OUR DAILY EVERYDAY TECHNIQUES TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT

Charity begins at home, you start today, your neighbor starts tomorrow and the whole city starts doing this sooner than you realize, how about that? No, I can’t be that optimistic; but what’s the harm in throwing the idea around? Are you with me?
A young man step from all of us can make a sea change in our environment. Let our leaders sign environmental protection treaties, let them reduce carbon emission from factories. You, you don’t keep quiet, do something today, whatever you can and let’s make this place a better one for our children even to our four generations.

Various ways you can help save our environment

We all pollute the environment we live in, I do, and your dog does too. It’s very much in our control to reduce this pollution.
1. Go paperless, save environment. Sure you can’t stop advertisement leaflets coming in to your mail box (shouldn’t there be an environmental law to ban this practice, or at least, be made it mandatory to use recycled paper?) but, you can control the statements, updates and notices which you get from your financial institutions.
Select paperless as the mode of communication. Mostly all of them support this. It’s high time that all govt. agencies implement this too.
2. Stop using bottled water. This may be very hard for many, I understand. If it’s not that hard for you, start using re-usable materials and fill it up every time.
3. Stop smoking. Smoking creates pollution inside of your body and for the people around you. Even after hours of smoking, your kids can be recipients of harmful effects of your nicotine consumption.

The pollution caused by cigarettes does not stop in our bodies or the air around us; it also affects the land we live on and the water that we drink. Millions of cigarette butts are discarded on to the ground every day“.

4. Use less electricity. There are various options to save on electricity, I can write an entire post about this. The easiest of the ways is to use fan instead of an AC, if you can. Air drying clothes, letting sunlight come in the winter and blocking it in the summer are other easy options to try out at your home.
5. Use less gas. Bike to work, car pooling are the easier options you can try. There are various other effective ways to save on gas.
6. Recycle. Don’t just throw your old electronics and batteries to trash. Make use of local free recycling facilities. Dispose your plastic containers as well by separating them out from normal trash.
7. Use reusable shopping bags. It was my wife’s idea to start using reusable bags. They are made of cloth and need cleaning once a week. We eliminated a lot of plastics from our life this way. You can do the same.
8. Buy fresh local produce. Whenever you have option to buy from farmer’s market or local grocers, give it a preference. Processed goods take a lot of energy, first for processing part and then, the fuel consumption in transportation.
9. Save water. Sweet water is a scarce resource and it’s being depleted at a greater pace than earth is replenishing it. There are various ways to save water in everyday use from fixing leaky outlets to adjusting the timers on sprinklers.
10. Use emails and eGreetings. Unless you are already using it, what’s preventing you from going ‘e’ route? Apart from being environment friendly, it also reduces effort required to pass your message across.
11. Use ceramic cups. Instead of plastic, paper or Styrofoam, the ceramic cups can be used over and over.  This reduces the impact on the environment and on your budget.
12. Print less. Unless it’s absolutely necessary to print, refrain from doing so.  When you do have to print, consider printing on both sides of the paper.
13. Buy items with recycled materials. For an example, you can get two types of coffee cups. One with fresh paper and one with recycled paper. You can identify by reading the label on the pack.
14. Reuse and re purpose. whenever possible, re-use the containers, cartons and envelops. Oh, your tooth-brush as well! For cleaning my sports shoes, I use old tooth brushes, it goes in to the grooves perfectly. Here’s 30 ways to reuse bottles and containers.
15. Use energy-efficient items. In the long run they save a lot of money and energy. Bulbs, use LED bulbs, even fluorescent light bulbs consume 1/3rd (or lesser) of the energy of incandescent light bulbs. For other equipments like, AC, refrigerator, washer, etc buy Energy Star appliances.
16. Use clothes more than paper. Reduce paper usage by using cloths to wipe your hands or the things you normally wipe with paper towels. My home is paper towel free and I use old dresses to make wipe cloths. Do you know something called handkerchief?
17. Use microwave.  I am not sure if you can bake cakes in a microwave. Last time I checked, my wife also didn’t know. But, she could tell me 100′s of other dishes that can be cooked in microwave. Use microwave more often to reduce your carbon footprints.

18. Leak proof your home. Ensure you are not losing warmth or cool through leakages, by having your home properly insulated and window and door seals checked.  By doing so, you are saving energy and money.
19. Replace air filters. AC air filters for your home and car, if replaced regularly, can save a lot of energy which in turn can save you money.
20. Consume less. This is for your financial good as well. Live simply, use your furnitures and clothes until they can’t be used any more. If possible, check out used items on Craigslist or garage sales.

Steps to absorb pollution

21. Plant trees. Your garden/patio or balcony, do you have space anywhere? Grow plants, grow flowers, and attract honey bees wherever you find a place for a pot. If you have a garden, you can go on a green mission by planting as many trees as your yard or garden permits. A good-looking home and better place to live, for sure!
22. Donate to organizations that help planting more trees and work towards a better planet. I am a member of Fairchild Botanical Garden, here in Miami, FL. My membership dues go to green causes.
23. Pickup and deposit pollutants. Whether at home, at work, at local super market or while running or jogging, if you find a pollutant like plastic or Styrofoam on your way, pick it up and put in a nearby trash bin.
24. Volunteer in anti-pollution drives. Many cities here in south Florida organize periodic beach cleaning events. Thousands of volunteers donate their time towards these large-scale environmental cleaning events. Check in your local area for opportunities like this.
25. Have indoor plants. Indoor plants and aquatic plants (in aquariums) are very efficient in cleaning the inside air pollution of our homes.  Think about it, by spending a little money to green up our homes we are improving our health as well. In the long run, these efforts should pay off in terms of better health.
26. Drive a clean car If vehicle emission check is not mandatory in your state, you may still go for one. If there’s a problem it can be fixed. Another way to contribute in similar way is to report smoke emitting vehicles. On searching your local DMV or city website, you may locate to report a violation.
27. Make better use of your recycle garbage bin. If possible have two different trash cans at your home. Sometimes not all recyclable materials are pout in to recycle bin. Even if you can save one piece of paper from being dumped without getting recycled, you have contributed to the environmental protection.
28. Buy local items. Specifically local food items require less transportation. Thus consuming food grown locally actually reduces gas usage.
I hope you enjoyed this article and you’ll start practicing a technique or two in your daily routine. If not majority of the steps, you can easily follow a few. If you are willing to follow all 25, you deserve a good hug from me!
I know, only a few of us practicing green living won’t change the environment around us. Still, I would like to wake up to a tomorrow where earth is cleaner and environment is safer to live. I dream on…

WAYS WE CAN PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT

Nigeria is our home.Taking  care of it is profitable for our own well-being and for that of the future generations. This means protecting our natural environment. Today, our island is facing severe environmental problems such as air, water and land pollution, deforestation, poorly planned urbanization, extinction of endemic plant and animal species, soil and beach erosion, depletion of marine resources, destruction of wetlands, traffic congestion, excessive production of solid waste and water shortage.
 we are faced with threat about the future.To protect our environment we should first of all devise a national plan to curtail our ecological and water footprint. We are presently using more resources than what our island can provide us with and this is not sustainable.
Here are  simple ways to conserve and protect the environment through small changes to your daily routine for a better world for you, your family, your community and all living things.

1. Create a compost heap in your garden or use a compost bin. This helps recycle food waste and other biodegradable materials.

2. When going shopping, make it a habit to bring your own eco-bags and say no to plastic bags as much as possible.

3. Join as many tree planting trips as you can.

4. If possible, try carpooling to work, business presentations, events, or even to run errands. Think of ways you can reduce the number of trips you make using your car.

5. Reduce emissions from cars by walking or cycling. These are not just great alternatives to driving, they are also great exercise.

6. Use public transport, when you can, for everyday travel.

7. Send your drinking bottles, paper, used oil, old batteries and used tires to a depot for recycling or safe disposal; all these very cause serious pollution.

8. Do not pour chemicals and waste oil on to the ground or into drains leading to bodies of water.

9. Wherever possible, separate biodegradable and recyclable waste from non-biodegradable and work to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable or recyclable waste.

10. Reduce the amount of meat you eat, or even better become vegetarian.

THE COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF JAMB 2017 NOVEL- “In Dependence” by Sarah Ladipo Manyika .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF INDEPENDENCE Novel: SARAH LADIPO MANYINKA

Sarah was born and raised in Nigeria. She has also lived in Kenya, France, and England. Her father is Nigerian and her mother is British. Sarah inherited her maiden name (Ladipo) from her father who was born in Ibadan (South West Nigeria) in the late 1930s. Sarah's father met and married her mother in the UK in the late 1960s. She spent much of her childhood in Lagos and the city of Jos in Plateau State. As a young teenager, Sarah lived for two years in Nairobi, Kenya, before her family moved to the UK.

She studied at the Universities of Birmingham (UK), Bordeaux (France), and Berkeley (California). She was married in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1994 and now divides her time between San Francisco (where she teaches literature at San Francisco State University), London and Harare. Her writing includes published essays, academic papers, book reviews and short stories. Sarah's first novel, In Dependence, was published by Legend Press in 2008. Her short story "Mr Wonder" appeared in the 2008 collection Women Writing Zimbabwe.[6] Sarah's novel In Dependence was chosen by the UK's largest bookstore chain as its featured book for Black History Month. In 2009, In Dependence, was published by Cassava Republic, a literary press based in Abuja, Nigeria, with a stable of authors that includes Teju Cole and Helon Habila.

ABOUT THE BOOK INDEPENDENCE - BY SARAH LADIPO MANYIKA

“In Dependence” was published in the UK in 2008, in Nigeria in 2009 and in the US in 2011. It is Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s first novel. The novel begins in the early 1960s when Tayo Ajayi meets Vanessa Richardson, the beautiful daughter of an ex-colonial officer. Their story, which spans three continents and four turbulent decades, is that of a brave but bittersweet love affair.  It is the story of individuals struggling to find their place within uncertain political times – a story of passion and idealism, courage and betrayal.

In Dependence can be described as a love story. But it is more than that. It traces the trajectory of Nigeria’s political history; the military coups, the bad and treacherous leadership, and its renewed tentative steps towards democracy. It speaks to the demise  – in the 1980s – of Nigeria’s international reputation and the country’s rapidly destabilizing reality. It looks at the poor whose situation never improved but actually worsened.

Using events in Tayo’s life, it describes the effects of misrule on the country’s universities and the ensuing massive brain drain that Africa experienced. Sarah Manyika achieves all this with a voice and an outlook that is truly authentic and objective. The author captures the mood and feel of different decades and the three continents – Africa, Europe and America – that serve as settings for the story. Its scope is vast and sweeping.

SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL IN DEPENDENCE- BY SARAH LADIPO MANYIKA

Tayo Ajayi, a Nigerian, and Vanessa Richardson, an English woman, had their affair boiling when it started, but as circumstances were meant to intervene, the relationship went sore and it seemed nothing could ever bring them together.

 The book has characters that behaved in like-patterns, like in the case of Tayo’s friend, Yusuf, who had dated lots of white English ladies. He (Yusuf) ended up marrying a Nigerian Woman as predicted (Yusuf knew what he wanted and seemed to get it). Tayo also ended up the same way in as much as his affair with Vanessa Richardson had been gleaming, although his had been out of the mistake of getting a young woman (Miriam) pregnant. And talking of pattern, the novel’s beginning had opened up introducing Tayo’s affair with Christine, a Nigerian Igbo lady.

One would think that Manyika had to end Tayo’s relationship with Christine for the sake of bringing in Vanessa into Tayo’s life, but still, Tayo had to end up marrying Miriam. And still the marriage failed, giving in to the familiar pattern.

Miriam in Manyika’s novel represented the breeds of the Nigerians that would always run away to live abroad due to the collapsing image of their home country. Miriam went away with her daughter leaving Tayo behind. In as much as she persuaded Tayo, he wouldn’t go. She didn’t like an inconveniencing life. She wanted the best life for her daughter. Tayo, on the other side represented the crude breeds of Nigerians that felt home was home even though the country was boiling in corruption. In as much as the failure of the country stared firmly at his face with daggers, he chose to stay. Towards the late pages of the novel he had to leave the country under threatening circumstances against his life from the ruling military regime.

The entire novel is told from the good days of Nigeria’s independence down into the nineties. I applaud Manyika’s ink, here. In as much as the setting of this novel floated through England, Senegal, USA, and France, she was able to use her third eye to draw out Nigeria’s journey into the worse lanes of corruption, and hopelessness.

Faith is another issue that Manyika dealt with. It didn’t matter to her if one was a Moslem or Christian. Reading through this novel, one couldn’t tell if Tayo came from a Moslem or Christian family but we did know he embraced more of the Christian faith. She failed to point out the difficulties of inter-religious marriages in the novel, but centred more on the difficulties of interracial marriage.

During Tayo’s life as a part time lecturer in Sans Francisco, Manyika used a scene to unbolt some deeper issues of racism. She pointed out the racist ties between the African American and the pure African. These issues she raised apply everywhere even within Nigerians.

A Yoruba would refer to an Igbo as a greedy money monger and dubious monster, and in turn the Igbo would refer to the Yoruba as a dirty, loquacious and foolish personality who spend all he earns on parties and alcohol. It had to be understood that racism was one those existences that would live for a long time as far as misunderstanding between people existed.

I captured lines that are coated with humour in this novel, but could be called racial remarks. Young black Yusuf came clean in his conversation with Tayo. He said white women were for sex treats while black women were for decent relationships that could lead to marriage. He added that a white woman looked so old when she turned thirty.

The worst racist in this book is Vanessa’s father who was a one time colonial master in Nigeria before 1960. He was against Tayo marrying his daughter, and had refused to accept Vanessa’s adopted half-cast son. He seemed more racial against half-casts earlier in the novel confronting Tayo about his fears for a half-cast grandchild. It was later understood that his hatred for the blacks was as a result of an affair his wife had with a black man during the colonial era.

Manyika, whose picture shows she is perhaps half-cast, was able to make a point here. She drew a difference between being black and being a half-cast (brown). This would have been quite a storm for her to write about because of the racial wind against the brown people living in whitely dominated regions. In contrast to a pure black country, half-casts are seen beautiful which Manyika failed to point out. In fact in the black continent, the typical black man may feel inferior to a half-cast.

Manyika was also able to portray the polemic attack Nigerians receive from around the world these days. She didn’t bring this to print but the image was represented, and I had to figure it out. I can say it clouds around the pain felt each time an IELTS or TOEFL exam is required before a Nigerian could study abroad. This doesn’t exclude a masters’ degree. Does the world think Nigerians speak Latin or Greek or some kind of language called ‘Nigerian’?

‘I said I haven’t heard you speak Nigerian,’ Joyce says.
Joyce is one of Manyika’s English characters. And I like the way Yusuf replies this. ‘Nobody speaks Nigerian, you daft thing,’

A coincidence in this novel which I refuse to accept was the scene in which Vanessa had just come across one of her best music, Hugh Maskela, a song that reminded her of Nelson Mandela… And on the same day, not even up to two hours if I could rightly predict, her white husband is presenting her with ‘Long Walk to Freedom’, Nelson Mandela’s biography. What a coincidence!

I also do not embrace the fact that Manyika saw hope for Nigeria through the eyes of Tayo only when Abacha died. There are still Abacha loyalists in Nigeria today who will find this offending. She should have kept the line in a riddle.

Vanessa did meet with Tayo at the end of the novel, but it was hard to predict if at all a love relationship was ignited between them. Vanessa was still married, but Tayo wasn’t. Manyika maintained a non-adulterous plight between the two here. The happy-ending-formula which most romance writers adapt was blurring in the novel.

What’s your take on this? I urge you to use this same opportunity to share this information across to others using our Facebook, twitter or Google+share button below.


For further reading consult---- know the different characters in details.

SURE HEALTH PROCEDURES FOR PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS

As an actual health counselor, I’ve spent the past 3 years helping people lose weight, and I’ve learned a lot in the process, says Radiance Hawthorne( +2348066528280). Many of my patients were successful, many regained weight, and some didn’t lose much weight at all. In the process, I learned a lot about successful long-term weight loss in the real world — not TV weight loss; not celebrity weight loss, which usually includes private chefs, trainers and nannies, but rather weight loss for real (often stressed out and overworked) people trying to lose weight while living their lives. This kind of weight loss includes monthly challenges like holidays, vacations, loss of motivation, and even changes in the weather that affect exercise. In addition, working as a part-time writer, diet and nutrition media expert, and TV host that evaluates almost every diet out there, I’ve also realized that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to dieting — most diets will work for some people some of the time. So rather than tell you what to eat, I thought I would share what I believe are seven of the best tips for losing weight, and keeping the weight off, no matter what diet you choose to follow.

Pump up the volume of meals.
We eat approximately the same volume of food every day,[1] so including foods with lower calorie density (calories per gram) is essential unless you eat very small portions (like the French). Foods that have lower calorie densities are high in water (fruits, vegetables, soup, low-fat or fat-free dairy), high in fiber (whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables) and lower in fat. Foods that do not contain water, like dry salty snacks, crackers, and dense baked goods have a higher calorie density even if they are fat-free, and portions need to be carefully controlled. By permanently modifying meals and recipes to include more low-calorie-density ingredients, you don’t have to cut portions to lose weight and keep it off, and eating well is much more live-able.
Limit liquid calories.
Our body simply doesn’t register liquid calories like calories from solid food, so it is very easy to consume too many calories each day drinking extra-large lattes (even if they are fat-free), sugar-sweetened beverages (including sweetened tea, sports drinks, and even juice, which has naturally occurring sugar but is still loaded with calories), and alcoholic beverages. Downsize your morning latte, limit intake of sugar-sweetened beverages as much as possible, drink juice out of old-fashioned juice glasses (which used to be 6 or 8 ounces), and if you drink alcohol, avoid sugary mixers and cut calories from elsewhere in your meal if possible.

Make mindless eating work for you.
Numerous studies have looked at the relationship between a person’s eating environment and food intake. By building a better eating environment, you can mindlessly control calories for good, no matter how stressed you are at work or how much your motivation levels drop. How? Start with dishware. Eat off smaller plates, out of smaller bowls, and drink out of tall, thin glasses. In your pantry, fridge and freezer, keep more tempting foods out of sight as much as possible by putting them on higher shelves or transferring them to opaque storage containers. At the dinner table, leave serving dishes containing higher-calorie foods in the kitchen and keep lower-calorie vegetable dishes on the table within easy reach for seconds. Entertaining? Limit variety of less healthy foods (this is also important when stocking your pantry), as research shows that increased variety equals increased caloric intake.
Think outside the gym when it comes to exercise.
Yes, getting at least 30 minutes per day of cardiovascular exercise five times a week and twice-a-week sessions of strength training is critical, but you can actually burn far more calories over time by increasing lifestyle-based activity like standing while talking on the phone, getting off the train or bus a stop early and walking the rest of the way to work, or engaging in more active hobbies like bowling instead of going to the movies, or taking dance lessons instead of photography lessons. Research shows that basic things like dishwashers, cars, elevators, and washing machines cause us to burn fewer calories per day, so you have to find a way to burn these extra calories despite advances in technology. Adding in as much non-exercise activity can really add up in terms of calories burned over the long run, and is much easier to permanently incorporate into your life, no matter how motivated you are.
Ditch the all-or-nothing mentality.
I can’t tell you how many times patients come in and tell me they “took the weekend off” from their diet (or worse, a week or more if they are on vacation). I don’t expect anyone to be perfect all the time. In fact, I encourage my patients to indulge early on in their weight loss program to help them build confidence, learn to handle controlled indulgences, and bounce back from less healthful choices quickly. Don’t act as if there is a switch in your brain that determines whether you are on or off a diet — instead, make better choices most, not all, of the time, and you will be less tempted to go “off your diet,” gain back some or all of the weight you have worked so hard to lose, and perhaps even stay “off your diet” for good.
Think ahead.
I personally don’t do well at planning out my meals for the week, but many of my patients are much more successful when they do. I tend to eat, and buy, many of the same things each week, so less of a plan is required. I do insist that patients always have somewhat of plan for eating away from home — whether it is making sure you have three or four restaurants around the office that have healthful choices, looking at the restaurant menu ahead of time if you are eating out (especially at ethnic restaurants) to figure out better choices, or deciding ahead of time what you are going to indulge in at a party or dinner out (wine, bread, dessert, or pasta). By mentally committing ahead of time, you limit the mindless eating and drinking that often occur at social eating occasions. If you are attending a party or dinner, offer to bring a healthful dish so you have a safe option to fill up on, or eat a little snack before heading out the door (lean protein and vegetables work best to prevent overeating — and include a little healthy fat if you plan on drinking, as fat delays the absorption of alcohol).
Always have a plan B for eating and exercise.
This is essential, especially for the majority of Americans who are busy juggling work, family, and home and don’t always have time to get to the gym, prepare the best food, or find the healthiest restaurant. If you can’t make it to the 7 a.m. spin class, don’t skip your workout altogether — try to squeeze in even a 10-minute walk at lunch or after work, or do the first 20 minutes of an exercise DVD at home or 10 minutes of push-ups and sit-ups if you don’t have time for more. Consistent, smaller changes really do add up over time. And always stock your freezer with a few healthful frozen meal options, including entrees and frozen vegetables, for those nights when you don’t have time to cook and are tempted to order pizza or Chinese food. Finally, always try to keep an emergency healthful snack pack on hand to take the edge off hunger and give you time to make the best eating choice possible if you haven’t eaten for hours. Smart and easy snacks include fresh fruit, portion-controlled bags of nuts, and lower-sugar, higher-fiber protein or energy bars.
In addition to the seven tips above, try to eat fewer foods out of a box (highly processed foods, especially snack foods, often encourage over consumption), weigh yourself regularly (but not so often that you drive yourself crazy or get depressed chasing the number on the scale), and focus on both quality and quantity when it comes to what you eat. Nutrient-dense foods like whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables (especially when they are in season), lean protein, low-fat or fat-free dairy, and healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, and olive oil) should be the foundation of any diet plan.