[WARNING ] GRAPHIC PICS: DANGER OF CARBON MONOXIDE

These above pictures were the remains of once healthy family but wasted their lives on Monday in Lagos surburb, when they decided to leave newly bought generating set on in their Two bedroom apartment and slept off. Next morning they were found dead.

It is horrific, isn’t it? Should I call this ignorance or sheer lack of information about the inherent danger in generator fumes? The cases of people getting killed by generator fumes keep repeating itself and whenever I read such story, It drives me crazy. When do we learn that generator is not our friend? it is one arch enemy of our environment as well. How do I mean? Aside from the fact that we use these machines as substitute for electricity when there is power outage, for our daily activities and bussiness. The fumes ozzing out from the exhaust of this noise making machine causes irreparable damage to humans.

I want to believe there have been so much sensitisation and awareness on this both from government and non governmental organisation (NGOs). I personally I have been on the vanguard advocating for carbon free environment. We need to know that we cannot survive when the air we inhale is not clean. Generators or generating sets whatever is called, is the second air pollutant in Africa, automobiles being the first. These exhaust from these machines have been confirmed to be major destroyer of ozone layer. The aftermath of this is global warning and climate change which we have been trying to reduce its effects on human existence.

Environmentalists, climate change experts and environmental protection agencies have been working assudiously educating people on the risk in carbon mono oxide emission (generator fumes) to human existence. We know there has been power supply issue in the country, which President Goodluck has promised to resolve before 2015 election. Nevertheless, lack of power supply should not be the reason why we should be wasting our lives. May their soul rest in peace.