Going Green in 2012: 12 Steps for the Developing World
As we start the new year, here are 12 steps we can take to reduce our impact on the environment.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia----Many
of us are thinking about the changes we want to make this year. For
some, these changes will be financial; for others, physical or
spiritual. But for all of us, there are important resolutions we can
make to "green" our lives. Although this is often a subject focused on
by industrialized nations, people in developing countries can also take
important steps to reduce their growing environmental impact.
"We
in the developing world must embark on a more vigorous 'going green'
program," says Sue Edwards, Director of the Institute for Sustainable
Development (ISD). "As incomes rise and urbanization increases, a
growing middle class must work with city planners to ensure our
communities are sustainable."
ISD's
Tigray Project recently received the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable
Development 2011, shared with Kofi Annan, Chairman of the Alliance for a
Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Since 1996, Tigray has worked to
help Ethiopian farmers rehabilitate ecosystems, raise land productivity,
and increase incomes through such practices as composting, biodiversity
enhancement, the conservation of water and soil, and the empowerment of
local communities to manage their own development.
Broadening
sustainability efforts is essential to solving many of the world's
challenges, including food production, security, and poverty. The United
Nations has designated 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable
Energy for All. "With so many hungry and poor in the world, addressing
these issues is critical," says Danielle Nierenberg, director of the
Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet project. "Fortunately, the
solutions to these problems can come from simple innovations and
practices."
Worldwatch's
Nourishing the Planet team recently traveled to 25 countries in
sub-Saharan Africa, and will soon be traveling to Latin America, to
research and highlight such solutions. The project shines a spotlight on
innovations in agriculture that can help alleviate hunger and poverty
while also protecting the environment. These innovations are elaborated
in Worldwatch's flagship annual report, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet.
Hunger,
poverty, and climate change are issues that we in the developing world
can help address. Here are 12 simple steps to go green in 2012:
1. Recycle:
Urbanization
is on the rise throughout the developing world. According to the United
Nations, the highest urban-area growth is 3.5 percent per year in
Africa. But waste management is not keeping up with population growth.
It is inefficient in urban areas and virtually nonexistent in rural
areas, resulting in the pervasive unloading of waste in unmanaged dump
sites and bodies of water and endangering public health.
What you can do:
- Collect your household's waste in two separate containers----one for organic waste like scraps of food and one for other waste like plastic, glass, metal, and paper. You can compost the organic waste (see #11).
- Cities such as Johannesburg have recycling drop-off sites. If your city doesn't, look for neighbors who are interested in salvaging and reselling items like cans. Brazil, for example, boasts a 96.5 percent aluminum can recycle rate due in large part to the 180,000 Brazilians who collect and resell cans for profit.
2. Reduce fossil fuel consumption.
Over the last two decades, roughly 75 percent of human-made carbon dioxide emissions were produced by fossil fuel burning. Coal and other environmentally polluting fossil fuels can be replaced by renewable resources, including biofuels.Globally,
some 25 million homes convert biogas into energy for lighting and
cooking, including 20 million households in China and 3.9 million in
India.
What you can do:
- Instead of burning coal or wood, use biogas converted from the methane produced by either livestock manure or weeds such as water hyacinth. In Rwanda, the government is working to make biogas stoves more affordable----by the end of 2011 they had hoped to see them being used in 15,000 households, and in Ethiopia, the target is 14,000 biogas digester plants with rural households by the end of 2013.
- Use an environmentally friendly solar cooker to utilize solar energy instead of fossil fuels. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is committing $50 million to advance the goal of securing 100 million such stoves in developing countries by 2020.
3. Make the switch.
In
2007, Australia became the first country to "ban the bulb" and began a
process to replace incandescent light bulbs with more efficient compact
fluorescent bulbs. By late 2010, incandescent bulbs had been totally
phased out, and, according to the country's environment minister, this
move has made a big difference, cutting an estimated 4 million tons of
greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. The Ethiopian government is the first
in the developing world to consider banning incandescent bulbs. Its
distribution of 5 million compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) has created
energy savings of 75 percent.
What you can do:
- Although CFLs are initially more expensive, they use 75 percent less energy and last 10 times as long. The government of Australia estimates that the country's switch to CFLs will save the average household 66 percent on their electricity bill.
- Encourage your local and national governments to follow Ethiopia's example and give free CFLs to consumers in exchange for their old incandescent bulbs.
4. Re-use water bottles
Worldwide,
900 million people do not have access to safe drinking water, and more
than 4,000 children die each year from preventable diseases. As a
result, many consumers use bottled water. We consume 200 billion bottles
of water globally. It takes 1.5 million barrels of crude oil to produce
these bottles and 2.7 tons of plastic, 86 percent of which ends up as garbage or litter.
What you can do:
- Stainless steel reusable water bottles are the best solution, but you can also reuse plastic bottles every time you encounter a clean water source. When it is time for a new bottle, recycle the old one.
- The Life and Water Development Group Cameroon has partnered with Thirst Relief International USA to bring clean water to those without access. One filtration unit uses layers of crushed rock, sand, and naturally forming bacteria to remove 99 percent of harmful bacteria from drinking water.
5. Conserve water.
Each
of us requires 3,000 liters of water a day to meet our dietary needs.
Yet half of people worldwide live in countries where water tables are
falling. Because 70 percent of water is used to irrigate agriculture, it
is important that we better conserve water as we grow our food.
What you can do:
- Growing one ton of grain requires 1,500 tons of water, but many crops indigenous to the developing world require much less. In Asia and Africa, the pigeon pea is drought-resistant and can grow in low-nutrient soil with little water while still producing a yield that is 20 percent protein.
- Rainwater Concepts in India is working to popularize simple rainwater harvesting techniques, successfully recharging 90,000 wells.
6. Turn down the AC.
Thirty
of the world's 50 most populous cities are located in the developing
world, mostly in hot climates. Use of air conditioners increases 20-35
percent annually in developing countries, and the related chemicals
emitted are stalling the global effort to heal the ozone layer, the part
of our atmosphere that protects the planet from harmful solar rays.
What you can do:
- Use fans instead of air conditioning to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals released into our air.
- If you want to install air conditioning in your home or business, use ozone-friendly units instead of those that emit hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
7. Support food recovery.
Each year, roughly a third of all food produced for human consumption----approximately 1.3 billion tons----gets
lost or wasted, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization. In the developing world, this often happens because of
premature harvests or a lack of proper storage facilities, sufficient
infrastructure, or appropriate preservation methods. Every metric ton of
food waste sent to landfills emits 4.5 times the amount of carbon
dioxide, and decomposing food in landfills produces methane, a
greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
What you can do:
- Farmers in Pakistan have saved 70 percent of their harvest by switching from jute bags and containers constructed with mud to more durable metal containers.
- In West Africa, farmers use solar dryers to save the 100,000 tons of mangos that would otherwise go to waste annually. This technique can be used with other fruit to save them from perishing after harvest.
8. Buy local, indigenous crops.
Rice,
wheat, corn, and soy are the crops that modern agriculture focuses on
most. Reliance on so few crops is dangerous. The 2010 drought in Russia
decimated a third of the country's wheat harvest, and the developing
world felt the shock as food prices skyrocketed. Indigenous and
traditional crops, however, are often hardier and more resistant to
pests and disease.
What you can do:
- Find out what crops are indigenous to your area and which farmers are growing them. Buy directly from those farmers or ask your local market to carry their products.
- Grow indigenous crops in your own garden (see #10) and share with your neighbors.
9. Plant a tree.
Globally,
we have lost 13 million acres of forest each year since 2000. In Latin
America, the expanding popularity of cattle operations and soybean farms
trumps preservation of the Amazon. Brazil is the fourth largest emitter
of carbon dioxide, not because of industry or automobiles, but because
of deforestation.
What you can do:
- Plant a tree or two at home. In addition to the environmental benefits, it will provide shade and keep your home cooler. If you plant a citrus or nut tree, you'll enjoy the extra food as well.
- Agroforestry, or planting trees among crops, can provide shade and help control erosion. In addition, leguminous trees can add nutrients to the soil naturally, making the soil more fertile and increasing crop yields.
10. Plant a garden.
Fourteen
million people in Africa migrate from rural to urban areas each year,
and studies suggest that by 2020, an estimated 40 million Africans
living in cities will depend on urban agriculture to meet their food
requirements. Home gardens helped families in Kibera, Nairobi, survive
when unrest after the 2008 elections shut down roads and prevented food
from coming into the city. And the sale of garden surplus is an
excellent way to supplement family income.
What you can do:
- If your access to land is limited, you can create a "vertical garden." Fill tall sacks with soil, poke holes on different levels, and plant seeds in the holes. Use waste water from your home and compost (see #11) to keep your soil rich and healthy, improving the quality of your food. If you live in an urban area and don't have access to land, reuse old tires or buckets to create portable planters.
11. Compost organic waste.
The
World Bank estimates that 50 percent of an average developing country's
solid waste can be composted. By repurposing compostable waste such as
food scraps, wood waste, and paper and cardboard products, we can reduce
landfill space and add reclaimed nutrients to our agricultural efforts
What you can do:
- Work within your family to compost your own organic waste, or work with your community to establish a collective compost site.
- To make the most of your compost, use it to nourish local gardening efforts.
12. Eat meat that is raised right...and eat less of it.
Livestock
are raised on a third of the Earth's land, accounting for approximately
18 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. In the
developing world alone, 1 to 2 trillion cubic meters of water per year
is needed to raise crops for these animals. Global meat production has
increased 20 percent since 2000, and nearly 90 percent of additional
growth is expected to occur in the developing world, predominantly on
large, industrial farms.
What you can do:
- Think about where your meat comes from. Giant, industrial farms pollute the environment through heavy use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and other harmful inputs. Pastoral farms can help reduce pollution and supports the livelihoods of local farming families.
- If you're a farmer, consider building a biodigester so that you can convert the organic waste from your animals into a nutrient-rich fertilizer and biogas, a renewable energy source that you can use for heating and electricity.
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