Submitted by Anthony Davis
The UK Government will come under renewed pressure to cut pollution from diesel vehicles following the latest ruling in a battle over clean air. Nitrogen dioxide in cities is illegally high and the European Court of Justice ruled judges must force ministers to clean up the air as soon as possible. The pollutant comes almost entirely from diesel vehicles – see article Court puts more heat on diesel.
For eons now, both the BLP and the DLP have been promising to put anti-air pollution and anti-noise pollution legislation laws on the statute books of our country – which has turned out to be nothing but promises.
The BLP reigned for 14 years, and the DLP has now been in power for more than six. That is more than two decades where this country has had to live with nothing but talk about this issue. To make things worse, all one ever hears is that, in order to stop the proliferation of CNDs, we need only to eat right and exercise.
I do not know what sense it makes to eat right and exercise if the air is more than polluted!
I do not know how long many people can hold their breath, but I do know that they cannot do it for long unless they want to commit suicide. We now have more proof of the dangers of diesel particulates which are like those of coal dust from which many miners die yearly because they cling to their lungs and give them cancer.
In Barbados one sees diesel vehicles of all kinds laying down smoke screens as they traverse our beautiful country. Can you imagine how someone, who already has some kind of respiratory problem, standing at a bus stop, walking, driving in another vehicle, etc., when such a vehicle goes by would feel?
Can you imagine some tourist coming to Barbados to spend two weeks because he/she heard how good our climate is for his/her health because of the wonderful sea breeze?
Many people come here to get away from their polluted cities and towns, so how do you think that they would feel when they get their lungs full of nitrogen dioxide?
Would it make them want to return to this island where “Tourism is our business”?
What’s the use of building more and more high-end all-inclusive hotels for the rich, the famous, and the bigoted, if no one wants to come to an air-polluted and noise-polluted country like ours?
There is too much nepotism going on in this country, and that is why we cannot get anything done in it. It is high time that politicians and others who are heading various agencies, let the people know the truth about CNDs, because it not only has to do with their eating habits and if they exercise or not, but with unbridled air- and noise- pollution of our country. We need not go as far as Europe for guidance.
As far as I understand Trinidad and Tobago has very stringent air-pollution laws, and the manpower to make sure that they are adhered to, so you need not think our laws would be a precedent in CARICOM. It is time to stop talking the talk, and start walking the walk, ladies and gentlemen.
Members of previous BLP governments have no reason for finger pointing as they didn’t exactly cover themselves with glory either when it came to these issues.
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