Francomenz

Driving into POS

Originally uploaded by j58.

Trinidad and Tobago is a country where, when you think about it, the environment plays a large part in not only our lifestyle, but the quality of that lifestyle. We can thank our lush rain forests (some of which now have to be preserved by private organizations) for pegging T&T as a world-renowned eco-tourism destination. Our seemingly unending natural resources have made our energy-reliant economy buoyant and the fact that Trinis can head for the beach and enjoy pretty good weather at practically any time of the year makes this a pretty darned good place to live.

In fact, the environment is so important that the government of Trinidad and Tobago has established a statutory body to address the country’s environmental concerns – the Environmental Management Authority – which is committed to, and I quote:

“protecting and conserving the natural environment to enhance the quality of life by promoting environmentally responsible behaviour, development and enforcement of environmental legislation, encouragement of voluntary compliance, the use of economic and other incentives. This is to be achieved in an atmosphere of mutual respect, professionalism, accountability, transparency, collaboration and social responsibility.”

Whew. I’m already tired and I haven’t even got halfway through The Strategic Plan document 2003-2008 (though it concerns me that we’re closer to 2008 than 2003 and positive results are questionable given T&T’s ongoing problems with flooding, littering, etc.) which talks about a “deepening of purpose” towards “the most relevant environmental and human health goals that will have the most profound impact on our population”. These apparently comprise Clean Air, Clean Water, Healthy Ecosystems, Less Noise and Improved Waste Management.

I’m not going to raise the question of the Environmental Trust Fund, more commonly referred to as the Green Fund , which is meant to save revenue gained from a variety of sources (annual government appropriations, permit fees and international grants) for environmental projects, education and maintenance. There have already been countless outcries about public accountability in that area. I want to deal with the first point on the EMA’s list – the air we breathe – only because I have personally offered what I think is a viable solution for one aspect of the problem – vehicle emissions.

Why is it that in the fifteen minutes it takes me on any given morning to drive from Point A to Point B, I have to inhale the filthy exhaust of at least three poorly maintained maxi-taxis and a car or two that should have been hauled off the road long ago? I’m not talking sputtering mufflers here. This is smoke that surreptitiously finds its way in through sealed windows and air conditioning; smoke so thick it needs a bad-ass theme song. I inadvertently find myself scrolling down to Deep Purple on my iPod. And while music may be the solution to a great many things, I think my suggestion, vocalized two years ago to an EMA manager (who may have since left), was a common-sense resolution: install a hotline.

That’s it, no rocket science involved. Just an easy-to-remember toll-free number (or not – heck, I’ll pay for the call!) that commuters can dial from their mobile phones and report the license plate numbers of offending drivers. Once the EMA works with the Licensing Authority (the government is currently in the throes of a wonderful IT project that aims to have all government offices networked and available online), they can track down the offenders and enforce the legislation that is, at the moment, a barking dog with no bite. The only way for Trinis to hear is to feel – so slap on some hefty fines and suddenly a regular visit to the mechanic is on everyone’s schedule.

I understand that environmental management is a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it and the EMA has picked up the mantle. I’m ready to do my part if they’re willing to do theirs.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Nature and Environment, Trinidad & Tobago. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.