Do you know most of the health problems occur due to unhygienic conditions at home? Unclean floor, kitchen, bathrooms, lavatories house colonies of microorganisms responsible to cause health ailments in living beings.
Simply keeping all hygiene keeps lot of health diseases at bay making family members as fit as a fiddle. And not only this, a clean home catches everyone's eyes. Nevertheless, it is seen that most of the times, housewives miss to keep an eye on the stock of green house cleaning kits and hence, they compromise with hygiene. A lot of green home clean product suppliers are available on the market that delivers cleaning supplies on time. Availability of green house clean material ensures that your house is all fit and fine!
When it comes to health, there is no compromise and hence, green house cleaning products are all the rage these days. You must understand that the health does not come by guess and by golly as hygiene and other precautionary measurements play vital role. You can get trustable green cleanser suppliers delivering the goods in time. Whether you want cleaning material for glass care, carpet care, floor care, kitchen laundry bath, all-purpose cleaning, spray bottles, everything is available in time! All you need is just to order it online or call the suppliers about what product you want and where it is to be shipped. You get all your cart's goods at doorstep without any hassles.
Today, there is awareness about hygiene and cleanliness is aboveboard and hence, people are quite cautious about choosing an appropriate green cleansing product. On the other hand, there are plenty of green cleaning products' suppliers that claim to have genuine material but ultimately turn to be gimmick. You, as a buyer, should pick cleaning products with extra care as you are dealing with your own hygiene.
You can compare the prices of green clean products and as word-of-mouth has spread, you can get genuine suppliers for green cleaning products those are quite reliable and exclusive. The customer care and support is what, after purchase, one has to look for and choosing trustable cleaning suppliers takes off all these worries. The best thing about choosing genuine environmentally responsible (green) product providers is once you are satisfied you got the right thing to stick with. For the lifetime, you can bank upon such trustworthy suppliers for getting genuine green clean products.
No matter what precaution you take about your health otherwise, hygiene can be considered as the most important matter that you can get using green cleaning products for houses and offices.
Jansax Green Suppliers are green cleaning suppliers who deliver goods in time without any hassles. All you need is just to call or order online and get genuine cleaning products at your doorsteps.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Eco Friendly Houses - What Is A Green Building?
What is a green building and why should you care? Why are people building efficient green homes? What is the number one reason for the increased demand for eco friendly houses? The answers may surprise you!
What is a Green Building? A green building (the noun) is a building that has been specifically designed to save energy, promote healthy indoor air and have much less impact on the environment.
Green building (the verb) is mainly a construction term used to describe whole house system design and techniques that use eco friendly, or green building, materials and components.
The following terms are pretty much interchangeable when talking about houses: eco friendly houses, eco friendly home, eco home, eco house, green house, green building a house, green home designs, or building efficient green homes.
Here are some great examples of using green materials for the home:
1. recycled glass counter tops - stylish and eco friendly
2. bamboo flooring - grows quickly (sustainable) with durability comparable to hardwood
3. eco friendly furniture - made from sustainable or recycled materials, or certified wood
4. tankless water heaters - water is heated on demand, saving energy
5. low flow shower heads and LED faucets that turn on and off automatically
6. energy saving appliances and light fixtures
7. renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power
Why are people building efficient green homes? Why eco friendly houses? As I mentioned, the answer may surprise you. Most people think the number one reason to "go green" is for the environment or to save energy...but, according to a recent survey done by the folks at Building Green TV and RCLCO, the number one reason people are building eco friendly houses is for health reasons! In fact, a full 42% of those surveyed replied that health was the number one reason to build a green home. Only 17% said they would be motivated by energy savings, and only 12% for the environment!
What do eco friendly houses have to do with health? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the list below contains just some of the things that may be causing your family health problems inside your home:
Radon, Environmental Tobacco Smoke, Biologicals, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Organic Gases, Respirable Particles, Formaldehyde, Pesticides, Asbestos, Lead, and Chlorine.
In fact, the EPA estimates that the pollution levels inside your home could be 3-70 times the outdoor pollution levels in major cities - yuk!
Makes you want to open a window now, doesn't it?
Want to know more about eco friendly houses?
I've just completed my brand new guide, 'Secrets to Creating a Healthy, Eco-Friendly Home'.
download it free here: eco friendly houses [http://www.ecohomesecrets.com/ezinearticles1s.html]
Isabella R. Green is a full time internet publisher, writing articles and ebooks that help people create eco friendly houses.
What is a Green Building? A green building (the noun) is a building that has been specifically designed to save energy, promote healthy indoor air and have much less impact on the environment.
Green building (the verb) is mainly a construction term used to describe whole house system design and techniques that use eco friendly, or green building, materials and components.
The following terms are pretty much interchangeable when talking about houses: eco friendly houses, eco friendly home, eco home, eco house, green house, green building a house, green home designs, or building efficient green homes.
Here are some great examples of using green materials for the home:
1. recycled glass counter tops - stylish and eco friendly
2. bamboo flooring - grows quickly (sustainable) with durability comparable to hardwood
3. eco friendly furniture - made from sustainable or recycled materials, or certified wood
4. tankless water heaters - water is heated on demand, saving energy
5. low flow shower heads and LED faucets that turn on and off automatically
6. energy saving appliances and light fixtures
7. renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power
Why are people building efficient green homes? Why eco friendly houses? As I mentioned, the answer may surprise you. Most people think the number one reason to "go green" is for the environment or to save energy...but, according to a recent survey done by the folks at Building Green TV and RCLCO, the number one reason people are building eco friendly houses is for health reasons! In fact, a full 42% of those surveyed replied that health was the number one reason to build a green home. Only 17% said they would be motivated by energy savings, and only 12% for the environment!
What do eco friendly houses have to do with health? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the list below contains just some of the things that may be causing your family health problems inside your home:
Radon, Environmental Tobacco Smoke, Biologicals, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Organic Gases, Respirable Particles, Formaldehyde, Pesticides, Asbestos, Lead, and Chlorine.
In fact, the EPA estimates that the pollution levels inside your home could be 3-70 times the outdoor pollution levels in major cities - yuk!
Makes you want to open a window now, doesn't it?
Want to know more about eco friendly houses?
I've just completed my brand new guide, 'Secrets to Creating a Healthy, Eco-Friendly Home'.
download it free here: eco friendly houses [http://www.ecohomesecrets.com/ezinearticles1s.html]
Isabella R. Green is a full time internet publisher, writing articles and ebooks that help people create eco friendly houses.
Green Houses, Green Thumbs - How Do You Get Started With Your Own Small Garden Today?
If you are an aspiring gardener, want to be one, or even don't know where to get started with gardening there is a fabulous place you can go to practice. Your yard. Now before you leave I want you to know that even if your yard isn't the ideal place to garden, it can be with less work than you may think. With today's technology gardening is a very simple hobby to take up even if you think you have a green thumb.
Years ago if you wanted to garden year round you had to erect a large glass structure that was venerable to breakage, wind, age, and the list goes on. But today you can buy your own greenhouse in a multitude of sizes from a very small 26"x30" for less than $40 to a very large size that would cover acres. But if you're a budding gardener, you will probably want to start with the small variety of greenhouses.
Today's greenhouses can help you live out the dream of being more green in a very real way. Because they are UV resistant and waterproof, they don't break down with the elements. They stay in great shape for years. Wind can be a problem but with today's greenhouses they are even rated to withstand very high wind speeds. The durability of these structures is much better than their counterparts of years gone by.
Greenhouses are not only available in different sizes but also to fit into a variety of uses. You can get greenhouses that cover a row of seedlings to protect them from the elements of an early frost, birds, or insects, you can get portable greenhouses that allow you to take your seedlings from the house or patio to the sunshine and then back into their protected environment at sunset. There are even larger greenhouse that you can use over a plot of ground that will extend your growing season substantially and still protecting your crop from the insects and birds that want to share with you.
Now that you know you can expand your gardening season from early in the spring until late in the fall there really isn't any reason you should wait any longer to get started. So make a list of your favorite fruits, vegetables, flowers and anything else you think you want to garden and get started.
Years ago if you wanted to garden year round you had to erect a large glass structure that was venerable to breakage, wind, age, and the list goes on. But today you can buy your own greenhouse in a multitude of sizes from a very small 26"x30" for less than $40 to a very large size that would cover acres. But if you're a budding gardener, you will probably want to start with the small variety of greenhouses.
Today's greenhouses can help you live out the dream of being more green in a very real way. Because they are UV resistant and waterproof, they don't break down with the elements. They stay in great shape for years. Wind can be a problem but with today's greenhouses they are even rated to withstand very high wind speeds. The durability of these structures is much better than their counterparts of years gone by.
Greenhouses are not only available in different sizes but also to fit into a variety of uses. You can get greenhouses that cover a row of seedlings to protect them from the elements of an early frost, birds, or insects, you can get portable greenhouses that allow you to take your seedlings from the house or patio to the sunshine and then back into their protected environment at sunset. There are even larger greenhouse that you can use over a plot of ground that will extend your growing season substantially and still protecting your crop from the insects and birds that want to share with you.
Now that you know you can expand your gardening season from early in the spring until late in the fall there really isn't any reason you should wait any longer to get started. So make a list of your favorite fruits, vegetables, flowers and anything else you think you want to garden and get started.
Green House Gases and Their Effects on Our Planet
Green house gases, are they as big of a problem as people say? People who know little about green house gases, truly are not aware how its effecting our earth, so hopefully this information clears some of this up, and will show you how serious this problem is actually is.
For 2.5 million years, the earths climate has constantly been changing, from our ice ages to warmer years, but in the last century our climate's temperature has been rising unusually fast, from about 1.3 to 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists believe that it is our own human activity, thats driving the temperature up, and this process is called " global warming".
Dating back to the times when the industrial revolution began, factories, trains, and eventually cars, have burned fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which were and still are, releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide, and other gas's into our earths atmosphere. These green house gases, or trapped heat near the surface of the earth, are formed by a natural process of the sun, and this is called the " greenhouse effect". The green house effect, begins with the sun and the energy it radiates to the earth. The Earth and the atmosphere absorb some of this energy, and the rest is radiated back into space. Now with that being said, these naturally occurring gases, in the atmosphere trap some of this energy and reflect it back, thus, warming the earth. Scientists now believe that the green house effect is getting intensified by all the extra green house gases that humans are releasing.
Signs of global warming, include a recent pattern of very warm years. 1998 was one of the warmest years in history, with 2005, a quick runner up. Furthermore, readings taken from ice core samples, Show that green house gas's, C02, and methane, have hit there highest levels in 420,000 years, and our sea ice is also shrinking.Our sea ice has declined 10% in the last 30 years.
As long as our nations around the globe, consume these energy's, and increase their fuel consumption, the overall mass of green house gas's will continue to rise. Researchers predict that our temperature will increase by 2 - 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. What is uncertain is what rising temperatures,will mean for our planet. Some forecast rising sea levels which of coarse would mean floods, along coastal areas around the world. Weather patterns are changing also, making hurricanes more frequent, severe drought is more common in warm areas, and species which are unable to adapt to this change will face a huge drop in numbers and inevitably, extinction.
For 2.5 million years, the earths climate has constantly been changing, from our ice ages to warmer years, but in the last century our climate's temperature has been rising unusually fast, from about 1.3 to 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists believe that it is our own human activity, thats driving the temperature up, and this process is called " global warming".
Dating back to the times when the industrial revolution began, factories, trains, and eventually cars, have burned fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which were and still are, releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide, and other gas's into our earths atmosphere. These green house gases, or trapped heat near the surface of the earth, are formed by a natural process of the sun, and this is called the " greenhouse effect". The green house effect, begins with the sun and the energy it radiates to the earth. The Earth and the atmosphere absorb some of this energy, and the rest is radiated back into space. Now with that being said, these naturally occurring gases, in the atmosphere trap some of this energy and reflect it back, thus, warming the earth. Scientists now believe that the green house effect is getting intensified by all the extra green house gases that humans are releasing.
Signs of global warming, include a recent pattern of very warm years. 1998 was one of the warmest years in history, with 2005, a quick runner up. Furthermore, readings taken from ice core samples, Show that green house gas's, C02, and methane, have hit there highest levels in 420,000 years, and our sea ice is also shrinking.Our sea ice has declined 10% in the last 30 years.
As long as our nations around the globe, consume these energy's, and increase their fuel consumption, the overall mass of green house gas's will continue to rise. Researchers predict that our temperature will increase by 2 - 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. What is uncertain is what rising temperatures,will mean for our planet. Some forecast rising sea levels which of coarse would mean floods, along coastal areas around the world. Weather patterns are changing also, making hurricanes more frequent, severe drought is more common in warm areas, and species which are unable to adapt to this change will face a huge drop in numbers and inevitably, extinction.
Benefits of an Eco Friendly Home - Tips to Keep a Green House
There are lots of things that we can do to have an eco friendly home. It is quite easy and the whole family can pitch in and have fun while doing so. In this way, your family and household will become proactive in keeping our planet a safer place to live in.
By having an eco friendly home, we can save more from paying too much on electric bills and cut down some our grocery list. We can start doing this by conserving water. Water is one of the most used commodities in any household. The supply of water all throughout the world is dwindling at an alarming rate. We can do our part to conserve by using our bath water for flushing the toilet or watering our gardens. This is called gray water. You will need to set up a special pipe for your washing machine to save that water for the garden. We can also collect rain water and boil it, then we have more water for drinking and cooking.
Conserving energy at our homes can make it more eco friendly. Although solar power is the best option right now, the problem is that it is quite costly to set up. What we can do to limit our energy consumption at home. We can do this by turning off the lights when we leave a room. Remove unused charger from the electrical socket. We can also limit fuel consumption by walking short distance or riding the bike. This can also be good for our health.
One of the best ways to make our homes more environmentally friendly is to recycle. Most homes all over the globe produces huge amount of garbage that can contributes to our overflowing landfills. Everyday tons of garbage is being disposed of. We can remedy this problem by recycling some of our wastes. It can be turned into fertilizers to make our plants healthier. Glass bottles can be used for storage or we can fashion it into something that will be a great addition to our home decors. There are lots of things that we can do to recycle items that we usually throw.
By having an eco friendly home, we can not only help save the planet but also save extra needed money for the family. Encourage your kids to share your green ways. In this way you will be greening the world by teaching it to others.
By having an eco friendly home, we can save more from paying too much on electric bills and cut down some our grocery list. We can start doing this by conserving water. Water is one of the most used commodities in any household. The supply of water all throughout the world is dwindling at an alarming rate. We can do our part to conserve by using our bath water for flushing the toilet or watering our gardens. This is called gray water. You will need to set up a special pipe for your washing machine to save that water for the garden. We can also collect rain water and boil it, then we have more water for drinking and cooking.
Conserving energy at our homes can make it more eco friendly. Although solar power is the best option right now, the problem is that it is quite costly to set up. What we can do to limit our energy consumption at home. We can do this by turning off the lights when we leave a room. Remove unused charger from the electrical socket. We can also limit fuel consumption by walking short distance or riding the bike. This can also be good for our health.
One of the best ways to make our homes more environmentally friendly is to recycle. Most homes all over the globe produces huge amount of garbage that can contributes to our overflowing landfills. Everyday tons of garbage is being disposed of. We can remedy this problem by recycling some of our wastes. It can be turned into fertilizers to make our plants healthier. Glass bottles can be used for storage or we can fashion it into something that will be a great addition to our home decors. There are lots of things that we can do to recycle items that we usually throw.
By having an eco friendly home, we can not only help save the planet but also save extra needed money for the family. Encourage your kids to share your green ways. In this way you will be greening the world by teaching it to others.
How to Build a Green-house
As with garden sheds, there are two ways to build a greenhouse: you can either buy the sheets of glass and the frame and do it yourself, or you can hire a professional. However, building a greenhouse can be a lot harder than building a garden shed, which is why even experienced DIY enthusiasts might want to think about calling in some professional help.
The main reason greenhouses are difficult to build is the material that they're made from: glass. If you drop glass or install it wrongly, it will shatter, meaning that any mistakes you make will start to get expensive fast. Would you put in your own windows? If not, you probably shouldn't be building a greenhouse. If greenhouses are built incorrectly, not only is it dangerous, but it is unlikely that any of your plants will actually grow properly. Also, it is very difficult to build greenhouses when the sun is shining, as you will get very hot - it's easier to do it in the winter or the night, but then those are hardly ideal building conditions either.
It can also be complicated to install the necessary irrigation and air circulation systems that a greenhouse needs to function well, although this is less of a problem in a small greenhouse.
If you are going to hire a professional to either build your greenhouse for you or help you, however, make sure that they have the relevant certification and qualifications. Because glass is such a dangerous material, you should steer clear of anyone who seems confident but inexperienced, and only hire someone who knows what they're doing, even if it is at a relatively high price. If you're having trouble finding someone, contact the company that sold you the greenhouse originally, as they should have a list of registered installers in your area.
The main reason greenhouses are difficult to build is the material that they're made from: glass. If you drop glass or install it wrongly, it will shatter, meaning that any mistakes you make will start to get expensive fast. Would you put in your own windows? If not, you probably shouldn't be building a greenhouse. If greenhouses are built incorrectly, not only is it dangerous, but it is unlikely that any of your plants will actually grow properly. Also, it is very difficult to build greenhouses when the sun is shining, as you will get very hot - it's easier to do it in the winter or the night, but then those are hardly ideal building conditions either.
It can also be complicated to install the necessary irrigation and air circulation systems that a greenhouse needs to function well, although this is less of a problem in a small greenhouse.
If you are going to hire a professional to either build your greenhouse for you or help you, however, make sure that they have the relevant certification and qualifications. Because glass is such a dangerous material, you should steer clear of anyone who seems confident but inexperienced, and only hire someone who knows what they're doing, even if it is at a relatively high price. If you're having trouble finding someone, contact the company that sold you the greenhouse originally, as they should have a list of registered installers in your area.
Contemporary Issues in Green House Gases Emission and Climate Change
Introduction
The recent increase in the levels of Green House Gases (GHGs) and incidents of subsequent climate change disasters has become a major global issue. The present concern about the green house effects began with the realization that human activities are upsetting the natural balance by increasing the amount of CO2 and similar gases in the atmosphere. All heat retaining gases are referring to as GHGs. They are CO, CO2, CH4, O3, NOx etcetera. Global warming occurs whenever the levels of these gases in the atmosphere increase or much of deadly ultraviolet ray escapes from the sun into the surface the earth when ozone layer in the atmosphere is depleted.
In essence, all factors that contribute to GHGs production and emission are directly related to human population and their activities. The production also involves individual house hold, communities, and national and international societies, in general. When the human population was very small, the quantities of these gases were far below the threshold limits and effects were hardly felt. However, the sporadic growth in world population in the eighteen century and the current dispensation- of up to 20 billion has definitely increased atmospheric level of CO2 and the associate gases. What is particularly worrisome is the total absence of national plan for reporting and controlling the level of GHGs in Nigera, as in many other developing countries at the moment.
Causes
The causes of GHGs in the environment range from human respiration to major activities performed to sustain and maintain livelihood. For instance, every living creature contributes CO2 into the atmosphere through respiration. Farming, transportation, industrialization, urbanization, as well as economical growth and development are another major cause GHG emission. In addition to this, the causes due to civilization and changes in cultural practices cannot be undermined. The number of vehicles on the roads increases at alarming rate. The fact is that more and more CO and CO2 gases are produced by vehicles during traffic hold up on urban highways. Consider how long such hold ups persist in most African countries where everybody wants to move in his or her own car on the very narrow and usually un-motorable roads. With power outage and erratic supply of electricity in the country, the use of generator and electric power plants of different sizes compounds the problem further.
Many things that God created as natural defensive mechanisms to remove the excess GHGs are constantly being removed by man as he struggles to make advance in technology at an alarming rate. In many cases, big trees that are supposed to reduce the level of CO2 in the environment are cleared during major developmental projects like building, road construction, and, oil exploration and exploitation exercises. Unchecked deforestation has promoted the avoidable desertification of green lands especially in Africa. Desert is now moving from arid to savannah land at jet speed! The impacts of aero planes and ultra-modern jets on GHGs production on air cannot be overemphasized. Poor management of mountain heaps of refuse especially in urban cities, including, open burning, uncontrolled incineration, sea dumping are potential source of environmental pollution and GHGs generation. Studies have showed that abattoir wastes including carcass, blood, and animal dung and so on, if not properly managed, can produce GHGs in a manner that can pose treat to public health. The advent of sophisticated weapons, including nuclear and atomic bombs and their use during the civil wars and those that were used in the recent military attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq cannot be dissociated from current GHG effects in the world.
Effects
No doubt, excess GHGs in environment lead to global warming and this leads to climate change. Climate change has brought loss of rainfall (as much as 30%) in some areas of the world with corresponding problems to agriculture, food supplying, drought, soil nature, drinking water supply and so on. On the other hand, other areas in the universe have gained up to 60% in annual rainfall. Environmental catastrophes like heavy storm, hurricane, flooding, agricultural losses, earthquake and other public health problems are rave of the moment. In this case, any country that depends on one crop or agricultural produce as a foreign exchange earner may face serious economic problem at soonest future. Global warming brings increase in temperature of oceans, leading to melting of ice in Polar Regions and flooding being experienced in some parts of the world. Coastal areas of economic importance are eroded while water that could have meant for drinking is contaminated as a result of salination.
In 1982, Ogunpa flood claimed several lives and destroyed properties worth million of naira. Also in 1989, in Sudan, 200m of rain fell in less than 24hrs and more than a million people were rendered homeless. The incidents go on and on. In contrast to this, in 1990, portion of Uruguay and Argetina remained dried for 12 years, leading to failure in agriculture. The cluster of islands that make up Samoa, and the neighbouring US territory of American Samoa, appear to have been worst hit- Samoan villages destroyed as magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes between islands. Other countries with perceived climate change impacts include: New Zealand, Japan, and Australia. Threatened by starvation, and agricultural losses, large numbers of people are now being forced to move within and between countries of the world. The UK and Netherlands, together with the World Bank, has just announced funding of up to £3 million (Euro 4 million) for a new research study that would support developing countries to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Control Steps taken in the Past and Action Planning for GHGs Reduction in Nigeria
Before it became a global issue, the problems associated to GHG on the environment had earlier on been felt in the developed countries of the world. Then, the efforts made by these countries to control the menace of GHG in their regions included: disposing of fairly used materials to developing countries. These include smoky vehicles, refrigerators that produced chloro fluoro carbons (CFCs), air-conditioners, television, computers and many other out-dated electronic gadgets. In Nigerian context, these are popularly tagged as 'TOKUNBO'. At the same time, government of these countries introduced mass car transit like long buses and trains to reduce number of individual cars that plied their roads and therefore minimize the vehicular emission of CO, CO2 and other GHGs. Because of poverty and ignorance that ravaged in most African countries, some shipping companies connived with government of advanced countries to dump containerized toxic wastes in some African countries. This action was considered inhuman and condemned environmental conscious people through out the world. Then, who can adequately estimate the quantity of toxic wastes that might have been dumped in ocean and major water ways in the universe by these perpetrators?
To be straight forward, the global efforts to reduce and control the amount of GHGs generated in the world have been focused more on industrialization and economic growth; the impacts of culture and other aspects are being undermined. The strategy to reduce green house gases should be holistic. All the contributive factors and human activities should be treated with equal attention, using up-down and bottom-up approaches. The cultural activities that contribute to GHGs emission should be replaced by those ones that prevent them. Nature building and conservation should be encouraged. Researches should be funded to investigate new territory for heat and light energies generation through solar, wind and hydro-electric power development. Vehicular emission can be reduced by recycling crankcase ventilation air into the engine or changing the properties of gasoline and redesigning the engines. Conflicts and miss-understandings at both local and international scenes should be settled through bargaining and constructive dialogue at United Nation forum instead of going into warfare. Wastes of all natures, both hazardous and non-hazardous, should be properly managed in environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. In fact, if properly managed, methane gas can be produced from organic fraction of waste stream. The use of charcoal and firewood in making fire for domestic cooking can be replaced by energy produced from wastes. Also, in African countries, mass transit buses should be encouraged to reduce vehicular emissions.
Finally, there is no anticipation that level of GHGs generation and their consequences can be reversed unless quick and holistic steps are taken world-widely. One practical step that can be taken in Nigeria is to design an action planning at community level. At each local government area there wards. Each ward should have a programme for environmental management and protection, whereby people would be trained on proper waste management strategies like composting. Those people would also be trained on how to plant trees and flowers within the courtyard of every compound, inter-compound open space, districts, community market squares and along pedestrian and vehicular routes. This singular act will check GHGs emissions and purified atmospheric air. To be well coordinated and effective, the programme can be put under the Department of Community Development Inspectorate at each local council. At the end of the year, there would be competition organized by the three tiers of Government (Local, State and Federal), whereby the most environmentally beautiful ward, council and state will be compensated. The compensation can be in terms of money or developmental projects like bridge, cinema and television viewing centres, roads, in case of wards. The earlier this planning arises the interests of concerned policy formulator and stake holders; the better it becomes for this country and the world, in general.
The recent increase in the levels of Green House Gases (GHGs) and incidents of subsequent climate change disasters has become a major global issue. The present concern about the green house effects began with the realization that human activities are upsetting the natural balance by increasing the amount of CO2 and similar gases in the atmosphere. All heat retaining gases are referring to as GHGs. They are CO, CO2, CH4, O3, NOx etcetera. Global warming occurs whenever the levels of these gases in the atmosphere increase or much of deadly ultraviolet ray escapes from the sun into the surface the earth when ozone layer in the atmosphere is depleted.
In essence, all factors that contribute to GHGs production and emission are directly related to human population and their activities. The production also involves individual house hold, communities, and national and international societies, in general. When the human population was very small, the quantities of these gases were far below the threshold limits and effects were hardly felt. However, the sporadic growth in world population in the eighteen century and the current dispensation- of up to 20 billion has definitely increased atmospheric level of CO2 and the associate gases. What is particularly worrisome is the total absence of national plan for reporting and controlling the level of GHGs in Nigera, as in many other developing countries at the moment.
Causes
The causes of GHGs in the environment range from human respiration to major activities performed to sustain and maintain livelihood. For instance, every living creature contributes CO2 into the atmosphere through respiration. Farming, transportation, industrialization, urbanization, as well as economical growth and development are another major cause GHG emission. In addition to this, the causes due to civilization and changes in cultural practices cannot be undermined. The number of vehicles on the roads increases at alarming rate. The fact is that more and more CO and CO2 gases are produced by vehicles during traffic hold up on urban highways. Consider how long such hold ups persist in most African countries where everybody wants to move in his or her own car on the very narrow and usually un-motorable roads. With power outage and erratic supply of electricity in the country, the use of generator and electric power plants of different sizes compounds the problem further.
Many things that God created as natural defensive mechanisms to remove the excess GHGs are constantly being removed by man as he struggles to make advance in technology at an alarming rate. In many cases, big trees that are supposed to reduce the level of CO2 in the environment are cleared during major developmental projects like building, road construction, and, oil exploration and exploitation exercises. Unchecked deforestation has promoted the avoidable desertification of green lands especially in Africa. Desert is now moving from arid to savannah land at jet speed! The impacts of aero planes and ultra-modern jets on GHGs production on air cannot be overemphasized. Poor management of mountain heaps of refuse especially in urban cities, including, open burning, uncontrolled incineration, sea dumping are potential source of environmental pollution and GHGs generation. Studies have showed that abattoir wastes including carcass, blood, and animal dung and so on, if not properly managed, can produce GHGs in a manner that can pose treat to public health. The advent of sophisticated weapons, including nuclear and atomic bombs and their use during the civil wars and those that were used in the recent military attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq cannot be dissociated from current GHG effects in the world.
Effects
No doubt, excess GHGs in environment lead to global warming and this leads to climate change. Climate change has brought loss of rainfall (as much as 30%) in some areas of the world with corresponding problems to agriculture, food supplying, drought, soil nature, drinking water supply and so on. On the other hand, other areas in the universe have gained up to 60% in annual rainfall. Environmental catastrophes like heavy storm, hurricane, flooding, agricultural losses, earthquake and other public health problems are rave of the moment. In this case, any country that depends on one crop or agricultural produce as a foreign exchange earner may face serious economic problem at soonest future. Global warming brings increase in temperature of oceans, leading to melting of ice in Polar Regions and flooding being experienced in some parts of the world. Coastal areas of economic importance are eroded while water that could have meant for drinking is contaminated as a result of salination.
In 1982, Ogunpa flood claimed several lives and destroyed properties worth million of naira. Also in 1989, in Sudan, 200m of rain fell in less than 24hrs and more than a million people were rendered homeless. The incidents go on and on. In contrast to this, in 1990, portion of Uruguay and Argetina remained dried for 12 years, leading to failure in agriculture. The cluster of islands that make up Samoa, and the neighbouring US territory of American Samoa, appear to have been worst hit- Samoan villages destroyed as magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes between islands. Other countries with perceived climate change impacts include: New Zealand, Japan, and Australia. Threatened by starvation, and agricultural losses, large numbers of people are now being forced to move within and between countries of the world. The UK and Netherlands, together with the World Bank, has just announced funding of up to £3 million (Euro 4 million) for a new research study that would support developing countries to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Control Steps taken in the Past and Action Planning for GHGs Reduction in Nigeria
Before it became a global issue, the problems associated to GHG on the environment had earlier on been felt in the developed countries of the world. Then, the efforts made by these countries to control the menace of GHG in their regions included: disposing of fairly used materials to developing countries. These include smoky vehicles, refrigerators that produced chloro fluoro carbons (CFCs), air-conditioners, television, computers and many other out-dated electronic gadgets. In Nigerian context, these are popularly tagged as 'TOKUNBO'. At the same time, government of these countries introduced mass car transit like long buses and trains to reduce number of individual cars that plied their roads and therefore minimize the vehicular emission of CO, CO2 and other GHGs. Because of poverty and ignorance that ravaged in most African countries, some shipping companies connived with government of advanced countries to dump containerized toxic wastes in some African countries. This action was considered inhuman and condemned environmental conscious people through out the world. Then, who can adequately estimate the quantity of toxic wastes that might have been dumped in ocean and major water ways in the universe by these perpetrators?
To be straight forward, the global efforts to reduce and control the amount of GHGs generated in the world have been focused more on industrialization and economic growth; the impacts of culture and other aspects are being undermined. The strategy to reduce green house gases should be holistic. All the contributive factors and human activities should be treated with equal attention, using up-down and bottom-up approaches. The cultural activities that contribute to GHGs emission should be replaced by those ones that prevent them. Nature building and conservation should be encouraged. Researches should be funded to investigate new territory for heat and light energies generation through solar, wind and hydro-electric power development. Vehicular emission can be reduced by recycling crankcase ventilation air into the engine or changing the properties of gasoline and redesigning the engines. Conflicts and miss-understandings at both local and international scenes should be settled through bargaining and constructive dialogue at United Nation forum instead of going into warfare. Wastes of all natures, both hazardous and non-hazardous, should be properly managed in environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. In fact, if properly managed, methane gas can be produced from organic fraction of waste stream. The use of charcoal and firewood in making fire for domestic cooking can be replaced by energy produced from wastes. Also, in African countries, mass transit buses should be encouraged to reduce vehicular emissions.
Finally, there is no anticipation that level of GHGs generation and their consequences can be reversed unless quick and holistic steps are taken world-widely. One practical step that can be taken in Nigeria is to design an action planning at community level. At each local government area there wards. Each ward should have a programme for environmental management and protection, whereby people would be trained on proper waste management strategies like composting. Those people would also be trained on how to plant trees and flowers within the courtyard of every compound, inter-compound open space, districts, community market squares and along pedestrian and vehicular routes. This singular act will check GHGs emissions and purified atmospheric air. To be well coordinated and effective, the programme can be put under the Department of Community Development Inspectorate at each local council. At the end of the year, there would be competition organized by the three tiers of Government (Local, State and Federal), whereby the most environmentally beautiful ward, council and state will be compensated. The compensation can be in terms of money or developmental projects like bridge, cinema and television viewing centres, roads, in case of wards. The earlier this planning arises the interests of concerned policy formulator and stake holders; the better it becomes for this country and the world, in general.
How to Take Your Living to the Next Level - Affordable Green Housing
If the 20th century was stigmatized by the 2 world's wars, the new warrior of the 21st century, that makes waves in the world's front-line trenches, is Greenpeace, according to the NZ Herald. Since green is the new global color, the affordable housing concept was also forced to improve. So the affordable green housing concept kicked in and brought to the table a completely new design for people with a small budget.
It's crucial that the affordable green housing projects must posses a healthy environment for the people to rely on it. The process of building involves using construction materials, adhesives that are not harmful for the human body and also a proper insulation that reduces the cost of the energy bills with nearly 17 percent according to the Enterprise Community Partners studies.
This is one of the many green communities backed up by The Big Boys such as Natural Resources Defense Council and U.S. Green Building Council,. This building site was finished in less than 5 years since the starting date in 2004 and managed to shuffle the feet of a tremendous number of people by moving in 8500 brand new green houses.
Two of the major key terms of the global self help movement that was blooming in the last century are abundance and wealth, therefore the affordable green housing vendors exploits these concepts very well in their offer addressed to people like me and you.
A thing that caught my eye was that the new building sites are placed more close to the existing communities and therefore we have prize money from the distance travels savings. Besides the gratifying reductions to the energy costs, the water cut off can be brought up to 50% by using recycled water. We succeed a few jumps to the next level with the help of the compact fluorescent lamps, the solar water pre-heaters and also plumbing fixtures with high performance.
Some of the risky problems, commonly featured among the children who were living in those old affordable houses, were finger-pointing the high percent of lead from blood and asthma, a 40 percent rate according to some studies. Nowadays, this percent was blast off because of the restricted legislation against substances like lead.
The complete mastery improved feature for the new houses is the uses of recycled content material and by doing this we are fortune that the forest is no longer obligated to pay the price. The Forest Stewardship Council Commit has clear standards regarding the wood products used and that materials must cover a 25 percent by the total cost.
It's crucial that the affordable green housing projects must posses a healthy environment for the people to rely on it. The process of building involves using construction materials, adhesives that are not harmful for the human body and also a proper insulation that reduces the cost of the energy bills with nearly 17 percent according to the Enterprise Community Partners studies.
This is one of the many green communities backed up by The Big Boys such as Natural Resources Defense Council and U.S. Green Building Council,. This building site was finished in less than 5 years since the starting date in 2004 and managed to shuffle the feet of a tremendous number of people by moving in 8500 brand new green houses.
Two of the major key terms of the global self help movement that was blooming in the last century are abundance and wealth, therefore the affordable green housing vendors exploits these concepts very well in their offer addressed to people like me and you.
A thing that caught my eye was that the new building sites are placed more close to the existing communities and therefore we have prize money from the distance travels savings. Besides the gratifying reductions to the energy costs, the water cut off can be brought up to 50% by using recycled water. We succeed a few jumps to the next level with the help of the compact fluorescent lamps, the solar water pre-heaters and also plumbing fixtures with high performance.
Some of the risky problems, commonly featured among the children who were living in those old affordable houses, were finger-pointing the high percent of lead from blood and asthma, a 40 percent rate according to some studies. Nowadays, this percent was blast off because of the restricted legislation against substances like lead.
The complete mastery improved feature for the new houses is the uses of recycled content material and by doing this we are fortune that the forest is no longer obligated to pay the price. The Forest Stewardship Council Commit has clear standards regarding the wood products used and that materials must cover a 25 percent by the total cost.
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