Pollution
(click images to enlargen)
“We did not inherit this planet from our ancestors, but borrowed it from our children.” – (anonymous)
That quote alone indicates that as humans, we should think progressively and towards to the future, and not in the here and now. Especially when it relates to our planet. However, with the establishment of cities and increased human and economic activities, pollution has reared its ugly head. Bleasdell et al (2008), has termed pollution as the contamination of the environment via harmful substances resulted from human and economic activity. Pollution can be either air, land or water, but is usually caused by the onset of economic activity. This week’s post would be centred on pollution, and how this ill affects the city. Even though this week’s picture only shows litter on the street, the city is affected by more than just KFC boxes or overcrowded garbage bins; such as with air pollution via the nearby landfill on the city outskirts. For if only garbage bins are discussed, it may trivialize the effects of pollution on the urban area and population, putting a strain on the city’s pulse.
Port-of-Spain is mainly affected by air pollution sourced from the Beetham Landfill, but also land pollution via litter. During the week of the 27th-31st of January 2014, the city of Port-of-Spain experienced its worst smog event for some time. The city was engulfed with a noxious mixture of particulates and gases that resulted in urban air pollution. The Express Newspaper on February 1st that year stated that the Solid Waste Management Company employed at the Beetham Landfill was to blame for the blanket of smoke over Port of Spain that week, which engaged the attention of the Environmental Minister to tour the “la basse” or landfill, and assess the progress in extinguishing the rubbish fire. The company indicated that this occurrence was due to the mismanagement of fire burning practices, and by time containment couldn’t be established, the city was filled with stifling smoke (Daily Express, 2014).
Burning of waste can contribute significantly to environmental pollution. Environmental pollution via irresponsible waste disposal can cause both short and long-term impact of citizen health (Triassi, 2015). Short-term effects can range from asthma and respiratory infections to congenital anomalies (Triassi, 2015). Health effects for a longer time scale may include respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancer or even kidney diseases (Triassi, 2015). Even for one time visits to the city, general symptoms may include stress, anxiety, headache, dizziness, nausea, eye and respiratory irritation [7]. Continuous exposure to this type of air pollution would have serious impact on city workers, surrounding residents and even city dwellers, which holds the potential for economic impact. These may include air increased hospital admissions to treat with illnesses, but also discouragement to potential investors in the city, to which they may view this as a externality they don’t want to suffer.
The city of Port of Spain, due to its busy nature of street merchants and in-store businesses, with the constant influx of buyers and “lack” of city management may provide conditions and results of the above photograph, Litter in the City. Litter is observed as a common sight in drains of the city. It is under observation that citizens do not dispose litter carelessly in the drains and sidewalks of the city, but at the allocated bins. However, when these bins are overloaded, litter tends to get scattered in the drains and sidewalks. This now creates the scene for this week’s blog picture, which aids in the “badmouthing” of Port of Spain. In this blog’s opinion, the appearance of litter on the city sideways are as a result of poor management on the city council’s behalf. This mismanagement however, seems to be fully rectified around the carnival season. By the time the thousands of locals and tourists have finished parading through the streets on Carnival Tuesday, and by the dawn of the following morning, the city streets are as clean as they would ever be. I guess face value says a lot.
Pollution affects Port of Spain’s image, and a lot of people stereotype the city for being dirty or having litter clogging up the drains. And these views are not without substance, because the pictures we have are testimony to their judgement: Port of Spain can be really dirty. What’s worse is that it’s become a norm for people: in the pictures, do you see anyone attempting to relieve the streets of all that litter? We’ve become accustomed to it and in turn it’s become a part of everyday life. Of course, our general solution would be to delegate the task of cleaning up the streets to the Government. But is it the Government who pollute the city with their garbage (figuratively maybe, but we’re talking literally here)? No, it is the public themselves who are the culprits this time, and it is up to us to ensure that Port of Spain does not fall under the synecdoche of being a polluted city. One very, very simple solution would just be to dispose of our trash in a dustbin. How hard is that?
Triassi, M. and R. Alfano, M.Illario, M. Nardone, A. Caporale. (2015). “Environmental Pollution from Illegal Waste Disposal and Health Effects: A Review on the Triangle of Death.” The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: 1217.
(2014). “Beetham Air Pollution Update.” Express Newspaper, February 1st. www.trinidadexpress.com/videos/-BEETHAM-AIR-POLLUTION-UPDATE-2915-243045381.html
