RIYADH, 9 August 2007 — Global warming is a hot topic these days, but not so much in Saudi Arabia. In fact, according to a recent report in a local newspaper, Arab youth — particularly Saudi youth — are given so little information about human being’s effect on the environment that they either have no interest whatsoever, or rely on outside information they find on their own.

“I try to minimize the use of air-conditioning,” said Muhammad, a 19-year-old private university student, who adds that he has tried to convince his family to spend more time together in one room of the house and just to cool that room. Unfortunately, he says, most of the time he gets mocked by his friends for his mission: “They think that individuals can’t make a difference, but I disagree.”

Talal, 17, says her environmental awareness comes mainly from Western media and not from anything inside Saudi Arabia. And when she wants to do something, she says she is frustrated by the lack of environment-friendly options.

“Even when I try to contribute to the environment I can’t find recycling bins around — not even in school,” she says.

Haifa, a 20-year-old private university student, also says what she learns about environmental issues she gets from satellite television.

“The university doesn’t even bring up this issue except on very rare occasions, such as Tree Day, which is a few posters, maybe a lecture, and the day ends,” she said.

Faisal, a 16-year-old student, rejects any idea of making environment-friendly policy a lifestyle choice. It is simply too hot in Saudi Arabia, he says, to be turning off the air-conditioner in August. “Global warming is a natural thing that will happen anyhow,” he said.

Global warming may be self-evident to anyone living in tropical climates. (Ask anyone in Jakarta, Indonesia, if they believe global warming is occurring and the answer will be a unanimous “yes” as the city increasingly deals with flooding.) But it seems that some of the world’s largest emitters of CO2, especially the United States, seems to only recently been ready to face up to the existence of global warming, albeit many there still deny that humans have anything to do with it.

So while even in the West it seems that people are just now getting to addressing the issues pertaining to the globalized nature of climate cause and effect, Saudi students are at a loss as to what they can do about it personally.