Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission status is a critical issue that has been around for many years. It is crucial for humans to reduce CO2 emissions as it is one of the most contributing factors for global warming.
As seen in the graph below, the CO2 total emissions has increased significantly throughout the years, which is entirely alarming and calls for us to take immediate actions now to stop this increase.
Indeed, there is a huge increase in CO2 emissions; however, the human population has also increased a lot from 1990 until 2022, which means we should also check the CO2 emission per capita.
The below graph shows that the total CO2 emission per capita has decreased slightly from 1990 till 2019 in metric ton. This is due to the usage of more green energy overall.
Now, it is interesting for us to check what countries are contributing the most to this, in order for these issues to be tackled at country level.
The below bar chart shows the highest 10 countries in terms of CO2 emission per capita: the leading country for CO2 emission is Qatar, and the top 3 countries are Arab gulf countries. It is quit interesting to see why Qatar is leading this metric and why. It could be that Qatar has a bad energy management system and does not rely on clean energy.
It is well known that Qatar is one of the leading countries when it comes to producing oil and gas. Thus, it might be directly affected by that.
The Pie chart below shows that 40.96% of Qatar CO2 emission comes from gaseous activities, and 26.36% comes from electricity usage. This shows the 2 major contributors for this high CO2 emission per capita.
That presents an important question: what types of energy does Qatar use in order to provide electricity and services for its population?
Qatar depends 100% on gas, oil and coal to provide energy and electricity. This is a major finding because it means that providing alternative energy sources can tackle this problem and reduce the CO2 emission. The figures below show how much Qatar depends on oil and that Qatar uses 0% of clean energy sources.
What makes it more interesting is that we can see that the total energy consumption had increased in Qatar since the late 90s on a steady trend; below line shows the electric power consumption in Qatar through the years.
Now, it is also clear that even though the electric power consumption has increased a lot, it has dropped from its peak while still maintaining a higher value than the first record of 28.32 in 1990 with a value of 32.76 in 2019. This is mainly impacted by the growing population in Qatar as many people have traveled to Qatar in order to find better opportunities since the 90s. This is also clearly demonstrated in the population line visualization below.
In short, the problem of Qatar’s high CO2 emission is mainly attributed to the zero usage of clean energy for its different activities. For that, a couple of actions are recommended.
Using green energy for generating electricity
Introducing the solar system as an alternative
Implementing environmental regulations and policies to enforce emission standards and promote sustainable practices across industries
Investing in research and development in order to find suitable ways to reduce the emission for gaseous activities
Using of filters while producing gas and oil
Raising the population’s awareness of the importance of adapting sustainable lifestyles to reduce CO2 emissions
Abiding with carbon target zero ambitions in order to fight global warming
Meeting our current requirements without sacrificing the potential of future generations to satisfy their own needs is what is meant by sustainability. It entails striking a careful balance between social advancement, economic expansion, and environmental preservation. We can build a prosperous society that guarantees a good standard of living for its residents while maintaining our natural resources and safeguarding the environment by embracing sustainability.
Perfect Match
In Lebanon, sustainability is an urgent call to action rather than just a trendy concept. Numerous issues confront the Lebanese people, including socioeconomic inequality, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change. To overcome these obstacles, we must reevaluate our tactics and policies, use cutting-edge techniques, and collaborate to create a more sustainable future.
AUB ranked among the most sustainable worldwide
But attaining sustainability requires collaboration. Government, corporations, civic society, and every person must work together to achieve this. It calls for the creation and use of efficient policies, the inclusion of sustainability principles in our decision-making procedures, and the active involvement of all stakeholders.
Lebanon is far from being a sustainable country, although some startups have proven to be leaders in sustainability. But this example has to be spread among all the Lebanese society, to make sustainability a habit and a lifestyle for all the Lebanese people.
Unfortunately, there is a high number of children, between ages 0 and 14, living with HIV. This disease in children manifests in health conditions that stem from impaired immunity. The children that have this disease are unable to fight microbes. As a result, they are at a high risk of getting infections. Moreover, children with HIV are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage of their lives. This visualization is evidence of the problem I am discussing today. It shows the average number of children between 0 and 14 years living with HIV in different countries.
As you can see in visualization 1 below, the average number of children with HIV is about 1,950,938. The country with the highest average number of children with HIV is South Africa and the countries with the least average number of children with HIV are Fiji, Georgia, Latvia, Mauritius, and Oman.
One solution to the problem that I would like to propose is putting children with HIV on ARV drugs. In the past, approximately 50% of the children with HIV did not take ARV drugs. Thus, it is vital that we shine a light on this solution that could help increase the span of life for these infected children. Going into the solution details, I recommend early testing and starting treatment from a young age. This will aid in reducing mortality of HIV infected children. In addition, when treatment has begun, the patients ought to take their medications on a regular basis to ensure the highest levels of health possible when they reach adolescence and adulthood.
Plotting the data on a world map, we can identify the countries or continents with the highest average of children infected with HIV. This allows us to know where to start with supplying ARV drugs.
As you can see in visualization 2 below, African countries have the highest average of infected children and are in desperate need for ARV drugs. Therefore, we ought to start with these countries and supply them with the necessary ARV drugs to aid in reducing the high percentage of infected children. Afterwards, we could supply the other countries with lower average numbers of infected children with this disease.
As you can see in visualization 3 below, it shows a comparison between children living with HIV (0-14) and children newly infected with HIV (0-14). As we can see, the countries that have a high average of infected children also have a higher percentage of newly infected children than other countries with lower average infected children.
This proves the validation of my proposed solution. Without early testing and treatment, the number of children getting infected with HIV will increase. Not to mention the fact that about 50% of children with HIV die before the age of 2 and about 80% do not reach the age of 5! Moreover, children with HIV that are not treated with ARV drugs experience many illnesses and diseases.
Hence, the findings/recommendations that I would like to propose is that we should raise awareness about the importance of early testing for children, and then treating them with ARV drugs that have proved to be effective and efficient to a certain extent.
A life without electricity. A world plunged into darkness, where everyday tasks become formidable challenges. From the moment we wake up to the time we go to sleep, electricity powers our lives, enabling us to connect, learn, and thrive. I Am Mazen Harb the founder and CEO of RenewaPower, and our mission is to establish a network of renewable portable power stations across Madagascar, addressing the energy deficit faced by millions of people. This by utilizing clean sources. To achieve our ambitious vision, we will adopt a comprehensive approach. The big Story Idea here is far beyond simply providing access to electricity. It is about transforming lives, fostering economic growth, and preserving the environment.
In the following figure (Figure 1.) we can drag our focus to the countries with the least accessibility to electricity in terms of population percentage. Our comprehensive analysis of global access to electricity shows that African nations face the greatest challenges in terms of population percentage lacking electricity connectivity. By zooming in on the most affected countries, this caption (Figure 2. and Figure 3.) emphasizes the lowest percentage of the population in African countries lacking access to electricity, including the addition of Seychelles for our later reference. The displayed heatmap indicates that there has been negligible progress in electricity accessibility among countries included in our study over a span of 10 years between 2011 and 2020
Contrasting Seychelles and Madagascar (Figure 4. and Figure 5.)
When we examine access to electricity, we find a significant disparity among African nations. In Seychelles, a small island nation blessed with abundant sunshine and breathtaking beaches, access to electricity is widespread, empowering its people and economy.
Seychelles’ geographical advantage has attracted tourists from around the world, fueling a vibrant tourism industry. This influx of visitors has created countless business opportunities, stimulated economic growth and improved the standard of living for its citizens. In contrast, just a short distance away lies Madagascar, a larger neighboring island with similar geographical features. However, the lack of access to electricity hampers its development potential. Without reliable electricity, Madagascar faces numerous challenges. Businesses struggle to operate efficiently, hampering economic growth. Education and healthcare are impacted, hindering progress, and limiting opportunities for its people.
Introducing our Portable Power Supply Stations
In response to this pressing issue, we are proud to introduce our revolutionary solution: Portable Power Supply Stations. These stations harness the power of renewable energy sources such as water, sunlight, and wind. Our stations can be easily deployed in any area, bringing electricity to remote regions and communities in need. By utilizing clean and sustainable energy, we aim to bridge the gap, empowering individuals and catalyzing development.
Brief Conclusion
Access to electricity is not just a luxury; it is a fundamental catalyst for progress. With our Portable Power Supply Stations, we can unlock the potential of communities, fostering economic growth, improving lives, and illuminating a brighter future for all. Together, let us bring light to the darkest corners and empower those who have been left in the shadows.
“Ice storm rolls from Texas to Tennessee – I’m in Los Angeles and it’s freezing. Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!” — Donald Trump, Dec. 6, 2013
The Ex-US president is not the only one who has a hard time believing in Global warming. Many weather fluctuations, including cold weather and floods, may lead us to think that our planet’s temperature is not that high. However, Understanding the science behind “Climate” and how our daily lives affect it, will give you a completely new perspective.
Extreme heat, drought, and dry crops are not the only effects of Global warming. These are merely the HOT weather aspects we might experience. In fact, Climate is a set of many weather changes that fluctuate depending on the location and the time of year, like storms, precipitations, and water temperature. Any extreme change in these indicators is a sign of climate change.
In the Past years, extreme weather has included floods, droughts, increases in heat waves, irregular storms, arctic meltdowns, and increases in coastal sea levels. These were all traced back to an increase in temperature. As we can see in the graph below, our planet’s temperature has significantly increased in the past 100 years and we reached today 1 degree Celsius above the normal average.
So, global warming is the climate change we are facing, but why?
Several causes are contributing to the increase of our planet’s temperature, the most important and significant of them are Greenhouse gases and CO2 on the rise.
The Earth already had greenhouse gases in its atmosphere as part of its natural carbon cycle, and this was before humans ever came along. But since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, humans have been adding even more carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These act like the windows on a glass greenhouse. Some gases in the atmosphere will trap certain wavelengths of energy from bouncing back into space (below highlighted in red), and that trapped energy heat, keeps our planet warm.
The dashboard helps us visualise that greenhouse gases have been on the rise since 1960 without halt. We can also observe that even though the CO2 emission has slightly decreased since 2017, this decrease comes from decline in industry and construction activity. CO2 Emission coming from factories and constructions went down from causing 32% fall CO2 emissions to nearly 13% due to several laws obliging factories to apply stricter rules reducing emission. However, the high rise in CO2 emissions from electricity production (which climbed from 30% to 42%) and transportation ( going from 12% to 27%) which made the positive decrease in industry emission negligible.
Its also important to notice that although environmentalist have been calling upon the human race to implement strategies that reduce pollution and CO2 emissions, the decrease in those 2 monitored values are nearly negligible.
As reasoned earlier, and evident in the dashboard, the highest increases in CO2 levels are caused by the production of Electricity! Yes, the electricity we as humans can no longer live without, is mostly produced by fuels: When fuels are burned for energy, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released as bi-products.
in the below plot, its noticeable from recent data that we are still highly relaying on the oil, coal and gas (fossil fuels) in the production of %82 of electricity, which is considered a still high percentage especially after global efforts to reduce such polluted energy and to rely on green alternatives such as hydro, nuclear, wind and solar powers.
Our reasons for concern come from the more indirect effects of global warming. Long term damage is bigger than what we imagine as illustrated in the below diagram, and it is approaching more rapidly:
The weather effects will surely lead to serious social, economic, and health-related complications, that is why it is important that we all unite in the face of this rapid climate change, and take a stand by conserving energy and calling for cleaner energy sources.
There are many ramifications to climate change, but one thing is a fact: ending fuel based electricity production, will eliminate the biggest source of CO2 production.
Other promising methods of providing electricity, all of which with Zero gas emissions should and can be used instead. they will have low carbon print and will definitely reduce the global increasing temperatures.
With everything discussed, there is no denying that global warming is real. we can conclude that even though producing electricity is currently the largest contributor to global warming, the hoax is assuming that we need to live in the dark ages to avoid the problem. however we must acknowledge that there is a serious need to make a positive shift towards green energy.
Don’t burn your kid’s future. Stop Global Warming.
Infant mortality is a grave global concern, as millions of infants lose their lives each year before reaching their first birthday. According to World Bank data, in 2020, the global infant mortality rate stood at an estimated 28 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The World Health Organization recorded 5 million child deaths in 2020, including 2.4 million newborn deaths, which are considered unacceptable as a considerable portion of these deaths could have been prevented.
Although these numbers seem to be so high, we can’t neglect the fact that it has been reduced from 54 death per 1,000 lives birth in 2020 (World Average) by increasing Health Expenditure which has a significant impact on infant mortality rates. Increased investment in healthcare infrastructure, resources, and services leads to better access to prenatal and neonatal care, vaccinations, and skilled healthcare professionals. This, in turn, reduces infant mortality rates by addressing preventable causes and providing timely interventions for infants in need.
In India, the Infant mortality rate in 2020 was 29 deaths per 1000 live births, which declined from 66 in 2000 by increasing the Health Expenditure. The same applies to Pakistan which decreased the infant mortality rate from 85 death per 1000 live birth to 54 death per 1000 live birth over the last 20 years.
In 2015, global health spending amounted to around USD 7.3 trillion, representing a significant portion of the global gross domestic product (GDP), approximately 10%. High-income countries, on average, allocated nearly 12% of their GDP to healthcare, the highest among all income groups. Conversely, low-income countries allocated an average of 7% of their GDP to healthcare. It is essential to ensure that underdeveloped countries have access to adequate resources to replicate the substantial yearly reductions in infant mortality rates observed in more developed countries. For instance, in 2020, the United States reported an infant mortality rate of 5.6 deaths per 1000 live births, while the United Kingdom’s rate was 3.5
The US has one of the world’s highest HE per capita, reaching up to $11K, which is reflected clearly in their low IMR of 5 per 1000 Live Births.
on the other hand, Pakistan has a very low HE of $38 per capita, again reflecting on their IMR of 54 per 1000 live births.
Healthcare expenditure remains a crucial component of reducing infant and neonatal mortality around the globe. In some countries such as India, Pakistan, and sub-Saharan Africa where health infrastructure is largely underdeveloped, increasing health expenditure will contribute to progress toward reducing infant and neonatal mortality during the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era. Therefore, governments in the region need to increase the amounts allocated to healthcare service delivery in order to reduce infant mortality.
