Have you been walking on a street lately and wished you had an umbrella? Sure bet I guess; I haven’t met someone who savors the intense heat but that depends on the nature of the street anyway. And have you wondered why this heat has been on the increase over the years? Maybe you have an idea.
These are but a few of the effects of the rays and heat from the sun on our planet earth. This is being referred to as the Greenhouse effect resulting to global warming.
When we look closely at the diagrammatic representation of this heat cycle, we notice that the heat from the sun is primarily absorbed by the earth’s surface which heats up the surrounding air closer to the ground which then rises and makes life uncomfortable for us.
Generations past loathed this phenomenon which led to the invention of electric fans. This was not comforting in certain circumstances and air conditioning was birthed which was a much welcomed idea. What they however failed to recognize then was that increased patronization of this technology meant increased use of refrigerants which meant more release of CFC’s to the atmosphere which wasn’t friendly to the ozone layer. Although improvements have been made to address the CFC issue but running a functioning air conditioning device doesn’t come cheap.
With little incomes, how do we then go about this sun/heat issue? Should we design portable umbrella’s we can always carry along? Should the government subsidize the cost of purchasing fans and air conditioners as well as reduce the per unit rate of electricity consumption? These manner of approaches can be likened to someone in his or her room who is uncomfortable with the loud music precipitating from his/her boom box and resorts to burying his/her head under a pillow to mitigate the noise level instead of simply turning down the volume.
How about we try the fire fighting approach? At least we understand that this heat source is the sun and its receptor is the earth’s surface. How about shielding the earth’s surface from this heat, more like an umbrella above us that we need not hold with our hands or heads when moving about? How about we plant some trees?
I’m not suggesting we eliminate this heat source, for it is very much needed by us for our survival, but the God who made it also made enough trees available to consume its excesses. This created balance in our ecosystem but we ourselves caused imbalance by destroying these trees, thus making the heat to become excessive.
Yes we need trees and plenty of them at that. Our country was once filled with them which was as the creator designed to create balance but as ‘development’ ensued, these trees were felled insouciantly and no one paid any attention. Today, trees like the iroko and mahogany are now meant for tales and have been replaced in the wood industry by gmelina.
These trees absorb the heat from the sun and utilize it for the benefit of all. They also help in purifying our polluted air by ingesting the poisonous oxides we emit and vomiting oxygen which is essential for our survival. My thoughts on this purification process met the conclusion that the creator was indeed good in redox reaction. These trees also serve as windbreaks which comes handy in a windstorm, they beautify our environment, provide food, income and shelter to some animals, fast track the healing process of the sick, provides jobs and income, absorbs dust and other particles, enriches our top soil for planting, prevents soil erosion et cetera. These benefits have rendered some of the disadvantages of having trees around negligible, but all the same, simple precautions should be adhered to when planting them in our houses and on the streets.
We would be doing ourselves and our environment a great deal of good by planting a tree. I have joined the crusade by planting mine as shown below.
Let’s go green and clothe our ‘nakeding’ environment. God bless Nigeria.
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