Energy and water issues: no sign of conservation - I

A golden opportunity in the shape of CPEC projects is being misconstrued as "economic take-off"! We should first accept that all projects, specially energy and water projects, must be efficient and cost-effective otherwise, we will be standing with beggars' bowl when time comes for repayments. Who will ensure that our productivity is going to improve with the coming projects and that benefits will finally trickle down to the common man.
Energy conservation, though essential for very existence, is totally missing in every field and this wrong assumption of "affording" the high energy costs is criminal. A hospital, spending enormous amount of money due to inefficient energy usage simply charges the exorbitant costs to the patient who really has no option. Similarly, a hotel would charge high costs of inefficient technologies used in the building to the customer but then, who is the loser? It is the national economy that suffers due to uncontrolled inflation and we all pay "through our nose." The trend of energy wastage is everywhere and there is really no such thing as corporate social responsibility to think in terms of conservation! Recently, a "smart looking" office high-rise building was inaugurated in Karachi with a lot of fanfare but unfortunately, the declared "vital statistics" did not announce any energy or water conservation features ! Basic high-performance green building features are simply not recognised and if this happens for such a prestigious project, who else will care for such an essential requirement. "Progressive" building owners take pride in achieving conservation goals the world over but we abhor such objectives. We simply do not care what we are doing to the environment, besides having very high lifecycle costs, which affect our economic well-being and yet, we claim to be progressive and socially responsible. Even existing building laws and regulations are ignored when it comes to energy conservation.
Water conservation is also ignored by all sectors including government planners at the highest level. Our water resources are simply too vulnerable to afford our callous approach and yet, we have continued our selfish approach by not building large (and small) water reservoirs simply because it is difficult to ensure sizeable kickbacks for such projects, spread over 8-10 years. We must ensure "quick returns;" otherwise the project is not worth it.