By Sochima Eze
Many Nigerians pay little or no attention to this whole ‘saving the environment’ campaign going on around the world, ignorant of the effect that climate change is causing on disaster-prone areas across the world. Every kind of waste has a particular means of disposal, and you must be aware of this. Perhaps it’s high time we said no environmental degradation and yes to environmental sustainability, because Environmental changes can totally save lives. Here’s how:
Love Your Environment This is the first commandment of environmental sustainability. Thus, if you wish to be motivated enough to save your environment, you must learn to love it for all the beauty and abundance of benefits it promises. Managing your environment could be tasking, but the more you get to appreciate its importance, the easier it becomes to manage
Plant Trees Investing in your environment has a multitude of benefits in the long run. Tree planting is not just an activity, it is a brilliant way to invest in your environment. Trees are vital to everyday life; they conserve water, support life on land, provide shelter, and most importantly reduce pollution from carbon. Aesthetically, trees can be used to beautify any kind of environment, as well as help keep it clean and safe.
Conserve Water and Energy Try to cultivate a habit of making use of less water. You can start by learning not to run water while washing plates, and by taking shorter showers at any given time. Water is a very important resource, and we are privileged to have it. Hence, we must avoid using it wastefully as it can cause a lot of damage to our environment, as well as contribute to the rigours associated with circulating potable water.
As for energy conservation, we should endeavour to switch off the light bulbs and as many appliances as possible before leaving the house or office space. If you really want to help your environment, try conserving energy. Additionally, you also get to save on those really pesky electricity bills.
Mitigate Chemical Usage Try to avoid disposing chemicals and chemical waste in the drainages. On a lighter scale, the rate at which this activity pollutes urbanized areas is alarming and dangerous. It becomes even more hazardous as life on land, and below water is threatened on a large scale by chemicals dumped in the ocean by manufacturers, particularly in the area of agriculture.
Proper Waste Disposal A common instance would be the throwing out of waste from car windows in the heavy traffic buildups around Lagos. More often than not we you must come across heaps of used pet bottles, sausage raps, popcorn packs – you mention it. These waste products are not environmentally safe because in most cases they block the drainages leading to flooding. More so, the drainage system serves as an easy link for waste to go into ocean. Recent statistics displayed on the National Geographic website indicate that 18 billion pounds of plastic waste flow into the oceans from coastal regions on a yearly basis – quite a disastrous figure for efforts put into the preservation of marine life, and the provision of safe water.
It is important to educate oneself on environmental issues. Furthermore, you can try to know more about alternative environmental management methods such as recycling, upcycling and downcycling.
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