On Thursday, 10th of September, while speaking at a virtual forum entitled “Conservations with Nature” Dr Nnimmo Bassey an environmentalist said that the adverse effects of climate change which includes floods, rising temperatures and drought, are as a result of the abuse of the rights of nature. He described climate change as nature’s way of reacting to human activities that distort it’s dynamics and balance.
The Executive Durector, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) Dr. Bassey further attributed the current climate crisis to the dependence on fossil fuels.
He stated that several years of destructive human activities in the extractive industry has been resiliently endured by nature.
The industry in it’s quest for fossil fuel constantly emit green house gasses that harm the ecosystem.
The conversation was cohosted by Dr. Bassey who holds a national honour of Member of Order of Federal Republic for Environmental Activism and Mfonsio Antia, Lead, Ikike Desk, the learning organ of HOMEF
The environmentalist adviced that diversifying the energy sources and shifting away from fossils hold the key to solving the problems of global warming, distorted global ecology, and so on.
Dr. Bassey further enunciated on the subject saying:
“The world has carried on as if there is just one source of energy. Beyond fossils, there are so many sources of energy that do not destroy natural resources and they are renewables”
“To get out the climate crisis starring the world in the face, we need to switch to renewable energy sources and stop ecologically destructive activities”
“We need to go back to ‘Eti Uwem’ which stands for the good life in Ibibio language. It encompass communal and cooperative living as opposed to individualism” he added
“From recent developments and lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic, we have to come to realise that we are all interconnected and hence the need to reverse the extractive paradigms that destroy natural biodiversity” he explained.
World leaders were exhorted by the environmentalist to end gas flaring so as to put an end to the emission of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.
The forum, an initiative of HOMEF’s school of Ecology, drew participants from the group’s volunteers in all states of the federation and outside the country.