2016 hottest year ever recorded – scientists say human activity to blame.

2016 was the hottest year ever record, with scientists firmly putting the blame on human activities.

The final data for 2016 was released by three key agencies – the UK Met Office, NASA and NOAA. All in the United States.

Scientific research indicates the world was last this warm about 115,000 years ago. This makes it the first time the planet has experienced such high level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Also in 2016, global warming brought scorching temperatures around the world which resulted in extreme weather conditions.

According to scientist, the effects of climate change on people are coming sooner with more ferocity than expected.

Did you know that about 90% of the warming signal in 2016 was due to rise in greenhouse gas emissions? And scientist expects 2017 to be another extremely hot year.

New data from scientist shows the Earth has now risen about 1.1C above the levels seen before the industrial revolution. This is the time when large-scale fossil fuel burning began.

Note: Industrial Revolution is the era in which machines changed people’s way of life as well as their methods of manufacture. This means that people moved from hand production methods to machines which led to the rise of factory system.

“The wave of record-warm years that we have seen in the 21st century can only be explained by human-caused climate change.” This statement was made by Prof Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.

Furthermore, the effect of human activity on our climate today is no longer subtle, It’s as plain as day. This effects are in form of floods, droughts, storms and wildfires which is really affecting us and our planet.

“While there may be some cost in mitigating climate change, there are already major costs in damages.” Prof Kevin Trenberth, a scientist at the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research made this statement. He estimates that the costs run into tens of billions of dollars a year.

“Yet if sensible approaches are implemented the right way, it will lead to increase in energy efficiency. These approaches include but are not limited to: drastic reduction of carbon emissions and building resilience of the ozone layer.

These methods if well implemented can make it a net gain, not only for the planet but for everyone.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/18/2016-hottest-year-ever-recorded-and-scientists-say-human-activity-to-blame

 

 

For Nigeria to successfully transit to a green economy, there is a need for the enforcement of existing legislations on sustainable environment.

Stakeholders, who spoke at the workshop in Lagos organized by the Community Conservation and Development Initiatives (CCDI) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, were of the view that the problem was not the absence of legislations but their enforcement.

In the workshop, themed: “Environmental and Social Impact Assessment – For the Transition to a Green Economy in Nigeria, participants drawn from the academia, regulators, environmentalists and environmental advocates called for the entrenchment of a culture of sound environment practices across all institutions and sectors in the country.

Describing the Nigeria’s transition to a green economy as achievable, there are however so many areas that need to be leveled out for its realization’ [read more]

NESREA Threatens to Seal Organisations Over Environmental Laws

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has threatened to seal any organization that disobeyed environmental laws and regulations in the country.

The Director-General of the agency, Dr. Lawrence Anukam, gave the warning in Abuja on the 9^th of November 2016 in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said the agency doesn’t just seal firms but that there is a due process so as not to stifle the economic development of any organization.

Organizations should simply follow the rules. If a neighbouring company is complying with the environmental laws and another is not, it will negatively affect the other that is complying as well’ [read more]

Value of Environmental Crimes Rise By 26% In 2015 – UNEP

The United Nations Environment Programme has put the value of the world environmental crimes at between 91 billion dollars and 258 billion dollars in 2015, higher by 26% in 2014.

A joint report published on the 4^th of June 2016 by the UNEP and INTERPOL stated that in 2014, the environmental crimes value ranged from between $70 billion and $213 billion.

The report was released as the world was preparing to mark World Environment Day on the 5^th of June 2016.

The day is set aside by the UN to create awareness on environmental issues.

The report said that there was “rise of environmental crimes” globally.

Therefore, the world needs to come together now to take strong national and international action to bring environmental crime to an end’ [read more]

Kebbi Distributes 13 Motorcycles to Environmental Health Officers

The Kebbi Government has distributed 13 motorcycles to environmental health officers of the Ministry of Environment in the state to improve their service delivery.

The State’s Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Muhammadu Gado, distributed the vehicles in Birnin Kebbi on the 14^th of November 2016.

He said that the aim was to ease the transportation challenges facing the health officers in the discharge of their duties.

He said the state government was doing its best to ensure that the health officers were doing their work effectively in sanitizing the environment from any disease’ [read more]

Anambra to Sanction Landlords, Tenants for Dirty Environment

The Anambra government has directed landlords and tenants to regularly clean their surroundings or be sanctioned.

The Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism, Dr. Uju Nwogu, said in a statement in Awka on the 25^th of September 2015 that the directive became authoritative to ensure a flood-free environment and healthy living.

She said the government was not happy with some individuals disrupting its efforts with their dirty habits, particularly in the urban communities of Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, Ekwulobia and Ihiala’ [read more]

 

‘Trump could be good for the environment’ is no gainsaying as Trump is very keen on bringing more economic growth back to the United States. Also, more industrial activities would be given to companies involved in solving environmental problems such as cleaning up the water supply from fracking water.

Fracking is the process of injecting specialized fluid into rocks, to force them open further so as to extract oil and gas.

The Trump administration might be skeptical on the phenomenon of global warming but the President-elect’s infrastructure policies could have a positive impact on the environment.

Though, he annoyed environmentalist when he appointed a critic as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He made this decision during his November 8 election win which will call for the deregulation of oil exploration. And also, withdrawal from the historic COP21 Paris Agreement that aims to limit the increase in global average temperatures.

The Paris Agreement brings all nations to a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change. “The (Paris) climate change agreement is one of the biggest stories to look out for in few years,”

Notwithstanding, Trump initially said he was going to pull out of the Paris Agreement. He later backtracked on his statement and said that he would keep an “open mind” instead.

However, Trump’s infrastructure expenditure plans to boost domestic growth which will also benefit environmental sector businesses in the United States.

In addition, China has recently become a major supporter of climate change, despite its initial resistance to carbon emissions limits. This makes China self-confident to take on leadership role should the United States withdraw from the international stage.

Most importantly, the United States economy is going to be transformed in terms of power generation and transportation. But if the United States sits on the side-lines, it’s going to miss out on massive opportunities. And this would be the opposite of what Trump is trying to achieve.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/15/trump-could-actually-be-good-for-the-environment.html

Lagos Launches First-Ever ‘Energy Conservation Month

Lagos Launches First-Ever ‘Energy Conservation Month. C40 city Lagos has named October “Energy Conservation Month,” launching this first-of-its-kind initiative to raise awareness on energy usage.

C40 city Lagos is an initiative by the Lagos state Government to enable cities tailor their activities to unique situations. By doing so, come together to use their collective power to access partnership resources, with technical and financial support.

The Lagos State Government’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, in co-operation with the Lagos State Electricity Board (LSEB), developed “Conserve Energy, Save Money” (CESM). This is a campaign that employs step-by-step, do-it-yourself instructions on energy efficiency and conservation improvements to save Lagos citizens money. And also, make the city more energy efficient’ [read more].

Lagos trains 700,000 on energy conservation

Over 700,000 people have been tutored on energy conservation through twitter in Lagos State. The people were taught how to reduce the volume and cost of electricity consumed for growth in the state.

The state Ministry of Energy said the exercise is on-going, in view of the government’s commitment to help residents reduce their energy bills. Thus, live a better and healthier life.

The Lagos State Electricity Board (LSEB), said the development became necessary to save cost, reduce emission of carbon dioxide and live a healthy life.

Hence, the reason for the government’s introduction of Energy Conservation Month’ [read more].

Experts urge Buhari to address appointments in critical agencies in power sector

Challenges facing the power sector may remain unresolved in 2017 unless President Muhammadu Buhari urgently addresses the lingering issues surrounding the appointment of a new chairman and commissioners for Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), power sector.

Government also needs to approve the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading plc (NBET) Bond Issue to address the liquidity challenges in the power sector, or else the sector will find it difficult to overcome its current challenges in 2017′ [read more]

Global energy investment declines to $1.8 trillion

Total investment in the energy sector has decreased from $2 trillion in 2014 to $1.8 trillion in 2015, according to World Energy Investment 2016.

The new yearly report showed that the energy system is experiencing a broad re-orientation toward low-carbon energy and efficiency, but investment in key clean energy technologies needs to be further ramped up to put the world economy on track for climate stabilisation’ [read more]

21 MW of Solar PV for Emerging Market Community Mini-grids Announced Since April

Since April 2016, there has been 21 MW of new solar PV community mini-grid capacity announced in emerging global markets.

The solar and wind mini-grid projects are located in Nepal, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo

The new mini-grid regulations in Nigeria are expected soon to support a goal of bringing electricity to 75 percent of the country by 2020. That goal would require powering 10 million homes at a cost of about $9 billion’ [read more]

 

 

Pyrolysis is a method of gasification that turns waste into energy-rich fuels by heating the waste under controlled conditions.

The process occurs in the absence of oxygen. In general, pyrolysis of carbon-based materials produces gas and liquid products. It then leaves a solid residue richer in carbon content. The solid residue from the pyrolysis process is referred to as char.

Heat transmission is a critical area in the pyrolysis process.

The pyrolysis process requires heat absorption. Therefore, sufficient heat transfer must be provided to meet process heat needs. Pyrolysis can be performed at relatively small scales and at remote locations. This is done to enhance energy density of the biomass resource and reduce transportation and management costs.

Yet the process offers a flexible and attractive method of converting solid biomass into an easily stored and transportable liquid. Biomass pyrolysis produces biochar and bio-oil. It also produces gasses such as methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide.

The efficiency of the pyrolysis process depends on the moisture content of raw materials needed to fuel the machine. Typically, this should be around 10%. So high moisture content produces high levels of water. But at lower levels, the process produces dust instead of oil.

There are 2 categories of the Pyrolysis process – slow pyrolysis or fast pyrolysis

Fast pyrolysis is currently the most widely used pyrolysis system. Slow pyrolysis takes several hours to complete and results in biochar/charcoal as the main product. On the other hand, fast pyrolysis produces 60% bio-oil and takes seconds for complete pyrolysis.

So the first chemical reaction that occurs in the burning of many solid organic fuels is pyrolysis. These organic fuels include wood, cloth, paper, and some kinds of plastic. In a wood fire, the visible flame is a result of gasses released by pyrolysis not the burning of wood.

Pyrolysis occurs when food is exposed to high temperatures in dry environments – roasting, baking, or grilling. It is interesting to know that pyrolysis is the chemical process responsible for the formation of golden-brown crust in food.

Also, in normal cooking, the main food components that undergo pyrolysis are carbohydrates (including sugar, starch, and fiber) and proteins.

In pyrolysis, it is easier to recover more value from waste, but it requires higher capital and higher operational costs.

There are some countries involved in the process of pyrolysis and these include India, Russia, China, Spain, USA, Norway, Australia.

http://www.altenergymag.com/content.php?issue_number=09.02.01&article=pyrolysis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis

 

It is a new dawn, thus, the need to start treating our environment right.

This will in turn, result in a better living for us all. This brings us to the topic ‘importance of organic agriculture in Nigeria’.

We can refer to organic agriculture as “A method of producing quality crops, vegetables, or animals, naturally as opposed to the use of chemical/artificial agricultural inputs”. This method is practiced without harming the environment; the people; the animals as well as other microorganisms living around.

In other words, organic agriculture is “An application of modern eco-friendly farming practices that works in agreement with nature.

There are some olden-day agricultural practices that are still very useful today. And what organic farming does is to apply the very best of these past techniques in combinations with modern knowledge of science and technology.

Farming organically, is a matter of choice.

Therefore, it is advisable to choose the right type of farming, which is beneficial to our health and the environment. For what makes an organic farm, is not its name, but what difference the name makes to its environment.

Furthermore, organic agriculture here implies that the farmer uses real natural means rather than using petro-chemical sprays. Sprays such as artificial hormones; antibiotics, injections; and pesticides in his or her agricultural productions.

These chemicals pollute the rivers and carry various diseases and toxins to humans and to animals that consumes the produce.

One of the greatest ways to use organic farming in solving Nigeria’s agricultural problems is by focusing on agriculture. By doing this, individual families; urban communities inclusive can organically grow their own local foods with their own available resources.

Also, organic agriculture is a very lucrative source of job provision in local communities. This can be achieved by creating awareness on how and why it is best to grow food organically.

Organic agriculture has thus proven to be environmental friendly, as it supports the re-use of farm and house-hold waste products as organic fertilizers.

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pros-and-cons-of-organic-agriculture.php

http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/how-to-solve-nigerias-problems-of-food-through-organic-farming/