Hug a Tree, Kuwait! Kuwait's Environmental Projects

New National Motto: Come to Kuwait! We have no bush.....
tee hee

If Kuwait has plans to plant 1 million trees, why is the municipality cutting down the existing ones? Ok, I know that the municipality is just the hit man, but that someone else is giving the order – a cabinet maybe? Well, come out of that closet and hug a tree!

All over Kuwait, tree murders are taking place at an astronomical rate. Look around and you will find bush whackers. Bayam! Another tree or bush or shrub bites the dust – and I do mean dust because in a short while, that is all that will be left anywhere. I thought Kuwait was trying to be "progressive". What UP?

Powers that be: Puhleeze – make it against the law for the government and anyone else to cut down a tree!

Who has the contract for procurement and installation of trees? Just wondering. I know that someone had the ugly plastic light-up tree contract for several years. Ugly plastic light-up palm trees were everywhere in Kuwait. It looked like a 70's disco around here for a while. All they needed were the plastic lei's (don't get me started).... I can't help it. Plastic lays aren't even real lays. Artificial lays. Go for the real lays. Uh.. I mean lei....

“Thursday, October 23, 2008 - The Higher Committee of the Friends of the Environment Campaign Thursday reported the launch of the second phase of a project, which involves planting one million trees in Kuwait, upon directives of and encouragement of His Highness the Amir. LINK

The first phase of this project was launched November 6, 2007 and ended in December 9. It comprised distribution of a million paper bags made from recycled material to be used at the state's different cooperative societies free of charge.”

The paper bag drive at Kuwait's co-ops was the brainchild of Environment Friends Campaign (EFC). EFC is a project which was coordinated between many local companies by a company called Challenge the Era Company (CEC). It is owned by the Al-Wazzan family/group (incase ya don't know: Mowasat Hospital, Ford, etc).

National Bank of Kuwait has recently started a paper waste reduction program through a company called Green Target Company . (I don't have a link to the article, but it was in Al-Watan's Daily paper on November 3, 2008.) GTC lists INJAZ and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland??? - Dunno) on their site.

INJAZ has an impressive board of directors and I hope they are all participating in recycling efforts. I hope companies like Agility, which has been forward-thinking in their Corporate Social Responsibility endeavors (they actually HAVE an entire CSR department – way to go, Tarek Sultan!) will take up paper recycling efforts also.

Maybe these companies should also look into tire recycling in Kuwait. This photo was in Al-Watan about the increasing amount of tires building up in Jahra. With 1.5 million cars currently on the road in Kuwait, and 50-70,000 more being added each years, that is a hell of a lot of tires. Plans are underway for tire recycling plants in UAE and Saudi Arabia (don't know the status). Kuwait might be selling tires, but someone could be making a huge ROI through recycled products gleaned from tires: For example, 1 car tire produces 4.3 litres of No. 4 fuel oil, 1.4 cubic meters of syngas, 0.9 kilos of steel, and 3.4 kilos of residual carbon. Microwave technology (although expensive) has zero emissions for the recycling of tires.

While the stock market is crashing around us, the businesses that will emerge in Kuwait will be sustainable like the recycling and environmental industries. Kuwait is a consumer country and these business areas haven't even been touched upon.

Mold removal. (I'm giving you free business development advice.). Is anyone in Kuwait doing mold removal; either residentially or commercially? More and more houses are being built close to water. We have several very humid seasons in Kuwait. On my recent apartment search, I can't even tell you how many apartments and homes I've been in with mold growing on the walls. Tremendous ROI: Labor in Kuwait is cheap. Equipment is cheap (sprayers, fans/ventilation, cheap chemicals, biohazard suiting for the labor, maybe a van or two). The process is simple. The key is going to be educating the Kuwaiti public about how dangerous that black stuff on their wall is to their children. It can cause brain problems, respiratory problems, skin rashes, etc. How many kids in Kuwait already have asthma? How much of that is caused by what is in their bedroom and bathroom? Nobody knows. Sorry, but your kadama can only clean so much.