African Climes

  Buildings in the modern world are mainly made of concrete and steel, which are heavy carbon intensive industries. Buildings use 36% of energy and account for 39% percent of greenhouse gas emissions from energy. There are three major ways that buildings contribute to emissions of carbon. The first is the “initial carbon”. This are the emissions released from disturbing the soil, they are part of soil carbon as well as the carbon from the vegetation cleared. This is done when the site is being prepared and dug up for construction to commence. This carbon is released into the atmosphere. The second type is embodied carbon, and this is the carbon dioxide produced in the preparation of construction materials. By this, I refer to cement and concrete, steel, aluminum, glass, mortar, and synthetic materials commonly used to erect a building. All the above, but especially cement, concrete and steel have an extra-large carbon footprint. The chemical processes and energy used to produce t

Climate change is caused by the rise of global atmospheric temperatures which plays havoc on the entire planetary climate system. This rise in temperatures is occasioned by greenhouse gases which act in the atmosphere by absorbing solar radiation reflected by the Earth. Now, the essence of climate change is that it is all about one element: water. Climate change interferes with the hydrological cycle, which is the main force of climate. This is why all the effects of climate change: droughts, erratic weather, floods, severe rains, heat waves, stronger storms, sea level rise have to do with water. It is about water. photo by aimee\iwaria As the quantities of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase, so does the air temperatures. The ability of air to absorb moisture is increased by temperature, because as the air expands so does its capacity. So as it gets hotter, the more moisture is absorbed from the ground into the air. This higher temperatures rapidly increase the evaporati