3D
printing: Dubai gives
future
a bright shape
Innovation
is a continuous journey with no time limit and Dubai knows this best.
The
opening in Dubai of the “Office of the Future,” the first 3D-printed office in
the world, is another shining example of how the Emirate adopts novel
initiatives and ideas and also encourages teams to adopt innovation in their
work.
As Vice
President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum correctly stated, the UAE has emerged as one of
the major incubators of innovation and future technology in the world today and
its focused initiatives to shape the future have become global models that can
be emulated in all sectors.
It should
be noted that the opening of the first 3D-printed office in the world comes
just less than one month of launching Dubai 3D printing strategy, which
showcases a modern model of construction.
There can
be no doubt that the competitive advantages of 3D printing, in terms of lower
costs and faster delivery, will make the UAE one of the most important
sustainable economic hubs, enabling the effective use of this technology to
establish future cities in all sectors.
What is
highly interesting in the case of the 3D printed office is that the labour cost
could be cut by more than 50% compared to conventional buildings of similar
size.
A huge
3D-printer was used to print the building. The labour involved in the printing
process included one staff to monitor the printer, in addition to seven people
to install the building components on site, besides 10 electricians and
specialists to take care of the mechanical and electrical engineering. That’s
it.
It may be
recalled that this week, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority released an
Expression of Interest for the construction of 3D-printed laboratories, to
conduct research on drones and 3D-printing technologies at the Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site project in the world.
The Solar
Park would be able to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020 and 5,000MW by
2030.
Sheikh
Mohammed recently mentioned that the future is not built on possibilities and
numbers but on clarity of vision, planning, action and implementation.
In the
medical products sector, the focus will be on developing 3D printed teeth,
bones, artificial organs and medical and surgical devices and hearing aids.
It is
heartening that the UAE is successfully embracing technology for the service of
entire humanity.
State
of the planet’s
health
not cozy
The most
authoritative study the United Nations has ever published on the state of the
planet’s health has indicated that th e environment is deteriorating faster
than previously thought.
This
makes it imperative that governments across the globe act fast to reverse the
worst trends.
The
Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6): Regional Assessments is a compilation of
six separate reports, which provide highly detailed examinations of the
environmental issues affecting each of the world’s six regions: the
Pan-European region, North America, Asia and the Pacific, West Asia, Latin
America and the Caribbean, and Africa.
In what
should be considered a wake-up call, the regional assessments, which involved
1,203 scientists, hundreds of scientific institutions and more than 160
governments, find that the world shares a host of common environmental threats
that are rapidly intensifying.
Across
the planet, climate change, loss of biodiversity, land degradation and water
scarcity are growing problems that need to be urgently addressed.
On the
positive side, the assessments find that there is still time to tackle many of
the worst impacts of environmental change, such as the damage to marine
ecosystems and the rising level of air pollution.
Warming
in the Arctic has increased at twice the global average since 1980.
The
Asia-Pacific region needs to take extra precautions. About 41 per cent of all
natural disasters reported over the last two decades occurred in that region,
which also accounted for 91 per cent of the world’s deaths attributable to
natural disasters in the last century.
India
tops the chart with nearly 40 million people in the country projected to be at
risk from rising sea levels, followed by more than 25 million in Bangladesh,
over 20 million in China and nearly 15 million in the Philippines.
People in
Mumbai and Kolkata have the maximum exposure to coastal flooding in future due
to rapid urbanisation and economic growth.
Hundreds
of people also die every year from heat in India, with May and June usually the
hottest months.
Temperatures
soared to a scorching 51ºC in Rajasthan city on Thursday setting a new national
record.
India
faces its worst water crisis too, with about 330 million people suffering from
drought after two weak monsoons.
Low-carbon,
climate-resilient choices in infrastructure, energy and food production coupled
with effective natural resource governance are key to protecting the ecological
assets that underpin a healthy society, as UN experts suggest.
A rustic
disregard for this suggestion could prove costly for entire humanity.
Israeli
killing of kids
most
cowardly act
Israeli
atrocities have been increasing by the day and it is a matter of deep distress
that the international community is not giving the matter the attention it
deserves.
A cursory
glance at the happenings on the ground would reveal the scale of horrors heaped
by Israel on harmless Palestinians.
UN
children’s agency, Unicef, has revealed that 25 Palestinian children were
killed in just the last three months of 2015 and the number of children
detained was the highest in seven years.
More than
1,300 Palestinian children were injured during the spike in attacks by Israel,
almost all in the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem.
One of
the most shocking cases happened in Hebron in the West Bank on Oct.25 when a 17-year-old
girl was taken by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers for a search and
shot with at least five bullets and killed.
An
eyewitness had clearly stated that she was not presenting any threat at the
time she was shot, and was shouting that she did not have a knife.
The world
community should have made Israel accountable for such brutal killings, but
nothing of that sort happened.
Such
insensitive attitude only encourages Israel to become more belligerent and
vicious in its non-stop hate killings.
Since
October, 204 Palestinians have been killed on flimsy reasons.
The
number of Palestinian children aged between 12 and 17 held by the Israeli army
is also a matter of concern, as Unicef points out. The figure stood at 422 at
the end of December, the highest recorded since March 2009.
Crimes
committed by Israeli settlers too have been continuing unabated.
For
example, on Saturday night a group of rowdy settlers attacked a Palestinian
house in Tal Rumeida neighbourhood in the southern West Bank city of Hebron,
injuring a woman and her child.
The goons
stormed the family house of Riyad Abu Hazza, where they beat the wife, causing
several bruises and cuts across her body. One of the invaders then
pepper-sprayed Hazza’s daughter on her face, causing her to faint.
Palestinians
commemorate the Nakba day, 15 May 1948, every year, as it is the date when over
700,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes.
The best
way out for the Palestinian factions is to close ranks and maintain national
unity. The only option left for Israel is to end the disgraceful occupation
without any more delay.
Make
urban air quality
a
health priority
Air
pollution is a major cause of disease and death.
The World
Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that almost everyone in large cities in
poor and middle-income countries faces excessively high air pollution and this
is a matter of serious concern.
Over
three million people die prematurely each year because of this.
The
populations in low-income cities face the highest risk for respiratory diseases
and other long-term health problems, according to the latest global urban
ambient air pollution database presented by the agency.
India especially has to take a special note of the report
as it has four of the 10 cities in the world with the worst air pollution.
Nevertheless,
while WHO experts acknowledge India faces a huge challenge, many countries are
so bad that they have no monitoring system and cannot be included in its
ranking at all.
It may be
recalled that New Delhi was ranked worst in 2014 with a PM2.5 reading of 153.
It has since tried to tackle its toxic air by limiting the use of private cars
on the road for short periods.
When
dirty air blankets cities the most vulnerable urban populations – the youngest,
oldest and poorest – are the most impacted.
According
to WHO officials, most sources of urban outdoor air pollution are well beyond
the control of individuals and demand action by cities, as well as national and
international policymakers to promote cleaner transport, more efficient energy
production and waste management.
In
general, urban air pollution levels were lowest in high-income countries, with
lower levels most prevalent in Europe, the Americas and the Western Pacific
region.
The
common causes of air pollution include too many cars, especially diesel-fuelled
vehicles, the heating and cooling of big buildings, waste management,
agriculture and the use of coal or diesel generators for power.
As urban
air quality declines, the risk of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and
chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, increases for the people who
live in them.
Among the
corrective affordable strategies suggested by experts are reduction of
industrial smokestack emissions, increasing use of renewable power sources such
as solar and wind, and prioritising rapid transit, walking and cycling networks
in cities.
Air
pollution is wreaking havoc on human health. When air quality improves, health
costs from air pollution-related diseases shrink and worker productivity
expands.
It is
imperative that city and national governments make urban air quality a health
and development priority.
Duterte has tough
tasks lined up
Populist politics is increasingly becoming a global
trend and the Philippine election results seem to endorse that pattern.
Firebrand politician Rodrigo Duterte, 71, has
secured a landslide presidential victory built on foul-mouthed populist tirades
that exposed voter anger at the establishment.
The longtime mayor of the southern city of Davao
has mesmerised Filipinos with vows of brutal but quick solutions to crime and
poverty, while offering himself as a resolute strongman capable of resolving a
host of social and economic problems.
Visibly,
Filipinos have become tired of hearing fake promises from politicians about
rapid economic growth, end to corruption, crime reduction and a slew of other
issues.
The fact
that over 25% of the population still lives under the poverty line, a figure
that has not changed for several years, is enough indication that the benefits
of economic prosperity have not been percolating to the lower strata of
society.
Duterte has now been pushed into national politics
after 22 years as mayor of Davao and a government prosecutor before that.
In those two jobs, Duterte gained recognition by
going after criminals, although he was accused of carrying out hundreds of
extrajudicial killings.
That even earned him the nickname "Duterte
Harry," a reference to the Clint Eastwood movie character with little
regard for rules.
Nevertheless, it is his tough-talking image that has drawn
voters in droves in his favour.
Many of
his supporters view his work in Davao as
exemplary. He has provided
rehab for women victims of violence and created centres for drug addicts who
want to reform and restart their lives. He has also set up child- minding
centres for parents who do not have housemaids.
Indications
are that one of his Davao rules, night-time
curfews for minors, would be imposed nationwide, while a ban on the serving of
alcohol after midnight would also be considered.
Now that
the verdict is out, Duterte needs to
moderate his inflammatory comments. Fortunately, there are indications of that.
He has offered an olive branch to his rivals by
stating: “I want to reach out my hand and let us begin the healing now.”
He has also indicated that he is willing to talk
with China over a highly sensitive territorial dispute in the South China Sea,
a significant reversal of stance.
It would be heartening if Duterte could replicate
the good things he did for Davao, while shunning the unconventional policies
that do not hold value for human rights.
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