Thread by @HassanFSinno

Thread: Lebanon's biggest missed opportunity
(as we cant see hope of recovery)

As some complain about the weather and others are enjoying the snow, we cant ignore that the most important resource in history (&future) falls upon us for free and we let it go to waste.

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The availability of clean water plays a critical part in determining where people live, their quality of life and the potential for development of any city/country, as has been witnessed across the world, time and again.

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We behave like water is only meant for its most basic use: our own domestic consumption when drinking, cooking or cleaning.

We all acknowledge its fundamental need by the agricultural industry for irrigation purposes.

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But as we all now preach the benefits of moving from a rentier to a productive economy, what are we doing to take advantage of the most important resource that would enable us to overcome most (if not all) of our problems?

4/18

Free clean water used in agriculture allows not only fruits, vegetables, crops and livestock to grow better and cheaper, but it also protects them from frost and freeze, and allows for cheaper local sale and more competitive export.

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It also greatly unlocks more valuable farming potential such as grain development, orchards and horticultural crops highly demanded worldwide. Won't dwell into the well document medical cannabis global needs.

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Free clean water is also critical for many manufacturing industries such as the food, recycling, chemical and oil refining industries to name a few as examples.

7/18

As we focus on the oil that we (might) have at sea and are wasting valuable time in starting its exploration, what about securing the other resource that will be needed if we want to benefit of its added value potential?

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Free clean water is invaluable in protecting & replanting the much needed forests that would let our environment “cleanse itself” over time and produce many valuable resources such as glue, rubber, chemicals for the medical field, cellulose for the textile industry, etc.

9/18

Moving some of our power needs from our current thermoelectric power system, which uses a great deal of water and the eco-unfriendly fossil fuels, to hydroelectric power, would enable us to have more of the to-be-exploited oil for sale and use a renewable energy source.

10/18

Norway, as an example, the 13th largest oil producer in the world, gets 99% of its energy from hydropower while is largest 3 export items are oil related.

11/18

Small parentheses to those who will say “Talk to your activist friends who stopped Bisri”: a project full of corruption & destroying wildlife habitat, agricultural, historical and scenic sites doesn’t make all projects bad – it makes that specific one a case to be stopped!

12/18

Going back to benefits of free clean water that address some of our main problems today: access to it reduces the financial burden on citizens, naturally eliminates the water distribution mafia and gives ample reason for the state to address the illegal wells problem.

13/18

If we do it right and it makes environmental and economic sense, we might one day be able to start exporting water by tanker to countries in need.

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So while the entire political class is in a coma besides looking for ways to keep draining reserves which are people’s hard earned savings & fighting over who gets what ministry (which they'll inevitably loot), how are we, citizens, pressuring them to solve our problems?

15/18

Water that is falling for free on our land, if used properly, would allow us to have a cleaner environment, produce more & better, create jobs in basic and added value industries, turn our trade balance upside down and eventually free ourselves from political clientelism.

16/18

I have not yet figured out how to use water to get rid of the corrupt political class that is our curse – but maybe we can all start by putting pressure on our MPs and Municipalities to WORK for the country instead of making empty promises when election times come.

17/18

#Solutions_exist
#corrupt_political_class
#Lebanon_Protests
#hijacked_country
#كلن_يعني_كلن

Sorry for the long thread 🙈
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