A month after the fire, the X-Press Pearl now lies dormant in a semi-submersible state off the coast of Sri Lanka, its hull resting on the sandy bottom of the shallow sea. The X-Press Pearl burned for 13 days off the coast of Sri Lanka. Photo: BBC. Although the fire on board has been extinguished, the problems stemming from the fire are just beginning. Many stacked chemical containers are still stuck on the ship. Many of these barrels have leaked and soaked into the water, raising concerns about marine life being poisoned by the chemicals. In addition, tons of microplastics have washed up on nearby local beaches. Hundreds of tons of engine fuel sealed in the sunken hull is also likely to leak into the sea. In addition to the environmental threats, the X-Press Pearl ship fire also had devastating consequences for local communities, according to the report. BBC . Indigenous fishermen lose their livelihood overnight and may suffer the consequences for years to come. “We are fishermen, we have to go to the sea every day. We can only make a living by going to sea, otherwise our whole family will starve,” said Denish Rodrigo, who lives on the Sri Lankan coast. with BBC . Billions of microplastics One of the most striking features in the photos documenting the X-Press Pearl fire disaster is the many small round plastic beads spilling from the ship. The number of pieces of plastic is so much that the naked eye can see them when they are next to each other. These microplastics are the main ingredient of most plastic products on the planet. Large amounts of microplastics from the X-Press Pearl ship could threaten the Sri Lankan ecosystem. Photo: BBC. “There were about 46 different chemicals on that ship (X-Press Pearl),” Hemantha Withanage, a Sri Lankan environmental activist, told the BBC. BBC . “But what we’ve been able to see most clearly so far are tons of microplastics.” Since the end of May, pieces of plastic from the X-Press Pearl have washed up on the beaches of Negombo city on the west coast of Sri Lanka. Locals also reported dead fish floating around because of ingesting microplastics. Normally, plastic takes between 500 and 1,000 years to completely decompose. The aforementioned microplastics may have been pushed by ocean currents to the coasts around Sri Lanka or even beyond. “Our whole family will starve to death” For fishermen in Negombo, their concern isn’t just about ingesting microplastics in their fish, but the possibility that they won’t be able to catch any fish. Local authorities have issued a fishing ban in the area affected by the fire. This means that many fishermen have lost their entire source of income and livelihood overnight. “Fish species grow on coral reefs in the area, and authorities say those areas have been destroyed by the effects of dangerous chemicals. Now there is no choice but to jump into the sea naturally. death,” said Mr. Tiuline Fernando, who has been a fisherman for the past 35 years BBC . Many fishing families in Negombo struggled to make ends meet because they lost their livelihood overnight. Photo: BBC. The Sri Lankan government is demanding compensation and insurance from the owners of the X-Press Pearl. However, locals do not expect that money to be used to support them. The local fishermen’s association said it needed help from the whole community. “It’s not just us (fishers) but many other related industries are also affected,” explained the president of the indigenous fishermen’s association Densil Fernando. “Suppliers of nets, engines, boats and oil are involved in fishing operations. Thousands of jobs related to the fishing industry are being affected,” said Mr. Fernando. Chemical pollution The most lasting impact from the fire is believed to be a problem of chemical contamination. Activist Withanage said some of the hazardous elements found on board the X-Press Pearl were nitric acid, sodium dioxide, copper and lead. When mixed with water, these elements enter the internal organs of local sea creatures. Small fish can die immediately from poisoning, but large fish are more likely to survive, the poison will gradually accumulate in their bodies over time. Toxic marine life washed ashore in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Photo: BBC. Mr Withange said fish, turtles and dolphins had died and washed up on beaches. Many of them have turned green, indicating that the body is contaminated with metals and chemicals. “In a couple of years, if you catch a tuna, there’s a good chance it’s still poisoned,” Mr Withange said. “This chemical buildup is a serious problem.” “People should be informed about this,” he added. “The X-Press Pearl is now a toxic ship. Anything from this ship that washes ashore is very poisonous. People shouldn’t even touch them.”

Mariana Mazzucato, a researcher on the economics of innovation and public value, says that the relationship between the state and private enterprise should ideally be a form of “symbiosis” of mutual benefit. Mariana analyzes many aspects of this type in her book “Creating State.” According to her, this relationship requires a smooth “synergy” between the state and the private sector, each promoting the benefits. intrinsic position to become a driving force, creating momentum to contribute to the common development. Interestingly, this scenario has in the past been most apparent in the US. Since the 1950s, the US economy has grown thanks to a combination of three core pillars: computers, microprocessors, and the Internet. The R&D that form each of these pillars stems from a tripartite alliance between government, academia, and private business. The first computers were created with funding from the military, designed and built at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Harvard, and then commercialized by companies like IBM. Likewise, transistors, the building blocks of microprocessors, were invented at Bell Laboratories, and then funded by federal funding for space and space research programs Strategic fire has paved the way for private companies like Intel to figure out how to integrate thousands of transistors onto tiny silica boards to form chips. Finally, everyone knows that the Internet is a product that came from the idea of ​​​​DARPA (the Directing Agency for Advanced Defense Research Projects) and realized through research at universities in conjunction with private contractors like BBN. What’s more, this triple alliance, over the period from the second world war onward, organically and purposefully fused together into a formidable creative machine. An example of this relationship is Vannevar Bust, both the dean of MIT’s School of Engineering and the founder of Raytheon, an important defense contractor, and once a leading figure in scientific management. American military during World War II. When the war ended, Vannevar Bust released a report, “Science, Endless Frontiers,” which called on the government to finance basic research in partnership with universities. and engineering industries. Bush’s report convinced Congress to create a National Science Foundation. From this very beginning, government funding was channeled to universities and private companies. The formation of a triangular relationship between government, industry, and academia in the United States is considered one of the most significant innovations that helped create the technological revolution of the late 20th century. In addition to the National Science Foundation, many federal government agencies become investors and funders of scientific research. In 1965, 23% of government funding for scientific research at universities was provided by the US Department of Defense. The results of these investments were pivotal to America’s postwar economic boom and creative boom. From government orders, research centers of private corporations were formed. A typical example is Xerox PARC of Xerox Corporation, the birthplace of the graphical user interface, an indispensable part of every personal computer today. In addition, there is the formation of “combined public-private” organizations with the support of both the US government, academia and industry such as Stanford Research Institute (SRI) or RAND Corporation, which was originally founded was established to specialize in conducting research and development activities for the US Air Force. The US government also has many programs to sponsor excellent students to train high-quality human resources. It is the Digital Libraries Initiative with funding from the National Science Foundation and collaboration with several other federal government agencies. Among the students who benefit from this program are Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two co-founders of Google. It is easy to understand when American technology corporations, with material support from the government and brains from universities, become giant blocks of magnets attracting future talent from the whole world to Vietnam. America since World War II. Typically the story of the iPhone launched by Apple in 2007. The smart phone that shocked the world, bringing an unprecedented user experience, with a multi-touch screen, Internet access, integrated GPS navigation or virtual personal assistant Siri. Since then, the iPhone has been a golden egg for Apple for 14 consecutive years, making it the first enterprise to reach the $1 trillion mark in 2019. Behind the iPhone is a public-private “triangle alliance” that was started by figures like Vannevar Bush after World War II. For example, Apple’s pioneering multi-touch display on the iPhone stemmed from research by Westerman and Elias at the University of Delaware with government funding, including funded Post-doc programs. from the National Science Foundation and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Multipoint technology was commercialized by Westerman and Elias through the company FingerWork they founded. In 2005, this company was acquired by Apple and then 2 years later the iPhone was born. The Internet is a product of DARPA and GPS has been researched by the US Department of Defense since the 1970s, and so far, although GPS is used for more civilian purposes than military, the US Air Force is still at the forefront. in the maintenance and development of GPS technical infrastructure system, with the average annual budget provided by the US government amounting to more than 700 million USD. Similarly, Siri in the iPhone is an artificial intelligence program that comes from SRI, a “combined public-private” organization. If you want to be great, you cannot help but stand on the shoulders of giants. The US government and its huge, long-term investments are the giants that stretch their shoulders for Apple to rise to the top. However, funding for research and development by the federal government in the United States has been reduced in recent decades, from 1.2 percent of GDP in 1976 to less than 0.8 percent in 2016. 2016. One of the reasons for arguing that the money that the government mobilizes from taxes to invest in R&D will correspondingly reduce the funding that private corporations can invest in these same activities. in a more efficient manner. That is, the government should reduce their direct involvement, but cut taxes, allowing private businesses to freely exercise their creativity. The government withdrew, many private corporations dissolved research units, partly under the pressure of short-term investors demanding a quick return of capital instead of having patience and long-term risk-taking. as long as the previous US federal government. As a result, the US is facing the risk of no longer maintaining the same technological lead gap with its competitors, especially China, where the government invests heavily in science. technology and research and development. America’s success story shows that the federal government plays an irreplaceable role in it, and when that role has been relaxed, the American economic machine has clearly not, or at least If not, find the motivation to recreate the golden age of this country, as the motto of Mr. Donald J. Trump when he ran for the 2016 election. A hot lesson that any government, planner policy cannot be ignored.

Many customers visiting and shopping at the 30th Vietnam International Trade Fair had the opportunity to enjoy Ceylon tea – processed and produced from Sri Lanka.

Mr. Trung Dung (Hanoi) shared that he had heard the name of Ceylon (Ceylon) tea for a long time, but this was the first time he tasted it. The first impression of the world’s most famous tea produced in Sri Lanka, Trung Dung said, the tea has a rich aroma, the taste is very sweet, and the aroma is delicate. However, because he is accustomed to the sweetness of Vietnamese green tea, Trung Dung believes that this product will suit Vietnamese women more than men.

Ms. Thu Hoai (Nam Dinh) said that she was very impressed with the rich but not harsh aroma of Ceylon tea. This product easily immerses the drinker in the most relaxed and lucid. This product is very suitable to drink while relaxing and can be mixed with milk to become a delicious and favorite milk tea for women.

Ceylon tea – a famous specialty of Sri Lanka was introduced at the 30th Vietnam International Trade Fair.

Sharing about Ceylon tea products, Ms. Prasadi Boomawalage, Third Secretary of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Vietnam, said that in addition to tea produced and packaged from Sri Lanka, there is now also Ceylon tea produced from Vietnamese raw materials but processed according to the special formula of Sri Lanka. This is a product that strengthens the friendship between Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is the world’s 4th largest tea exporter; second only to China, India and Kenya. Tea production and processing is also one of the key economic sectors of this country with over 20 million people.

Sri Lanka is known as a tea-growing paradise because of the ideal conditions of climate, soil, sunlight and density of rain. Sri Lanka’s Ceylon tea is believed to contain more antioxidants and health benefits than other teas due to its soil, climate, and processing methods.