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The Issue

United Arab Emirates is one of the fastest growing countries of the world. Over the years, the advancement and prosperity of this region has rapidly grown, and the United Arab Emirates has made its place amongst the top nations of the world. In spite of all this advancement, we as citizens should be well aware that a lot of natural resources and energy has been consumed, and if this continues without any proper management, soon we’ll be without any natural resources. We should keep into consideration that, due to our extreme weather conditions we consume a lot of energy to run modern equipments; such as, computers, fridges, electric generators, washing machines, television sets, AC’s and fans, etc.
According to the campaign “Heroes of the UAE” the rate of consumption of energy per person of the citizens of U.A.E. is the highest in the world. If this continues at the current rate, eventually, the supply of energy will not be able to meet the demand of energy. As a result of all this, U.A.E. will start suffering with problems such as, frequent blackouts, power failure, and water shortage. (Heroes of the UAE)


The reasons for the wastage of energy.


Lack of awareness amongst the citizens is one of the main causes of wastage of energy and water.
The production of electricity is a costly affair as it requires the consumption of a lot of energy, but unfortunately people do not understand this fact and due to their ignorance a lot of energy is wasted every day. For example, people do not turn their lights off while going out of their homes. Another example could be that, people use air-conditions at a low temperature, whilst this could be avoided.
Another major factor of high wastage of energy is rapid increase in urbanization and construction. In recent times, the construction work has increased manifold. But was all this necessary? No! The amount of energy and resources used in building of skyscrapers, could have been used some place worthy; like, setting up schools for poor, or setting up hospitals for the needy.
Some other things such as the excessive use of streetlamps and lights all across the country can also fall in the category of wastage of energy.





Why should we conserve Water?


It’s a common knowledge that, U.A.E is one of the countries which gets very less rainfall as compared to the other countries. We get about 120 millimeters of rainfall annually. Also, due to our geographic location, we do not have any fresh water lakes or rivers. With the exception of some valleys in the mountains, we do not have any other source of water. As a result, we have to rely on our ground water resources, but according to the scientists, our water table is dropping down at an increasing rate. The reason for this is that we are not giving the ground water reservoirs enough time to get refilled. To further worsen the situation, our ground water is getting contaminated because of the harmful pollutants. This further reduces our dependence on them. So in order to meet the water demand, the government has been using a lot of machinery to desalinate the sea water. Desalination is a very high energy consuming process. This is also one of the main reasons why we are one of the highest energy consumers in the world.
It is also very important to understand that desalination is a process which involves the production of carbon dioxide in huge proportions. The carbon dioxide thus produced is released in the atmosphere which pollutes our environment. This in return increases global warming, which is another global issue.




Interview of Dr. Ali Diabat ( Prof. Masdar)

Q) Major causes of wastage of energy in U.A.E: -
• Ignorance on the importance of saving electricity, people do not realize the amount of resources spent on producing million watts of energy on a daily basis.
• Low electricity bills, people do not have to pay much for it so they do not bother about saving.

Q) Reasons for wastage of water in U.A.E : -
• Same as above – lack of awareness that the water that reaches our kitchens, washrooms etc. requires a lot of processing before it becomes fit for use.
• Low water bills, as people don’t pay much they do not bother much about saving.

Q) Ways of minimizing water and energy resources
• Generating awareness among people – education youngsters and teens about the importance of saving water and energy resources in their day to day use, educating elders thru advertisement on water and energy conservation.
• Using latest technology and designs which help in conserving water and electricity such as sensor system, dim lighting, and timers.
• Re-use and recycling of our resources is one of the biggest ways of conserving water and electricity.


Q) What should be done to prevent wastage of non-renewable resources.
• Relying heavily on alterative (renewable) resources of energy
• Using the non renewable resources (fossil fuels, oil etc.) with justice and in an efficient manner.
• Governments should take initiative and promote research and studies focusing on the newly designed alternative sources of energy.

SOLUTIONS

MASDAR:

The government has certainly realized the problem. MASDAR was setup to find solutions to problems such as: energy conservation, water management and alternate energy resources.
MASDAR city is located in Abu Dhabi. It is a city which relies primarily on solar energy and alternate energy resources. There is almost no wastage of water and energy in this city. This city will serve as a role model to every other city in the world.
 MASDAR plans to host the world’s largest hydrogen power plant for the production of energy.
 MASDAR will also attempt to reduce waste to zero. Industrial waste, such as plastics and metals, will be recycled or re-purposed for other uses.
 Water conservation is very nicely done. 80% of water used will be recycled and used as many times as possible.

Some tips that we all can adopt:

• Switch of the light whenever not in use. This can save a lot of energy.

• Avoid using air conditioners at low temperatures. Helps to conserve a lot of energy and water.

• Avoid putting T.V. and computers on standby. They consume the same amount of energy. So, its better to turn them off.

• A quick showers uses thrice the less amount of water than a bath. Saves time and water.

• Always close the tap while brushing teeth, shaving or washing dishes.

• Creating awareness among the youth is absolutely crucial. Please help to promote water and energy conservation among the children.

Good advice.

So who is this aimed at?

Those of us who pay heavily for water and electricity and are therefore very frugal with our usage? Or those who only pay 10% of the price and don't give a damn as long as they can have a nice green lawn in their big villa and have it all lit up at night to show the neighbours how affluent they are?



Knight

Good point DK.

Let our friend Symmetric explain us his electricity bill so we can compare yours with his villa

Dubai Knight wrote:Good advice.

So who is this aimed at?

Those of us who pay heavily for water and electricity and are therefore very frugal with our usage? Or those who only pay 10% of the price and don't give a damn as long as they can have a nice green lawn in their big villa and have it all lit up at night to show the neighbours how affluent they are?



Knight

Exactly. Even then some don't pay. I remember during the old days wasn't uncommon to see old " mamas " in full Niqaab arguing with the " Mudeers " that thw thousands they had summed in elec and water bills was unfair and how they can't afford it etc etc. And finally the " mudeer " would write off a huge sum of the bill.

I'm not sure if this sort of thing still happens as thankfully you no longer have to visit the offices to pay the bills anymore.

Perhaps the "powers" that be on Palm Jumeriah has taken the initiate in conserving electricity. At night there are sections where there are no street lights across the entire road on both sides. It's so dark it makes you automatically slow down. Or is it because someone didn't pay their DEWA bill??

I gather from another forum that many people who moved into villas are opting for apartments now. It seems that the cost of maintaining their lawns is quite expensive, along with the electricity bills. If you have seen some of the villas around, the "garden" area is twice the size in space than the villa.

RobbyG wrote:Good point DK.

Let our friend Symmetric explain us his electricity bill so we can compare yours with his villa

Hahaha
You're a Dutch waffle flavoured with curry and chili sauce

I just came back from A.D, had a loooong working day I'll rest for sometime & then will come back with my homework

desertdudeshj wrote:

Dubai Knight wrote:Good advice.

So who is this aimed at?

Those of us who pay heavily for water and electricity and are therefore very frugal with our usage? Or those who only pay 10% of the price and don't give a damn as long as they can have a nice green lawn in their big villa and have it all lit up at night to show the neighbours how affluent they are?



Knight

Exactly. Even then some don't pay. I remember during the old days wasn't uncommon to see old " mamas " in full Niqaab arguing with the " Mudeers " that thw thousands they had summed in elec and water bills was unfair and how they can't afford it etc etc. And finally the " mudeer " would write off a huge sum of the bill.

I'm not sure if this sort of thing still happens as thankfully you no longer have to visit the offices to pay the bills anymore.

Yes, this still happens!

When I moved into a new place and went to DEWA to set up my account, the local guy who owned it had not paid his bill for over 2 years! It was over 60,000Dhs but they had never cut him off as he was some important dude in the government. In the end, they wrote off the entire amount before I could get my account in place.



Knight