Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/649887
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 MARCH 2016 40 Environment GEORGE DEBONO TRAFFIC in Malta continues to become progressively more con- gested and there is no end to this as long as motor vehicles continue to be imported at the present rate because there is a limit to how much more land can be given over to traffic. Unfortunately transport strategies remain mono-modal and, as a result of our deeply em- bedded car cult and car-depend- ency, transport policies continue to be formulated in terms of pro- vision of parking facilities and en- hancing motor vehicle traffic flow – with yet more people opting for their car. The net result is that people will spend more time every day travelling to and from work. It is now agreed that commuting to work by car, besides being one of life's least enjoyable activities, is "a stress that doesn't pay" associ- ated with ill-health from various causes – especially of cardiores- piratory unfitness, higher blood pressure and more overweight. It is also important to take into ac- count that the time taken com- muting passively by car subtracts from time for exercise and other healthy daily activities. Contrary to transport policies in Malta, the focus in modern developed countries has been shifted in the opposite direction. The full significance of the dam- age to health from traffic pollu- tion started to be recognised after publication of an extensive long- term study by the American Can- cer Society based on mortality in 500,000 adults between 1982 and 1998. More serious concerns con- tinue to emerge. It is now com- mon knowledge that the lethal effects of traffic pollution include early death from lung cancer, car- diovascular and lung diseases but many other diseases have now been confirmed to be due to traf- fic emissions. Scientific surveys have repeat- edly shown that people living in roads with heavy traffic have greatly increased health risks re- sulting in premature death from lung or heart disease or cancer. Malta has become so densely pop- ulated and urbanised that much of it now resembles a city with many people living in traffic-congested roads in densely built-up areas. Children who grow in such traf- fic-congested areas sustain im- paired lung function and are more prone to asthma. A recent review of the health effects of pollution by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) con- tinues to emphasize the serious- ness of the situation. There is now preliminary evidence that suggests that exposure to pollu- tion can have more far-reaching consequences in children and the unborn – to the extent that we should be concerned about preg- nant mothers living in highly pol- luted areas like Fgura, Hamrun and St Julian's. The harmful effect on the unborn may be mediated directly on the developing foetus or indirectly through the effect on the mother's health. These in- clude negative effects on growth, intelligence and neurological de- velopment. While it is our government's duty to heed the findings which have emerged during the past two decades and to follow the exam- ples of other western countries in reducing urban traffic, it is impor- tant to point to commercial vehi- cle and car owners that they are also a part of the problem. So it is also up to us all to do something about it. The prevailing attitude is that there is nothing to be done, that we, the Maltese, "Will never change, so what's the use of doing anything?" But this is a very dangerous at- titude to adopt and cultivate. But for the sake of ourselves, along with future generations. Dr George Debono is a founder member of FAA and Committee Member of the Today Public Pol- icy Institute As in the previous articles about orange juice already noted, its production comes together not only with social impacts, but also with strong impacts on the environment. Largely responsible for the environmental impacts is the use of pesticides in order to produce the highest possible crop yield. Compared to other fruits and vegetables, the cultivation of oranges is highly dependent on the usage of huge amounts of pesticide. Since the 2009 "greening sickness" in Brazil, the biggest producing country of orange juice, pesticides use has considerably increased. "We do not know what effects that massive use of pesticides will have in the long run", Prof. Dr. Osmar Malaspina from Universidade Estadual Paulista is quoted in the study Squeeze Out – The truth behind the orange juice business. The increased pesticides use has been linked with an increased number of reported cases of human intoxications as well as an increased number of deaths caused by pesticides in the period from 2007 to 2013. Besides the impact on the human health, one should also note that the usage of pesticides is also responsible for the decline of the Brazilian bee population. In addition, the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) which is described as the disappearance and queen abandon of a majority of the working bees, has occurred in several Brazilian states since 2008. One should also take into consideration the climate impact of the production and the transportation of orange juice. It is important to take a viewpoint which considers the emissions associated with the production as well as those concerning the purchasing and consumption. Research shows that the amount of emissions is also much higher than generally assumed. The Squeeze Out report was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union as part of the SUPPLY CHA!NGE Project. In Malta this project is co-financed by the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation – www. foemalta.org/donate Whenever I mention butterflies with people of a certain age it seems they all agree that butterflies were much more common "when we were young". This is sadly true and the reasons are not complex. We zap their young with pesticide and vaporise their foodplants with herbicide and grasscutters. We daily bury more of their habitat under concrete and tarmac, and transform luscious gardens into swimming pools and sterile patios. So it's always a pleasure to spot any of our twenty or so species flitting about the wild flowers, and one such beauty is the bath white. It is a small and delicate creature, largely white but with a few black spots on its upper wings and dark green patterning all over its lower wings. Like many of our butterflies, the bath white's Maltese name – farfett tal-ġarġir – refers to its foodplant, that vital species on which the mother lays her eggs for the caterpillars to gorge on. In the bath white's case it is various species of rockets and mustards. GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 399: SIGN THE PETITION: Stop the squeeze out – Make Orange Juice Fair! – www.foemalta.org/links/orange Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text and photo Victor Falzon 496. BATH WHITE The lethal effects of traffic pollution include early death from lung cancer Traffic: Malta's health time bomb Environmental impacts of orange juice production