Ghana's Chernobyl Timebomb ... or is it Ghana's own "Fukushima Daiichi"?

It’s been a helluva quarter, these past 3 months.

I have a lot of updates (as usual), and no clear point at which to begin (as usual), since for me and my renergy experiences, every experience sort of magically tends to run into the next, so that they are all melded together in this surreal way.

Let me start with the bullet points so even if I totter off the path, we have some modicum of order, eh?

·         April 2011: retrospective assessment of first briquette-training by Energy Solutions Foundation (my Renewable Energy & Sustainable Development NGO) … for better 2^nd round of trainings and modifications to upcoming briquette-makers.

Had a lot of email and phone discussions with Danny Quaynor (the NGO’s partner in appropriate technology) concerning our next few projects over the next 18 months, before we had one good Sunday working meeting to put down plans, structures, and timetable.

To come : (1) Semi-commercial production of ready-to-use briquettes of a wide range of choices (palmnut, palm-kernel, cow dung, dawadawa, shea-butter, sawdust, etc) for all households just as one would purchase charcoal and just begin using it. We will call it Green Gold Briquettes (ah, sentimental!)

(2) More production and commercial production, distribution and marketing of briquette-making equipments of all sizes and capacities for what will be a briquette-making industry in Ghana … instead of charcoal-production communities and firewood-stocking merchants in the country.

(3) Waste Oils and Vegetable Oils for use on a small scale in motors, engines, and motorized gadgets in place of fossil fuels. The target is waste vegetable oils for use as fuel (like diesel) in generators, processing machines, engines, motor-bikes, cars, etc.

(4) Appropriate, affordable (less than $500) biogas structures and facilities for the low to middle-class Ghanaians who often most lack access to energy, fuel, and power or have very little of their total needs in these met.

Yes!

To achieve over the next 18 months. Want to steal some ideas from here and run with it? PLEASE DO IT! Feel absolutely free to!

These are ideas we need in the country, and I don’t care who does it or who gets the credit.

In fact, if you want the  blueprints of it, call or email me!

 Make me believe you will really do it for the BENEFIT OF THE SUFFERING PEOPLE of THIS COUNTRY, I shall hand them all over to you with glee.

Yes, I will still keep working on them too … it is never enough, and there can never be too many propagators. We need renewable energy alternatives like “pure water” sells in this country. Everywhere, Cheap, and Never Lacking!!

·         May 2011: Call to collaborate with a Ghanaian FashionHouse called MAKSI (www.maksiclothing.com) to increase awareness on need for clean environment and sustainable ways of living. Secondary objective to donate 10% of proceeds made from eco-focused fashion line to ESF’s “Tuori Biogas Facility” Fundraiser (see here for more about this).

Also asked by Creative Storm, Ghana (hint: Dr. Kwesi Owusu) to lead them to our Aburi workshop for coverage of our West African customized briquette-maker and other initiatives for a documentary they were doing for the EFFA (Environmental Film Festival of Accra 2011 June 2011).

Hopefully, we can make a hope-laden and impact-full documentary out of that session one of these days, when I can add the cost of that to my budget (don’t you just which you could do everything in the world by yourself sometimes? J )

In collaboration with MAKSI fashionhouse, was on The One Show with PY Addo and Jocelyn Dumas, in an interview to highlight the eco-fashion campaign and ESF’s role in it. Was able to talk about the briquette-making training session in the Upper West, and other challenges facing the NGO as well as memorable experiences and personal impressions of the larger situation in the country.

Jocelyn Dumas for MAKSI eco-fashion.

Ama Abebrese for MAKSI eco-fashion. Way nicer pics, but I chose bcus you actually see the dumptruck in the background!

My first intern (I so often shy away from interns and volunteers, but I finally made bold to try it out) for the NGO arrived, and got pulled right into the middle of the heat. Miss Akua Akyaa Nkrumah also writes on her blog whenever she has the chance and peace of mind. Internship, as at now (August 2011) is ended, but went very phenomenally. Now to get her to write me that internship report!

·         June 2011: The EFFA (by Creative Storm) begins in the second week of the month.  Akua and I attend one of the forums and the week after, was asked to be part of a panel (still within EFFA celebrations) addressing the issue of waste and plastic waste (disposal, management, culture surrounding, solutions) in Ghana and beyond.

Shared the panel with MAKSI FashionHouse (Nana Darkoah Sekyiamah), Trashy Bags (Stuart Gold), and we were moderated by the astute and creative Dr. Kwesi Owusu (of Creative Storm and EFFA) himself. This last forum went extremely well.

A five minute insert of our Aburi documentary was included in a 12-minute documentary made by Creative Storm for the Film Marathon aspect of the EFFA, and we felt somewhat encouraged by all events and activities that month.

·         July 2011: intern and I hit Cape 3 Points, Takoradi, Cape Coast, Tarkwa on research and fact-finding ecological and environment-focused learning trips. See here for an album of pictures taken on most of these trips.

We commenced working relationships, procured a lot of data, researched about particular situations in specific locations, and got more familiar with more places in our country. To come, Wa, Tuori, Yargpelle, Lawra, Cape Coast again, Benin Songhai Center, and Cape Verde.

Want me to come see something in your community or neighbourhood? Call me up or email me.

If I need to advocate for help and support, or get you in contact with experts and entities in the field, I will.

This month also saw a lot more people interacting with me about the work I do in this NGO; most of them acquaintances I don’t know so well but now do, friends who keep referring me to things and things to me, family members who encourage and support, and strangers who have been following everything since I started and I have no idea of!

Some call me now and then and mention meetings at BarCamps I have presented at, or conferences and forums I have spoken at, or sometimes just have had only my blogposts to read! Keep the encouragement coming! It really helps.

July ended with another BBC phone interview for one of Africa Have Your Say’s sessions, this one on power shortages/outages on the continent, with focus on Kenya’s new/recent power rationing announcements.

I was humbled to be called by BBC team to be the voice for renewable energy in the entire discussion, and was allowed to have the final word on the programme after all the excuses and annual explanations by the political leaders of the energy institutions. I felt like I needed much more time than that though! Where the boxing ring at?! Lemme at them!

Last year, was called by BBC on similar issues and the Energy Ministry of Ghana promised on the live set discussion to PASS THE RENEWABLE ENERGY BILL into law before the year ended, after I had posed a question to them. We still wait for that to happen. See: WTF has the Ministry of Energy Ghana, done for us so far? and The BBC debate & a promise by the Energy Minister of Ghana.

Finally, pressure has been put on me by a friend who is with me on a Ghanaian social network group to do something about the embarrassing elephant in our midst here in Ghana … the e-waste situation of Sodom and Gomorrah (S & G itself being a problem worth of its very own blogpost!).

Since 2008, it has garnered a lot of HIGHLY-CONCERNED and VERY DISTURBING articles, revelations, and campaigns about the high levels of toxins seeping into the ground, the water-tables, the air, the systems of the young men and the animals and cattle of the area.

Nothing impact-full has happened to cause a change in the situation. Instead, it gets worse.

I sometimes think every European and American journalist, journalist ‘freak’ (some of them write about it with glee), and journalist wannabe who wants to get some attention, or cut their teeth on the job in the fastest possible way comes to Ghana and takes pictures and videos, interviews of this situation, and goes back to make it their promotional or hey-look-at-me-I’m –a-genius ace-in-hand or trump card.

And year after year, they keep coming … to find the situation not even the same, but worse!

WTF Ghana.

WTF all these big electronic companies like Philips, Canon, Dell, Sony, and the bloody Japanese, Chinese, Korean ones.

WTF all phone companies, and WTF Environmental Protection Agency, Accra Metropolitan Assemby, and the Government of Ghana!

W …T …F!

I went to see Kojo Oppong Nkrumah last week, and I asked him for help brainstorming what to do about this situation. He has suggested a first joint step, and I hope he will honour it. What? He’s very busy? We all are, darling.

I will go to Otabil … his wonderful bastion of sense, discipline, and morality/religion ICGC, stands right next to the e-waste aisle of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Toxins and depraved lunatics, deformed babies and malfunctioning young men and women, anybody? (Please don’t scream Amen to that.)

Yes, the toxins from these electronic waste heaps lead to brain malfunctions, lead poisoning, nerve problems, sexual reproduction issues, cancer, and mutants like you see on X-men. Okay, maybe not the last, but you get the idea.

Then I’m going to hit up on Wanlov Kubolor, Mantse Aryeequaye, Kwesi Owusu, Bibie Brew, did I mention Otabil already, and all my radical brothers and sisters … and we’re gonna go see the President.

Because something’s gotta give.

P.S.: Have you donated to our fundraiser yet? See here. This is very close to my heart.

We also have a page on Facebook, where you can interact, get more real-time updates, and ask questions. Click here.

FREE CHARITY BALL!!!

Dear Members! Free Charity Cocktail Ball!

Pull dem dresses and suits out now!!!

After some strategizing and testing the waters ... I realised that the Charity Ball patronage will be low.

I had earlier decided to make a fiery presentation to the 4 Speakers and an empty room ... seeing as patronage would be so low for a paid event!

And also because, with an empty room, and the initial shock they would go through ... they would be aware that so much needs to be done here in Ghana.
And it is the first lesson we should have - the truth of the situation.

I intended to make this presentation on feasible, practical aspects of our Sustainable Waste Management initiative - which seeks to turn our terrible landfill sites into organized, compartmentalized sites where Sorting, Recycling, and Methane Gas (for communal cooking and elcetrical use) goes on.
Not only is this practical, but it is a direct source of Employment, a Curative Solution to our Health care system, and the best way to start educating the masses about non-littering ... with this practical example of community effort.

This was what i planned to present as part of my solo performance this Saturday, with the hope that after their anger dies down, these Speakers will agree that there is a valid point to this, and offer some of their influence and status to get things growing.

BUT I then thought ... if the room will be empty, why not make it free them, and still get some people to come?

Free?
I don't lose!!
So ... if you are in Accra, and have this dress or suit that you've been dying to wear ... take it out!!!

Be with me at 6:30 pm on Saturday at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, North Ridge ... and have a wonderful 2 hours meeting new people, collaborating, and talking about how we can also help CHANGE GHANA!

It's a cocktail event, with the hotel's bar serving drinks to those who want to buy!

What better than to do this with 4 prominent Ghanaians with the influence to make our suggestions happen?!!

If you are thinking yes ... I need to know! ... reply YES to this message, with your name now!!! I need you on this.

Programme is this very Saturday.

xxx, Golda Addo.

GHANA GOING GREEN: Riding that Cliche into the ground! (Part One)

Today's post is purely dedicated to the 2009 Blog Action Day, which topic for the year happens to be Climate Change. Readers must have seen this post already. But I think it makes for good reading time and time again, don't you?!! lol.

GHANA GOING GREEN: Riding that cliché into the ground!

“Going Green.”
Poor phrase is out and about like trash on a Monday morning – here, there and everywhere.
‘Greening Ghana’/‘Going Green’ /‘Ghana Goes Green’.
The perfect cliché to get the attention of people these days, what with the recent UN Summit focusing on Climate Change, The Road to Copenhagen prepping to talk about Climate Change with world leaders, and the Blog Action Day 2009 (15th Oct.) topic, which all bloggers around the globe voted to blog about … you got it … Climate Change!

Whilst we’re still saying ‘Go Green’ to look cool in Ghana, other countries are dishing out penalties to defaulters.
The world, when left undisturbed, is naturally green for a reason; and the innate longings of man always makes him/her gravitate towards natural points of life sustenance – beaches, lakes, forests, parks, waterfalls, hills, mountains, etc. How would I know? Simply list the locations most Ghanaians troop to on holidays, and you’ll be fine.

The Indians have a saying:
‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.’
Think about it.
The population statistics at the time of the Baby Boomers (generation), and those of today (current Generation Y) shows that we have one last shot at putting firm policies and regulations in place to manage our natural resources and eco-friendly initiatives. Hence, land, air, water, atmosphere, environment, population growth or dearth of it – all must now be protected and sustained at all cost.

Population and energy are just one of the coupled offshoots of the energy industry. It is very difficult these days to find a community with the perfect population size in most countries, Ghana included. Communities are either over-crowded or under-populated, and any research to identify the causes comes up with the lack of/abundance of facilities, as determinants.

Facilities thrive in the absence/presence of energy, and due to the fact that the entire nation depends on Akosombo (Aboadze thermal plant constantly facing problems and maintainance issues, and Bui still a political issue and far from completion), majority of Ghana’s population still lacks access to electricity. The minority who are lucky to be plugged on the grid still face unpredictable, inefficient, and unreliable power supply.

If there is one thing that can stop the rural-urban drift (along with its consequent ghost villages back home, slums and shanty towns in the cities, uncontrollable crime waves, unemployment, rapidly spiraling waste management inabilities in the urban areas, health issues, lower life expectancy, illiteracy and uneducation of the masses, frustrated and unambitious citizens riding high on corruptive and deceptive means of income), it will be access to efficient, reliable energy, as well as clean, healthy environments and sustainability-conscious industries and businesses.

The rural areas are often so lush, green, cool, and serene; abundant with food and undisturbed by vehicular and human traffic, that as soon as they are given energy, and hence, facilities and employment opportunities, their run-away inhabitants will flee back home and stay there. With a large number of city-dwellers close on their heels as well!

Our natural resources worldwide were so taken for granted and un-sustained that, within the last 200 years, every generation has had to pay back for this negligence, the compensation to Mother Earth increasing more and more with each half-century.

Our horizons are now bare, or laden with sky-scrapers (what an apt name!); Lake Chad has frighteningly been reduced to a mud bowl, and as for the Sahara Desert : coming soon to a garden near you!
You do not have to stare far off into the distance, or into Burkina Faso any more to see desert traits. With a glance, its right here in our Northern and Upper regions, steadily crawling southwards each year.

It’s time to run that cliché into the ground and grow a fresh approach to Green initiatives, a new attitude, and a new speech:
Making Green Energy a Culture in Ghana!
No more focusing on ‘Why solar/wind Technology is not Profitable’ or ‘Banks declare Renewable Energy as long-term, and hence, not Viable Investments’ or ‘Those on solar, biogas, wind are doing so to feel good with themselves, because there is no benefit/profit’.

Let us talk about ‘Renewable Energy forever = Fossil Fuels Shortage palaver’ and ‘What will you do if Akosombo should grind to a halt one day out of the blue?’ and ‘One gadget per household to start, is better than an entire facelift per Ghanaian’ and ‘College of Engineering and Renewable Energy grads of KNUST – the way forward for their skills and inventions?’ and ‘The Youth & RE-Sustainability – catching them young!’

It is only by education and awareness creation that Ghanaians will come to understand why we need to diversify our energy sources, and how it can be done relatively affordably; then they can appreciate the technology, which increases demand for the technology. This increase in demand means a wider consumer base for the technologies, which is really what is needed to nurture, grow, and make the industry profitable.

Who should educate the people for you to sell? You do it for yourself!
When it comes to employment and development on the industry, there’s a pretty penny to be made there as well. As far as I know, our students need the investment to make their ideas and inventions real, and we can all do that for them. Investing in these young engineers and illiterate inventors will help our Renewable energy remain in-country, and grow our economy, as opposed to sending it all to foreign manufacturers and suppliers.

Ghanaians can go on domestic renewable energy schemes on loans smaller than the car and personal loans that banks keep pushing on workers and businesspeople. Unfortunately, the banks refuse to do any research to come up with these investment possibilities, and are likely not to, until someone makes the industry a hot business success in the country!

We have been lazy in our efforts to switch to sustainability, waiting on others to take the responsibility of ensuring our quality of life, and that of our descendants. We continue to lie in the lazy chairs, but in the meantime, our fuel shortages keep getting more constant every weekend, our air keeps getting more polluted, out landfill sites can no more contain the levels of waste and rot we discard daily, we keep dropping dead of unfamiliar ailments, our life expectancy keeps decreasing, and Akosombo grows a little older each day, as more and more people tap into the grid on a daily basis.
In the meantime, do note that the meantime never lasts indefinitely …

Golda Addo
Founder, MD
Energy Solutions Foundation
esfghana@gmail.com