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السلام عليكم انا اريد بحث حول how to protect our halth باللغة الانجليزية من فضلكم

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Protect our health: Invest in decent modern infrastructure
7 May 2009 | By Antony Oliver

For the last 25 years Londoners have been drifting off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that flood waters will not sweep through our homes and lives in the middle of the night.

It is an underappreciated fact. And let’s face it, with Swine Flu arriving in South London schools there are other things higher up the parental nocturnal worry list.

But never the less thanks must go to the pioneering engineering design and construction of the Thames Barrier for providing this flood defence peace of mind since its longawaited opening in 1984.

And like all the best public infrastructure, throughout this time the barrier has operated without the general public even knowing about its activity. Yet its reassuring presence has allowed the capital to function despite the threat from storms, the highest of Spring tides and regular North Sea surges.

It operates without drama to remain a solid, impregnable flood defence for the capital. Under the guidance and operation of the Environment Agency, the whole network of barriers simply responds to need and deliver accordingly.

The Thames Barrier is a striking reminder of the absolute value of infrastructure

Without question it is a brilliant example of the forethought of infrastructure planning and the value of investing for the long term. When built it cost just under £500M and despite some severe construction cost escalation it has delivered value for money.

Twenty five years on there are lessons for politicians about the value of investing early in vital infrastructure schemes such as this, but also from the need to cut through the crazy planning politics that could so easily have scuppered even this vital project.

The need to protect the capital was, of course, first highlighted by the devastating floods of 1953. Yet political interest and available funds receded and it took until the 1970s for the project to get going again.

Not before time as since its opening, environmental changes, sea level rise and altering development needs now mean that the barrier is of even more value than anticipated and will, according to latest reports, keep the capital safe until 2070.

But politically there are now huge opportunities to reap the benefits from similar forward thinking and pioneering engineering that brought us the original barrier.

Schemes such as those on the table right now to combine flood protection with traffic congestion relief and access to vital development land in east London must be taken seriously – not least as we try to balance the competing pressures on public cash.

The Thames Barrier is a striking reminder of the absolute value of infrastructure.

Reacting to pandemics such as Swine Flu is important in the short term. But investing in decent modern infrastructure really does protect the health of the nation.