Rasmus Vincentz, a climate change expert and Climate Advocate in Denmark was invited to speak at the Egyptian Science Festival in May, 2009

Walking through the presenters' exhibitions, one comes away feeling that the conference have definitely succeed in igniting its visitors' curiosity about science.

Although the word on the street in Cairo was to turn off the lights from 8 to 9 pm on March 28 this year, a few knew it was in celebration of Earth Hour, and although some have heard the term "ehteebas harare" (Arabic for global warming) before, a few understood the gravity of the concept and what turning off the lights had to do with it.

But those who listened to Rasmus Vincentz, a climate change consultant at the Danish Energy Management department, walked away with a better understanding of the concept and what can be done to prevent it. Besides the fact that non-English speakers had to go through the talk without the help of instantaneous translation, the talk was quite engaging.
In his talk, Vincentz highlighted the problems of the exponentially increasing energy use the world is witnessing: pollution, energy dependence, the ultimate vanishing of oil resources, the national limitations that oil presents, and, of course, its effect on global climate. With huge amounts of methane and carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, the temperature of the Earth is on the rise with devastating consequences.

Vincentz sees not much promise in nuclear energy as the sole substitute to fossil fuels. The solution Vincentz finds plausible is not any particular new solution; he finds that combining old solutions effectively is the only way to overcome the energy crisis.
"We are stuck on the wrong path and we must strive hard to shape a new one," he stressed. He also emphasized that the limitations we face in solving this problem are not technical ones but rather mental ones: we must rethink the way we use energy.

Talking specifically about Egypt, Vincentz expressed his surprise about the few numbers of solar panels he has seen in Cairo despite the abundant sunlight that Egypt enjoys all year round. For example, solar panels can be used instead of gas and electricity to power water heaters. He pointed that this is a cleaner, cheaper, and more energy efficient solution.
In light of the current energy crisis the world will face soon, Vincentz asked the audience to contemplate a popular Albert Einstein quote: "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."

With thanks to: Youssef Faltas is an Egyptian freelance writer. He can be reached by sending an e-mail to \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .