Are people concerned about the changing climate? Our actions say we are not

 By Patience Asanga

Image Source: Climate change platform

It is 2050 in Nigeria.

Nigerians needed more land for agriculture and industrialization so they deforested Edo, Taraba, Bayelsa and Ondo States. As industries increased in number, so did the volume of wastes generated. These industries channelled their wastes into nearby rivers and streams in the country, mostly untreated. The pollution of water bodies by industrial wastes became a norm. It persisted for years, choking our water systems and denying them the space to self-purify. Consequently, many aquatic organisms went into extinction. Also, the world failed to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. All these happened because people incessantly destroyed the natural elements that zapped greenhouse gasses from the environment while doing very little to cut down emissions.

At the pace we are running, the IPCC is afraid this nightmare would become a reality. Even with the drastic changes, we are experiencing in the country today, the governments are choosing lengthy talks over implementing solutions; some are deliberately bringing ruins to nature.

One would have thought that the learned folks in our society would shun every action that would exacerbate our dilemma, but alas, scholars steering the wheels of the University of Benin are keen on thinning out its tree population.

Within two years, the University of Benin has destroyed a large number of its trees. The first destruction fell on the grove that shadowed students on their walk out of the school. These trees were hewn down to create space for a flower garden. Recently, a small woodland that overlooked the faculty of Life sciences was denuded.

Perhaps the school management is not aware of the role wooded trees play in the fight against climate change, as opposed to the pretty flowers that now sit idly around us.

What roles do trees play in reducing the effect of climate change?

Generally, the anatomy of a plant allows it to absorb and store carbon dioxide. However, large trunks, extensive roots, and broad leaves afford trees the ability to store large amounts of carbon.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, a mature tree absorbs more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in one year. 48 pounds of carbon dioxide is produced by burning approximately 22 litres of gasoline.

Like most University campuses, the University of Benin houses many tree species. A few of them include Terminalia catappa (Almond), Ficus benjamina (Weeping fig), and Hura crepitans (Possumwood). These trees sequester tons of carbon dioxide. A study to assess the ability of trees at the Amity University campus to sequester carbon dioxide showed that the 436 Ficus benjamina (weeping fig) present in the campus sequestered 30.53 tons of carbon dioxide yearly. Cutting down these trees releases the stored carbon back into the atmosphere where they add to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Unfortunately, trees are not the only natural carbon-captors being exploited by humans. Microorganisms, which also act as natural carbon dioxide filters, are continually destroyed in their habitats by pollution. In the aquatic environment, organic pollutants disturb the growth of aerobic microorganisms while enhancing the proliferation of some anaerobic microorganisms, "which is not conducive to carbon sequestration," scientists say.

How does water pollution Impact climate change?

A study carried out on the Oken river, Edo state by a team of researchers revealed that the waterbody is laden with heavy metals and organic wastes from a rubber factory. The study was led by Michael Omoigberale, a professor of Hydrobiology at the University of Benin. "When we realized that there was a factory close to the river and the factory didn’t have the mechanism for treating the waste before discharging it into the waterbody," says Omoigberale, "that piqued our curiosity. What is the impact of this waste that is discharged into the water body? We designed the work to take a look at the water quality of the river."

The Iyayi rubber factory is owned by the late Dr Iyayi Effianayi Iyayi, a philanthropist of the Egba community. "The factory is basically not working anymore. During its days of glory, the factory was in the habit of channelling its effluent into the river," said Omoigberale.

Many of the chemicals used in the rubber factory are organic in origin. The deposits of these effluents in the waterbody causes eutrophication, which leads to the depletion of oxygen in the water.

Jake Beaulieu of the United States Environmental Agency told Science daily that "greening [eutrophication] of the world's lakes will increase the emission of methane into the atmosphere by 30 to 90 per cent during the next 100 years."

Omoigberale and his team sent a report of their study to the ministry of environment in 2019 to notify the state government of their discovery, yet nothing has been done about the pollution or to the polluters. "We made a copy of the result available to the ministry of environment, Edo state for further actions if they wish," says Omoigberale. "We made them realize it and they acknowledged it."

However, Kenneth Woghiren, an expert in climate change who was in charge of pollution control in the ministry of environment in 2019, denied the receipt of such information.

Many experts are worried that changes in microbial biodiversity and activities will affect the resilience of all other organisms and hence their ability to respond to climate change.

What would happen if we fail to keep global temperature below 1.5°C

Clearly, our lackadaisical attitude towards environmental pollution and persistent destructive disposition towards nature is fast-tracking global warming. Although this Nigeria in 2050 is make-believe, it does reflect the IPCC’s projection of future changes in the planet should we choose not to cut down our greenhouse gas emissions and protect biodiversity.

Indeed, many parts of the world are experiencing drastic changes in their environment due to global warming. For instance, coastal communities like the Ayetoro community in Ondo State are endangered by frequent flood incidents as a result of the rising sea levels. The national geographic society reports that sea-level rise is accelerating and projected to rise by a foot by 2050.

But several scientists believe that some effects of global warming can be avoided if governments kept to the promises they made at the 2015 climate change conference in Paris to cut down greenhouse gas emissions.

It is 2050 in Nigeria. It is hard to believe that places like Makoko in Lagos and Odoro Atasung in Akwa Ibom states accommodated people in the past. In this pipedream, we see a woman watering a young oak plant in her backyard for the third time that morning.