Urban health, safety and environment (HSE)
R. Oguntayo; S. F. Agberotimi; P. O. Ajao; O. T. Oladele; A. O. Olaseni; O. D. Ajibewa
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Environmental worry involve primarily the thoughts of some hazardous immediate and long-run side effects of degradation that happened to our ecological system. Despite the side effects of this phenomenon, psychometrics measuring environmental worry from the African context ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Environmental worry involve primarily the thoughts of some hazardous immediate and long-run side effects of degradation that happened to our ecological system. Despite the side effects of this phenomenon, psychometrics measuring environmental worry from the African context are insufficient. Therefore, the Environmental Worry Index (EWI-11) was developed to assess proximal and personal experiences of worry about climate change and environmental degradation. METHODS: This study used a qualitative method among environmental professionals and students (between the ages of 18 to 65) in a university to generate the themes and the pool of items that were used to determine the Environmental Worry Index (EWI-11). Thereafter, 925 participants were purposively selected and assessed from Ibadan city through a cross-sectional survey to ascertain the validity and reliability of this new scale. The participants were selected in Ibadan city, Nigeria. The software of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (Version 26.0) was used for all analyses.FINDINGS: Using exploratory factor analysis, the construct validity and Varimax rotation showed that the scale has two components (KMO = 0.892, df=91, p.00), thus showing a strong validity. The reliability dimensions and subscales have meritorious reliability (Proximal, α =.894, and Personal experience of worry, α =.671). The overall Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.894.CONCLUSION: The EWI-11 is adequate for measuring environmental worry and could be useful for experts in mental and environmental research and practice. EWI-11 is therefore recommended as a reliable and valid screening tool for environmental worry and may be acceptable across Africa and other countries as well.
Urban ecology and related environmental concerns
O.F. Olusunmade; T.A. Yusuf; C.O. Ogunnigbo
Abstract
Management of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in most developed societies now involves the use of thermo-chemical conversion methods. This leads to energy and material recovery while also protecting the environment. However, till date most of the wastes generated in Nigeria (including plastic wastes) are ...
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Management of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in most developed societies now involves the use of thermo-chemical conversion methods. This leads to energy and material recovery while also protecting the environment. However, till date most of the wastes generated in Nigeria (including plastic wastes) are either land-filled or openly burnt. These methods are not sustainable and environmentally non-friendly. The reason is that so much space will be needed to accommodate the ever increasing wastes as a result of land-filling and open burning leads to environmental pollution and health challenges. Also, the inherent energy in plastic wastes, as a result of the fact that they have their origins from oil and gas, is not recovered for the benefit of meeting the energy requirements of the populace. Meanwhile there is serious inadequate supply of heat and electricity, the production of which could be improved if the plastic wastes are also applied for electricity and heat generation. This study estimated the amount of energy loss due to the prevailing method of disposal adopted for plastic wastes in terms of quantity of oil and electricity that could have been produced if thermo-chemical approaches were adopted for these wastes. It showed that about 17.3 million barrels of crude oil (worth about $1 billion) and 7.1 million MWh of electricity (capable of powering 4.4 million households) could be produced from the plastic wastes generated in the country. Therefore, plastic wastes should be embraced and treated as a resource rather than “wastes”.
