DR.Ahmed Hany: Alternative Path for Environmental Problems
Professor of Allergy, Chest and Environmental Medicine
Since the seventies of the last century there have been many conferences for the environment with many disappointments because the main polluters have been breaking their promises to finance the environmental reform needed for the planet to survive and/or to transfer modern technologies.
Most probably that situation will continue in the future.
The poor countries have to deal with the environmental problems without enough financial resources or modern technology. In addition the target zero emission is not suitable for them.
Also the advanced countries predict that they will not achieve this target by 2050.
Even cutting emission by half of the today level by 2030 to keep rising of temperature at 1.5 degrees centigrade is out of reach.
The International World Bank declared that the rise will be 2 degrees centigrade if the emission is halved.
Simply the global strategy does not work and it does not fulfill the real needs of the developing countries.
The climate changes is a problem caused by big polluters and while they have the means to solve it they do not want to pay for the solutions.
They break promises and even Europe returned to burning coal when they try to deal with the crisis of gas supply.
They want developing countries to participate neglecting their priorities of clean water, food and improving life conditions although they know that the objectives of those strategies are unachievable.
The developing countries have to devise a new vision that enables them to solve their urgent problems.
It is the acclimatization to the present situation and solving the problems of climate changes with the best available solutions.
The renowned late Egyptian Engineer Hasan Fatthy built environmental friendly homes in the deserts that does not need air conditions.
Until the end of the last century shutters were the norm in homes and ceilings were higher allowing ventilation in summer and keeping warm air in winter.
However the recent designs of buildings that make interiors close and isolated from open air made air conditions necessary.
The air conditions are one of the causes of increased bronchial asthma especially in children.
There is a new condition that affects many people called Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance with increased anxiety, irritability and fatigue due to living most of time in homes and offices that are isolated from the open air.
When cleaning these homes and offices the chemicals and deodorants odors stay for long time irritating the respiratory system, eyes and skin.
If acclimatization is the vision then the design of buildings should be revised to make buildings more environmental friendly.
Desalination of sea water should be wide spread to end draughts and desertification with tubes extending to the lands that could be cultivated to produce food regardless of the method of energy used.
After all the south participates in tiny amount of emission of carbon dioxide.
The floods that destroy many countries should be studied by local scientists and siphons are built to preserve water for using it and decreasing the hazards it causes regardless of the materials or fuel used to construct them.
Focusing on producing energy and electricity using solar power or wind is fine when resources are available. However if the big polluters refuse to help it is up to each country to solve the energy problems whatsoever the mean used.
The negotiations with the big polluters that ruined the environment should be frank and bold; you should pay for reforming the environment or you have your way that is not achievable and we have ours that gives us space for acclimatization.
