Malta and climate change (2)

I read the news item Al Gore Praises Malta On Climate Change with some surprise and concluded, rightly or wrongly, that neither ex-Vice President Al Gore nor UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon could have actually visited Malta.

Had they done so, they would have experienced at first hand the pollution created by Malta buses, trucks and construction machinery, the iconic chimney at St Luke's, the debris floating in the harbours, the lead shot and dead birds that rain from the sky (both in and out of the hunting season), the acrid smoke from the ground fireworks, the fly-tipping, and the general litter and filth that is left to accumulate.

Mr Gore was right in saying that the Maltese Islands have more to lose if the effects of climate change continue to go unchecked, but I would suggest that the Environment Minister, the Climate Change Ambassador and the Director for Environment Policy and Initiatives should start by focusing their efforts at home, rather than in New York.