Ghana: Global Virtual Town Hall

Environment   Nov 1, 2017 by Maame Adwoa Adom Ocran

What does it mean to “decolonize” and “decarbonize”?

Map the two terms, “decolonize” and “decarbonize,” indicating the points of overlap between them. Why must the two be carried out together? Provide brief examples from things you've learned throughout the unit to support your ideas.

Decolonize, when I looked it up, means to withdraw from a colony or to make one independent and decarbonise is to reduce the level of carbon emissions in the environment.

During the tri-regionals conference, we spoke about galamsey and the non eco friendly methods that were taught to the indigenous people by our colonial masters. These people have no idea of the effects has on them as they only wish earn quick money. Unfortunately, presently, companies and firms from developed countries like China come to participate in what we would like to call, modern colonization. Where they illegally enter the country through the coast and force the indigenous, by way of words, to work for them. In addition to this appalling find, they pay them something small and take away the resources.

The link is when these illegal machinery enters the country, they tend to use our forests as their means of transportation so as result trample upon our trees, killing our carbon recycler in the process; in a long term destroying our planet. In addition to this, the use of their transport to and from the coast and the site is not monitored so therefore the emission of these trucks(due to their high emissions) has a huge impact.

How can you as students participate in this process on various levels? Provide examples.

1. As per research, it has been concluded that 4x4 cars emit a great amount of poisonous gases that contribute to climate change. Many of cars in car are 4x4 cars unfortunately and are not being used to its advantage ie the primary use for long distances, very rocky adventures,etc is abandoned as many Ghanaians use it for journey sometimes not less than a thousand meters.
2. So one way to reduce the unnecessary usages is to improve public transport. The issue is citizens do not find public transportation appealing so to encourage public transport we came up with the idea of sending signed petitions to our government.

1. Apart from this, the government could raise the tax for factories that overwork as they tend to release excess carbon and other gases into the atmosphere. These taxes could be used to subsidize catalytic converters for citizens. Once this is installed in their cars, the level emission of these gases would be decrease drastically.

1. And last but the least education, as and when we teach our juniors, we could educate them and speak of its impacts because right now what is encouraging the foreigner is the fact that they incur low labor cost. If the indigenous understand it would be difficult to illegal work there.

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