OPINION
and an enterprise , dedicated to climate control solutions . As an energy neutral project , the city Masdar is considered by climate experts to have failed . Masdar projects in Senegal , Uzbekistan , Belize and Egypt – to name a few – provide great publicity images , but no real impact on the global problem we are facing . The energy industry in the Emirates is alive and well .
So , what can be done ?
Consider the days after 9 / 11 when the skies were free of airplanes – there were no vapor tracks overhead . Consider the global effort to counter the recent COVID-19 pandemic . Many countries mobilized to keep people off the streets and in their homes . Travel was restricted . Offices were empty . Could we act
together to limit human activity to save our environment ? How many energy-restricted days ( one per week ? one a fortnight ? one a month ?) would it take to tamp down the accelerating warming of the planet ? Surely the effect of stringent restrictions on the use of fossil fuels could be measured and adjusted to a level we can live with . Could we have days without transatlantic flights , days without automobile traffic , days without global conferences where nothing substantive is decided ? The details can be worked out : for example , ambulances – yes ; air-conditioned offices – no .
It is time to get serious about climate change .
Dr . Seligson practices orthopedic surgery with the University of Louisville Hospital .
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