The issue of Waste Management is relevant to everyone.

Have you checked your garbage lately? Are you aware that you are throwing away many materials that could be saved? If we did simple things like reusing glass, we could reduce our community landfill sites.

Wastes are substances that have no further economic use. If disposed off in land, water, or air, they are potentially harmful to humans and the environment. Wastes include solid waste (litter, household garbage), liquid wastes (sewage), and air pollutants (greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide).

Waste cannot be simply thrown away anymore, now it must be managed. Managing our trash is the “in thing”, though it is hardly convenient. Most wastes take a long time to break down. For instance, plastic bags take up to 20 years.

Today, more people are in favour of companies who invest in “green products”. As a result, industries are manufacturing most of their Christmas cards out of recycled paper, since it takes 20 trees to make a ton of it.

Dumping wastes in the manner we are doing now is something, which is ecologically unstable and must be dealt with.

Improper treatment of human waste and sewage is a major cause of environmental and health concern. Apart from being an eyesore that devalues the surrounding environment, improper treatment and disposal of waste leads to the release of toxins into the environment. These toxins are a direct threat to human health because they can contaminate surface and ground water.

Also, improper waste treatment and disposal leads to loss of important resources, which could be recycled and reused instead of exploiting resources and depleting the natural environment.

Moreover, some improper ways of treating waste such as burning can lead to the release of greenhouse gases, which have resulted in global warming and other climatic changes.

On the other hand, improper treatment and disposal of animal waste causes serious water pollution problems, which in turn affect human health and aquatic life.

Compared to several years ago, people have begun to see that there is a problem.

And we must address it now to save our world.

Therefore, it is necessary to stress the fact that solid waste management is a public policy of considerable importance.

https://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/a-report-on-waste-management-fOA1tcyb

https://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/an-introduction-to-the-improper-treatment-of-human-waste-and-sewage-KYJE4bIh

Trump to Sign Executive Order Undoing Obama’s Clean Power Plan

A hazard is something which is known to cause harm. It is a source of danger to the health.

Thus, environmental hazard is a broad term used in defining occurrence such as earthquake, and pollution. These occurrences are brought about by natural forces on the earth surface and human activities.

Environmental hazards can be a gradual or slow process. It can also be as sudden and swift as earthquakes, lightening etc.

Environmental hazards can also have global dimensions such as global warming and depletion of the ozone layer which can be man-made or naturally occurring.

Man-made hazards are hazards resulting from human activities such as bush burning, land degradation, etc.

Natural hazards are elements of circumstances in the natural environment that have the potential to cause harm to people or property.

Environmental hazards pose a number of threats to humans and the environment, some relatively minor but others very severe.

An environmental (natural) hazard only becomes a disaster when it affects people, and disrupts their daily functioning.  This causes deaths, physical damage to buildings, and long-term economic damage.

It is usually the poor that are hit hardest by these disasters, and they would normally have no access to formal insurance mechanism to protect the few assets they have.

Many poor countries are less prepared because they lack proper preventive measures.

The divide between richer and poorer countries will only increase unless countries work together to share ideas and support each other.  Financial support is essential but it is not the only support needed. Preventing these hazards should be more important.

Environmental hazards are natural processes so they cannot be stopped. Nonetheless, their frequency and severity can be certainly minimized through appropriate measures.

Better understanding of such processes can help people manage hazards.

Some of the vital steps required to prevent environmental hazards include: afforestation, restricting development of projects in hazardous areas, restraining indiscriminate mining, etc.

We should count ourselves lucky that Nigeria doesn’t experience these environmental hazards.

http://www.markedbyteachers.com/as-and-a-level/geography/what-is-an-environmental-natural-hazard.html

Afforestation – Protecting Our Forest and Future. The need to preserve our forest to improve the quality of trees has become more important than ever. In Nigeria, afforestation is of critical importance, as the whole country has been ravaged by many environmental problems.

Many of our thick forest with valuable trees have been destroyed. People engaging in timber business and bush burning have left our forest empty. With time, there may be empty land with virtually no useful trees.

The trees which are meant to protect us from direct sun rays of ultraviolet radiation are been destroyed on daily basis. And our health is been affected.

Forests are an important component of the environment which plays a significant role in water and soil conservation.

Oxygen, as we all know, is the most important need of our life. We inhale oxygen when we breathe and exhale carbon dioxide. Trees take it and convert it into oxygen again. So the cycle continues.

We get food, fruits, timber and medicines from forests. Paper industry and rubber industry depend on forests. They give shelter to wild animals like lions, tigers, bears, etc.

Without a doubt, forest in Nigeria is being depleted at an alarming rate. Apart from serving as a source of timber, forests are destroyed daily for farming activities. Added to the above, is the destruction of this natural environment for the sitting of industries, residential buildings, and road construction.

When the forests are destroyed, the soil is left bare and as a result exposed to erosion and in some cases, flooding. Therefore, many plant species are lost and the natural home of wildlife destroyed.

Afforestation is, therefore, beneficial to the environment as it addresses environmental degradation, particularly desertification, deforestation, erosion, and flooding as well as reducing the effects of climate change.

Afforestation also forms a background for important developments to take place particularly in land use practices, environment, and natural resources management.

However, the conservation of our forests should not be limited to the government alone. Individuals, private and public firms should adopt the culture of preserving nature’s gift to us bearing in mind that not all countries have such natural resources.

We should all work together to protect and preserve our forests for future generations.

Need To Encourage Afforestation

As we all know, its rainy season in Nigeria and in order to avoid floods, it is important to have effective drainage systems. This will ensure free flow of water during and after heavy downpour.

Drainage systems are constructed to ensure that waste water and sewage is transported neatly to disposal points, thereby keeping the environment well drained and free of waste. The following examples make up a good drainage system; drainage pipes, closed ditches having pipe drains, channels and conduits.

In many parts of Nigeria today, there is a great need for properly managed drainage systems in order to help control surface water runoff.

However, the proper maintenance of road drainage structures is being ignored in many parts of our country.

These days, houses are built without proper planning. Buildings are constructed without proper drainage systems and residents do not help matters either. You find them dumping their waste in gutters, on the streets, to mention a few.

This improper waste disposal clogs the gutters and prevents easy flow of water, causing the gutters to overflow.

After a short period of rainfall, it is common to see flooded streets with litter floating everywhere. Such situations create very unhygienic conditions and contribute to environmental degradation.

Effective Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) should be put in place.

Sustainable Drainage System is a concept that includes long term environmental and social approach to managing drainage.

SUDS prevents water pollution and flooding in the environment. It also creates green spaces and habitat for a better living. Through SUDS, awareness on the importance of a good drainage system is created so that people can know it’s the benefit.

Without doubt, poorly managed drainage systems and poor waste management habits can negatively affect our health and environment. Hence, the need to ensure that we have proper drainage systems around us as the rainy season is here already.

In addition, good drainage system improves the productivity of agricultural soils.

http://russelsmithgroup.com/think-green/how-poor-drainage-destroys-your-environment/

Biodiversity Conservation is an important environmental issue.

Without a proper balance between all life forms and ecosystem, there will be a loss of life forms.

The existence of plants and animals in an environment can be referred to as biodiversity. Simply put the whole set of life forms that exist on this earth.

Biodiversity conservation is essential for existence and basically valuable in its own right. Biodiversity provides fundamental building blocks for many goods and services which a healthy environment provides. Other than the basic needs, it also provides us with recreational, cultural and spiritual nourishment.

Biodiversity is particularly necessary to conserve and protect all life forms from facing a threat of extinction.

Everything in nature has a role to play.

Therefore loss of any might create an imbalance in the environment.

Biodiversity plays a major role in our ecosystem such as replenishing oxygen through photosynthesis, pollination through bees, controlling flood, and soil erosion, nutrient cycling, etc.

In addition, forests play a major role in conserving biodiversity. The climatic condition of a place and the species inhabited by it are regulated by the forests.

Hence, it is important to control the economic activities that are highly inefficient and are threatening the ecological balance on earth.

Resources like forests and wildlife must be conserved at a sustainable rate by taking various approaches to save them.

Thus, it is important to understand the ecological processes like pollination, predation, seed dispersal, etc which allows for interaction between various species of animals and plants.

Biodiversity which is crucial for the well-being of life on earth is coming under threat of many factors related to human activities.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to take action to protect the magnificent biodiversity of our planet. The natural world and its survival are possible only if biodiversity is rightly conserved.

We must work together to take appropriate measures to protect our habitats and species.

http://www.shareyouressays.com/112261/essay-on-biodiversity-conservation

Horticulture impacts our lives on a daily basis. It provides us with nutritious fruits and vegetables, offering visual enjoyment, and promoting recreational activities.

Horticultural production is primarily involved in the intensive use of resources, such as land, water, labour and inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. The use of such resources in a concentrated space has the potential to negatively impact the local environment and worker welfare.

Horticulture is defined as the science and art of growing vegetables, fruits, flowers or ornamental plants.

Flowers and ornamental plants enrich our homes and communities and contribute to our sense of well-being.

Land occupied by the horticultural industry is limited. Thus, to sustain crop productivity, it is essential that we maintain a fertile and productive resource.

Land and soil degradation caused by erosion reduces soil fertility and causes pollution. This, in turn, hinders the biosecurity of future production.

According to Fischer et al. 2007, horticulture and agriculture combined is the largest user of freshwater, accounting for 70% of all blue water withdrawals worldwide.

The environmental impact of horticulture production is entering a cyclical relationship with the impact on horticulture from environmental change.

One of the major ways horticultural producers reduce their impact on the environment is through the adoption of technical solutions. Such as greenhouse technologies.

As greenhouses are accountable for the largest levels of CO2 emissions within horticulture, energy conservation and efficiency must, therefore, be optimized.

Water is a vital resource to horticultural production, but the security of supply across the globe is decreasing.

However, the climate change we are experiencing today is as a result of practices totally outside horticulture.

In future, global warming and the environmental impact on horticultural production may be a major concern than horticulture’s impact on the environment.

In conclusion, the totality of horticulture has an impact on the environment.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264860153_Environmental_Impact_of_Production_Horticulture

In another eight years, Norwegian roads will only have electric-powered cars with zero-emission of dangerous gas and fumes.

As at the end of 2016, Norway already had 100,000 zero-emission cars on the road, as reported on the Norwegian government portal.

By 2025, the report says, all of the cars on Norway’s roads could be electric.

That’s just eight years away — and if the target seems a little ambitious, it should be noted that the country is already well on its way toward this goal’ [read more]…

Trump Signs Executive Order to Roll Back Clean Water Rule

President Donald Trump just signed an executive order to roll back President Barack Obama’s clean water rule. That environmental regulation was issued in 2015 to give the federal government authority to limit pollution in major bodies of water, rivers, streams, and wetlands.

The clean water rule was issued under the Clean Water Act of 1972. The rule gives protection to 60 percent of the US’s bodies of water, including wetlands’ [read more]…

Federal Government Begins Contaminated Soil Centre in Rivers State

There was a sudden change of gear last week, which saw the Federal Government setting up an Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre, in Bori, Rivers State.

The centre, which is located at the Rivers states’ School to Farm site in Bori, marks further steps taken by the federal government towards the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland’ [read more]…

Bayelsa Targets N150m Monthly Revenue From Environmental Sanitation

The Bayelsa Government says it is targeting N150 million monthly revenue from activities of the state environmental sanitation authority.

Mr. Robert Enogha, Chairman, Bayelsa Environmental Sanitation Authority, disclosed this at the inauguration of the state Environmental Authority Enforcement House.

According to Enogha clean environment does a lot of good to human health, therefore, we cannot neglect nature of cleanliness’ [read more]…

Lagos Revamps KAI for Environmental Law Enforcement

The Lagos state government is set to strengten the activities of Kick Agaainst Indiscipline (KAI), an agency set up to safeguard the environment.

The development is part of the measure to implement the environmental management and protection law recently passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said the agency would monitor and maintain surveillance on the high ways, streets, markets, and motor parks. This is to ensure that the state gets rid of activities that may cause harm to the environment’ [read more]…

Bees are some of the world’s hardest working creatures, and humans have a variety of things to thank these little insects for. They provide great services to the farming community and the environment.

Honeybees are perhaps the most important pollinator operating in the agricultural industry.

Pollination is, basically, transferring grains of pollen from one plant to another, to fertilize the ovaries of flowers.

While some plants rely on wind to provide pollination, some are self-pollinating. But most flowering plants need the services of natural pollinators, such as honeybees, to do the work.

Honeybees are so important as pollinators that many farmers will pay beekeepers to have hives located on their land.

In addition to the benefits that honeybees provide to the agricultural industry, they also provide similar pollination services to wild plants and flowers.

Many of our trees benefit from the pollination services of honeybees, which helps to preserve and multiply our natural forests.

A good pollination system is part of a healthy eco-system. Thus, the value of bees aside from the simple production of honey cannot be overemphasized.

Honey – Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

What you may not know is that honey is an important source of natural food energy. Honey can provide energy on its own or combined with other healthy foods. Honey is an excellent source of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. The benefits of honey go beyond natural energy and great taste.
Experts in sports nutrition have said honey may be one of the most effective forms of carbohydrate to ingest just prior to exercise since it is easily digested and released into the body at a steady rate for use during exercise.

Research has also shown that consuming honey after a workout helps muscles to recuperate.

Honey heals

Honey is an effective, natural disinfectant that inhibits the growth of certain bacteria, yeast and mould and can help prevent scarring.

On minor skin injuries, honey’s natural ability to draw moisture from the air promotes healing and helps keep the injured area from sticking to the bandage.

http://www.beemaid.com/bees-and-the-environment

Globally, 3 billion people rely on solid fuels to cook, causing serious environmental and health issues which affects women and children. Every year, smoke inhalation from these fires and indoor air pollution kills over 4 million people and sickens many others.

The Wonderbag was developed to ease the social, economic and environmental impacts of these circumstances by providing them with a simple cooking device.

Wonderbag is a simple but revolutionary, non-electric heat retention cooker. It continues to cook food that has been brought to the boil by conventional methods/on a stove or fire for up to 12 hours without the use of additional electricity or heat.

There is no smoke inhalation especially for those that make use of firewood and charcoal.

Cooking in the wonderbag keeps the moisture inside your food, and nutrients don’t boil away promoting healthy food.

Wonderbag uses less water, food doesn’t burn and neither should you or your family.

Please note:before placing the pot into the wonderbag, make sure you use the right size of pot for the amount of food you wish to cook. Use only copper, steel, aluminium, enamelled cast iron, cast iron and glassware pots.

If you use cast iron, clay or ceramic, you must put a stand under the pot (inside the bag) to avoid damaging the fabric from the heat of the bag.

In addition, do not place lukewarm food in the wonderbag.

Wonderbag is cost effective and good for the environment.

It doubles up as a cooler box, to keep your groceries cold and frozen.

Note: salt your meat a day in advance of cooking to get the meat tender and moist.

Pre-cook your beans in the Wonderbag. Do not put salt into your pre-soaked dried beans until after they have completed cooking. Only open your Wonderbag when you are ready to serve to avoid losing any heat.

Below is a video to show you how it works and please follow the link for more details.

http://www.wonderbagworld.com/