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The Health Hazards of Progress

By Emilio 04 November, 2007 07:00 This article has been read 1151 times.

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The Gibraltar economy depends to a large extent on the sale of tobacco and petroleum products. Both are scientifically proven killers mostly of the very young and the elderly. From plant to cigarette and from the raw oil to a myriad products and manufactures, multinationals' exploitation make trillions for their shareholders and executives. Governments join in and get their share in rights and duties. Other multinationals and Government business enterprises make more money by the manufacture of the vehicles and airplanes that encourage people to move around at breakneck speed, causing 100,000 deaths and many more injuries in accidents every year. This human tide on the constant move spreads diseases so fast that when, not if, the avian flu learns to infect humans it will become a pandemic disease. All these things are happening in the name of progress and every country is hell-bent on further progress, which is why the deaths will continue to mount for many years to come.

THE GSD MANIFESTO

So far I have ignored the danger to the planet, about which the GSD manifesto says "It is a credit to environmentalists ...., including in Gibraltar (that) they have converted the vital issue of our planet's environment from a "fringe" issue to the central political issue of our time, that no democratic government can take lightly, still less ignore."

THE WORD IS POLLUTION

Mr Peter Caruana's masterly command of the English language is very obvious in this phrase, he uses "environment" for pollution and tells us he will deal with it. What his Government must deal with is pollution. The pollution of our waters and the pollution of the air we breathe. Something they have done little to deal with in eleven years notwithstanding great pressures from concerned groups. The fifteen items they list in their manifesto as progress in the environmental field include the following:

-Transparent air quality monitoring

-Consolidated Waste Management Plan

-Annual Environmental Report

-Urban Beautification Schemes

-Open planning laws introduced

-Investment Programme in stabilization of cliffs

-Decommissioning, removal and re-vegetation of water catchments

-Dangerous dogs legislation

-Extension of green and planted areas

-Funding for environmental projects

GONHS: Upper rock Management Fund

Alameda Conservation Park

Europa Point Bird Observatory

Alameda Botanic Gardens

Improved public bus service

A POSITIVE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

All these items put together do absolutely nothing to reduce pollution. A good economic policy that could after all these years have enabled them to afford to raise petrol duties to the Spanish level to reduce the amount of traffic our people and roads suffer, would have achieved something positive in more than just the ecological sense.. The daily traffic chaos particularly around the North Area, where we have three petrol stations not 100 metres from each other is gradually poisoning the residents. The creation of a busy international airport next door will be the last straw.

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