Going green in a new Egypt

 Going green in a new Egypt

By Joseph Mayton 

It is a warm and sunny afternoon on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. The sun is blazing down on dozens of lounging people, soaking the rays from the yellow mass. Ironically, it is here where the Ozone layer’s hole peaks through. Burning is a major risk. Looking around at the sand, however, it quickly becomes apparent that Egypt has an environmental problem on its hands.
Plastic bags, empty cups and the remnants of sunbathers are strewn across would be pristine sands on the Red Sea coast. Environmental groups in the country have long lamented on the poor state of environmental awareness in the country, with campaign upon campaign ending with little success. Now, with Egypt moving forward after ousting President Hosni Mubarak from three decades in power, there is growing hope that change can finally see the implementation of green policy, along the Red Sea coast, along the Nile River and throughout the Arab world’s largest country. 

Still, with the first round of voting over, the candidates have no clear environmental policy. Even more striking was the fact that no candidate, party or coalition even divulged a single sentence on the environmental future of the country, leaving many to worry that the situation facing Egypt ecologically, will continue to stumble into chaos, destruction and apathy.
It will take strong efforts from activists and environmental leaders to affect that change, said Omar Radwan, a political activist who participated in the clean-up of Cairo’s Tahrir Square on a number of occasions during the 18-days of protests that forced out the dictator as well as in July and November during two other mass gatherings of activists.
He told Bikyamasr.com that picking up trash and throwing it in a bin is only the first step on the path to a cleaner and better Egypt.
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