There are high hopes that the Lebanese prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri, will be able to form a government this week. The visit to Damascus by the Saudi monarch, King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz, is an important indicator that the meeting between the king and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Jeddah was successful from a Saudi viewpoint. If it had not been, the Saudi monarch would not have decided to head for Syria. The visit caps bilateral reconciliation that certainly features Lebanon as a fundamental issue, despite everything that is being circulated by Syria's friends. Indeed, the king of Saudi Arabia assigns huge importance to the independence, stability, security and safety of Lebanon. If his bilateral meeting with his Syrian guest in Jeddah had not enshrined certain agreed-upon matters, this visit would not be taking place. Inter-Arab reconciliation, as desired by the Saudi monarch, involves certain circumstances and conditions. Syria assigns huge importance to improving its relationship with Saudi Arabia, due to this country's weight in the international, Arab and regional arenas. Thus, the visit by King Abdullah to Damascus can only be good news for Lebanon and assist a domestic opening between the friends of Syria, as represented in the opposition and the majority, which was victorious in the elections. It is true that formation of the Cabinet and progress on the political front is linked to the outside world, unfortunately, because of the links between leading Lebanese groups and foreign parties. However, there are urgent, important, and fundamental issues that should be a priority on the domestic front; one of these is concern with the environment. This call is for the new government and every Lebanese politician working to save his beautiful country from asphyxiation by lack of concern with the environment, whether with construction in cities, where a process of smothering is actually taking place, as a result of the heavy level of building with no planning or concern for the environment. For example, rows of adjacent buildings are currently being constructed in the streets near the American University of Beirut, and Hamra. There is no park or green space amid these buildings. Is it possible that absence of gardens will not lead to sorrowful scenes, such as children and teens playing football in Beirut cemeteries. How sad! Environmental neglect has turned the Mediterranean and the Lebanese coast into huge refuse dumps, which have become food for the fish. There should be concern with the environment and a priority for the next government, whether the minister of environment is from the opposition or the majority. The traffic problem is also a disaster. Lebanon's minister of interior, Ziyad Baroud, is respected by all sides because he has introduced new traffic laws, such as mandatory wearing of seat belts. He must follow up now the implementation of environmental laws, such as banning noise pollution and requiring the use of clean gasoline. Lebanon suffers from economic and financial problems, but environmental laws should be a priority for everyone. The Education Ministry should introduce curricula that include environment preservation, since many do not care about this topic, even though it involves all aspects of health. There are some reserves, such as for the Barouk Cedars, established by MP Walid Jumblatt, but this is a small item in a sector that requires a political and legal mobilization effort. Selecting a minister-designate for the environment should be a precise task, so that the individual will be able to conduct the campaign that is needed to rescue Lebanon from being smothered. The prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri, is a member of the young generation and he is aware what his country needs when it comes to mobilizing for the environment; there is great hope that the government will assign this matter the importance that it deserves, to benefit the interest of Lebanon and those who visit the country.
