The Global Environmental Development Platform

In some #African countries where oil is produced on a very large scale, Nigeria, for instance, environmental and human rights activist organizations at non-governmental level have taken the initiative within their framework and capacity to curb and fight against oil spills in water bodies in rural communities, where oil exploration and drilling activities are and have been at its peak. These human rights and non-profit organizations whose actions have been geared towards curbing the excesses of environmental pollution and degradation, have been able to a minute extent ensure clean up of these oil polluted areas, and seek compensation and also reparation for the affected indigenes and defunct communities. Nevertheless, despite these measures adopted in these regions, the gruesome effects of oil #pollution can still be seen and felt. The indigenes have been forced to evacuate and abandon these coastal regions because they can no longer farm their lands for food and fish their rivers for

The first real concern with water pollution came about in the late 19th century. Then, the industrial Revolution at the time brought about an immense growth of towns and cities which resulted in urbanization. The common practice then and which is still seen in many indigenous regions of the developing world like Africa and Asia, was to dump sewage into the nearest stream, and this subsequently turned many rivers into cesspools. Thus, much of the cities’ and towns’ water were drawn from these same rivers and this resulted in great epidemics of cholera, typhoid and other water borne diseases.  London’s history provides a classic example. The sewage level turned the River Thames into a mass of filth, and twenty thousand Londoners died of cholera outbreaks in 1849 and 1853 respectively. Also, at the same time, typhoid epidemics hit many cities in the United States. Circumstantial evidence indicated that these were transmitted through polluted drinking water. But there was no real understa

Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future to meet their needs. Environmental sustainability therefore can be defined as the responsible interaction with the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources which allows for long term environmental quality. Pollution of the environment as can be seen from the impending factors from the previous article I wrote, assumes diverse forms and can be categorized into four major classes which are water pollution, air pollution, land pollution and noise pollution. These however, represent serious potential threats to environmental quality or they show, and convene the problems and complexities of anticipating and avoiding undesirable human impacts on the environment. Water pollution is very dangerous and poses a threat to human, acquatic, animal, and plant life. Several times each day, we turn a handle to produce a flow of clean water. By pressing or turning another ha

Today is #worldenvironmentday. There was #earthday celebrated on April 22 amidst the lockdown brought on by the Covid-19 virus pandemic. Now, we are marking World Environment Day in the midst of another uproar and protest in America and all round the world because of the racist and prejudiced killing of George Floyd, a black man by a white cop and his colleagues who looked on as he brutally took the life of another human being. I wept as I watched the video on Twitter, Instagram and Yahoo News. How can people be so unfeeling to kill and murder just because you are armed and  wearing a uniform ? And worst still, because he is black? I still don’t get it. This is so beyond reasoning, and I would call it what it is....satanic! Anyway, the whole world is arising in protest to the injustice done by a white cop to a black man, a move that should have taken place a long time ago before now as the situation regarding racial discrimination and injustice has eaten so deep into the American sys

Development can be accrued to various factors which include political stability, religious harmony and social integration; cultural development and socio-economic development which stems from a well rounded, and aggressively pursued and diversified economy. Other factors include a well managed, conserved and protected environment. But in cases where a region, city or country is heavily polluted and degraded, even though the economy is developed as a result of industrialization and acute urbanization, there is still a crutch in the ideology of #environmental sustainability. In other words, no matter how well developed a country is, the overall effect of pollution is largely detrimental to the sustainability of her environment. First and foremost, pollution is simply the accumulation of something where it is not wanted. A pollutant may also not be a pollutant if it is where it is wanted, depending on the context in which it is used or it occurs. But in this case, we would look at pollu

Today is Earth Day. It was created in the US by late former democratic Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson and by 1990, Earth day had gone global, heralding a call to millions of people in more than 140 countries to take up environmental issues and turn them into a movement world wide. Like I have said on occasions like this, now is the time to consider our actions as regards the earth we live in and our environment. We should take this time to reflect soberly and be thankful first of all that we have a place we can call home. Let's be thankful also for the air we breathe, the natural environment which includes land, hills, mountains, oceans and seas; rivers, streams and lake. The game reserves and national parks, the list goes on and on. But as we reflect, let’s also remember that the environment and earth is under duress and extreme pressure from the ills of land, air and water pollution and other forms of natural hazards like hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis.  We have seen in

My heart breaks as I continue to hear disturbing news about the rising number of infections and subsequently deaths of people infected with the Corona virus around the world. I sincerely sympathize with people who have lost loved ones to this deadly disease. The severity of the situation hit me today as I stumbled across a short video on instagram showing nurses in ICU in New York, on their knees praying, and crying out to God for mercy, and His divine power to heal those afflicted with this highly infectious disease. My heart broke and my eyes glistened with tears, as I watched this heartbreaking scenario. It then dawned on me that if we don't rise and do something quickly about this pandemic, humanity might become extinct. God forbid! But  what can we do now? I keep wondering.  Yes, its good to wash or sanitize your hands. It's also good to keep your hands away from your face because the gateway to your lungs, where the Corona virus wants to get to, is through your nose or n