{"id":3771,"date":"2020-07-08T10:06:39","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T08:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/?post_type=article&p=3771"},"modified":"2020-07-08T10:06:39","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T08:06:39","slug":"nibzghu-ghall-ambjent-u-l-ghixien-taghna","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/article\/nibzghu-ghall-ambjent-u-l-ghixien-taghna\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking care of the environment and our livelihood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

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The world\u2019s population will\u00a0<\/span>soon<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>reach the eight billion mark. This translates into the disposal of eight billion single-use items. The need to do something on this\u00a0<\/span>issue<\/span>\u00a0is critical.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Using a private car for personal mobility<\/span>\u00a0is a similar case.\u00a0<\/span>Fortunately,<\/span>\u00a0or not, depending on one\u2019s perspective, not everyone has the same level of access to motorized transport. Those with a high level of access pollute the most. We remember that Malta is one of these countries.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All the above come at a price. A cost, among others, to the economy that wants to manage waste, water supply (that is expensive) through reverse osmosis and traffic management as the demand is increasing. Finally, the last price is addressed to our health and well-being. Inhabitants living in cities will be negatively affected by unsustainable\u00a0 practices, with the most disadvantaged bearing the heaviest burden as they cannot afford to buy the best products, have access to the best medical care or to move to cleaner locations when pollution and waste become unbearable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Local studies have already estimated the costs of unsustainable practices in some sectors. It turns out that external costs related to air pollution, adaptation to climate change, accidents, noise and congestion resulting from the use of commercial vehicles and private cars, have reached the estimate of\u00a0<\/span>\u20ac274\u00a0<\/span>million<\/span>\u00a0in 2012.\u00a0<\/span>These<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>were<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>estimated<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>increase<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0\u20ac317\u00a0<\/span>million<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>by<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>end<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>this<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>year<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Other<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>studies<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>carried<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>out<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>health<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>sector<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>have<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>estimated<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>almost<\/span>\u00a0600\u00a0<\/span>people<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>die<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>prematurely<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>every<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>year<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0Malta and\u00a0<\/span>this<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>from<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>diseases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>related<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>pollution<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>This<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>environmental<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>impact<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>has<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>repercussions<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>economy<\/span>\u00a0 and\u00a0<\/span>on<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>society<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>need<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>change<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>mindset<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>think<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>well-being<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>fairer<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>more<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>equitable<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>indicator<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>growth<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>rather<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>than<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>simple<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>increase<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Gross<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Domestic<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Product<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>If<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>use<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>well-being<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>yardstick<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>then<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>each<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>every<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>one<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>consider<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>ourselves<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>active<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>contributors<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>sustainable<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>development<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Industry\u00a0<\/span>has<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>responsibility<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>towards<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>sustainability<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>This<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>range<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>from<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>simple<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>individual<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>measures<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>corporate<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>social<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>responsibility<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>obligations<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Ultimately<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>they<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>all<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>serve<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>same<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>purpose<\/span>:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>ensure<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>fairer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>world<\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>others<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>those<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>will<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>come<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>after<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>us<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The world\u2019s population will\u00a0soon\u00a0reach the eight billion mark. This translates into the disposal of eight billion single-use items. The need to do something on this\u00a0issue\u00a0is critical.\u00a0 Using a private […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3772,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[172],"issuem_issue_categories":[7],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3771"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3771"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3777,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3771\/revisions\/3777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=3771"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=3771"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=3771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}