Jgħadduna biż-żmien

L-Awtorità tal-Ambjent u r-Riżorsi (ERA) għadha kif ippubblikat abbozz ta’ Strateġija Nazzjonali dwar l-Ambjent għal konsultazzjoni pubblika. Dan l-abbozz ippubblikatu bl-Ingliż biss. Qiesu t-tmexxija tal-ERA ma tafx bil-Malti.

Minn awtorità pubblika nistennew ferm aħjar minn hekk. Kemm ser iddumu tinsulentawna? L-iskuża li l-Malti mhux addattat għal dokument tekniku mhiex waħda aċċettabbli. In-nuqqas ta’ dokument bil-Malti hi opportunutà mitlufa biex l-ERA tikkomunika iktar man-nies.

Iżda lil hinn mil-lingwa, l-istrateġija ambjentali li qed tkun proposta hi waħda ġenerika. Fiha tmien għanijiet li hu propost li jintlaħqu sal-2050. Il-lista tal-għanijiet li l-ERA trid tindirizza mhiex il-problema, għax il-problema hija li dawn l-għanijiet huma affarijiet li ilna niddiskutu żmien: ġew ippubblikati biżibilju rapporti, strateġiji u regoli jew policies li jkunu saru b’intenzjonijiet tajba tul is-snin!  Il-problemi jinqalgħu dejjem meta nfittxu li nimplimentaw il-miżuri meħtieġa biex jitwettqu dawn l-għanijiet. F’dak il-mument jinqagħu elf skuża, għax fir-realtà ma hemmx il-volontà politika li jittieħdu passi bis-serjetà.

Dan hu bil-bosta differenti milli jipprova jgħid ic-Chairman tal-ERA fid-daħla bl-Ingliż li kiteb għad-dokument konsultattiv! Din hi storja li għaddejna minnha diversi drabi!

Il-ħsara ambjentali li saret tul is-snin mhiex xi ħaġa li ser tkun irranġata mil-lum għall-għada.  Ħadd m’għandu jistenna riżultati malajr fil-mixja biex insewwu l-ħsara ambjentali li tħalliet takkumula tul is-snin.

Il-ħarsien tal-ambjent jinvolvi li jinbidlu deċiżjonijiet politiċi diversi li ittieħdu tul is-snin li kienu parti mill-kawża ta’ ħsara konsiderevoli. Ifisser ukoll li nibdlu attitudnijiet, drawwiet u l-mod kif inġibu ruħna.

Fid-daħla għad-dokument konsultattiv iċ-Chairman tal-ERA Chairman, Victor Axiak, jistqarr li jista’ jkun hemm ħtieġa ta’ sagrifiċċji żgħar fl-immedjat biex niksbu benefiċċji ambjentali fit-tul li jitgawdew minn ġenerazzjonijiet futuri. Din hi dikjarazzjoni li prattikament kulħadd jaqbel magħha. Imma dikjarazzjoni bħal din teħtieġ ukoll li tkun segwita minn lista ta’ miżuri meħtieġa biex tittieħed azzjoni dwarhom,  lista li tvarja minn miżuri li jistgħu jittieħdu immedjatament għal oħrajn li jħarsu iktar fit-tul.

Ma baqax iktar żmien biex noqgħodu niffilosifizzaw dwar l-ambjent.  Il-problemi nafu x’inhuma u  nafu ukoll min fejn ġejjin u min hu l-kawża tagħhom! Tħejjew kwantità ta’ rapporti, strateġiji, pjani t’azzjoni u x’naf jien tul is-snin. Kull Ministru ġdid ipprova jagħti l-impressjoni li hu jew hi sabet is-soluzzjoni b’nisġa ta’ kliem sabiħ li jipprova jimpressjona. Sfortunatament ir-rapporti tekniċi li saru kif ukoll dak li qalu in-nies waqt konsultazzjonijiet pubbliċi, bosta drabi ġie injorat.  Anzi xi drabi l-gvernijiet saħansitra aġixxew bil-maqlub ta’ dak propost jew maqbul!

L-istrateġija proposta illum, per eżempju,  tiffilosofizza dwar il-ħtieġa li innaqqsu id-dipendenza tagħna fuq il-karozzi u tinsisti li għandhom jonqsu l-karozzi mit-toroq tagħna.  Jekk wieħed imur lura u jerġa’ jaqra ftit l-istrateġija nazzjonali dwar it-trasport, li kienet iffinalizzat sitt snin ilu, jsib eżattament l-istess argumenti. Imma minflok ma ħa l-passi meħtieġa, l-Gvern – kemm direttament kif ukoll permezz tal-agenziji u l-awtoritajiet tiegħu – għamel bil-maqlub!

Kull studju li sar, kemm f’Malta kif ukoll barra minn xtutna, repetutament ikkonkluda li żvilupp massiċċ tal-infrastruttura tat-toroq twassal biex awtomatikament jiżdiedu l-karozzi fit-toroq. Kif mistenni, anke f’Malta, hekk ġara. Il-konġestjoni u l-problemi tat-traffiku żdiedu mhux naqsu riżultat tal-proġetti diversi tat-toroq. Dan seħħ għax kuntrarju tal-pariri li kellu, l-Gvern ma indirizzax il-kawza tal-problemi, imma indirizza l-effett.  Il-problema mhiex il-wisa’ jew it-tul tat-toroq, imma n-numru ta’ karozzi fit-toroq. Is-sitwazzjoni illum – f’ħafna każi  – hi agħar milli kienet qabel ma saru dawn il-proġetti.  

Minnbarra dan, daqslikieku mhux biżżejjed, l-awtoritajiet għamlu is-snin jinkoraġixxu l-iżvilupp ta’ petrol stations kbar, qieshom supermarkets. Dawn ħarbtu ammont mhux żgħir ta’ raba’. Biex issa jiġu jgħidulna kemm iridu jipproteġu l-agrikultura!

Kif nistgħu ntejbu l-kwalità tal-arja jekk nibqgħu nżidu l-karozzi fit-toroq tagħna?  Uħud forsi jargumentaw li s-soluzzjoni qegħda wara l-bieb bl-introduzzjoni tal-karozzi tal-elettriku inkella bl-użu tal-idroġenu jew xi fuel ieħor alternattiv. Dan ikun biss soluzzjoni parzjali għax fl-aħħar mill-aħħar irridu naraw kif ikun ġġenerat l-elettriku meħtieġ inkella kif ikun prodott l-idroġenu jew fuel alternattiv.

M’għandiex ammont suffiċjenti ta’ enerġija rinovabbli iġġenerata lokalment għax l-għorrief li ħadu id-deċiżjonijiet ftaħru fil-passat kemm kien irnexxielhom jinnegozjaw deroga tajba biex il-mira nazzjonali ta’ ġenerazzjoni ta’ enerġija rinovabbli ma tkunx 20% imma 10% tal-elettriku ikkunsmat. Ħtija ta’ hekk, illum m’għandniex ammont suffiċjenti ta’ enerġija rinovabbli.  Meta għandna l-ħtieġa ta’ enerġija elettrika bi prezz raġjonevoli  għandna nuqqas f’dan il-qasam li għalih qed inħallsu bizzalza.

Id-dipendenza li għandna bħala pajjiż fuq il-karozzi privati hi riżultat ta’ traskuraġni politika tat-trasport pubbliku tul is-snin. Li t-trasport pubbliku jkun b’xejn minn dan ix-xahar kienet deċiżjoni prematura. L-ewwel pass messu kien li tkun indirizzata l-effiċjenza u l-puntwalità tas-servizz. Il-prezz qatt ma kien problema.

Hu meħtieġ li l-effiċjenza u l-puntwalità tas-servizz ikunu indirizzati b’urġenza. Meta dan isir jagħmel ġid ambjentali ferm iktar mill-argumenti tekniċi kollha dwar kemm hemm ħtieġa li nħarsu l-ambjent. Trasport pubbliku effiċjenti flimkien ma investiment f’modi alternattivi ta’ transport hu ta’ benefiċċju ambjentali enormi.

Din hi uġiegħ ta’ ras kbira. Pariri ċari kien hemm. Iżda meta kien possibli li l-problema tkun indirizzata, l-Gvern, direttament kif ukoll permezz tal-awtoritajiet u aġenziji diversi tiegħu, ġie jaqa’ u jqum minn dan u għamel bil-maqlub!

Argumenti simili jistgħu jsiru dwar numru kbir ta’ materji ta’ importanza ambjentali: mill-ilma sal-pestiċidi, mill-użu tal-art sal-bijodiversità, mill-isforzi favur ekonomija ċirkulari għal taxxi ambjentali iddiżinjati sewwa.

Il-mod kif il-politika dwar it-trasport tħalliet għan-niżla hu biss eżempju wieħed żgħir minn fost bosta li jwassal għall-konklużjoni inevitabbli li ma teżistix rieda politika biex il-ħsara ambjentali tkun indirizzata bis-serjetà.

Il-konsultazzjoni pubblika tal-ERA sfortunatament hi fażi oħra fi proċess li permezz tiegħu qed jippruvaw jgħadduna biż-żmien.

ippubblikat fuq Illum : Il-Hadd 23 t’Ottubru 2022

aqra ukoll dokument sottomessmill-ADPD lill-ERA hawn

Il-Futur tagħna mhedded

It-tniġġiż jikkontamina ħajjitna. Ġeneralment naġixxu meta dak li jkun qed iniġġeż narawh jew inħossuh bis-sensi tagħna.  Ir-riċerka għaddejja kontinwament u pubblikazzjonijiet ġodda jindikaw impatt minn tniġġiż li qed jherri s-sistemi riproduttivi tagħna. Dan it-tniġġiż, imma ma jidhirx.  Hu kimika li nassobu flimkien mal-ikel u li jista’ jħarbat l-ormoni umani fl-iktar mumenti kruċjali.

Fl-1962 Rachel Carson fil-ktieb tagħha Silent Spring kienet fissret l-impatt tal-pestiċidi fuq l-annimali li jgħixu fis-selvaġġ. Minkejja l-opposizzjoni qawwija tal-kumpaniji li jimmanifatturaw dawn il-kimiċi l-kitba ta’ Carson wasslet għall-bidu ta’ regolamentazzjoni tal-pestiċidi kif ukoll għat-twaqqif tal-agenzija Amerikana li tħares l-ambjent.

Sittin sena ilu Carson, zoologa, argumentat li l-użu tal-pestiċidi kien qed ikollu konsegwenzi mhux mixtieqa u dan billi kien qed jeffettwa l-għasafar u l-frieħ tagħhom. Bħala konsegwenza ta’ dan bdiet tonqos il-popolazzjoni tal-għasafar minħabba li kien qed ikun avvelenat dak li jieklu.

L-avvelenament mhux bil-fors joqtol mill-ewwel. Jista’ jdum iż-żmien u dan billi jimblokka numru ta’ funzjonijiet naturali mill-jaħdmu.

Al Gore, li kien Viċi President Amerikan, fid-daħla għall-ktieb Our Stolen Future (1997) ta’ Theo Colborn, Diane Dumanoski u John Peterson Myers, jitkellem fuq  “xhieda xjentifika” dwar kimika sintetika li qed toħloq diversi problemi riproduttivi . Dawn (sadakinnhar li kiteb Al Gore) kienu ġew osservati fl-annimali u fuq l-ekoloġija in ġenerali, imma l-konklużjonijiet kellhom sinifikat anke għas-saħħa tal-bniedem.

Biż-żmien bdiet tkun identifikata din ir-relevanza għas-saħħa tal-bniedem. 

Nhar is 7 t’Awwissu 1978, il-President Amerikan Jimmy Carter iddikjara stat ta’ emerġenza fl-inħawi magħrufa bħala Love Canal fl-istat ta’ New York.  Fis-snin 40 u 50 f’miżbla fl-inhawi li biż-żmien kienet intesiet, kienu intremew mal-21,000 tunellata ta’ skart kimiku f’tankijiet kbar tal-metall. Biz-żmien il-metall spiċċa u l-kimika pjuttost likwida xterdet. Ikkontaminat l-inħawi fejn, kienu sadanittant ġew żviluppati żoni residenzjali, skejjel u l-ispazji pubbliċi assoċjati magħhom. Iktar min-nofs tat-twelidijiet fiż-żona bejn l-1974 u l-1978 spiċċaw f’korrimenti inkella b’xi forma ta’ difett jew kancer. Dan wassal biex fl-aħħar jiem tal-Presidenza ta’ Jimmy Carter ittieħdu inizjattivi ġodda ta’ ħarsien ambjentali biex inaqqsu l-possibiltà ta’ repetizzjoni ta’ dan kollu..

Nhar il-31 ta’ Mejju 1989 fix-xmara St Lawrence ħdejn Quebec il-Canada instabet balena mejta, beluga whale.  Mill-awtopsja li saret fuqha irriżulta  li din il-balena kellha kemm organi ġenitali maskili kif ukoll dawk feminili.  Ġie identifikat li dan kien seħħ minħabba tħarbit fl-ormoni tagħha riżultat tat-tniġġiż assorbit fl-ikel li kielet il-balena omm waqt it-tqala. Il-balena ġejja mill-istess klassi ta’ annimali bħall-bniedem, hi mammal ukoll.  

Kontinwament nisimgħu stejjer ġejjin mill-pajjiż ġar tagħna l-Italja dwar ikel ikkontaminat. Fl-2008 kienu sabu l-mozzarella tal-bufalo li kienet kkontaminata. Kien instab li din il-mozzarella kienet oriġinat minn 83 razzett qrib Napli. Il-bhejjem kienu jirgħu f’żona li żmien qabel kienet intużat mill-Mafja Taljan biex fiha intrema skart tossiku li kien fih id-dijossina.  F’lokalita oħra, Casale di Principe kien ġie ikkontaminat l-ilma tal-pjan u dan wassal għall-problemi diversi b’korrimenti u twelid ta’ trabi mejta kif ukoll b’rata għolja ta’ kanċer fil-popolazzjoni lokali.

L-iskart kimiku hu l-kawża ewlenija ta’ dan kollu.

Din il-ġimgha ġie ippubblikat ktieb ieħor dwar dan kollu bl-isem  Count Down. L-awtriċi hi Shanna Swan, speċjalista tal-istudju tal-mard fis-sistemi riproduttivi umani. F’dan il-ktieb tosserva kif difetti li qed jiġu osservati fis-sistemi riproduttivi umani jistgħu jkunu marbuta ma tniġġiż kimiku li jasal għandna permezz tal-ikel li nikkunsmaw. Is-sottotitlu tal-ktieb fil-fatt hu : How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.

Shanna Swan u t-tim ta’ riċerkaturi tagħha sabu li tul dawn l-aħħar 40 sena, fil-pajjiżi żviluppati, naqset bin-nofs iż-żerriegħa li jipproduċu l-irġiel. Din hi konklużjoni wara eżami dettaljat ta’  185 studju li kien jinvolvi 45,000 raġel b’saħħtu.

Għandna bżonn li r-riċerkaturi Maltin jippubblikaw informazzjoni dwar l-istudji tagħhom dwar it-tniġġiż f’Malta u l-impatti tiegħu fuq saħħitna, speċjalment fejn dan jeffettwana fl-iktar mumenti kruċjali tal-żvilupp tagħna. Dan hu essenzjali għall-formazzjoni ta’ politika dwar is-saħħa li tkun iktar aġġornata. Għax il-politika nazzjonali dwar is-saħħa għandha tkun ibbażata  fuq viżjoni olistika, viżjoni li tagħraf ir-rabta ekoloġika bejn il-bniedem, l-annimali u l-pjanti.

Neħtieġu poliitka ambjentali sura li tkun implimentata kif imiss. Din trid fost oħrajn tfisser li l-kimika li tintuża fil-produzzjoni trid tkun waħda iktar sigura u li l-ġabra ta’ kull forma ta’ skart trid issir bir-reqqa. Huwa biss b’dan il-mod li nistgħu nibdew nindirizzaw din il-problema kbira.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : il-Ħadd 4 t’April 2021

The threat to our future

Pollution contaminates our lives. We tend to act and react depending on the visibility of the pollutant. Research is ongoing and new publications continuously point towards the impact of pollution in corrupting our very reproductive systems. It is chemical pollution which we absorb through the food chain and which disrupts the human hormone system in the most critical of moments. They are known as endocrine disrupters.

Way back in the 1962 it was Rachel Carson who in her seminal Silent Spring explained the impact of the pesticides then in use on wild life. Notwithstanding the fierce opposition of chemical companies Carson’s opus led to the tightening of regulation of pesticides and the setting up of the US Environment Protection Agency.

Sixty years ago, Carson, a zoologist, argued that the use of pesticides had unintended consequences as whilst pesticides targeted pests they ended up affecting birds and their offspring. The result being a decrease in the bird population brought about by intoxication as a consequence of the poisoning of their food chain.

Toxic contamination does not necessarily kill immediately. It may block or distort a number of our natural functions.

In the foreword to the book Our Stolen Future (1997) by Theo Colborn, Diane Dumanoski and John Peterson Myers, Al Gore, former US Vice President speaks of “a large and growing body of scientific evidence linking synthetic chemicals to aberrant sexual development and behavioural and reproductive problems. Although much of the evidence these scientific studies review is for animal populations and ecological effects, there are important implications for human health as well”.

It was only a question of time before the relevance of all this to human health was clear.

President Jimmy Carter on August 7, 1978 had declared a state of emergency at Love Canal in the state of New York. A landfill containing over 21,000 tons of chemical waste dumped in the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s caused the contamination of residential and educational environments in the vicinity and resulted in miscarriages, birth defects, respiratory ailments and cancer. Fifty-six per cent of children born in the Love Canal environs between 1974 and 1978 had a birth defect. This led the US to enact the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act known as the Superfund in the last days of the Carter Presidency.

On May 31, 1989 a beluga whale was found floating belly up on the South Bank of the St Lawrence river in Quebec, Canada. An autopsy carried out on the whale revealed that it had both a male and a female set of genital organs. It was a hermaphrodite. This was eventually traced to pollution-induced hormone disruption which derailed the beluga whale’s normal course of sexual development. “One cannot rule out,” noted the autopsy report “that pollutants present in the mother’s diet had interfered with hormonal processes (guiding the) normal evolution of the sexual organs of her foetus”. The beluga whale is a mammal like the human being.

In neighbouring Italy news is continuous on discoveries of tainted food chains. In 2008 it was found that buffalo mozzarella originating from some 83 dairy farms in an area near Naples was tainted with dioxin. The buffalo were grazing in an area of illegal dumps of toxic waste controlled by the Mafia. On the other hand, in the areas around Casale di Principe it was the contamination of the water table which was identified as having led to a large incidence of still births, birth defects and cancer among the local population.

Chemical waste is the primary culprit of all this.

This week, in a new book, named Count Down, reproductive epidemiologist Shanna Swan argues that the observed downsizing of the male organ can be linked to everyday chemicals reaching us through the food chain. The publication is sub-titled: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.

Shanna Swan and her team of researchers found that over the past four decades, sperm levels among men in Western countries have dropped by more than 50 percent. They came to this conclusion after examining 185 studies involving close to 45,000 healthy men.

We could do with some information on what researchers in Malta are doing on issues of pollution and their impacts on our health, specifically on endocrine disrupters. This is essential information which is required to inform our health policy. Our national health policy should be based on a holistic vision, that is one which recognizes the ecological interconnections between people, animals and plants.

We require coherent environmental policies which are properly implemented. This should be manifested in safer chemicals in use and proper waste management practices. Then we may start addressing this serious problem.

Published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 4 April 2021

Beyond solidarity

Earlier this week the government and Puttinu Cares Foundation signed an important agreement.

As a result, the National Social and Development Fund will apply €5 million of its funds to assist in the purchasing of more apartments by the foundation to further its objective of assisting cancer patients undergoing treatment in London. This is indeed commendable.

I say this notwithstanding being aware of the origin of the funds accumulated in the National Social and Development Fund as a result of the detestable golden passports scheme. Known as the Individual Investment Programme, this scheme selling passports and citizenship is objectionable on a point of principle. Using the funds which it generates for solidarity measures will not sanitise it.

Earlier, during the month of August, the Ministry for Social Solidarity made €1 million of public funds available to the Hospice Movement to help it in its support services both to patients suffering terminal illness as well as their relatives.

Last year it was the Farsons Foundation and its affiliates who assisted the Hospice Movement through a €115,000 donation towards the establishment of the St Michael Hospice, the first state-of-the-art complex in Malta which will be dedicated entirely to providing comprehensive palliative care.

The St Michael Hospice is to be developed instead of the former Adelaide Cini Institute which the Church in Malta handed over to Hospice Malta. Archbishop Scicluna, in launching this Church initiative, stated that it was inspired by the Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis in 2015.

It is indeed heartening to know that Maltese society in general has its heart in the right place and is capable of acting to alleviate suffering and also to assist, whenever possible, in the recovery of those who can make this journey. All of us have a loved one who was or still is in the shadows of cancer.

Being capable of acting in this way is commendable. We can, however, in addition to all this strive to avoid, as much as possible, such suffering.

Adopting adequate environmental policies and ensuring that they are observed would undoubtedly, in the long term, avoid the incidence of a good percentage of terminal illnesses.

Launching the Beating Cancer Plan earlier this year, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that “Even though 30 to 40 per cent of all cancers are preventable, only 3 per cent of health budgets are invested in prevention strategies”. Is it not time that we put our heads together to address this anomaly?

Medical screening does wonders and has saved many lives, even in Malta. All would however agree that this is not enough.

Reducing environmental risk factors such as all forms of pollution and exposure to chemicals would be a good first step together with the improvement of access to healthy diets and the further promotion of vaccinations.

Within this context, in my opinion, the reluctance to act decisively on the use of pesticides in agriculture is of extreme concern. I am informed that in this day and age we still do not have the necessary facilities available locally to be able to examine and test agricultural products in order to determine the pesticide residue which they retain. Still having to send agricultural samples for testing to overseas laboratories makes a mockery of our ability to apply the EU regulatory setup intended to protect each and every one of us.

When results of tests carried out to agricultural samples selected for pesticide residue testing are available this will be generally too late as the products potentially laced with pesticides would have been sold and most probably consumed.

Limiting ourselves to pesticide use and abuse we need an adequate regulatory setup as a result of which pesticides would no longer be sold over the counter but through a prescription-type system and regulated by qualified agricultural pharmacists. Our farmers should be trained in the proper use of pesticides and not be left to their own devices.  Together with a rigorous sampling and testing policy buttressed with a locally run laboratory we could in the medium term start the process of prevention of pesticide-induced illness.

Acting through adequate control of use of pesticides is just one step. The consistent application of sensible environmental policy across the board would yield better results entrenching prevention as the preferred option in our health strategy.

This would take us a big step beyond solidarity, as prevention is definitely better than cure.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 15 November 2020

Pesticides found in hair samples

Abstract and main results of report commissioned by the                                             

European Greens-European Free Alliance in the European Parliament

 

Pesticides are ubiquitous in our environment and food. Many pesticides are reported to induce health issues including cancer, neurological pathologies and endocrine disruption. The Greens/EFA Group set up a large-scale campaign to measure human exposure for a selection of 30 pesticides, reported as endocrine disruptors, among EU population.

Hair analysis has been chosen to investigate pesticides exposure because hair is a unique and reliable biomonitoring tool to investigate long term chronic exposure. Moreover, xenobiotics that are present in blood are incorporated into the hair structure during hair synthesis in the scalp and incorporated substances have increased stability. As hair grows about 1 cm per month, the analysis of each centimetre informs about average exposure over a one-month period. In addition, hairs are easy to sample and to ship to the laboratory.

148 hair samples were collected from 6 EU countries: Germany, Denmark, United Kingdom (Wales), Italy, France and Belgium between end of July and October 2018. Samples were analysed to search for a selection of 30 pesticides including insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Main results of the study indicate:

15 pesticides out of 30 were detected at least one time
 60.1% of analysed samples contain at least one pesticide residue
 23.6% of analysed samples contain at least two pesticide residues
 Most occurring pesticides are:
 fipronil (insecticide) found in 29.7% of samples,
 propiconazole (fungicide) found in 18.9% of samples,
 permethrine (insecticide) found in 18.9% of samples,
 chlorpyriphos-ethyl (insecticide) found in 10.1% of samples
 Highest proportion of sample with pesticide residues (84.6%) was found for the United      Kingdom (Wales)
 Lowest proportion of sample with pesticide residues (44.1%) was found for Germany
 Highest number of different pesticide residues (4) was found for 4 samples from     Belgium
 Highest concentration of pesticide residues (3941.9 pg/mg) was found for one sample       from France
Populations from the 6 countries studied are exposed to variable number and quantity     of pesticides depending on their country and their age category.

full report accessible here

The environmental deficit

 

 

Going by the information available on the increased incidence of various types of cancers, both common and rare types, it is evident that the accumulated environmental impacts originating from human action is exacting its toll. Few make the link between the increased incidence of rare diseases,  cancers and environmental neglect accumulated over the years.  

Over the Christmas period, as a result of the never-ending humanitarian operations of the Community Chest Fund, we hear of the ever-increasing demand on state resources by those struck by cancer. The demand is such that the resources of the state have to be supplemented by the annual telethon which this year raised a record €5.5 million.

The advertising blitz on the switching over of Malta’s power generation from one dependent on heavy fuel oil to natural gas informs us that air quality in Malta will improve substantially as a result. This statement is only partially correct as the major contributor to Malta’s poor air quality was not power generation but the ubiquitous and exponential increase of cars on our roads.

The cars on our roads are part of the real “cancer factory” in operation on Maltese territory.

As is evidenced by the substantial investments channeled towards the improvement of the road infrastructure, it is clear that the political will to address this issue is very weak. Improved road infrastructure, such as the construction of flyovers to ease traffic congestion, will only increase the dependence on cars. In the long term, this improvement to the road network will hamper the drive to shift custom to public transport. Consequently, it will serve to further increase cars on our roads and will hence contribute to an increase in the output of the “cancer factory”.

Public transport has been improved as is evidenced by a gradual increase in its use. Various initiatives to encourage the use of public transport have been introduced. However, the Maltese state is sending conflicting signals when it simultaneously speaks in favor of public transport yet invests heavily to facilitate the continued domination of our roads by private cars.

Lack of adequate environmental protection in the past has contributed to an ever-accumulating environmental deficit which in turn will lead to total and complete bankruptcy as no one is in a position to bale out Mother Earth.

Environment protection is multifaceted. Addressing the different waste streams and seriously plotting the path to the 2050 zero waste targets established by Malta’s Waste Management Strategy would definitely signify that we are in earnest. However, it is certainly not enough. What about the excessive use of pesticides which still end up contaminating our food chain? Or what about our water table, which in addition to being depleted is also contaminated with pesticides and fertilisers?   I could go on and on with a never-ending list of examples.

The environmental deficit is constantly on the increase. Each generation creates additional environmental impacts without in any way adequately addressing the accumulated impacts handed down by the previous generations. Governments are worried by economic deficits, yet few seem to be worried by the accumulating environmental deficit. We are using the earth’s resources as if tomorrow will never come.

No one will bail us out from the consequences of this deficit, yet nature has its own way of extracting its dues. Climate change, the collapse of agriculture in various countries and a higher incidence of common and rare forms of cancers are all different forms of payment which nature is extracting. These bills can only be avoided (in the long term) if we switch back to operating in a manner which is compatible with nature.

Otherwise the accumulating environmental deficit will bankrupt humanity.

published on The Independent on Sunday – 1 January 2017

L-iżbilanċ ambjentali

 

 

Minn dak li hu magħruf dwar l-inċidenza dejjem tikber tal-cancer, jidher li l-impatti ambjentali tal-ħidma tal-bniedem qed ikollhom effett qawwi. Ftit huma dawk li huma konxji dwar ir-rabtiet li hemm bejn il-ħsara ambjentali u uħud mill-mard rari li s-soċjetá tagħna qegħda tiffaċċja.

Fil-ġranet tal-Milied, riżultat tal-ħidma bla heda tal-Community Chest Fund, nisimgħu dwar id-domanda ma tieqaf qatt għas-servizzi li jagħti l-istat lil dawk milquta minn kull forma ta’ cancer. Id-domanda hi tant kbira li riżorsi tal-istat huma mgħejjuna mill-ġbir li jsir waqt l-Istrina, li, din is-sena laħaq is-somma record ta’ €5.5 miljuni.

Il-Gvern qed ixandar riklami dwar il-qalba tal-ġenerazzjoni tal-elettriku minn waħda dipendenti fuq il-heavy fuel oil għal waħda dipendenti fuq il-gass naturali. F’dawn ir-riklami qed jgħidulna li ser ikollna titjib fil-kwalitá tal-arja bħala riżultat ta’ din il-qalba. Din id-dikjarazzjoni (tar-riklami) hi biss parzjalment korretta. Dan minħabba li l-kontributur ewlieni għall-kwalitá tal-arja f’Malta qatt ma kienet il-ġenerazzjoni tal-elettriku iżda n-numru ta’ karozzi fit-toroq li donnu ma jispiċċa qatt. Huma dawn il-karozzi fit-toroq li jiffurmaw parti mill-fabbrika reali tal-cancer f’Malta.

Kif anke jidher mill-investimenti sostanzjali dedikati għal titjib fl-infrastruttura tat-toroq huwa ċar li r-rieda politika biex dan ikun indirizzat hi dgħajfa. Għax iktar ma titjieb l-infrastruttura tat-toroq, iktar ikunu inkoraġġiti karozzi fit-toroq, għax it-triq għalihom tkun iffaċilitata. It-titjib fl-infrastruttura tat-toroq, iżżid id-dipendenza tagħna lkoll fuq il-karozzi u bħala riżultat ta’ dan, tostakola l-ħidma biex iktar nies tuża t-trasport pubbliku.

Sar titjib fit-trasport pubbliku, anke bħala riżultat ta’ diversi inizzjattivi li ttieħdu. Imma l-pajjiż qed jagħti sinjali konfliġġenti, għax filwaqt li qiegħed jinkoraġixxi l-użu tat-transport pubbliku, fl-istess ħin qed jinvesti flejjes sostanzjali biex jiffaċilita l-kontinwazzjoni tad-dominazzjoni tat-toroq tagħna mill-karozzi.

Il-ħarsien tal-ambjent jinvolvi ħafna ħidma diversa. Jinkludi ħidma biex ikunu indirizzati b’serjetá s-sorsi differenti ta’ ġenerazzjoni tal-iskart biex b’hekk infasslu t-triq li biha rridu naslu ħalli nilħqu l-mira ta’ “skart zero”. Din hi mira stabbilita mill-Istrateġija Nazzjonali tal-Iskart u trid tintlaħaq sal-2050. Dan ċertament li mhux biżżejjed. X’ngħidu għall-użu eċċessiv ta’ pestiċidi li mhux biss qed jikkontamina dak li jkun prodott fir-raba’ imma parti minnu jispiċċa ukoll f’dak li baqa’ mill-ilma tal-pjan?

L-iżbilanċ ambjentali qiegħed dejjem jiżdied. Kull ġenerazzjoni qed tispiċċa żżid l-impatti mingħajr ma tindirizza sewwa l-impatti akkumulati li tkun wirtet mill-ġenerazzjoni ta’ qabilha.

Il-Gvernijiet qed jinkwetaw fuq l-iżbilanċ finanzjarju imma ftit wisq minnhom jinkwetaw fuq l-iżbilanċ ambjentali li iktar ma jgħaddi żmien iktar qed imur għall-agħar. Ir-riżorsi tad-dinja qed jintużaw qieshom bir bla qiegħ.

In-natura għandha l-modi tagħha kif iġġiegħlna nħallsu għal dan l-iżbilanċ ambjentali. It-tibdil fil-klima, l-kollass tal-agrikultura f’diversi pajjiżi kif ukoll iż-żieda qawwija ta’ kull xorta ta’ cancer huma kollha tweġiba tan-natura li biha kull wieħed minnha qiegħed jerfa’ l-piz tal-ħsara li saret lin-natura. Dawn il-kontijiet li qed tibgħatina n-natura jistgħu jonqsu fil-futur jekk nibdew minn issa ngħixu b’mod li joħloq inqas ħsara ambjentali. Jekk dan ma jseħħx il-kontijiet tan-natura, bla ebda dubju, jwasslu għal kollass totali.

ippubblikat fuq Illum – Is-Sibt 31 ta’ Diċembru 2016

A Green Vision – 50 years on

50 years ago Rachel Carson published her seminal book “Silent Spring”.

In 1962 Carson, a zoologist, argued that the use of pesticides had unintended consequences as whilst pesticides targeted pests they ended up affecting birds and their offspring. The result being a decrease in the bird population brought  about by intoxication as a consequence of the poisoning of the food chain.

Rachel Carson was the first person to give a popular voice to ecological concerns. In so doing she laid the foundations of environmentalism. It can be safely stated that her Silent Spring was the trigger of popular ecological awareness in the United States and Europe and to the consequential setting up of environmental NGOs as well as Green Political Parties.

Today’s generation is indebted to Rachel Carson for a powerful environmental movement in the four corners of the earth. We owe to her the popular awareness and understanding of nature’s fragility.

But obviously awareness and understanding is not sufficient. It must be our motivation to act. Planet Earth, fifty years after Silent Spring was published, is in a much worse state then ever. It has a temperature, it is warming up. Sea levels are rising. The climate is changing to one of less frequent but more intense storms which leave a trail of havoc in their path.

Water resources are declining.

Waste is not sufficiently understood as an underutilised resource.

The sea has also been heavily polluted and its resources plundered.

Consider the following observation made by Callum Roberts oceanographer at York University.

“The seas are the ultimate sinks. Chemicals get washed out of the soil and into streams and rivers. They should settle on the sea bed and stay there. However, fishing has become so intense, with boats dredging up scallops and bottom-welling  fish all the time, that we are constantly ploughing up these toxins, including DDT, and stirring them back into the water.”

The environment movement was born 50 years ago to make a difference. It was born out of a love for nature but is not restricted or limited to nature.  It has set out to implement  a green revolution : bettering our quality of life and as a result bequeathing a planet earth in a better state of health to future generations.

 

published on di-ve.com on 14 September 2012

Pollution can make you fat

 

A very interesting article entitled Pollution can make you fat was published in The Independent (UK). 

This article examines a study carried out in Barcelona Spain by the Municipal Institute of Medical Research and published in the Journal Acta Paediatrica. It deals with levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) found in the umbilical cords of 403 children born in the Spanish island of Menorca and found that those with the highest levels were twice as likely to be obese when they reached the age of 6 and a half years.

Well we are exposed to many chemicals in this short life of ours, none of which have ever been examined to establish their effect on life : not just human life. These are the types of reports which shed some light as to why industry did its best to torpedo the REACH regime in the EU.