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3 Everyday Activities in the Green World
the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, African nations that are rolling out
Green initiatives will not have to undergo all the intermediary stages of technology
but can access the latest ones available on the market. Numerous African nations
are planning or already rolling out Green projects, including Solomon Corporation,
Green Institute Nigeria, Eco-Post Kenya, and WeCyclers. At the same time, they are
encouraging their industries to engage in Green initiatives. The central role of Green
industries, perhaps, is that they play a crucial role in reducing the emission of gases
and other pollutants that could harm the ozone layer and contribute to further global
warming. With a planet that is staring at environmental crises, this is necessary
for ensuring that finite resources are conserved and used appropriately. It is also
beneficial for ensuring industrial activities are carried out with due consideration
for the planet’s carrying capacity. The general belief among many development
experts in Africa is that Going Green through industrialization is a socioeconomic
imperative.
Identify three Green buildings in Africa. How do they ensure that their
building standards/practices are sustainable?
3.4 Energy
Green energy has been heralded as a vital promoter of Green growth as it considers
the five principles of “Going Green” highlighted in Chap. 1. Whereas non-renewable
energy is a source of environmental issues, renewable energy has increasingly
emerged as a platform for Green growth and sustainability. The major roles of
renewable energy in Green growth are stable energy prices, decreased global
warming, better public health, inexhaustible energy, resilience and reliability, jobs
as well as other economic roles (Kuzemko et al. 2016). Regarding global warming,
it is worth noting that human activity is pressuring our atmosphere with emissions
and gases that trap heat. This results in substantial and harmful effects, including
drought, rising sea levels, and extinction. Unlike non-renewable energy sources,
renewable energy produces minimal global warming emissions. Even when one
includes the life cycle emissions of clean energy, the emissions related to renewable
energy are quite low. Life cycle emissions refer to the emissions that emanate
from the respective stages of the life of a technology, including manufacturing,
installation, and decommissioning (Kuzemko et al. 2016). This comparison is
evident when you examine the statistics and numbers behind renewable and nonrenewable energy. For example, the burning of natural gas to obtain electricity leads
to the release of between 0.6 and two pounds of CO 2 equivalent per kWh, and coal
leads to the emission of between 1.4 and 3.6 pounds. In contrast, wind energy leads
to 0.02–0.04 pounds on a life cycle basis. Solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric also
contributes to less than 0.5 pounds of emissions. Figure 3.4 shows that renewable
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