Environment
AN Environmentalist, Mr Adewole Taiwo, has urged Nigerians to show more sensitivity toward issues arising from climate change so as to mitigate its effects on the country’s ecology.
Taiwo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.
The environmentalist said the climate change impact on the environment was getting more glaring daily and there was the need to proactive about it.
“The impact of climate change is getting visible every day. We have even started seeing it all from the flooding and excess rainfall we are currently witnessing.
“The effects of climate change is something we can see physically. We have it on TV and through various social media to show that climate change is real; it is not hearsay.
“Every aspect of our lives would be affected in areas like health, our habitats, and even food security if we do not mitigate the effects of climate change on our environment.
“We need to do more as a country to mitigate the effects of climate change on our environment.
“There is a need to switch over to clean and renewable energy and also educate people on not blocking the drainages to allow easy flow of water and to discontinue illegal structures disturbing flow of water,” the environmentalist said.
Taiwo also called for enlisting young people in the fight against climate change impacts, through proffering innovative ideas and solutions to the issues.
He called for a stop to indiscriminate burning of refuse and waste matters to stop the depletion of the ozone layer.
“The youths can be involved to help curb the effects of climate change through innovation-proffering solutions in solving climate change related issues.
“They could also be involved in the campaign against climate change. Youth involvement is very paramount when it comes to sustainability and climate change issues.
“For the layman on the street, he needs to know that the rain is not falling as usual; the sun is not shinning as usual anymore. Everything is now in excess and damaging the environment.
“We can no longer breathe in fresh air again or drink clean water and this in turn will lead to increase in health-related issues because the excess rainfall leads to flood and a lot of sicknesses, especially in the low income area where sanitation is the problem,’’ Taiwo said.
According to him, the indiscriminate burning of refuse and waste substances is worst of them all in contributing to climate change effects.
“The burning of waste releases toxins into the environment and this greatly impact on our health. When burning the waste, the immediate surrounding is polluted as it depletes the ozone layer,” he said.
NAN
– Jul. 6, 2020 @ 13:15 GMT |
Tags: Environmentalist urges Nigerians to show more sensitivity toward climate change
