weird jokes. Subjectively, it’s a masterpiece!

Age Rating: 15 (It’s the weird jokes, minor gore and occasional swear word)