[7/3] Nuclear power in Korea & Corporal punishment in schools

[kevin1]

Nuclear power in Korea

  Greenpeace, one of the world’s most influential environmental civic groups, has stood up against nuclear power plant construction and operation in Korea.
Warning that nuclear energy will impose even greater economic, environmental and ethical burdens on citizens, the group vowed to actively engage itself in a variety of activities in the country, where it is scheduled to open a branch this month.
Mario Damato, Greenpeace executive director of East Asia, decried nuke plant operation, which the administration promotes to be the cleanest and safest energy resource.
“Take Fukushima for example. Look at the on-going tragedy surrounding Chernobyl. Accidents can take place no matter how hard humans try,” he said. Greenpeace held a press conference Tuesday revealing the devastation which swept over Fukushima and its surrounding areas, where a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled the atomic power plant and the leaked materials from nuclear reactors have contaminated the soil and atmosphere.
“Germany took a brave move with its decision to shut all the nuclear power plants in the near future. It reflects what other parts of the world have come to think of nuclear,” he added.

Greenpeace is instead pushing “renewable energy” such as wind power, which is subject to some heated debates over its claimed environmental-friendliness and economic efficiency.
“It is all about the selection of location. The wind turbines could be installed in the middle of the sea waters to minimize their effect on the surrounding eco system. It is costly at the beginning stage but the maintenance is almost free.
“On the other hand, discarding nuke wastes costs a fortune. Adding the potential risk that always lurks around the nuclear plants, no one could say nuclear is the answer for the next generation’s resources,” Damato said.
Damato and his colleagues are now in the process of establishing a regional office in Seoul, which will be the fourth office in Asia following Hong Kong, Beijing and Taipei.
“Korea is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. And its capital, Seoul, houses numerous multinational corporations. Our every move could bring a huge publicity effect,” Damato said.
Four Korean staff members will be recruited and will work on campaigns against nuclear energy and illegal fishing. It will also speak about the ultra-sensitive issue regarding Agent Orange, which the U.S. military allegedly dumped at several locations in the country.
Greenpeace has managed to gain respect from both civilians and the authorities by refusing donations from businessmen as well as the government. In Korea, the group will join hands with many other environment activists while keeping its distance from others.
“Independence, that’s what we are all about,” Damato said. “We won’t talk about something we do not know, but we won’t keep silent on something we know and feel right to speak up about,” he added. 

[Questions]

1. Do you think we need to keep building and operating nuclear power plants?

2. If not, what is the alternative plan to meet the power demand?

3. If nuclear power plant is planned to be built near your habitation, would you consent that without any protest?

4. How do you expect the outlook of renewable energy like wind power? 

[Debate]

Corporal punishment in schools

The Education office of Seoul has banned corporal punishment in schools in order to protect students' human rights. Since teachers cannot hold rods to students, lots of circumstances which knock down teachers' authorities are happening. This way, I certainly believe the prohibition of corporal punishment neither brings positive educational effects nor increase of students' rights.

First of all, people need to think about the meaning of corporal punishment again. Corporal punishment means 'giving physical pain to students in order to convey educational messages'. Punishing students by objective judgement is a great way of teaching. Sometimes problems with teachers' personalities make corporal punishment turn into violence. This, however, is far more acceptable than the situation that teachers are attacked by students. In other words, it is violent spanking by teachers which has to be prohibited, not corporal punishments.

There is no replacement for corporal punishment in current condition. In other words, the most effective way of correcting students' bad behavior is physical punishment. Students are mentally immature. So, they fear corporal punishment, which brings immediate pain. In contrast, they are not sensitive to other alternatives such as points system, because they don't influence students immediately. This way of thinking will hardly change, and school without corporal punishment would become a chaos.

Most importantly, the point system, which replaces corporal punishment, is more unhuman. For corporal punishment, it is done at one stroke, but the points remain forever. The points also become the standard of eval‎uating people's abilities. This situation which equalizes people with numbers is far more inhumane than being hit by rods.

Considering the situations, banning corporal punishment would not be a big help. Since it has no effective alternatives, inhumane and never close to the nature of the issue, prohibition of corporal punishment is not a good policy.

[kevin1]

제가 하루 늦게 올려 드렸네요. 죄송합니다. ^^;;

[Ahnn]

주제 찾느라 고생하셨쎄요. 갠찮아 ^^

[annabanana]

출석^^

[★Miranda★]

토픽 준비 완료:D

[Good Day]

참석합니다.