CAIRO: “Why have you turned against me? Am I not part of you? Am I not 70 percent of you?” said the water to the audience. On Saturday evening, the Swiss Club in Cairo hosted a large-scale environmental initiative titled “SolarDay 2010.” The idea of dedicating a day to solar power and other renewable energy sources began last year in San Francisco. This year it extended to 25 American cities, and one outside the United States: Cairo. Organised by Donya Desee, an organization specialized in environmental events in Egypt, the evening kicked off with a screening of PBS documentary “Saved by the Sun.” This film is a whistle-stop primer of the advantages — renewable and non-polluting — and drawbacks — expensive and unreliable — of solar power, focusing on the experience of the US. The consequences of not facing up to our responsibilities, in the form of global warming and unpredictable changes to the eco-system, were brought home to the audience by a live performance piece called “Flow.” Sarah Rifaat, an environmentalist, pretended to be water, and pleaded her case in an affecting monologue. As she explained in conversation afterwards, Rifaat considers water to be especially important for Egypt, whose dependence on the Nile and position on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea mean that water has always been central to the well-being of Egyptians. This situation could become threatened by climate change. And indeed recent political wrangling over Nile waters is a salutary reminder of Egypt's precarious position, suggested Rifaat. “Let's see how you do when I'm gone,” was the water's parting challenge to the audience. Symphony of Solutions Galal Osman, vice president of the World Wind Energy Association, one of several leading figures of renewable energy in Egypt in attendance, spoke of the need for a “symphony of renewable” sources, principally wind and solar power, to tackle the energy problems of the future. Just one square meter of solar panel in Aswan over a year is equivalent to one barrel of oil, he said. The Egyptian Government has set a target of 20 percent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. The Aswan High Dam currently accounts for 8 percent of the country's electricity, but this proportion keeps decreasing as the country's demands for electricity increase. Osman emphasized the difficulty of reaching this target: it would mean building two wind turbines per day every day for the next 10 years, he said. The biggest single cause for the rise in electricity usage in Egypt is air-conditioning. During the recent heat-wave, there were several blackouts due to surges in the use of air-conditioning units. Steps towards reaching the 20 percent target by 2020 have begun. Some 400 wind turbines have been installed at Zafarana, on the shores of the Red Sea, explained Hassan Rifaat, representative of Gamesa, the Spanish company responsible for their installation. The “serious” part of the evening was completed by a promotional clip for a forthcoming documentary on solar power in Egypt, produced by Donya Desee. Solar Cities was one of the projects featured in this clip. Founded by Thomas Taha Culhane and Dr Sybille Culhane, the project provides affordable solar-powered water heaters to Cairo communities. Mustafa Hussein of Solar Cities, explained that the heaters are made entirely of recycled material. So far 35 such heaters have been installed in Darb El-Ahmar and Manshiyat Nasser. Several suppliers of solar-powered heaters exhibited their wares in the gardens of the Swiss Club, where a rock concert rounded off the evening. Hussein, also head of the Cairo Cycler's Club, came to the event by bike with three other club members. Omnia Amr, founder of Donya Desee, which means “green world” in Nubian, stressed the importance of education. This event, as well as the company's website, ecooptionsegypt.com, are aimed at educating people so they can think for themselves about how to live in a greener way, said Amr. There is almost no teaching concerning renewable energy in public schools, said Osman. Wafaa Amer, professor at Cairo University and Director of the Nature section of the Ministry for Environmental Affairs, pointed out that no university in Egypt specializes in energy issues in desert environments, despite the prevalence of other types of engineering and technical study. Europe, on the other hand, has several institutions studying desert-related energy projects, while there is just one small desert in Europe, in Spain. This event was a first small step to raising awareness of renewable energy issues in Egypt. If everyone made small changes to their way of life, by, for example, swapping their top-loading washing machine for a front-loading machine, then significant progress could be made, said Amr. Ultimately, as Hussein put it, people may change only when they experience pain: the pain of blackouts, water shortages, or high energy prices.
