Strategies for Pollution Control in Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example

? Strategies for Pollution Control: A Case of Saudi Arabia Strategies for Pollution Control: A Case of Saudi Arabia The basic and fundamental purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate current practices to control environmental decay and air pollution in Saudi Arabia. It was observed that air pollution is causing several respiratory and cardiovascular problems in all parts of the world. The issues of air and water contamination along with global warming are international in nature. The solution of the above mentioned problems lies unifying the forces against them. The idea of nationalism should be abandoned and the concept of global citizenship should be embraced in order to solve the problems of humanity. The corporate entities are also required to practice the idea of green production and will also have to use alternative and eco-friendly energy sources. As a last resort the humanity should find ways for leaving Earth as its environment will decay beyond repair. The NASA along with main economic powers of the world is trying to perfect space travel technology for resettlement of humanity on some other planet. Conclusively if all the methods of controlling global warming and aerial pollution then humanity may have to revert towards the simpler life that must be spent in underground tunnels because in a few generations the Earth's surface may become inhabitable. However in the light of whole discussion the simpler life will be the best one for humans. Introduction The modern era of the 21st century has been facing the challenge of controlling pollution. The fundamental reason for environmental degradation is believed to be growing number of green-house gases in the atmosphere. These lethal gases are however the byproducts of state of the art production technologies. The humanity has abandoned natural way of living and initiated to use vehicles and factories for transportation and production respectively. Yet aforementioned technological interventions are the most noted sources of pollution. The increasing pollution is also considered as one the most significant causes of degrading health standards because harmful gases such as carbon monoxide when introduced into the human body can cause lung cancer and other respiratory issues (Brunekreef, Janssen, Hartog, Harssema, Knape, & Vliet, 1997). These gases are also causing the ozone layer to thicken that hinders exhalation of ultraviolet rays. Thus, these gases are contributing significantly towards aggravating the phenomenon of global warming. The sense of environmental betterment is quite prevalent in developed nations of the world. But less enlightened nations are not largely bothered by the presence and expansion of environmental decay. In recent years nonetheless researchers from underdeveloped countries are emphasizing the notion of policy development in order to control and manage environmental deformation. According to a sensitive calculation, it was found that in the next 150 years the planet Earth will become uninhabitable because of global warming. Moreover the destructive forces are already starting to set in as glaciers are melting and therefore hurricanes and flooding are increasing in all parts of the world. Furthermore the nature of problems identified in the preceding paragraph is international and due to this reason nations are suggested to pool their resources in order to fight the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. The time is believed to be near when humans will be forced to revert towards simpler existence in order to save their skin. According modern research caves and underground tunnels are significantly immune to the effects of global warming and therefore if everything fails against global warming and pollution then humans may have to take shelter in caves. The typical corporate mindset of profit maximization has played a significant role in enhancing the demon of global warming. In the past and present the businessmen remained concerned with profit that compelled them to harm the natural environment. However nowadays in the US and UK it is mandatory for each business to document each and every environmental cost in financial reports of each quarter. The companies that produce higher pollution are fined and also required to pay taxes. Additionally, companies are increasingly embracing the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, which is an idea based on the fact that companies are more or less like citizens of the society and therefore they are anticipated to serve humanity. The above mentioned concept is also used as an effective source of attracting customers in developed economies. Nevertheless the idea of green living is an interesting feature of developed economies because people are already reverting towards a simpler life. The farms on the ceilings of buildings are becoming famous and common as they help people in fighting recession and fulfilling the oath of simpler existence as well. In the light of recent research supporters of green energy are working towards the establishment of technologies that should have the ability to fulfill human energy needs while producing fewer disturbances to the environment. The emphasis on green energy is increasing as the harmful effects of oil extraction operations became public in the past few years. Yet the companies that produce energy with conventional means are currently trying to hinder the development process of alternative energy. Still it is noteworthy that once the process of evolution initiates then it has the tendency to overcome all the resistance and will become a norm in the few years of its conceptualization (Pope & Dockery, 2009). The major ideas of alternative energy were presented in the 20th century but, at that time their application was deemed limited. The notion of the limited application of alternative energy was based on the belief that alternative energy will result is a significant reduction in terms of power’s quality. In the past the harmful influences of traditional energy sources were also not documented. The applicability of alternative energy is however appearing to be quite appealing in the present because it may represent humanity's last chance to control the ruthless monster of environmental degradation. The common techniques that are being used by nations to control environmental decay include heavy taxation on companies with tendency to produce higher pollution, use of alternative energy, institutionalized planting of greenery and compulsion of keeping the vehicles and production plants maintained. The environmental laws are basically formulated by developed nations and they are also implementing them effectively. But the major problem is with less and under-developed countries because they have neither developed any new laws and nor are they applying the current ones properly. The presence of bribery and kickbacks is also identified as a famous cause of preventing application of environmental laws. Based on the above fact it is suggested that the alleviation of poverty and enhancement of living standards are prerequisites of developing effective environmental policies and practices. The developed economies are also recommended to support developing nations in applying modern concepts of energy production and management. The whole discussion pointed out to the need of pooling resources against global warming and environmental phenomenon. In current times, humans cannot simply uphold the concept of nationality anymore because sooner or later they have to join forces against the demon of environmental decay. Perhaps humans are needed to consider themselves as citizens of the globe because their problems are international in nature. Additionally, the role of educational institutions is imperative in promoting green citizenship in students. It is historically proven fact that every novel idea has come from educational centers and therefore the government of Arab is suggested to invite universities and schools to have a participation in the moment. The basic purpose of conducting this research is to highlight and discuss current challenges, policies and methods that Saudi Arabia is deploying to manage and fight the curse of global warming and other associated concepts. The view of supporting green living is new in the Saudi Arabian culture. Nevertheless it is significantly pleasing that Muslim country is becoming or willing to become committed towards saving the world as we know it. Ultimately the development of environmental policies is a step in the right direction. However these laws and regulations are supposed to be implemented on a long term basis in order to reap the desired results. The review of the existing literature on the topic will be conducted in the proceeding section. Literature Review According to Douglas, et al., (1993) the presence of air pollution is responsible for causing significant number of deaths in America. The notion of harmful effects of air pollution is made evident by the above statement. It also strengthened the idea that air pollution is also an active cause of lung cancer and other respiratory problems. The governmental intervention is highly recommended in regard of controlling air pollution on a worldwide basis. In other studies it was found that aerial pollutants are also being carried with rainwater that causes underground repositories of water to get contaminated. The major reason for environmental decay is believed to be a lack of commitment towards natural way of living. The use of transportation technology is one of the earliest causes of spreading environmental disturbances. Moreover the pollution caused by ongoing wars is also immense in magnitude. It was also added that agricultural actions are also playing their hand in increasing water pollution by producing vast amounts of Phosphorus and Nitrogen. The above statement supported the presumption that industrial activities are one of the major causes of making water unhealthy. However the polluted water causes fever, vomiting and other deadly diseases. In the view of Pope, Dockery, Spengler, & Raizenne, (1991) found that air pollution in much more severe in industrial areas than residential ones. The same study also added that oil extraction units are responsible for producing major proportion of pollution in oil producing nations such as Saudi Arabia. The impurities have a major role in causing numbness of hospitalized patients to increase. The industrial workers are found to be more prone towards contracting oral and respiratory illnesses than the normal people. The role of trees was however noted in terms of counteracting the lethal effects of air pollution. Air pollution is also known to cause hindrance in the natural process of rain because excessive nitrogen and carbon monoxide have an ability to decrease moisture in the atmosphere. The lack of vapors in the air causes delay in rains and therefore global warming prospers further. The contaminated air is also considered a source of causing heart diseases because pollutants when enter into the human body will cause blockage in the circulatory system and therefore heart has to intensify work in order to keep the blood supply steady. But with the passage of time heart’s muscles experience wear and tear and thus patient suffers with acute deficiency of oxygenated blood whereas his blood pressure rises (Schwartz, 1994). The air pollution is also found to be conscientious for increasing acid rain because pollutants mixed with water vapor give birth to acid in the clouds. When the acid comes down, it causes skin burns and other relevant diseases. The increasing temperature is one of the famous causes of declining human ability to work in an outdoor environment while it is also causing the structural integrity of many buildings via softening the steel, a primary source of strength for any man-made structure. The weakening of buildings increases the chances of collapse as a result of minute earthquakes. The industrial activities are noted to have an adverse impact on land’s integrity as well. Thus, humanity is indeed working towards its demise wholeheartedly. The commitment towards simpler existence is growing in developed nations where the farm houses on the top of the multi-storey building are becoming a norm. The modern medical science has also acknowledged the fact that simpler and natural way of living in the most advantageous for humanity. The humans are also thinking to leave the Earth if the environmental degradation cannot be controlled in the near future and for achieving this goal NASA and major economic powers of the world are sponsoring major projects for finding a suitable planet for resettlement. The areas with higher air pollution are observed to have more children with birth defects. In addition death rates in these areas are recorded to be higher and infant mortality is also believed to be significant. The above mentioned problems are prevailing in every area of the world. But in developed nations air pollution is limited to the industrial areas and their residential localities are much cleaner. In comparison the residential areas of under developed nations are found to be polluted and there are no significant differences in its level in residential and industrial areas. The main reason for this situation is a growing level of traffic pollution in residential areas that contributes noticeably towards equalizing the contamination levels in both types of locations. In the early years of 21st century humans came to know that pollution is indeed destroying them in various ways. At that time nations developed laws against pollution. Firstly the organizations that produce higher amounts of pollution are fined and at the later stage these companies had to pay higher amount of taxes. The revenue generated from taxation is used for purification of water and plantation of greenery. The governments also decided to regulate vehicle maintenance and it was made compulsory to ensure zero emissions from the car. The introduction and vast use of Compressed Natural Gas as a fuel was originally the part of the plan to counteract air pollution. In advanced economies, the application of environmental laws went smoothly. But in case of developing ones it is not that successful because people fail to see their role in causing the pollution. Yet they fall short of understanding that individual carbon emissions add up in the atmosphere that result in air pollution. The information regarding application of environmental laws in Arab is almost non-existent because the nation is preparing to take on environmental degradation as a national dilemma. However the use of a technique called environmental taxation appears to be limited in Arab because it will provide reasons for the investors to pull out from the region. The fiscal growth of Saudi Arabia fundamentally depends on Foreign Direct Investment in services and manufacturing industries therefore the increase in taxes is not a good idea for the economy. In the light of above review it is safe to assume that Arab has thus far failed in terms of controlling and managing industrial pollution. The Arabian government implemented environmental laws in the initial annums of the 21st century and they almost cause traffic pollution to vanish with the help of developing and implementing the law that compelled every citizen to get his or her car maintained once every year. Moreover the aforementioned law was reenforced by vehicle-testing facilities that are designed in order to ensure that every vehicle on the road should emit acceptable levels of contamination. The Saudi government has employed a system that introduces chemicals that has the tendency to mitigate the presence of toxins in the air. As Arab is located in such a region where rain does not fall more often and therefore the challenge of controlling pollution is much harder than it is in more tropical areas. The common strategies for counteracting air pollution in Saudi Arabia include the following 1. Regularized Vehicle Maintenance The Saudi government is using advanced systems and management styles to make sure that all the vehicles on the road are emitting acceptable rate of pollution. Moreover the foreign companies are given the task to prevent traffic pollution in the country. The legal system on the other hand, is demonstrating an effective role in apprehending and convicting people who violate environmental laws. The implementation of the environmental laws is considered the responsibility of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment. 2. Environmental Taxation The governmental bodies are busy in forming the laws that will apply environmental taxation on the companies operating in the region. The government is also thinking on the lines to apply heavy taxation on oil extracting and refinement units because of their adverse impacts on the environment. 3. Artificial Foresting The Saudi government is also investing a large proportion of financial resources in order to establish green areas in and around Ridayh city. The climatic conditions of the area will make the task of developing forests difficult. But apparently the leaders of Arab are ready for facing this challenge. 4. Moisturizing the Air The international companies are given the task of increasing moisture in the air because it will cause a significant drop in the temperature of the area whereas it has been a known method for stimulating rains as well. 5. Distant Industrial Areas The government has ensured the establishment of industrial areas away from residential areas over the past few years. 6. Promoting Green Citizenship The government of Saudi Arab and UNO have been working together to promote the concept of green living in the people of the region. The goal of the above mentioned moment is to convince people to minimize their individual emissions of environmentally harmful compounds such as carbon monoxide. Table of Allowed Presence of Harmful Compounds Following is the table that highlights allowed levels of several aerial-harmful compounds in Saudi Arabia Parameter Time-weighted average ?g/Nm3 (ppm) Averaging time Number of allowable exceedances2 Carbon Monoxide 10,000 (8.1) 40,000 (32) 8 hours 1 Hour None Lead 0.5 (0.00005) Annual N/A Nitrogen Dioxide 660 (0.35) 100 (0.05) 1 hour Annual 2 times per 30 days N/A Sulphur Dioxide 730 (0.28) 365 (0.14) 80 (0.03) 1 hour 24 hour Annual 2 times per annum 1 time per annum N/A Particulate Matter (PM10) 340 (variable) 80 (variable) 24 hour Annual 24 times per annum3 N/A Benzene 5 (0.0015) Annual N/A Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 35 15 24 hour Annual 24 times per annum4 N/A Ozone 235 (0.12) 1 hour 2 times per 30 days Ozone 157 (0.08) 8 hour 2 times per 7 days Hydrogen Sulphide 150 (0.1) 40 (0.03) 24 hour Annual 10 times per annum N/A (Source: Environmental Standards Ambient Air Quality, 2012) Findings The key findings of this research effort are enlisted as follows The air pollution is one of the most significant environmental challenges that humanity is facing in the era of the 21st century All of the nations are suggested to pool their resources against the demon of global warming Thus, the time has come when humans should consider them as citizens of the globe because the challenges that they are facing are international in nature The corporate thinking of maximizing the profit is to be uprooted so that businesses should play their due role in alleviating environmental problems It is evident that no country alone can control and manage the problem of global warming and therefore they will have to combine sooner or later The industrial pollutants and vehicle exhaust are notorious for causing thickening of the ozone layer that is in turn becoming the reason for increasing temperatures on an international level The citizens of the developed world are more concerned and committed towards reinstating natural environment of the world than those of underdeveloped ones The glaciers are melting due to increased heat and therefore the flooding has increased in the past few years The air pollution was positively associated with number of lung diseases in various parts of the world The developed economies have recently implemented the concept of environmental taxation and its revenue is used for the betterment of the environmental outlook of the society The underdeveloped and developing nations are not being able to fabricate any effective environmental laws The concept of green living is currently being promoted in the advanced world whereas the individual of under-developed world has no idea about the destruction of the environment The Saudi Arabian government has managed to develop environmental laws but cannot implement them effectively on industrial grounds The Arab is facing a challenge of the weakening crust because of vast oil extraction units. It is becoming significantly prone towards experiencing the experiencing seismic activity The application of emission control on road traffic was however adequately beneficial for the society Yet the Arab government has not been able to prevent industrial pollution as its ability to foster environmental taxation system was limited The implementation of taxation can result in less FDI in the country that has the tendency to hinder economic growth of the area The use of alternative energy is also limited in the case of target economy because it is an oil based economic system The government is nevertheless using methods of Regularized Vehicle Maintenance, Environmental Taxation, Artificial Foresting, Moisturizing the Air, Distant Industrial Areas and Promoting Green Citizenship to save the environment All of the above mentioned techniques are being applied at a limited scope and therefore they are presently proving ineffective in terms of achieving the goals The participation and involvement of educational centers is an imperative one for the success of environmental control moment in Saudi Arab Recommendations Following are the policy and strategic recommendations for Arabian government The Saudi government is suggested to promote green living among the general public The foreign consultants should be hired in order to support existing environmental projects The oil extraction and refinement units should be limited regarding their operations and green and alternative energy projects must be promoted instead The involvement of educational centers is a must for strengthening green living in general public Indigenous research should be conducted in terms of testing the viability of alternative energy sources Industrial units should be guided to contribute towards environmental rehabilitation The corporate entities must pay a handsome percentage of their income to support environmental initiatives Every individual of the society should ensure to minimize his or her contribution in harmful emissions Conclusion This paper concludes that global warming and air pollution are growing on a worldwide basis and nations are required to have an integrative model of knowledge and operational level resource sharing to counteract the adverse effects of air pollution. The use of every modern technology is famous for producing immense amounts of heat and CFC gases. The emissions of harmful cause to the ozone layer to thicken that hinders the process of exhalation of ultraviolet rays into the outer space. The above mentioned process plays a notable role in increasing average temperature in all of the regions. Additionally the immense level of air pollution is causing major lung diseases to increase in the Middle East. The people who work in industrial areas are found to have a significant chance of contracting respiratory disorders than those who work in offices. The presence of aerial pollutants is much more severe in industrial areas as compared to residential ones. The lack of information about the environmental problems in general public is aggravating the condition because people in underdeveloped nations are not aware of their participation in causing harmful gases in the air to grow. The health problems are also noticed to increase in all parts of the world. The main illnesses caused by polluted air include cardiovascular and respiratory disorders (Brook, et al., 2004). The Arabic government is applying strict laws and regulations to control traffic pollution yet its ability and power in terms of counteracting industrial pollution is negligible. The oil extraction operations are major cause of increasing air pollution in the region. But local government cannot control industrial pollution with the help of taxation because it will cause the level of Foreign Direct Investment in the local market to decrease. The companies are suggested to follow corporate social responsibility so that they can serve the community with the fulfillment of their corporate goals. Still the application of environmental decay control system is limited in Arabic culture. 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