A different challenge

Teenage Crown Prince Scholar Hassan Al Halwachi, made the kingdom proud by winning a prestigious annual science challenge organised by the

Imperial College in London.

Aimed at promoting scientific communication and creative thinking among talented students studying in the UK, the challenge required Hassan to write an 800-word essay on geo-engineering and deliver a presentation in front of a panel of judges at the IMAX Theatre in London.

Beating 240 bright young minds, the Bahraini 18-year-old, an A-level student at Sherbourne School in the UK, was adjudged the overall winner in the 'schools section' and was presented with a cheque for £2,000 and an iPod Nano.

A triumphant Hassan said: "Winning the competition was a great moment that gave me a great sense of achievement. Not only have I proved myself in my school but I have also proved that my countrymen can compete against others from different parts of the world.

"I would like to thank His Highness the Crown Prince for giving me the opportunity to study in the UK and for believing in the abilities of Bahraini students."

An avid science student, who hopes to become a chemical engineer one day, Hassan took time off to demystify geo-engineering for GulfWeekly readers, a branch of science which is focused on using technology to tackle the earth's environmental challenges. The subject was recently ranked among the '10 ideas that are changing the world' by Time magazine.

Climate change has become one of the most heated topics in recent years. Some are fervently arguing that it is caused by human actions, while others are still in denial and claim that it is caused by natural causes.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that it is actually happening; we are already witnessing its effects in the form of increasing tornados, floods, drought ... etc. So, what is our plan?

Obviously, we need to survive. To do that, we have got three choices. The first is 'adaptation'. This means that we shall continue with our lifestyles and try to adapt with whatever consequences that follow. For example, we could move away from coastal areas to adapt with the rising sea levels.

The second choice is 'mitigation', which involves trying to reduce the emissions of the gases causing the problem. And, the third choice involves doing something totally different - geo-engineering.

The prefix (geo) means earth and geo-engineering involves making changes to our planet. Global warming is caused by high temperatures. There are two main changes that we could make to our planet to solve this. We need to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide - a major cause of the problem - already present in the atmosphere or reduce the amount of sunshine that reaches us.

We know that we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by growing more plants. To achieve better and quicker results, we could grow some microscopic creatures in the ocean that also use carbon dioxide for their growth. This could be done by simply pumping the nutrients they would need for growth in the areas of our choice. However, doing this could put other organisms at risk because we could be meddling with their balanced habitat.

There are other ways with which we can reduce the amount of sunshine that reaches us. Perhaps the most bizarre method is to launch millions of mirrors into space to reflect back some of the sunlight. If something goes wrong, however, we might end up with no sunlight at all!

Of course, there are safer options. One of them is spraying sea water into the air to stimulate the formation of clouds, but we don't know for sure how this would affect rainfall patterns.

Almost all other geo-engineering techniques are untested; we don't really know where they would lead us. So, why bother and do all the research? Well, we are running out of time and we still have a long way to go.

After some years, we may find ourselves in a situation whereby we have failed to reduce our carbon emissions to safe levels. At that time it would make a huge difference if we had something to do to buy more time. That is why I believe we should invest in testing and developing these techniques.

When it comes to who should decide the next move, I don't think that a single country or company should make such a critical decision. We all live on this planet. Therefore, any decision has to be made internationally.

Despite the fact that Bahrain lacks the required research facilities to enable it to play a leading role in this field, it can still participate in regulating the process and devising an international framework and plan of action. Our huge investment in education could also yield future leaders for the process.

To conclude, geo-engineering is just another way of tackling climate change which involves modifying our environment, but it does involve many risks.

Like most of the scientists who have proposed these techniques, I hope that we never find ourselves in a situation where we have no other choice but to use them.

WHO CAN APPLY

Bahraini students with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 97 per cent or above should submit their applications for Crown Prince Scholarships by July 1 after the completion of their Grade 11. Candidates are also required to take a qualifying English language test a week after the application deadline at the Khawla Girls School.

Students chosen as candidates must then undergo various selection stages throughout their final year of secondary school until the final 10 recipients are announced in May the following year.

Students must submit a completed application form available at www.cpisp.bh attached with their official school transcripts for grades 10 and 11 in English, a personal essay, a copy of their passport and CPR, and a recent passport photo.