Mr. Ekpeyong, a Mathematics teacher at St. Gregory College, Lagos, left his home that same morning, with much upbeat about the activities lined up for that day. To beat traffic and the coming rain, he took a commercial motorcycle that raced through the early morning traffic, alight and was about paying off the rider when a communication pole fell on him.
He died on the spot, while the motorcycle rider sustained serious injury.
That morning wind was later announced to be 120km/h storm that was equated to hurricane wind speeds.
According to Mr. Abayomi Oyegoke, Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), "the rain came as a result of a micro scale system that developed over the Delta area, grew and propagated into the West towards Lagos. In the process of that movement, another cold system developed around the inland of the South West. Because of the one coming from the Delta area, it invigorates and merges and became a massive system. This massive system now caused a downdraft. The downdraft was associated with the strong velocity of wind that led to the maximum wind gust that caused the destruction we witnessed today."
Mr. Oyegoke's comment corroborate that of Ngeri Benebo, Director General of the National Environment Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA). Some years ago, she warned that the humid tropical zone of Southern Nigeria, which is already too hot and too wet, is expected to be characterized by increase in both temperature and precipitation, especially at the peak of the rainy season."
Her comment came on the heel of continuous gas flaring by multinational oil and gas companies operating with the shores of west Africa.
The Saffir-Simpson Scale
Category
Wind Speed
Barometric
Pressure
Storm Surge
Damage Potential
1
(weak)
75–95 mph
65–82 kts
33–42 m/s
> 28.94 in. Hg
> 980.0 mb
> 97.7 kPa
4.0–5.0 ft.
1.2–1.5 m
minimal damage to vegetation
2
(moderate)
96–110 mph
83–95 kts
43–49 m/s
28.50–28.93 in. Hg
965.1–979.7 mb
96.2–97.7 kPa
6.0–8.0 ft.
1.8–2.4 m
moderate damage to houses
3
(strong)
111–130 mph
96–113 kts
50–58 m/s
27.91–28.49 in. Hg
945.1–964.8 mb
96.2–97.7 kPa
9.0–12.0 ft.
2.7–3.7 m
extensive damage to small buildings
4
(very strong)
131–155 mph
114–135 kts
59–69 m/s
27.17–27.90 in. Hg
920.1–944.8 mb
91.7–94.2 kPa
13.0–18.0 ft.
3.9–5.5 m
extreme structural damage
5
(devastating)
> 155 mph
> 135 kts
> 70 m/s
< 27.17 in Hg
< 920.1 mb
< 91.7 kPa
> 18.0 ft
> 5.5 m
catastrophic building failures possible
If these reports are anything to go by, are we entering the age of hurricane in Africa?
A report titled Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate submitted to the United State Climate Change Science Programme Department reads "It is very likely that the human-induced increase in greenhouse gasses has contributed to the increase in sea surface temperature in the hurricane formation regions. Over the past fifty years, there has been a strong statistical connection between tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures and Atlantic hurricane activity as measured by the power dissipation index. "
Until now, the world 'hurricane' has been synonymous with America and the Oceania yet recent natural occurrence such as the October 2, 2010 flood in Benin republic and July 10, 2011 flood in some part of Nigeria, brings to fore the need for a reassessment of our activities concerning the environment and what our itinerary to environmental sustainability are.
OUR ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITIES
Starting from cooking fires, stove to fume from generating sets that provides cheap electricity to many, Africa has the hallmark of a state not ready to go green.
Ironically, the continent sits atop resources which can solve it basic challenges yet these resources are either ignore or wasted.
A typical example is the flaring of gas in Nigeria, Angola and some other African oil producing states. These natural resources that are wasted generate electricity.
Within these oil producing communities, decades old ruptured pipes that spills crude oil into the environment are still in use by oil industry to convey crude oil to depot stations. This causes loss of crops, farms, ecosystem and conterminate the people's livelihood. This development alone account for about 51 percent causes of rural-urban migration.
Increase in demand for housing due to rural-urban migration mounts pressure on estate investors who clear natural rainforests, converting natural carbon sinks to quarters.
In the midst of these depleting economy systems, there lay economic values that spell profits to both investors and the communities.
RECYCLING TO THE RESCUE
Recycling basically involves reusing materials. A recyclable product is turned back into raw form that can be used to create a new and different product. Not only are natural resources limited, but recycling efforts can significantly reduce additional waste that will not only harm the planet, but future generations as well.
Today, filths around major cities are becoming sources of livelihood for many homeless people. However, the amount of garbage collected is a far cry to what these cities dumps. With a slim option, very little of wastes available are sent in for recycling. What then becomes of the remaining waste?
Creating new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials as well as reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials is becoming a better option in the race to sustainable environment. This option reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from land filling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.
Nearly all our waste are recyclable yet most end up threatening our existence; blocking canal, drainages etc.
To complete the cycle, we must do it as part of our lifestyle to purchase and use products made from recycled materials.
Paper
Paper is as old as we can remember, that it face out might leads to a change in cultural ethnocentrism yet the trend of our lifestyle is, gradually, tending towards a paperless society.
Before you throw that piece of paper in the trash, consider how many trees you could save by sending those papers to a local recycling plant. The advantages of recycling paper go far beyond saving trees.
Every day, humans use paper to do one thing or the other. From your offices, to the money you use for transactions, packaging used to wrap what you bought, book and newspaper you read etc.
Research conducted revealed that to produce 80, 000 sheets of paper or 2, 700 copies of a 35-page paper, a tree whole tree measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet—or 128 cubic feet is needed.
(*Data from Browning Ferris website)
Most are about 1 foot in diameter and 60 feet tall. Ignoring taper, that's about 81,430 cubic inches of wood:
pi * radius2 * length = volume
3.14 * 62 * (60 * 12) = 81,430
3.14 * 62 * (60 * 12) = 81,430
Recycling paper to the tune of 1 ton saves 17 trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 360 gallons of water and 60 pounds of air pollutants. Not all, the decision to recycle uses 60 percent less energy than fresh timber. According to Browning-Ferris Industries, if everyone in the United States recycled 10 percent of their newspapers, 25 million trees would be saved each year.
In some instances, recycling services are cheaper than trash-disposal services. Recycling paper saves landfill space and reduces the amount of pollution in the air from incineration. Businesses can promote a positive company and community image by starting and maintaining a paper-recycling program.
In Africa, recycling programme can yield thousands of jobs for teeming unemployment groups, the opportunities are endless.
So, before throwing that piece of paper in the trash, consider how many trees you could save by starting a recycling program in your home or office.
Surrogate of wood-based furniture with plastic
Wood makes fine sleek furniture but better and more complex designs are emerging with plastic furniture.
For the obvious reason that trees naturally reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, protecting the forest should be of more priority to everyone. The want of wood for everything has eroded the natural forest's functions. The end result which is now evidence in the sahel plain of West Africa to the Horn of Africa in the east.
The furniture industry has been primarily relying on natural supply of wood for it consumption which involves hacking down trees thus reducing forest cover, rendering animals itinerant, giving room to erosions and so on. However, research have indicated that plastic furniture is a more robust way of manufacturing office and home furniture with a future tendency of recycling of same for further production of other plastic products.
Wood furniture or plastic furniture?
Wood has been a standard building material for centuries, however, some basic truth is that wood deteriorates, it cracks, rots, splinters and prone to mildew and mold. As an organic matter, wood serve as a breeding ground for bacteria and a hearty meal for the termites and other insects. From an environmental standpoint, wood cannot be recycled and it continuous production leads to deforestation and global warming.
Plastic furniture
Plastic furniture is environmentally sustainable, durability, and consumer friendly. In addition to being environmental friendly, plastic furniture are 100 percent recyclable. No trees are destroyed to manufacture this product, and it releases no toxic chemicals or greenhouse gases into the environment.
In half a century, your recycled plastic furniture will look as good as new with no maintenance or replacement needed.
With the growing treat of climate change becoming more pronounced, what are the moves of Ministries of Environments in protecting the forest, reducing waste through encouragement of recycling?
Gas flaring: Whatever happened to Land Fill Treatment
Nigeria loses enormous revenue and is faced with the threats of environmental pollution and unequal degradation. In an effort to stop gas flaring in Nigeria, a liquefied natural gas plant was established at Bonny in Rivers State by the federal government and multi-transnational oil and gas corporations operating in the country to promote the export of natural gas, utilization and to discourage zero gas flaring.
Gas flaring not only wastes a potentially valuable source of energy (natural gas), it also add significant carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Moreover, flaring combustion is typically incomplete, leasing substantial amounts of dirt and carbon monoxide, which contribute to air pollution problems.
Basil Omiyi, external Relations Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria on the reason why the company has been compelled by a combination of historical, economic, and geographical factors to flare gas said lack of appropriate reservoirs conducive for gas re-injection/ storage and the economies of doing so, huge cost of developing major and inter-connecting network of gas pipelines, low technological and industrial base for energy consumption in the country, limited regional and international gas market among others are the reasons for the continuous flaring of natural gas in the country.
Today, arrays of technologies to capture or use associated natural gas as viable alternatives to flaring are not exploited. With this, gas can be re-injected, which will boost oil production.
While this is going on, it is a depressing story to know that most Nigerian villages lack electricity.
In 2008, approximately 10% of Chevron's global crude oil operations were in Nigeria. In 2009 Chevron produced on average 225,000 barrels of crude oil and 48 million ft3 of natural gas a day in Nigeria and flared about 84% of its gas in 2008 pushing Nigeria to No.2 among top ten countries in the world.
Russia (26%), Nigeria (11%), Iran (8%), Iraq (7%), Algeria (4%), Angola (3%), Kazakhstan (3%), Libya (3%), Saudi Arabia (3%) and Venezuela (2%)
Although flaring and venting of natural gas from oil and gas wells has declined by three-quarters in absolute terms since it peak in the 1970 of approximately 110 million metric tons/year and now accounts for 0.5% of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, landfill gas utilization is a more better way to achieve optimum use of the gas.
Landfill gas can be converted to high-Btu gas by reducing its carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen content. The high-Btu gas can be piped into existing natural gas pipelines or in the form of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) or LNG (Liquid Natural Gas). CNG and LNG can be used on site to power hauling trucks or equipment or sold commercially.
Landfill gas utilization is a process of gathering, processing, and treating the gas to produce electricity, heat, fuels, and various chemical compounds.
The World Bank estimates that over 134 billion cubic metres of natural gas are flared or vented annually, an amount equivalent to more than 20 percent of the United States' gas consumption or 33 percent of the European Union's gas consumption per year.
Atmospheric contaminants from gas flaring include oxides of Nitrogen, Carbon and Sulphur (NOx, CO2, CO, SOx), particulate matter, hydrocarbons and ash, photochemical oxidants, and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). The flares also contribute to acid rain, which, apart from corroding corrugated aluminum roofs, acidify the soil, thereby causing soil fertility loss and damaging crops.
In cassava, flare contamination had resulted in decrease in length, weight, starch, protein and ascorbic acid content while okra plants and palm trees around flaring sites do not flower, and therefore, do not bring forth fruit.
This trend is a direct treat to agricultural produce in areas of flaring which might leads to agricultural activities in such areas to be reduced to a very minimal degree thereby constituting a major source of food challenge on local demand or national, if such area is a major agricultural producing area.
Food challenges, diseases will ultimately result in massive rural-urban drift hence pushing vibrant youths into a world of unknown. The world will be robbed of great potentials with many becoming criminals while other fulfills less of their potentials.
Ironically, the brightly lit flame from the burning funnel serve as light source for communities at night whereas the same flared gas could be use to power electricity in their homes, we can do better than flaring natural gas in the back yards of people that could really use a low cost source of reliable energy
Afforestation
The importance of afforestation cannot be overemphasized. It will help in addressing the environmental and socioeconomic problems in the Sahel region of West Africa country, it provides shelter as well as windbreak in the region, it also prevent desert encroachment by stabilizing the soil and reducing the speed of winds as well as increasing crop yield in the region; afforestation make marginal lands more arable.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and exit oxygen. It is therefore a common knowledge that continuous deforestation will increase the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere thereby contributing to global warming. Large scale afforestation could successfully absorb the CO2 generated by the burning of the fossil fuels, coal and oil.
A better approach would be to tackle this problem at its roots: reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and prevent deforestation of our natural forests. Fossil fuel combustion and deforestation together account for the majority of man-made CO2 releases.
As the sun of that February descend later in the day, I looked back at the destructions, bodies deposited at the Lagos state University teaching hospital and what will be of Nigeria when the hurricane season eventually becomes an integral part of our natural occurrence.
abiodunodedeyi@gmail.com
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.
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