Lagos, Nigeria is positioned to become West Africa’s economic hub for the 21st century. But boundless economic and physical growth at the expense of protective wetlands puts the entire city at risk of climate disaster.
Solutions addressing air pollution have a disturbing common denominator: they can be exclusionary. Without the important recognition of how class and race intersect with health vulnerabilities, steps to save lives run the risk of being discriminatory.
Curiosity and wonder are good anecdotes against fear.
“We’re all in the same boat, as climate change affects everyone, but very few have a life jacket.”
Zambia is a case in point. In 2020, the south African country was found to be a debt defaulter. The amount in question was 17 billion USD. But why is this happening to a country rich in copper and cobalt, two of the world’s most sought after metals?
“I saw that the children were malnourished, blackened teeth and gum issues were common and women frequently reported miscarriages and still births. All of these issues quickly made me realize that this area probably had lead.”
Over two days of travelling across Rivers State with Junior, he will tell us in bits that revealing anything that can lead back to him will put him at risk of arrest, harassment, or even death from either state or non-state actors.
Port Maria, a town with a rich and sprawling history, is a case study of how devastating even a small rise in sea level can be for small islands in the tropical regions of the world.
