Investment in renewable energy is vital

Sustainable development cannot be realized when the environment onto which all activities take place is abused at will and people continue indulging in environmental degradation. Ruinous developmental practices are pursued to the detriment of entire Earth. Among these is energy that is used during production that produces a lot of carbondioxide, which is the major element in rising temperature, thus bringing about global warming, which in turn causes multiple problems to mankind as in changing the climate for the worse. Replacing the current source of energy that comes from fossils, is a gradual one, as new methods of using renewable sources have been found to be more effective as far as environment conservation is concerned, such as sun light. In comparison to energy produced from petrol and diesel, solar energy is more cost effective than the traditional fossil fuel, if more expensive in the short run. The population has to be taught about environmental conservation, through the use of renewable energy and reducing the rate of cutting trees, without replacing the ones that were cut, because they give rise to global warming. Jean Chrisestome Sehene, the executive secretary of Rwanda Environmental Conservation Organization (RECOR), avers that there is great need to think alternative energy sources, and a campaign is on in Rwanda to encourage investors to inject their money in renewable energy related equipments such as solar energy panels which produce energy that is not harmless to the environment. He says the programme is to be extended to all parts of the country. On the same issue, the national coordinator of RECOR, Françoise Kayigamba, blames the use of fossil related fuels on the current global warming pattern, because of the quantity of carbon dioxide that is emitted in the atmosphere, thus bringing about environmental degradation. He says that in order to achieve the millennium development goals, environment must be put as a priority, as nothing can be achieved when the planet onto which we live is not environmentally sound. It is the role of each and every body to have an active role towards the sustainability of the environment through planting trees, which help in reducing carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis, as green plants use carbon dioxide while making their own food. Also, petroleum is exhaustible, even as it is environmentally hazardous, following the dangers that have been manifested as a result of temperature rise. More engineers and technicians should be trained in order to impart the desired technological knowledge that will help in the implementation of renewable energy engineering. Because of temperature rise globally, rainfall patterns have changed, which in turn brings about poor harvests, manifesting poor economic performance and famine due to prolonged droughts. RECOR, in a bid to reduce the prices of products that are imported expensively, has made a list of the equipment that is needed in generating renewable energy, so that importers are exonerated from taxation. This will increase the quantity of such materials, hence boosting the availability of renewable energy, and further make their projects more successful. The sources of renewable energy include sunshine, wind, animal waste and others, according to Kayigamba. As regards tree planting on a wide scale, Rwanda does not possess enough land for planting the much needed trees that would go a long way in reducing green house gases which include carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. Environmental conservation is everyone’s duty, and should be pursued with all the techniques needed in order to avert the current trend within the global climate patterns, that may give rise to further catastrophes than the present ones that have manifested. The Kenyan Laureate and Nobel Prize winner Professor Wangari Mathari had this to say about these disastrous energy practices: “Fifty years from todate, water will be costing as much as petrol.” She said this I reaction to the current environmental degradation worldwide, whereas nothing tangible is being done in order to reverse the tendency. Trees should be planted in order to replace the ones that have been used, and protecting wet lands so as to maintain the water table intact thus deterring future water scarcity. These mechanisms, plus the use of the new energy sources that don’t emit as much carbon dioxide as the energy sources we use today, will play a decisive role in reducing the rate at which the planet is warming. The effects of global warming will adversely affect developing countries most since they don’t have enough resources to counter the consequences that will have resulted from global warming.Ends

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Investment in renewable energy is vital