Hello everybody!

This blog, Pollutant de jure, is written as part of a project of the NUS module GE3246, Environmental Pollution. This blog will be a collaboration between two 3rd year Environmental Geography students, Lee Yang and Ryan Lee (no, we are not related). Together, we will be embarking on a journey to look at several Singapore and International laws on pollution. More specifically, we will be looking at how pollutants are defined legally vis-à-vis scientifically.

Pollutants… by right?

There are so many interesting things to uncover, from the causes of pollution, its effects, its solutions and more. Why are we looking at how pollutants are defined?

Well, it is important as laws reflect not only scientific consensus, but also other factors such as history, politics, economics and more. This means that laws passed to control pollutants may not accurately capture them. It may be overly broad, leading to some absurd interpretations; overly narrow, excluding some dangerous pollutants; or overly rigid, unable to accommodate future discoveries. As a result, certain environmental laws may not be able to accomplish what it has set out to do, all because of incorrect definitions of pollutants or pollution. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot!

What is a Sandwich

Using an example to prove our point, let us try to define what a sandwich is.

Lee Yang: two pieces of bread with any filling in the middle. 

Ryan: filling on a piece of bread

While Lee Yang’s definition may seem appropriate, few problems arise. This definition excludes sandwiches with just a piece of bread folded into half, and includes absurd things such as a sandwich with a bread topping (think bread between breads). The former is just a sandwich that we may whip up for a quick snack, while the latter is just a pile of bread! 

Similarly, Ryan’s definition has its own share of problems as well. While he has a broader definition, allowing for “open face” sandwiches and normal sandwiches, it would still identify 3 pieces of bread on top of each other as a sandwich. In addition, it also turns food like pizza and donuts with sprinkles into a sandwich. How would you readers define a sandwich? Comment down below and let us know about it!

Hopefully, this exercise reflects the difficulty in defining items. Thus, it is important to evaluate and scrutinise how pollution and pollutants are defined in legal documents so that erroneous implications can be discovered and hopefully avoided! Of course, it is also fun to discuss some of the absurd implications that may result from these definitions themselves. 

How we are running the blog

The blog will consist of posts that includes: 

1. Introduction + Background information of the pollution/pollutant type
2. Understanding the effects of these pollution/pollutant type
3. Looking at how legal writings* define these pollution/pollutant type
4. Commentary and authors’ opinions

We plan to have specific weekly themes in line with the schedule shown above. However, we will also have additional bonus posts based on current events which we find interesting. We will be posting every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, so stay tuned!

With this, we welcome you to embark on a journey with us as we learn more about pollution and pollutants. 

“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” – Dr Jane Goodall

Till next time!

Lee Yang and Ryan

* Disclaimer: We are trying to introduce legal issues of environmental pollution that is accessible to everyone. We strive to make it understandable from a layperson’s perspective without these articles being too steeped in legal language. As such, we hope to deliver these articles as accurately as possible while keeping it light!