Clean Energy For Cleaner Earth

The modern world in the 21st century needs to jellyroll its old ways and practices that have caused environmental degradation, pollution, global warming, ozone layer depletion culminating in climate change. These ways and practices include greenhouse gases emissions, deforestation which is common in the Third World, air pollution from fossil fuels, desertification, etc; hence the need to embrace cleaner fuel, cleaner energy and cleaner environment.
The Earth is witnessing more natural disasters now than at any period of time occasioned by human factors and natural effects. Deforestation, caused by tree felling without replacement for the purpose of cooking or energy source which is still rampant in developing countries. There is also the melting of glaciers caused by increase in temperature that swells the volume of oceans and seas around the world. Heat wave is now in a greater magnitude in Europe, the Americas and North Africa as recent reports show than at any other time. It also includes the Tsunamis of 2011, especially the one hit Japan and other Islands in Asia, and the Fikushima nuclear disaster with so devastating effect.
The world should not forget in a hurry Hurricane Katrina of 2005 that caused unimaginable catastrophe to the people of USA. There had been some other disasters like typhoons and cyclones affecting the United States and Central America. Only recently, there were wildfires in Canada, the United States and parts of Europe, including Australia. Wildfires also devastated the Amazon forest in Brazil some years ago.
This year, countries like Germany, Belgium and parts of the Netherlands experienced heavy flooding with the water (flood) level reaching very high levels and causing terrible devastation to homes, business, schools, power lines and communication facilities. Also, there has been unusual torrential rainfall coupled with thunder storm/rainstorm leaving in its wake massive destruction of homes and livelihoods in Africa and Asia, particularly South East Asia, West Africa and Latin American countries.
The green house gases emissions which is most common in the advanced countries of the northern hemisphere sometimes described as high income nations, has contributed a lot to ozone layer depletion and global warming. And they are not doing much to cut back emissions level as agreed in the protocols adopted at the World Climate Convention of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Kyoto Climate Convention in Japan and other such conventions.
Declining green vegetation and inadequate forest resource in most of our urban and rural settlements due to urbanisation and massive construction of roads, buildings, dams and power stations and other harmful human activities as deforestation for different purposes have all contributed in no small measure to cause global warming and environmental degradation.
In this millennium, governments all over the world and humans have done much harm to the environment and the ecosystem than any other. Also to be blamed is the global dependence and use of fossil fuel for running the industries, machines and automobiles and to power homes and factories. Added to the above factor is the reluctance or unwillingness of governments to take a more pragmatic approach and action against harmful acts and practices that degrade the environment and pollute the air, atmosphere thereby contributing to ozone later depletion and climate change.
Worthy of mention is the action of the President Barak Obama administration of the United States who took a hard stand and came on heavily on the oil giant British Petroleum (BP) when they polluted the Gulf of Mexico from their negligence. He ordered them to clean up the environment, pay compensation for the damage and to stop all of their operations.
Our ecosystem, marine life, the wetlands, seas, oceans and rivers, the animals, insects, birds, microbes and micro-organisms, including the green vegetation would thrive well and better with cleaner environment. Any wonder the new paradigm is cleaner fuels, cleaner energy and cleaner environment. This new modern technology that has been embraced and put in use by some advanced countries of the world include wind energy, solar energy and gas-powered energy, nuclear energy etc.
The cleaner energy and cleaner fuels (also known as renewable energy) have come to stay and have done so much good to mitigate climate change, ozone layer depletion and global warming. This renewable energy is the energy for the future and the right way for the world to go. Environmental friendliness and respect for the rights of the environment will guarantee cleaner and healthier air/atmosphere with a safer and better ecosystem. Also, the bio-diversity will be preserved.
It was observed by an American scientific journal two decade ago, that ‘a summer heat wave in western Europe killed 15,000 people in France, and it went further to state that, like other extreme climate events … it is expected to become more common’. Furthermore, it was observed that the strongest El Nino in 100 years that made global temperature spike occurred and in 2005 the temperature trend is on an upward rise.
These observations and quotes lend further buttress the reality and fact of global warming and the ozone layer depletion. As opined earlier, solar energy — one of the cleaner fuels and cleaner energy — is energy generated from the sun rays absorbed by a panel of photovoltaic cells and which can generate considerable amount of power when exposed to the sunlight and has capacity to store energy for long use even if there is no sunshine like when it is raining or so. This makes it very suitable for countries in the tropics where there is abundant sunshine all year round.
Also in parts of the world or countries that enjoy sunshine for some parts of the year. This solar energy is clean, safe, convenient, very reliable and environmentally friendly; likewise the wind energy, which is derived from windmills driven by the force of the wind and generates power by the force that drives the turbines to produce electricity. You can have many windmills in a location called wind farm, and their combined force can power a large town or city. Again this energy is clean, convenient, reliable safe and environmentally friendly.
Similarly, nuclear energy which is got from uranium can be used to generate electricity by a nuclear reactor that can power large towns, cities and industries. To generate electricity for peaceful purpose not for military purpose and you would need to get approval from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It is also a clean, reliable, convenient and environmental friendly mode of generating electricity.
Lastly, gas powered energy is another cleaner way and mode of generating power through driving electric motor-turbines by gas energy to produce electricity. This mode of energy and power is very reliable, clean and convenient. Additionally, our environment would be healthier, safer, even life expectancy and longevity in our communities and countries would be enhanced and better livelihoods or our means of sustenance would be guaranteed and protected. Since our ecosystem, atmosphere, seas, oceans, rivers, wetlands, vegetations and forests, animals, insects, and birds sustain life and existence.
There is a strong need to preserve nature, especially our endangered species. Most of these species are already going extinct. But if our forests are allowed to be what they are meant to be, our marine life, lands, microbes and micro-organism would thrive and have a friendly environment and habitat for a more sustainable planet. In Africa, and particularly the Niger Delta where there has been extensive exploration and production of petroleum, the environment has suffered extensive degradation and pollution which has increased global warming and ozone layer depletion. This has led to devastation of livelihoods, marine life and the ecosystem. And it needs proper and adequate remediation.
The world governments, leaders and international organisations must do more to mitigate climate change, ozone layer depletion and global warming. And of course, the Earth would be a better, happier and healthier planet if we go for cleaner fuels, cleaner energy and an environmentally friendlier globe.

By: Samson Ayooso
Ayooso wrote from Port Harcourt.