POLICIES TO RECUDE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

This week will shall be focusing on policies which reduce land degradation  and environment pollution.A starting point is realising  that environmental pollution is done at three stages which are:

# Local level
# Regional level
# Global level.

The authorities responsible for responsible for solving them are different at level.

At local level,the local governments deals with cleaning the air,fresh supplies of clean water and the removal of solids wastes  and cleaning the streets etc.

At regional level pollution is mainly caused by automobiles,energy production and heavy industry which are inherent to more prosperous societies.Countries in these regions therefore have a responsible for cleaning their own societies.

The third category of pollution is global and its most consequences to date are the destruction of the strata spherical ozone layer and the green house effect.

Therefore we shall we look at policies that may be used to reduce environment pollution.
#Environment protection policy.
#No regrets policies.
# The polluter pays principle.

USING CITIZEN WATCHDOG TO MONITOR WATER POLLUTION.

In the past weeks we have been talking about pollution and how it affects the environment and human beings.I would like to continue and talk about how human beings can be come responsible and help reduce or combat water pollution.

# Never apply fertilizer near a water body.Always allow a buffer zone of at least 20- 50  metres before applying fertilizer.Studies show that most pollutants found in most contaminated water bodies is fertilizer.


# Pick up pet waste and dispose of it the garbage or toilet .If left on the ground .it eventually washes into water bodies where it contaminates the water.                   


#Replace some of the lawn or grass with trees, shrubs and ground covers, which absorb up to 14 times more precipitation and require little or no fertilizer.Trees also discourage soil erosion 3 times more than grass. Thereby combating water pollution.


#Clean up spilled oil and brake fluid and sweep up sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing them off.

# Citizens should never burn  rubbish especially plastics and  papers as this will cause much pollution to the environments.

LAND POLLUTION

Land pollution is the demolition of earth 's land surface often caused by human activities and their misuse of land resources.It occurs when waste is  not disposed properly.Health  hazards disposal of urban and industrial wastes ,exploitation of  minerals , and improper use of soil by inadequate agricultural practices are some of the factors.In most   African nations land pollution is caused by  uncollected of refuse, burst sewers and illegal gold mining.The use of pesticides and herbicides also greatly contribute to land pollution.



SOLUTIONS TO LAND POLLUTION.
Reuse old stuff and not be quick to dispose.                                                                     
Recycle waste
Illegal miners should be heavily fined or penalised

WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies eg lakes,rivers ,oceans and aquifers.Water pollution occurs when pollutants such as sewage and  industrial chemicals are discharged  directly or indirectly into the water bodies without any adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.

Water pollutants affects plants and organisms living in these water bodies.In most cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species but to the natural biological communities.

THE EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION

Kills living organisms in seas .oceans lakes and rivers.
Unsafe water for human beings
In balance of nature

 SOLUTIONS OF WATER POLLUTION
Dispose of toxins chemicals properly
Clean up beaches and waterways
Make sure sewage is properly disposed and treated well.

story from :www.wikipedia .org

Pollution also called environmental pollution is the addition of any substance,solid ,liquid ,gas or any form of energy to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispered,diluted,decomposed,recycled or stored in some harmles form.The major kinds of pollution are air pollution,water pollution and land pollution.Mordern socities are also concerned about specific types of pollutants ,such as noise pollution,light pollution and even plastic pollution.

Although environment pollution can be caused by natural events such as forest fires and active volcanoes,use of the word pollution usually imples that yhe comminants have an anthropogenic source-that is a source created by human activities.
The presence of environmental pollution raises the issue of pollution control. Great efforts are made to limit the release of harmful substances into the environmentthrough air pollution control,waste water treatment,solid waste manegement and so on.

Stoy from:library .eb.com/eb/article-9109632

Pollution

DROUGHT

Recently I discovered that I had written so much about drought and its effects but never really explained what it was to many readers which I sincerely apologize for.Drought refers to a state whereby there is no enough food because of less rainfall or to much rain.

It has also been noticed hat many nations are facing drought because of climate change.In countries like Zimbabwe which used the bread basket of  Southern Africa are now facing droughts almost every year,this due to shortage of rain.

In Asia ,countries like Bangladesh are also facing drought because of too much rain each season.One of the effects of the due to shortage of rain for a long time is that deserts are formed.


My next article will look at how drought affects us.

ENVIRONMENT AND OGANAZATIONS

On my way to town sometime this week  I was impressed when I saw a Nyaradzo Funeral Service bus with an environmental friendly logo.The logo clearly showed that it supporting tree planting and a carbon free environment.Besides the good publicity and good image being created,the company is also advocating for environment issues which should not be left to environmentalists and companies like Nyaradzo Funeral services only.Supermarkets and grocery shops should also be involved in environmentally friendly campaigns and encourage shoppers to use reusable bags when shopping.This will go a long in way restoring our environment. I hope all companies will heed this call to help restore our environment.

ENVIRONMENT CHANGE AND EMA

The Chronicle of 27th of February had a story which was largely welcomed by environmentalists in Zimbabwe as   milestone in restoring our environment .What was most interesting is the fact that stiff penalties have been put in place for those who will be found on the wrong  side of the law.However I strongly feel that  these stiff penalties should be put in a place after motorists have been educated about the dangers of using of plastic containers.I also think that stiff penalties should put in place for those

*who cut trees in even those in their yards.
*those who are found poaching wild  animals and those who cause veld fires.



google pictures-EMA clean up campaign.

  I would also like to challenge EMA to work in collaborate with the Zimbabwe Republic Police and all City Councils to help restore our environment and reverse climate change.

EMA TAKES ON MOTORISTS

Finally it looks like there is going to be less talking and more action in terms of the environment .Last week the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) announced that it is no longer allowing plastic containers when buying petrol,diesel and paraffin from fuel stations.EMA argues that :

*Dangerous fumes that cause fire escape from plastic containers.
*When it rains everything is transported to rivers and toxins become a threat to marine life,animals and human life that drink the water.


GOOGLE PICTURES-FILLING STATION

 EMA is enforcing statutory instrument 12 of 2007 of Environmental Management Act of Chapter t 20:27 and has promised to educate motorists about the dangers of using plastic containers.It is encouraging motorists to use Jerry cans a  move which did not did go down with motorists.I personally feel that educating motorists about the dangers of using plastic containers  before any stringent measures are taken.

HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS AFFECTING ORDINARY ZIMBABWEAN

Zimbabwe, just like other African countries is suffering more from the impact of global warming showing that poorer countries carry the heaviest burden when it comes to climate change.

A report complied by the meteorological services of Zimbabwe show that weather patterns in Zimbabwe are changing thereby affecting  frequency and severity of rainfall.Droughts and floods are now the order of the day in the country.

The meteorological service(2011) goes on to say temperatures indicate that there is a consistent trend of an increase in the occurrence of  maximum temperature extremes in most areas,the observed rate  of warming  averages  as high as 2.7 degrees Celsius  in most areas and cold day seem to be decreasing at a rate of 14-17 days per century  whereas the number of warm days are increasing.Water resources are dwindling and the evergreen forests  of the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe may be reduced  to seasonal forests.

All this shows the impact of climate change and how climate change affects agricultural productivity and helps in the spread of water borne diseases,outbreaks of fires and increased flooding from sea level.All this is due to climate change.

The Newsday of Wednesday of 22 February 2012 carried an article about how Matebeleland is one of the most affected areas in terms of drought this season.The article went on to say that a lot of people in the region are going to face starvation.However this is not limited to Matebeleland only but to the rest of the country.

GOOGLE  IMAGE

This shows how climate change is affecting everyone especially those in third world counties.

Story taken from NEWSDAY,22 FEBRUARY 2012 and meteorological services of Zimbabwe.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER 2012 ?

Last year South Africa hosted  195 parties(which are binded by the Kyoto Protocol) in the seveneteenth session of  the conference of the parties which took place from the 28th of November to the 9th of December.The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed countries to emission reducation targets and the first commitment period stated in 2008 and ends in 2012.

Some of the major objectives raised were to ensure that the post-2012 agreement  will include the rules in the kyoto protocol.european member states have promised to adhere  to second commitment  of the kyoto protocol.they also promised to close the gigatonne gap which is the difference between  the current ambition level and the required to keep global warming below 2 degrees.

GOGGLE IMAGES.

The question now is will they be able to stick to these objectives since greenhouse emission is still high?What will the post-2012 agreement  bring that will be different from the previous agreement?Unless there is real change,unless all heads of states take this matter seriously we are heading for disaster.The second  commitment of the Kyoto Protocol should include stiff penalties for those countries which do not honor their promises.It should also included  all African states as climate change is affecting everyone.

CLIMATE CHANGE OR BEHAIVOUR CHANGE

What do skinny polar bears,drowned seal puppies, the melting of Kilimanjalo s famous snow, the  floods in Thailand and the heat waves in Russia all have in common?Climate change.It is believed all these signs of climate change which has become the most critical issue in enviroment studies today.All these signs are also believed to  have been caused by humans beings.

Summits have done by the G8,G20 and the most recent one in South Africa,which have all tried to solve this issue.Findings and research have all showed that gases emmited into the atmosphere especially by the developed countries have greatly contributed  to climate change.Countries like china ,usa,germany, uk to mention  a mention have emmensely contributed to climate change.Nations may host summits and enviromentists may protest all they want but as long as these countries do not stop to think about the repercussions of their actions and as long as they keep on chasing the dollar and ignoring  the warnings, we will wake up one day  and realise  we no longer have the enviroment that we have today.However as much as we would like to put all the blame on developing countries,developing countries have also contributed to climate change through uncollected refuse,burst sewer pipes and the cutting down of trees.I truly believe it is not too late to start restoring our beautiful plate.

ENVIROMENT IN AFRICA

Burst sewers,uncollected refuse,electricity outages and persistant water shortages have become the order of the day in most residentical surburbs in many African countries.After watching an episode about rodents in Alexandra township,South Afria on SABC1 s Cutting Edge , I knew my article would not have done any justice if I focused on Zimbabwe only.When it comes to the enviroment African countries are affected the same way despite different economic,political and social standings.Poor management by relevant authorities in many African states have left  the enviroment in a state that will take another million years to restore.What this is all contribiting to is climate change, a topic I will exaplain in detail in my next article