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Close your eyes for a bit and imagine the year is 2090 and everybody is walking around, wearing oxygen masks because there are no trees around and the air is full of carbon dioxide. This might seem like a distinct possibility but the environment is on a steady decline and if drastic measures are not taken, the scenario I described might just happen.
Trees play such an important role in the ecosystem. It’s impossible to imagine planet earth without them. They absorb rainfall and produce water vapor that is released into the atmosphere. Soils are kept in place by trees. Without trees, soils become vulnerable to erosion or landslides. Erosion washes silt from soil down into rivers thereby affecting aquatic life too.
Trees serve as storage sinks for carbon. Cutting trees and clearing forests simultaneously reduces the amount of carbon absorbed by the forest and releases the stored carbon into the atmosphere. According to Greenpeace, about 300 billion tons of carbon are released into the atmosphere by deforestation.
Deforestation is a major catalyst to global climate change. It has a great impact on the global carbon cycle. Deforestation is said to be the second largest anthropogenic (human-caused) source of carbon dioxide to the environment. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Earth loses 18.7 million acres of forest, which is equal to 27 soccer fields, every minute. The WWF also reports that 17% of the world’s largest tropical rain-forest, The Amazon Rain-forest, has been lost in the last 50 years.
70% of the world’s plants and animals live in forests. When the forests are cleared, the animals are forced to leave their preferred habitats. Some species don’t do so well outside their habitats as they find it hard to cope with temperature changes, different predators, and strange foliage. Hence, they die out slowly.
Millions of people live in forests all around the world. They are referred to as ‘indigenous people’. The Amazon rain-forest alone boasts over 3,344 formally acknowledged indigenous territories. These people live in seclusion, completely oblivious of the outside world. These people are easy to wipe out because they have no immunity to diseases common to the outside world. Loggers, in an effort to encroach on their lands and clear their forests, have killed indigenous natives in the past. The government of Brazil, the country that accounts for 60% of the amazon rain-forest, is not a big fan of conserving forests. The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has extensive plans to tap into the economic potential of the rain-forests. If he makes good on his electoral promises, there will be an increase in deforestation and violence against indigenous people. Many of these indigenous people will be forced out of their homes and stripped of their means of survival. There is no telling the environmental damage that would be done if the Amazon rainforest is subjected to massive deforestation.
Increased human population is another factor that causes deforestation. Food is necessary for human survival. An increase in the demand for food galvanizes the conversion of forests to ranch-lands and farmlands to rear animals and grow crops respectively.
Replanting of trees on a large scale is a massive step in counteracting the problems caused by deforestation. However, it would not solve them all. Reforestation will not bring back the species that have been wiped out due to extreme deforestation. I read somewhere that we should switch to plant-based diet. The writer feels that this would tone down the need for lands to be cleared for agricultural purposes.
Effective government policies (especially not the Brazilian policies) should be put in place to combat deforestation. Forests can also provide steady incomes when left alone. That can be maximized to increase productivity and boost economic status.
Seeing the backlash that comes with deforestation, wouldn’t you agree that we just leave the forests alone and let the ecosystem thrive?

Aderibigbe Yusuf Olatunji.

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EARTH DAY: Our Earth, Our Future
Protecting the Environment through Electric Automobiles.

It is imperative to trace the evolution of Earth Day in the mainstream international celebrations. Earth Day emerged for the first time as a conscious effort channelled at addressing environmental concerns. It started out to be an avenue to push a global agenda for environmental protection. Over the years since 1970 down to 1992 when the United Nations met for the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and the inauguration of April 22nd to become the global day for action for the Earth, activism and clean up actions have not ceased to the pursuit of one goal: a safer planet earth.

Today, the quest for a safer and healthier environment has gone beyond campaign for more trees or taking out trash in filthy areas but an intentional and deliberate investment in a future where the earth and all its elements are secured for sustainability. One of such investment we can make is in the prospects of electric cars as opposed to gas powered automobiles. Electronic powered automobiles have its pro’s and con’s. One major benefit of electric cars includes being environmentally friendly; as there are zero gas emissions leading to a cleaner air and safer planet. Another major benefit is that electric cars are easier and cheaper to maintain. They are pitched to be potentially more cost effective particularly where the cost of electricity is lesser than gas.

There was a recent media outburst as regards a statement made by Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President, stating how electric cars should not be allowed in Nigeria because it is an oil producing state. That to us is the height of myopia gushed out of ignorance, fuelled by a reluctance to embrace the future of automotive technology. One of the biggest uncertainties the global oil market and even petrochemical research has shown in recent times is the fact that oil exploration is not just economically sustainable but equally environmentally unsustainable. The environment is the ultimate price paid for the continued relevance Nigeria has in the global market as an oil producing state but the prices keep dwindling and the environment remain at risk which makes it expedient to explore alternative avenue for energy supply starting with embracing electric cars and a reduction of cars powered by fuel.
At Earth Light, we believe electric cars consolidate the resolution for safer and healthier Nigeria and a planet earth at large. Join our cause!!

#electirccarsfornigeria. #greeningtheblue #reducecarbonemission #notoairpollution

According to the vanguard, Lagos, with a population of over 23 million people produces 13 metric tons of waste daily

It is impossible to stop the waste, though through education and sensitization campaigns, we are beginning to convince people to refuse (if it’s not important), reduce (as much as possible) reduce (to the lowest possible) and recycle all waste, while also refusing to use all not recyclable products. This message of ours is creating an amazing impact, however the volume of waste Lagos produces is not the reason Lagos is so dirty.

,Waste management in Lagos is a lucrative and flourishing business. And if this is effectively organized Lagos will be much cleaner. I learnt late last year that the constitution gives local government authority over waste and waste collection/management under the residual list. However, powers in Lagos control the waste, milking the business and denying the local governments its financial rights.

This is why Lagos is so dirty, not because of the absence of the financial will but rather, because of the presence of political interference to due process and rule of law. The double standard for one is unfair and crude. The PSP/Lawma agents charge a fee to collect waste from highbrow areas like Ikoyi and GRAs while for the less affluent areas they collect the wastes for free. As Ikoyi waste smells more. In advance countries with far less the population of Lagos and the waste generated, countries like Sweden the people get paid for their waste and the waste is converted into reusable materials and sold back to members of the community.

If Lagos must be clean as it drives to become a mega city we must follow due process and empower the local authorities to manage waste and not play politics with our waste. Incentive or rebates should be given to those who careful make their waste available for collection (after disposing properly) and we should emulate countries like Sweden and recycle our own waste which will provide jobs, and other commodities. This is what we call a circular economy.

by Olamide Santos

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