The Global Environmental Development Platform

  The average rainfall of the plains of Europe is 57.4 centimeters per year. In the mountainous regions, it is over 125 centimeters. Also along the western slope of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, the precipitation is abundant, reaching a total of about 340 centimeters a year in localities. While the interior of the United States, it is much lighter with a record of sometimes 40 centimeters a year in some states. The rainiest regions of the world are probably the lower slopes of the Himalayas. The village of Cherapunji in India, south of the main body of the Himalayas has an annual average rainfall of about 1,082 centimeters. A record breaking twelve month rainfall of 2,646.12 centimeters occurred at Cherapunji from August 1860-July 1861. Also, in August 1841, no less than 3,800 centimeters of rain fell in a five day period is the equivalent of almost four years of rain fall in the state of New York .  The heavy rainfall in the tropics is due not so much as to conden...

On a hot summer day, a town, city or region is warmed by the rays of the sun. The temperature of the air over this town, city or region rises above the surrounding countryside. The warm air rises and its place is taken by cooler air. The cooler air is warmed in its turn. Gradually, the rising air gets cooler. Finally, it reaches the saturation point. The water vapor in the air then condenses and a cloud is formed.  When the clouds are full of condensed #water vapour, the sky fills with #clouds, which become heavier and darker. Soon after, drops of #rain come splashing down on the ground and #trees, and buildings. If the weather is really cold, snow or a mixture of snow and rain called #sleet, falls instead. At other times, the #moisture may freeze completely to form pellets or even balls of #ice called hail. The process described above is known as #precipitation. Rain, #snow, sleet and hail are various forms of precipitation-liquid or solid #water coming from high in the #atmospher...

 In Africa, right now the sun is really high up in the sky and the weather is getting unbearably hot as we have entered the dry season. It’s amazing how on one side of the planet it could be so hot and at the same time, on the other side of the planet it can be terribly cold.  Anyway, there is an abundance of radiant energy or solar heat coming from the sun right at this moment streaming through the atmosphere and heating the earth’s surface thereby increasing atmospheric temperatures. This solar energy is a renewable energy resource and can be classified as a source of green energy.  Now, what is solar energy? Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants and artificial photosynthesis. So, in other words, solar energy is created using energy which has been generated by the sun.  Solar energy is a renewabl...

  Every good government and subsequently good governance will ultimately end up in peace, progress, prosperity, advancement and finally development of the people and society at large. Regardless of the type of rule the government is based upon, the fact remains that a leader who is unselfish and considerate, who refuses to be enticed by frivolous and profligate measures and pleasures, and the immediate need to gratify them at the expense of the welfare of  his subjects, will run the affairs of the state with equity and justice. In such cases, development in all ramifications of the society will be inevitable and attainable. This will be achievable because there is a balance in the dispensation of power, authority and justice. Social and economic transformation leads to socio-economic development. Economically, wealth and natural resources are evenly distributed and equally fair. Scenarios where leaders of countries especially in Africa ‘stash away’ heavy amount of cash running...

The development of a society, country or nation means that there is a balance in all facets of society, integrated to ensure transformation and sustainable growth. Government on the other hand, is a term which broadly understood means the ordering of a group or community by a central organization or it may refer to central organization itself. Thus, we may speak of a government of a club, private association or a church as well as the government or state or bodies politic. But when narrowed to its political meaning, government refers to the management or administration of the state. And for the purpose of this blog post, we would look at it from this angle.  The findings of anthropology suggest that the origins of the governments are tribal and monarchic. Primitive societies are generally based on familial relationships and authority is often times execised either by a man who is a patriarch or by a woman,  who is a matriarch, recognized by the others as the leader. Until the ...

 Countries with the largest economies and consumer patterns in the world today, often have the most serious solid wastes problem. Household refuse, commercial rubbish, industrial wastes and contraction debris total more than 700,000 metric tonnes daily in the United States alone.  Among the major methods of solid wastes disposal are open dumps, sanitary landfills, incineration, ocean dumping, feeding garbage to swine and composting. Seepage  of rain water through these wastes in dump and land fills may result in pollution of underground water. Incineration pollutes the air. Ocean dumping damages ecosystems in parts of the sea over a lengthy period of time, and the African environment is characterized by the above mentioned. In smaller towns and cities in most developing countries in the continent, you can find on every street and even along the roads, solid wastes litters. A lot of people just dump household refuse and solid wastes directly on the streets and even on the ...

  The next category of pollution we are going to be looking at or considering this time around is land misuse and land pollution. A lot of  current environmental problems have been caused or aggravated by the careless use of land and natural resources.  Overgrazing Of ranch-land has led to erosion. Draining and dredging wetlands has also led to the disappearance of coastal wildlife. Dams which are structures erected to obstruct the flow of water solely for the purpose of generating electricity prevents rivers from carrying sediments to the ocean and as a result beaches are disappearing and are being degraded.  In times past, strip mining carried out in the United States has been less expensive, faster and more efficient than underground mining. But this activity has transformed large pacts of land in Pennsylvania, Ohio,Virginia, Kentucky, and other states into a maze of deep pits and huge soil mounds. Once the land has been altered and exposed by strip miners, it is ...