How To Reduce The Negative Impact of Energy Consumption On Our Environment.

Imagine riding a horse from Ibadan to Lagos, or even from Lagos to Abuja. That would be stressful and you would have to spend days on the journey instead of hours in a car. Sadly, the ease that vehicles offer also means that the environment takes a hit due to the release of carbon monoxide when fuel is consumed.

In the same way, some activities like deforestation, pollution, overpopulation, and burning fossil fuels (which are required to produce electricity) impact the environment negatively. These activities have led to problems like polluted water, climate change, and poor quality of air, and this makes the production and consumption of energy closely related to environmental issues.

One way of reducing adverse effects on the environment is by making use of energy-efficient products. By doing this, we use less energy to do the same thing and it ultimately leads to less environmental pollution, and lower energy bills.

Take a look at this example: You’re furnishing your home and you’d like to light up each room. You will probably require more than one light bulb per room which will result in a greater energy consumption rate. To avoid consuming more energy than needed, you should go for certified energy-efficient light bulbs that use 70% to 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

Read also: What you need to consider when choosing light bulbs for your home

What are the impacts of energy consumption activities that contribute to environmental pollution?

The following environmental problems are directly related to the consumption and production of energy.

• Climate change
  Greenhouse gas emissions are caused by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, which is how a lot of the world’s electricity is being produced. Just about a quarter of it is produced by solar, wind, and other renewable sources. When greenhouse gasses are emitted, they trap the sun’s heat and this leads to climate change and global warming.
  
  This is evident in Nigeria and can be seen in variable rainfall, increased temperature, flooding, and a rise in sea level.
  
• Improper solid waste disposal
  This can create unsanitary conditions that end up polluting the environment and sometimes cause outbreaks of diseases spread by insects and rodents. I’m pretty sure that we all know places where refuse is dumped indiscriminately around our neighbourhoods. When refuse is disposed of in the ocean (ocean dumping), it tends to deplete the oxygen in the water. This means that marine life will be affected and animals like whales, seals, penguins, and dolphins could die as a result of choking on bottles and other kinds of plastics.
  
• Water pollution
  In addition to oil spillage on the earth, oil spills are no strangers to the waters of communities in Bayelsa State and this affects the people that depend on those bodies of water for their daily activities.
  
• Air pollution
  You may have heard in the news these past months about Port-Harcourt being covered in black soot due to the illegal refining of crude oil. Unfortunately, this has been going on for years and will inevitably contribute to many health problems in the near future.
  
• Thermal pollution
  This is caused by deforestation, soil erosion, wildfires, and other activities that disrupt the natural temperature of a habitat.

These issues are real and are prevalent not just in Nigeria, but in many countries around the world. The good news is that you and I can be part of the efforts worldwide and nationwide to combat these problems.

How you can be part of saving the planet
Are you interested in learning more about reducing the negative impact of high energy consumption on the environment?

You’re in luck because we’ll be hosting a webinar to discuss this topic in more detail on Friday, June 24th, 2022, by 1 pm WAT, and we’re going to have seasoned environmental advocates, Fisayo Adeyemi (Founder of Solar Genesis and Executive Assistant to the CEO of ThriveAgric) and Temilade Salami (Chevening Scholar and Founder of EcoChampions.ng), as our speakers.

They have both contributed greatly to advocating for better environmental practices through speaking engagements and their foundations.

You don’t want to miss it.

To be part of the webinar, REGISTER HERE and save the date.

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