About natural cosmetics and the climate crisis during ECO Week
The third day of the Eco Week, an event organized as part of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 celebrations, is behind us. On Wednesday, workshops on making natural cosmetics and an author's meeting with reporter Wojciech Jagielski were most popular. In addition, workshops on clean air, the different faces of wood and the activities of the State Forests were held.
There were more applicants than places for the natural cosmetics making workshops. At Kato Science Corner, the Free Tea Association organised an unusual lesson to introduce participants to ways of using natural ingredients to make personal hygiene products.
- We have prepared bath bombs, a homemade deodorant, a fluoride-free toothpaste based on baking soda, as well as magnesium oil and a homemade cleaning agent - said Olaf Józefoski, who admits that the interest in an environmentally friendly lifestyle is becoming more and more popular. – We are becoming more aware; we want to use products that are safe for our health and the environment. During the presentation, I told the participants what substances should be avoided in cosmetics and how to replace them with what we have at home, he added.
Hazardous substances include formaldehyde and petroleum derivatives. Safe substitutes include baking soda, citric acid, corn starch, coconut oil or vinegar.
The participants listened with great interest to the instructions on how to prepare the products.
- I was informed that the limit had been reached, but I came anyway because I wanted to know this information. Environmental issues are important, but I am more interested in natural cosmetics for health reasons, said Aleksandra Pawlak, one of the workshop participants.
The impact of the environment on our health was also discussed during yesterday’s lecture “Clean air – a healthy future” in the laboratory of the Department of Air Protection at the Silesian University of Technology. The devices used to collect air pollutants and how they are tested were also presented.
The workshops were led by Dr Hab. Engineer Anna Mainka, prof. SUT.
In turn, during another presentation at the Kato Science Corner, the discussion focused on projects implemented for over a decade by the State Forests, the main goal of which is the protection and development of forest ecosystems, the increase in natural diversity and the broadly understood protection of the nature surrounding us.
Ecology and the climate crisis were also discussed in a broad sense in the EcoReading Room of the Silesian Library during an author's meeting with Wojciech Jagielski.
The reporter has repeatedly served as a correspondent during wars. He reported on the situation in the Middle East and Africa. He witnessed the degradation of the natural environment. He knows from his own experience that the climate crisis and environmental destruction lead to the necessity of people's migration and migration.
- We haven't learned to pay attention to it before. As a journalist, I beat myself in the chest for not noticing in time that many wars were caused not by quarrels between parties or bad decisions of the government, but also by climate change – said the reporter. – The history of people's migrations has shown many times in history that where a territory was no longer suitable for living, where it was no longer possible to live, one had to leave and look for a new life – he added. This is how Wojciech Jagielski explained today's migration waves, which are not only related to armed conflicts. He showed a different perspective. He warned that as a result of military conflicts, for example in Kabul, an ecological disaster could occur.
- People who know about ambushes and bombing but not about how waterworks work or how to design a sewage treatment plant have come to power, - said the reporter.
The open-air meeting at the Silesian Library attracted a large group of listeners, including local government officials.
The next activities during Eco Week promise to be equally interesting. The events will run until Sunday, August 25.
The schedule can be found at: https://program.miastonauki.pl/tydzien-eko
