The Himalayan glaciers, a 2,400-kilometre range that sweeps through Pakistan, India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, provides headwaters for Asia’s nine largest rivers, are a lifeline for the 1.3 billion people who depend on the rivers’ downstream water resources.

But rising temperatures in the last 30 years are dramatically accelerating the rate at which the glaciers are shrinking. Campaigners warn that some glaciers could disappear within a few decades. Scientists predict that most will be gone in 40 years as a result of climate change.

According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s top authority on climate change, the deal reached at the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December 2009 “will have huge ramifications for the lives of hundreds of millions of people living in the Himalayan drainage systems who are already vulnerable due to widespread poverty.” It has warned that “Himalayan glaciers could disappear altogether by 2035.”

Experts say the effects of global warming are already being felt in the region. The Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which has conducted research on Himalayan glaciers for 30 years, warns of an “urgent need for more research on the impact of climate change. Most experts accept that temperatures are changing, and this is happening more rapidly at altitudes. Current trends in glacial melt suggest flows in major Asian rivers, including the Ganges, the Indus and the Yellow River, will be substantially reduced in coming decades.

When the shortage arrives, it may happen abruptly, with water systems going from abundant to scarce in perhaps a few decades. When the glaciers get hotter, you get more water, but there comes a point when the water will run out.

It seems Pakistan’s massive glacier melt and flooding pattern fits the grim picture UN climate experts predicted for South Asia. We need to look into the scientific cause of this huge environmental disaster rather than consigning it to the will of Allah or divine retribution. Where do we go from here?

Reports from upper Swat and Chitral confirm the predictions of UN climate-change experts regarding Himalayan glaciers’ vulnerability to global warming and its cataclysmic consequences, which are already painfully evident today. This does not appear to be simple monsoon rain precipitation resulting in heavy flooding as our meteorologists and government suggest. Matters are certainly more challenging.

Mother Earth is extracting a heavy price for humans’ deliberate ignorance, extravagant lifestyle and callous policies. UN experts at the Copenhagen Conference listed Pakistan, together with Afghanistan, as most vulnerable to climate change in South Asia.

“Pakistan’s troubles pale compared with what it might face 25 years from now. When it comes to stability of the world’s most volatile regions, it is the fate of the Himalayas’ glaciers that should be keeping us awake all night!” according to Foreign Policy Magazine.

“Pakistan’s ability to tackle droughts, floods, food shortages, large ecological migrations and disease outbreaks, and still continue as a viable entity, will depend on its preparedness.”

There is no evidence that Pakistani decision-makers are taking climate-change warnings seriously enough. It is time to face the terrible reality, especially the vulnerable majority, for the wrongs of the affluent in the developed world, and Pakistan’s elitist, environmentally destructive policies.

A World Bank report estimates that since more than half of Pakistan’s land area is arid and semi-arid, expected changes in temperatures and rainfall patterns in the future could impinge upon the country’s food security, besides the livelihoods of millions of herders and pastoralists.

The impact of glacier melt would result in initial flooding and future drying of water resources and impact on water consumption. Reduced soil productivity and land use changes would shrink land resources. The impact of drought and desiccation upon ecosystems (wetlands), particularly those which are glacier-fed, would result in reduction of alpine forest cover and loss of wetlands due to exposure to water-logging. The health and social development impact will be outbreaks of heat-related and insect-transmitted diseases, malnutrition, food and water insecurity, migration and conflict.

UN climate-change experts should study the severity of the problem and propose policy recommendations, in handling climate change. The militarisation of South Asia, especially Afghanistan and Pakistan, has already destroyed the ecosystem and biodiversity of the entire region. Human greed and rapacity has a lot to do with our present predicament; the stars above are not at fault.

The Sarhad Conservation Network has proposed reputable environmental experts at IUCN and UN climate organisations to determine the cause and impact of glacier melt resulting in the flood havoc in Pakistan.

Pakistan needs to reflect on its critical ecosystem and act now. As UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon warned at the summit in the Danish capital, “failure to reach broad consensus agreement in Copenhagen would be morally inexcusable, economically short-sighted and politically unwise.”

The writer is general secretary of the Sarhad Conservation Network, an advocacy NGO for conservation of natural and cultural heritage, biodiversity and healthy lifestyles.

Source:  http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=254382

Claim 2: Thar coal reserves dwarf Saudi Arabia’s proven oil reserves of 264 billion barrels. (Saudi reserves amount to 25 percent of the global total.) Fact 2: In 1981, Pakistan produced 1.6 million tons of coal. Over the past 25 years our coal production has steadily gone up and we currently produce around 4.3 million tons a year, or a meagre 0.6 percent of world production. Asad Umar, president of Engro Corporation Limited, the company that has signed a joint venture with the government of Sindh for Thar Block II, has this to say on the subject: “One cannot make a direct comparison between oil and coal because oil travels very well and coal does not, and therefore oil dominates the energy market. So even if your [coal] reserves are bigger than Saudi Arabia’s [oil reserves], it doesn’t mean that you are going to become a Saudi Arabia of energy. And given that we don’t have the best-quality coal, we have lignite coal which is very high in moisture, it’s not going to be a globally traded commodity. It’s not that we will start exporting 10 million barrels of oil energy per day.”

Claim 3: Thar coal reserves can produce enough electricity to end load-shedding and then power Pakistan for the following 50 years. Fact 3: Leading financial institutions around the world have long discontinued the financing of coal-fired power plants. According to Engro, “Pakistan is unlikely to generate any power from Thar coal before 2016. Feasibility should be completed …by the end of 2010. Then one year for financial close and then four years of execution, which means the end of 2015.”

Claim 4: Americans do not want Pakistan to develop Thar coal reserves. Fact 4: As a matter of record, in the early 1990s, it was the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), actually looking for water, which first identified the presence of coal deposits in Thar.

Claim 5: Thar coal can be converted into gas and the gas can then be converted into transportation fuels. Fact 5: The South African company Sasol (Suid Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie) has been producing petrol and diesel from coal (through the Fischer-Tropsch process). In essence, coal gasification is a proven technology. Thar coal can potentially be converted into gas, but the question that is yet to be answered is: will such conversion be cost-effective and economically viable?

Claim 6: Thar coal is both technologically and economically viable. Fact 6: There is not a single scientific study on record that claims that Thar coal is both technologically and economically viable. Technical and economic feasibility studies are yet to be undertaken. At the same time, “regional geologic conditions, coal seam continuity, structure, quality, topography, altitude, slope, surface drainage patterns, groundwater conditions, availability of labour and materials, coal purchaser requirements, capital investment requirements” and environmental impact are yet to be ascertained.

Imagine. Japan’s proven reserves of lignite coal is zero, but Japan manages to produce $4 trillion worth of goods and services a year. It’s not about extracting coal. The real name of the game is developing your human capital.

Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=248791, Sunday, July 04, 2010
Dr Farrukh Saleem  is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com

Sources in the EPD said that according to samples taken by the field staff, water of 253 tube wells, out of 392, was found to be contaminated with arsenic. They said the PU’s Chemistry Department also seconded the EPD’s report through Atomic Absorption Tests. The EPD would submit a complete report on the matter to the Punjab chief minister in a few days, they added.

Termed a slow poison, arsenic is present in rocks, soil, air, plants and animals and its long-term use might cause different forms of cancer. The element can not be easily detected during ingestion as it is tasteless, odorless and colorless.

Arsenic in drinking water is absorbed by the body and distributed by bloodstream. It does not enter the body through skin or by inhalation during bathing.

The body parts which accumulate arsenic the most over time are nails and hair. Though most of the element is removed through urine, skin, hair and nails also help the body get rid of it.

The permissible limit of arsenic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, is 10 parts per billion (ppb), but water of some tube wells in the city carries as much as over 50 ppb of the element.

Environmentalists say the government should declare it mandatory to carry out tests for bacteria, nitrates and organic and inorganic compounds on every tube well at least once a year. They say modern tests like Mass Spectrometry/Inductively Coupled Plasma, Electro-Thermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Method, Manual Hydride Generation/Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Method and Silver Diethyldithiocarbamate Method should be introduced across the province to test of presence of arsenic in water.

Dr Attiqur Rehman, assistant professor Environmental Sciences, Lahore College, who is also a visiting research fellow at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), says it is a matter of great concern that even in cities like Lahore, where the WASA claims the provision of high quality water, the level of arsenic is almost five times higher than the WHO standards. He says the government should pay immediate attention to the issue, ordering installation of arsenic filtration plants at all the sources where from water is being pumped out or stored for public supply.

He says arsenic is very harmful heavy metal and its effects on human body include loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, skin lesions, skin rash, chronic headaches, apathy, garlic odor on breath, a metallic taste in the mouth, a bronzing pigment of the skin resembling raindrops on a dusty road and possible damage to the liver. Arsenic and arsenic compounds are also known cancer-causing agents and have been implicated in lung and skin cancer and associated with birth defects, he adds.

When contacted, EPA director general Dr Shugufta Shahjehan said the department was working hard to identify the presence of arsenic in the province, so that necessary measures could be taken to fix the problem. To a question, she said no death had so far been reported due to arsenic poisoning in areas of high concentration. This did not mean that people were free from health hazards resulting from arsenic-contaminated water, she added.

Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=245413, Thursday, June 17, 2010 written by Ali Raza

Today 56 newspapers in 44 countries take the unprecedented step of speaking with one voice through a common editorial. We do so because humanity faces a profound emergency.

Unless we combine to take decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet, and with it our prosperity and security. The dangers have been becoming apparent for a generation. Now the facts have started to speak: 11 of the past 14 years have been the warmest on record, the Arctic ice-cap is melting and last year’s inflamed oil and food prices provide a foretaste of future havoc. In scientific journals the question is no longer whether humans are to blame, but how little time we have got left to limit the damage. Yet so far the world’s response has been feeble and half-hearted.

Climate change has been caused over centuries, has consequences that will endure for all time and our prospects of taming it will be determined in the next 14 days. We call on the representatives of the 192 countries gathered in Copenhagen not to hesitate, not to fall into dispute, not to blame each other but to seize opportunity from the greatest modern failure of politics. This should not be a fight between the rich world and the poor world, or between east and west. Climate change affects everyone, and must be solved by everyone.

The science is complex but the facts are clear. The world needs to take steps to limit temperature rises to 2C, an aim that will require global emissions to peak and begin falling within the next 5-10 years. A bigger rise of 3-4C — the smallest increase we can prudently expect to follow inaction — would parch continents, turning farmland into desert. Half of all species could become extinct, untold millions of people would be displaced, whole nations drowned by the sea.

Few believe that Copenhagen can any longer produce a fully polished treaty; real progress towards one could only begin with the arrival of President Obama in the White House and the reversal of years of US obstructionism. Even now the world finds itself at the mercy of American domestic politics, for the president cannot fully commit to the action required until the US Congress has done so.

But the politicians in Copenhagen can and must agree the essential elements of a fair and effective deal and, crucially, a firm timetable for turning it into a treaty. Next June’s UN climate meeting in Bonn should be their deadline. As one negotiator put it: “We can go into extra time but we can’t afford a replay.”

At the deal’s heart must be a settlement between the rich world and the developing world covering how the burden of fighting climate change will be divided — and how we will share a newly precious resource: the trillion or so tonnes of carbon that we can emit before the mercury rises to dangerous levels.

Rich nations like to point to the arithmetic truth that there can be no solution until developing giants such as China take more radical steps than they have so far. But the rich world is responsible for most of the accumulated carbon in the atmosphere – three-quarters of all carbon dioxide emitted since 1850. It must now take a lead, and every developed country must commit to deep cuts which will reduce their emissions within a decade to very substantially less than their 1990 level.

Developing countries can point out they did not cause the bulk of the problem, and also that the poorest regions of the world will be hardest hit. But they will increasingly contribute to warming, and must thus pledge meaningful and quantifiable action of their own. Though both fell short of what some had hoped for, the recent commitments to emissions targets by the world’s biggest polluters, the United States and China, were important steps in the right direction.

Social justice demands that the industrialised world digs deep into its pockets and pledges cash to help poorer countries adapt to climate change, and clean technologies to enable them to grow economically without growing their emissions. The architecture of a future treaty must also be pinned down – with rigorous multilateral monitoring, fair rewards for protecting forests, and the credible assessment of “exported emissions” so that the burden can eventually be more equitably shared between those who produce polluting products and those who consume them. And fairness requires that the burden placed on individual developed countries should take into account their ability to bear it; for instance newer EU members, often much poorer than “old Europe”, must not suffer more than their richer partners.

The transformation will be costly, but many times less than the bill for bailing out global finance — and far less costly than the consequences of doing nothing.

Many of us, particularly in the developed world, will have to change our lifestyles. The era of flights that cost less than the taxi ride to the airport is drawing to a close. We will have to shop, eat and travel more intelligently. We will have to pay more for our energy, and use less of it.

But the shift to a low-carbon society holds out the prospect of more opportunity than sacrifice. Already some countries have recognized that embracing the transformation can bring growth, jobs and better quality lives. The flow of capital tells its own story: last year for the first time more was invested in renewable forms of energy than producing electricity from fossil fuels.

Kicking our carbon habit within a few short decades will require a feat of engineering and innovation to match anything in our history. But whereas putting a man on the moon or splitting the atom were born of conflict and competition, the coming carbon race must be driven by a collaborative effort to achieve collective salvation.

Overcoming climate change will take a triumph of optimism over pessimism, of vision over short-sightedness, of what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature”.

It is in that spirit that [56] newspapers from around the world have united behind this editorial. If we, with such different national and political perspectives, can agree on what must be done then surely our leaders can too.

The politicians in Copenhagen have the power to shape history’s judgment on this generation: one that saw a challenge and rose to it, or one so stupid that we saw calamity coming but did nothing to avert it. We implore them to make the right choice.

Source: www.thenews.com.pk, Monday, December 07, 2009

“The research utilize meta analysis of existing literature on global warming and public health, the central question of what global warming is all about and how does the latter impact Pakistan’s health in accordance to literature discussion, assessment and analysis. Research objective adheres to the following salient points:  impact of environmental change on health, Pakistan context, several causes which bring the changes, how can authorities or general public tackle health related problems caused by global warming. There can be scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activity will change Earth’s climate. The recent warming by 0·5°C is partly attributable to such anthropogenic emissions. Climate change will affect human health in many ways mostly adversely. The need to summarize epidemiological evidence of how climate variations and trends affect various health outcomes.

Assess evidence there is that global warming affected Pakistan health, reviewing published estimates of impeding health effects of climate change at present times. Researches have focus on thermal stress, extreme weather events, and infectious diseases, with some attention to estimates of regional food yields and hunger prevalence. An emerging broader approach address wide spectrum of health risks due to social, demographic and economic disruptions of climate change. Evidence and anticipation of adverse health effects will strengthen Pakistan based case for pre-emptive policies, will guide priorities for planned adaptive strategies. Indeed, environmental change and pollutants stress individuals and populations, and may be reflected in the global resurgence of infectious disease as these stresses cascade through the community assemblages of species.

Research will suggest framework for integrating surveillance of Pakistan health outcomes with climatic monitoring. Thus, initial concern about the possible effects of global warming have declined with realization that the spread of tropical diseases is likely to be limited and controllable. However, direct effects of heat causes substantial numbers of deaths among vulnerable people such as during summer. Action to prevent deaths from rising is obvious medical challenge presented by global rise in temperature. For example, air conditioning has reduced them in the United States and technologies such as fans, shade and buildings designed to keep cool on hot days have generally done so in Europe as the energy requirements of air conditioning accelerate global warming, combination of the older methods, backed up by use of air conditioning when necessary, can provide the ideal solution.

Despite availability of technologies, occasional record high temperatures still cause sharp rises in heat related deaths as the climate warms such action at home can be effective than transporting the patient to hospital, even in tropical regions. The aggregate human impact on the environment now exceeds the limits of absorption or regeneration of biophysical systems. The resultant global environmental changes include altered atmospheric composition, widespread land degradation, depletion of fisheries, freshwater shortages and biodiversity losses. The drive for further social and economic development, plus an unavoidable substantial increase in population size will tend to augment these large-scale environmental problems. Overall, large scale environmental changes are likely to increase the range and seasonality of various infectious diseases, food inscurity, water stress, population displacement with adverse health consequences (2000).

Most directly, it can generate more, stronger and hotter heat waves, which will become especially treacherous if the evenings fail to bring cooling relief, lack of nighttime cooling seems to be in the cards; the atmosphere is heating unevenly and is showing the biggest rises at night, in winter and at latitudes higher than about 50 degrees. Prolonged heat can enhance production of smog and the dispersal of allergens and linked to respiratory symptoms. Human infections are intricately linked to the global environment by altering this environment, global warming has significant potential to intensify selected infectious diseases ( 2000). Thus, climatic effects are predicted to include crowding, famine, water contamination, human migration, and alterations in vector ecology, all of which increase infectious diseases. Global warming will cause economic strain that may divert public health resources from existing infections. Through planning and research, there can mitigate health effects of global warming by means of policy, politics, and global cooperation, Pakistan may reduce the environmental problems that cause global warming.

Global warming has serious implications for human life, effect of global warming depends on the complex interaction between the human host population and the causative infectious agent, changes in the environment may trigger human migration, causing disease patterns to shift ( 2005 ). Disease transmission may be enhanced through the scarcity and contamination of potable water sources. Importantly, significant economic and political stresses may damage the existing public health infrastructure, leaving mankind poorly prepared for unexpected epidemics.

Global warming will certainly affect the abundance and distribution of disease vectors, altitudes that are cool to sustain vectors will become more conducive to them for instance, Malaria, dengue, plague, and viruses causing encephalitic syndromes are likely to be affected. Some models suggest that vector-borne diseases will become more common as the earth warms, although caution is needed in interpreting these predictions (2005). Clearly, global warming will cause changes in the epidemiology of infectious diseases as the ability of mankind to react or adapt is dependent upon the magnitude and speed of the change. Research will depend on ability to recognize epidemics early, to contain them effectively, to provide appropriate treatment, to commit resources to prevention and further investigation.”

http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/08/global-warming-and-its-impact-on-public-health.html

http://www.concretecentre.com

What we are looking that Our Government is investing a very little for its future. The shortage of electricity and its production in minus is the example of “invest in future” of the previous governments. This government is working to cover the shortfall in electricity but what we have quoted is a challenge for the future planning and policies.

A major drawback in planning is not to consult the engineers. The heads or secretaries or ministers of technical matters are non technical persons who have no knowledge of their departments or ministries. They are bureaucrats or have been appointed under political bribery.

However we are pointing some future investments on which our government should consider seriously:

1. More resources for Generation of Electricity and its supply, cutting off the leakage holes and collection of revenues;
2. Improvement of Railway Infrastructure, new rail tracks, improvement of passenger coaches and reservation system;
3. Improvement of level of Engineering Education and introducing new technologies;
4. Health and Safety Legislation and Measures, respecting the life of a laborer,  in all sectors;
5. Improvement in Transport and Logistics, standardizing the design of buses, trucks, trailers etc making the roads safe and easy for public;
6. Improving the services level of Pakistan Engineering Council and introducing system of promotion in next grades with respect to experience, qualifications and knowledge of engineering developments .

These are the few examples on which we have mentioned but our readers can say more.

Developing countries are facing many challenges in Engineering Education and one of the key issues is the question of curriculum adaptability to the growing needs in the concerned sector relevant to developmental process. For example the civil engineering curriculum equally revolves around structures and surveying.

During the last three decades, engineering and technical education in Pakistan has witnessed large growth. Setup of new engineering universities and other institutes of higher education have relatively good infrastructure with qualified teaching staff.

But there is need to focus in engineering education more on teaching the basics of technology (from textbooks). The subjects covered in universities are not up to that level which is studied in European Universities. It may be some institutes have the offer to its student knowledge pertinent to the needs of industry as a part of the curriculum but what has been examined in reference to developed countries institutes, some faculties of engineering are still to be modernized. For example some subjects like environment engineering, construction law and arbitration subjects are required to be introduced within their curriculum. Some faculties lack a clear vision regarding strategies needed to inform their students about the future technologies and demand of the industry. Thus, there is an urgent need for an important change in perspective and in the model used of for establishing new curricula.

In my opinion, universities in Pakistan should also offer courses based on e-learning formats using web-based tools and practicing engineers should take them “on a need basis” consideration the specific requirements for new knowledge and skills.

The engineers in all departments must have exams based on experience and skill minimum after 2-3 years and CPD points should be counted while promoting to higher posts. To be a member of Pakistan Engineering Council is not enough, engineers should prove themselves the engineers, not good clerks who only sign the bills and forward the files in government departments. The competency profile of engineers is changing dramatically in this age and it is essential to establish a close cooperation between faculties of engineering, industry and engineering council in order to participate in the formation of engineers.

The future engineering education must take the following into consideration while planning their courses and Pakistan Engineering Council should watch it in the scenario of other developed countries demand and environments:

• Offer modular and flexible programs.
• Redesign curricula and involve industry in the development of these new curricula.
• Use of advanced lecture delivery tools such as projection systems, e-learning via intranet and internet.
• Offer collaborative learning environment by tying up with leading foreign.

The engineering educational programs must prepare engineers capable to fulfil the demand of industry and standard of education and be fully aware of some important facts such as.

• Understand that employers of engineers are multi-national companies with wide geographical spread and conduct business across international boundaries.
• Engineers must deal with varied cultures, customs and languages and must be capable of working in global rather than local environments.
• Engineering work must adhere to a variety of statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Engineering designs need to address both local and international requirements, and in particular, environmental regulations.
• Developed products must address a variety of customers and consumer preferences.

And new engineering curricula must address the following:

• Clarify the impacts of technological change on societies.
• Stress the need to make information technology part of engineering education.
• Offer basic foundations of science and mathematics and offer opportunities for the inclusion of biology, energy and water technologies.
• Offer opportunities for specialized knowledge without ignoring multi-disciplinary content of the curriculum.
• Teach engineering students the real value of teamwork and stress the need for clear communication/soft skills including verbal, written and visual.
• Teach engineering student basic elements of business, finance, management and quality.

In conclusion, developing countries should be committed to retaining high-level scientists, stimulating them, and providing funds and other support to encourage and maintain their productivity.

Abstracts from: http://www.arabrise.org

Speaking at the launch of ‘The Concrete Industry Sustainability Performance Report’, Porritt commended the industry saying that: “I am genuinely impressed at the progress that has been made and the quality of the leadership shown. The industry is to be congratulated upon the journey that it is taking”.

Forum for the Future has been working with the concrete industry to develop and implement a sustainability strategy. The launch of the first industry-wide Performance Report marks a milestone for the concrete industry. It examines the challenges being faced and provides a statement of achievement. Importantly, the report provides industry data across 14 performance indicators against which the concrete sector has committed to be benchmarked against and to improve upon.

The performance indicators are wide ranging and include the implementation of environmental management systems, reduction of waste and carbon emissions, improved energy efficiency and the provision of locally sourced materials. In addition, there are commitments to enhance the environment and create sustainable communities. The report will be followed up on an annual basis so that ongoing sustainability improvements can be measured.

To download the report, visit www.sustainableconcrete.org.uk