Major Environmental Issues facing Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is the second most industrialized country in SADC, after South Africa. Industries are concentrated around Harare, with ore smelters located close to the ore sources (principally along the Great Dyke). A combination of vehicle emissions, dust and smoke from domestic fires is a potential air quality concern in larger cities such as Harare. Water is not generally abundant, and the maintenance of water quality is a serious issue.
Biodiversity preservation
Zimbabwe has a rich biotic heritage and is highly dependent on tourism. It has a long history of biodiversity preservation, through the national parks, forest reserves and innovative community-based sustainable-use schemes such as CAMPFIRE. Nevertheless, the natural resources are under pressure from a growing population with limited economic alternatives.
Land quality
Zimbabwe has the greatest fraction of its land area in good quality agricultural land. The economy of Zimbabwe has a large agricultural component, and the majority of people are dependent on the land. The distribution of people and productive agricultural resources is uneven, leading to problems of land degradation where large numbers of people and livestock are concentrated on marginal lands.
Freshwater resources
The Zambezi River in the north is one of the largest rivers in Africa, but does not currently supply water to the rest of the country, which is water-scarce in most parts. The geology is generally not conducive to large groundwater supplies.
Climate change
Like the rest of southern Africa, Zimbabwe is strongly influenced by fluctuations in rainfall. An improvement in the water balance as a result of climate change would be a great benefit; increase...
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...fuel and advanced technology markets to reduce petroleum consumption by 2.5 billion gallons by 2020. Clean Cities is focusing on three primary methods to achieve this goal:
1. Replacing petroleum used in the transportation sector with alternative fuels and low-level blends of non-petroleum replacement fuels.
2. Reducing petroleum use by promoting energy efficiency in vehicles through advanced technology and efficient vehicles.
3. Eliminating petroleum or other fuel use by promoting advanced technologies and greater use of mass transit systems, trip elimination measures, and other congestion mitigation approaches.
Reference:
Wildlife & Environment Zimbabwe. Retrieved September 15, 2007 from http://zimwild.com
Zimbabwe Environmental. (October, 2007) Law Association partnership for environment law education. Retrieved September 18, 207 from http://www.zela.org
Increasing environmental awareness, coupled with a responsible American government and improved technology, have all contributed to the comeback of low-and zero-emissions vehicles in the US. It remains to be seen whether the automakers and oil companies will once again work to halt this progress, or embrace it as the technology of a more responsible future.
Images of whiteness in Zimbabwe projected in the media have been of white population as victims being disposed of land and exposed to violence. In the award-winning documentary, Mugabe and the White African, the film focuses on white Zimbabwean family who challenges the Fast Track land redistribution program. David McDermott Hughes’ interprets the perspectives of land and landscape and its origins. In Whiteness in Zimbabwe, David McDermott Hughes principal argument is that European settlers identified themselves with the African landscape rather than with the social characteristics of the native Africans. The importance of landscape to white identity led to the engineering and structural development of the landscape. Hughes contends that the white colonizers used the land, nature and ecology to escape the social problems, to avoid ‘the other’ which in this case was the black Zimbabweans that were sharing the same living space. Through such landscape engineering, the white Zimbabweans believed that they would belong to Zimbabwe and Africa. However, Hugh argues that “by writing themselves to single-mindedly into the landscape, many whites wrote themselves out of society (p. 25).” Furthermore, Hughes argues that this was not a form of racism, but rather escaping the social surrounding to avoid conflict. This concept has led to Hughes to wanting to stop romanticizing of land in order to avoid social issues.
Soledad, A. (2012). UNEP: World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability. Environmental Policy and Law, 42(4/5), 204-205. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/1239086063/fulltextPDF/938578CF70664516PQ/3?accountid=28180
Water shortage in arid and semi-arid regions and declining its availability to a crisis ...
The Criminal Process in Environmental Regulation. (n.d.). UH Law. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/thester/courses/Environmental-Practicum-2014/syllabus/chap6.pdf
Pollution is a major problem for all of us. People need to recognize this situation so we can start making a difference to this problem. In order to start making a difference, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar a gallon. Fifty percent of this dollar will go towards public transportation, since passenger cars and trucks are a major contribution towards air pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A (10/4, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/emsns.html). Due to the expected increase after this is put forth, the remaining fifty percent of the dollar will go towards safety on these transits. When public transportation increases, air pollution will decrease, which will lessen the harmful health risks towards the environment.
Most American cars are not hybrids or fuel-efficient, they are usually big SUV’s or trucks that get eighteen to ten miles per gallon. Most of Hondas, Toyotas, and Hyundai’s get around 20 to 30 miles per gallon, and hybrids get 50 miles per gallon. Peoples demand fuel-efficient cars because oil is i...
Being a member of the future generation of innovators and leaders, I feel that this research combined with my fascination of automobiles could lead to a clearer understanding of how I can help improve the automobile. In a world that is highly connected by roads, if the problem of using petroleum-based fuels is not solved, the entire gas-guzzling world could come to a standstill. This apocalyptic halt would cease all travel and we would be thrown back to a more primitive standing. However, if we research and find an alternative ahead of time, we would be able to transiti...
With a gasoline-fueled vehicle, buying gas to operate your car is a never-ending process. With the high price change of gasoline and oil, operating a gasoline-fueled vehicle tends to be very costly. While there are some types of small gasoline vehicles that get much better gas mileage than larger vehicles, even the most powerful gasoline cars will normally desire a contribution every month. According to some experts the only way a mainstream market for green vehicles wills materlize is with a pronounced and prolonged rise in fuel prices. (Buss, 4)
... reduce natural gas consumption. Long-term I am committed to installing new energy efficient windows to truly reduce energy consumption. To help reduce the family’s water consumption we recently installed an energy efficient washing machine that uses over 60% less water than the previous model that was installed. As an additional means in which to help conserve water I will be installing a rain barrel in the summer to water our outdoor plants. While these actions might not seem significant, they can make a significant difference. According to Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified CFL, in just one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars.
Imagine that you’re driving on an open highway in the middle of summer. All you see in front of you is asphalt for miles and miles. The windows are down and your favorite song comes on the radio. You’re behind the wheel of a Tesla Model S, the newest electric car that can go from zero to sixty miles per hour in 2.4 seconds. This will soon be the future of all motor vehicles. Electric cars are beginning to have colossal impacts on our society because of their energy efficiency, performance benefits, and the fact that they are less harmful to the environment. In the near future, electric cars will dominate the road and eventually the planet’s overall need for oil will decrease immensely.
People can also reduce the use of fossil fuels by doing simple things for instance switching off lights and appliances when leaving the room. Walking or cycling instead of driving a car or use public transport for maybe longer journeys. Little things like this will make a big difference, making our planet a better place.
Glazewski, J.A. 2005. Environmental law in South Africa. 2nd ed. Cape Town: Butterworth publishing. 665 p.
Most people today fill up their car with different qualities of petrol, because that's what the average car takes. They don't usually consider an alternative for the petrol that they load into their cars. Although petrol is widely used, it is not the only source for a car to get its power from; diesel and electricity are alternatives to the general petrol used by most cars. Although different from each other, diesel and electricity are alternatives to the average gasoline received at a gas station. Diesel is a more concentrated type of fuel that is usually used by big automobiles because they require a lot of power in a little amount of time. Electricity is a method that uses the power of batteries to produce a low horsepower but, nevertheless fast automobile. Electric cars are generally created to be soundless and environment friendly. The purpose of this paper is to classify and educate the reader of the different types of fuel available for an automobile to use: petrol, diesel, and electricity. The general petrol, used by most people, is usually the only type of fuel accepted on the average car in the United States today.
Prevent dangerous climate change by phasing out fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) and replacing them with clean renewable energy such as solar.