Much of the world relies on non-renewable energy to heat their homes, power their electronic devices, and power their cars. Once these energy sources are used up, they will be gone forever. Developing technologies that can efficiently use renewable energy sources is critical to our future.
However, it is also important to consider how these resources can be used long term. Some resources will practically never run out. These are known as renewable resources. Renewable resources also produce clean energy, meaning less pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change.
“One thing that is poorly understood is population growth in Africa,” says William Cobbett, director of Cities Alliance . “It is thought that populations are growing mainly because of urban migration. That’s not correct. Across the continent, the bulk of population growth comes from natural population growth. Undesa figures from 1950-2050 show that in the case of Uganda – the outlier – its population in one century will multiply 20 times. That has never happened in human history.” Tanzania will grow 18 times and Nigeria 10.5.
“Most local authorities don’t have the capacity to deal with this, so there is no forward planning to make provisions for this population growth, which we know is going to happen.”
His organisation is trying to combat the mindset that you can’t plan for increased slum population, by supporting the creation of municipal development forums in a number of Ugandan cities. These are structured discussions where the local authority, local private sector companies and slum dwellers meet and deliberate about the future of the city.
Having the capacity to plan for future slum populations isn’t just a problem limited to Africa though.
Explanation:
a Japanese religion dating from the early 8th century and incorporating the worship of ancestors and nature spirits and a belief in sacred power ( kami ) in both animate and inanimate things. It was the state religion of Japan until 1945.
