Doing enough for the environment?
Paul Cochrane writes in Zawya that
Confronting climate change does not appear to be a priority in Qataris' daily lives. On the roads, the most popular car sold in 2010 was the Chevrolet Tahoe, a gas-guzzling 5.3 liter V8 SUV. With a liter of gasoline costing 1 Qatari Riyal (QR) [$0.23] and a liter of mineral water an average of QR1.2 [$0.34], the penchant for large engines is not surprising. "I spend more on drinking water than the gas for my car," said an account manager.
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With gasoline prices low, electricity free for Qataris and 95 percent of all food stuffs imported, Qatar has the second highest carbon footprint per capita in the world, according to the Global Footprint Network's "Ecological Footprint Atlas 2010".
According to a World Wildlife Fund report, it takes about 8.1 hectares (20 acres) of forest to absorb the annual carbon emissions of the average Qatari while the average is 5.4 hectares for North Americans and 1.2 hectares for Chinese.
Only behind the United Arab Emirates, Qatar has shot up the carbon footprint rankings as its population has surged in line with economic development. From 1961 to 2007, Qatar's population grew by over 2,000 percent and its total ecological footprint by over 7,000 percent. Biocapacity, or the territory's ability to provide resources and absorb waste, has declined by 95 percent per person. By comparison, over the same 46 year period, the ecological footprint of the average Asian resident increased by 39 percent.
He goes on to discuss the current plans to protect the environment. Come on everyone, let's work harder to protect the environment.
JANE - too simplistic and totally ineffective
unfortunately here there is a lot of wastage of natural resources, and everyone is thinking of cash and nothing else. but the manufacturing companies are to be blamed more for inventing the gadgets which are causing this wastage.