Last week an interesting bit of news passed under my eyes. We as in the Pakistan nation have requested our brothers of the long robes to resume the oil credit facility given to us in their largess after Pakistan’s nuclear tests in the past. This was a time when sanctions were placed on us and thus made the acquisition of fossil fuels a problem.
So what is the problem with acquiring oil today?? It’s quite obvious, oil has hit USD 100 a barrel or thereabouts. Thus we really do not have the money to pay for our countries growing fossil fuel needs. Sure it’s easy to blame the government for these crises, as they do not seem to have money for anything even though we seem to have billions of dollars in our reserves. However the problem is rooted more deeply, than the obvious in our society.
We as a nation need to understand the value of conservation. We are going through hard times as a world!! This applies just not to us but everyone who lives on this mudball. We have taken very positive steps in switching to CNG (compressed natural gas) which is a environmentally clean and safe alternative to petrol). Our car manufacturers have also introduced CNG models in all their car models. Plus with the widening range of CNG use, more and more CNG stations are springing up catering to the needs of our community. However we need to do even more. We will have to literally cutback on our fuel usage, and for that every single person in Pakistan has to cooperate and understand our dire predicament!
This includes measures like car pools, from dropping our children to school to going to work. As well as measures to eat, drink and avail restaurants as well as shopping and grocery stores closer to our places of residence. The fact that chains of popular restaurants are springing up in each area has a goal people!! It’s occurring because it is now the time where it will soon get difficult for a family to spend x amount of fuel just to go and have dinner.
The government should also try to fund R&D projects to discover alternative fuels based on agricultural waste. Which we produce in large quantities as an Agri based economy. There have already been breakthroughs in this regard in the west and bio fuels are being developed from agri waste. Examples of this are bio fuels made from corn husk, as well as wood grain and grass fiber. Imagine the result of a discovery in our country to make petrol out of grass? which we have and can grow in ample quantities.
The point is though that these technologies are a thing of the distant future. Actual results of something like a commercially viable alternate fuel made of corn husk will take perhaps years to come through. Still we must all realize that using petrol right now is both expensive and seriously damaging to our environment. Plus there is only a finite amount of it available in the world, and with everything finite as things stand it will eventually run out. We are already ahead of many western nations in adaptation of alternatives via CNG due to the fact of having smaller pockets then them. We need to continue this effort and take it to the next step which is and has to be conservation!! So let’s tighten our belts people, for that is the only way to go.