DROUGHTS IN SOMALIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE

DROUGHTS IN SOMALIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The image of their faces linger as they slip away one after the other they were never given a chance to be who they should be, never knowing how life is suppose to be if hunger and famine hadn’t come knocking on their doors, snatching them away without respite taking away precious lives-this is the story of the Somali child ,some will never be told, some cut short even before they had a chance to begin, children that will never play in the rain or know the worries of adulthood just because our climate says otherwise.

How many more stories are we cutting short? How many more live do we have to part with? How many more live have to pay the price for the effect of climate change, how many lives are we cutting short by every tree we cut down? These are the questions that remains, these questions beg for answers each day, hoping that someday answers will come before we blow out the fire in the future generation before they have the chance to be kindled…..

Let’s fight for a sustainable environment for the future generation.

Follow on twitter@ greenernaija……….

Olaleye Taiwo

For:greenernaija

DROUGHTS IN SOMALIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE

DROUGHTS IN SOMALIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The image of their faces linger as they slip away one after the other they were never given a chance to be who they should be, never knowing how life is suppose to be if hunger and famine hadn’t come knocking on their doors, snatching them away without respite taking away precious lives-this is the story of the Somali child ,some will never be told, some cut short even before they had a chance to begin, children that will never play in the rain or know the worries of adulthood just because our climate says otherwise.

How many more stories are we cutting short? How many more live do we have to part with? How many more live have to pay the price for the effect of climate change, how many lives are we cutting short by every tree we cut down? These are the questions that remains, these questions beg for answers each day, hoping that someday answers will come before we blow out the fire in the future generation before they have the chance to be kindled…..

Let’s fight for a sustainable environment for the future generation.

Follow on twitter@ greenernaija……….

Olaleye Taiwo

For:greenernaija

HIKE IN THE COST OF KEROSENE AND GLOBAL WARMING

HIKE IN THE COST OF KEROSENE AND GLOBAL WARMING

The recent hike in the cost of kerosene has resulted in the use of firewood for cooking by Nigerians, therefore increasing the level of carbon in the atmosphere and at the same time reducing the number of trees, this trend has been on-going for a while now, without the government showing any serious concern on how this affects the populace in general.

The Lagos state government’s tree planting campaign and efforts towards reforestation is an initiative that should be emulated by other state governments, stakeholders should make it a priority to empower the populace, tackle poverty and remain sensitive to the plight of Nigerians, when it is impossible for an average Nigerian to afford kerosene, he/she look for an alternative, leading to the use of fire wood.

Trees are known to shrink carbon dioxide a major greenhouse gas, causing global warming, trees help to absorb excess carbon in the environment ,as a result the usefulness of trees cannot be overemphasized In our environment, especially with the recent flooding in Lagos, tree felling for domestic and commercial purposes should be discouraged in order to sustain our environment, statistics shows that between 1990 and 2005 Nigeria has lost over 79% of its forest, giving Nigeria the highest level of deforestation in the world.

The recent flooding is Lagos should serve has a warning for all stakeholder in Nigeria that the cumulative effect of their policies might not be immediate but in the long run it might be destructive, they might not consider that the hike in price of Kerosene might trigger more demand for firewood and thereby increase global warming.

The environment is already endangered as it is, let not make it worse, let’s protect our environment. Follow us on:@greenernaija

Olaleye Taiwo

FOR: Greenernaija

LAGOS FLOODING

LAGOS FLOODING! IS NATURE FIGHTING BACK?

Sunday the 10^th of July 2011 started with light rain showers, with nothing to be worried or concerned about, unknowingly Lagosians will have a lot to deal with, the rains came down heavily and the impact on lives and properties of Nigerians is still yet to be ascertain, for those that have lost their loved ones, life might not be the same again, then I ask myself what if the rain on Sunday had fallen on a week day, how many lives would have been lost?

We should not endanger our lives and the lives of those coming after us all in the name of urbanization, houses have been built on the canals, making it impossible for the water to flow when it rains, even the so called developed areas in Lagos like victoria Island and Ikoyi often referred to “as the most expensive slum in the world”, these places were completely overtaken by the flood overflowing from the Atlantic Ocean and Lagoon. Most of the residents don’t care about the state of their drainages when it rains they bring out their expensive jeeps, lets pray the flood doesn’t get to a stage where even a jeep can’t withstand.

This brings us once again to that issue of climate change, the sea level has risen and more rain is being predicted, we need to start fighting climate change before it is too late, Its time to take action, its time to face the problem heads-on, its time to limit our activities to those that will sustain our environment, we have to bear in mind that the future of the future generation lies in the hands of the present generation.

I see Lagos as a city with a sustainable environment, free from the effect of climate change, with citizens sensitive enough to protect their environment from harm. Spread the word; follow us on twitter @greenernaija

Taiwo Olaleye

For: greenernaija

LAGOS FLOODING

LAGOS FLOODING! IS NATURE FIGHTING BACK?

Sunday the 10^th of July 2011 started with light rain showers, with nothing to be worried or concerned about, unknowingly Lagosians will have a lot to deal with, the rains came down heavily and the impact on lives and properties of Nigerians is still yet to be ascertain, for those that have lost their loved ones, life might not be the same again, then I ask myself what if the rain on Sunday had fallen on a week day, how many lives would have been lost?

We should not endanger our lives and the lives of those coming after us all in the name of urbanization, houses have been built on the canals, making it impossible for the water to flow when it rains, even the so called developed areas in Lagos like victoria Island and Ikoyi often referred to “as the most expensive slum in the world”, these places were completely overtaken by the flood overflowing from the Atlantic Ocean and Lagoon. Most of the residents don’t care about the state of their drainages when it rains they bring out their expensive jeeps, lets pray the flood doesn’t get to a stage where even a jeep can’t withstand.

This brings us once again to that issue of climate change, the sea level has risen and more rain is being predicted, we need to start fighting climate change before it is too late, Its time to take action, its time to face the problem heads-on, its time to limit our activities to those that will sustain our environment, we have to bear in mind that the future of the future generation lies in the hands of the present generation.

I see Lagos as a city with a sustainable environment, free from the effect of climate change, with citizens sensitive enough to protect their environment from harm. Spread the word; follow us on twitter @greenernaija

Taiwo Olaleye

For: greenernaija

CHOICE WE HAVE TO MAKE TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING

PLANT A TREE

DON'T WASTE WATER

RECYCLE

LIVE CLOSER TO WORK

TAKE A BICYCLE OR TAKE A WALK TO SHORTER DISTANCES

As individuals what choice do we have to make to fight global warming?

It is no longer news that we have been experiencing more rains and the weather gets drier and unpredictable, more rainfall, storms, flooding is predicted, violent storms that draw their force from warm ocean water, are likely to become more serious, some African countries (Nigeria included)are faced with droughts making it impossible for plants to grow in such areas.

The wealthier countries can afford to move their population to higher grounds;while poor nations might be faced with simply have to abandon their habitation especially if it is a low lying coastal area,as ice sheets is melting someanimals in the artic like the polar bear are forced into extinction,for instance the highest mountain in Africa, have lost 82 percent of their ice since 1912 and are estimated to be gone completely by 2020 (Microsoft Encarta).

Olaleye Taiwo

For-greenernaija