Contents: Air pollution, Power Stations Delay, CUTW Planning, Sewage at Sea

ESG radio broadcast Thursday 4th August 2011

The ESG continues to be concerned about the intolerable levels of air pollution affecting several neighbourhoods in Gibraltar. The situation is getting from bad to worse with no reaction from Government to our pleas for public updates on an issue of huge public interest.

Our culture is changing, people are thinking more about their health and fitness yet running, cycling or even walking in Gibraltar in certain areas could seriously threaten your health! For residents affected principally by the large polluting power stations this isn’t even the issue- simply being able to open your windows and relax in your own home would be a massive improvement.

A year ago the European Commission threatened legal action against the UK due to Gibraltar and a UK city failing to meet safe levels of pollution. This referred to nitrogen dioxide as well as rising levels of particulate matter. These pollutants are controlled because of the severity of impact on people’s health. We ask where are we now regarding this environmental problem.

Instead of acting on solutions to reduce his historic, harmful pollution we find ourselves with additional generating capacity increasing localised pollution, and no visible signs that the new power station project is getting off the ground…. It does call for action and focus on this issue which affects every man, woman and child and which has a local solution.

Let’s hope that 2011 will see renewed vigour, energy and sense of purpose from the driving seat in Govt to get to grips with these issues. We are fed up of calling for action and we want change now!

On other news, we are very pleased to report that CUTW is receiving strong support from our usual group of volunteers and have been able to add quite a few new teams to our ranks! This is great news and we look forward to our first planning session in earnest next Tuesday 9th August at 7pm. This is being held at the John Mackintosh hall, Charles Hunt Room. You are welcome to come along to the meeting where we shall hold a short presentation on the CUTW Campaign in general and the achievements attained over the years – We shall discuss the glaring issues which continue to cause problems and degradation in our environment, and will share ideas for long term solutions and actions. The really inspiring side to this campaign is that it brings together people from all walks of life who are keen to give practical help to make our homeland cleaner, greener and smarter all round. If you think you can help us achieve these aims then please come along to the meeting and register for the

17th September CUTW day of action.

Don’t worry if you can’t make the 9th as there will be at least one more major meeting before the clean up. You can also register by emailing us on esg@gibtelecom.net and we shall get in touch with you.

A final word on sewage in our waters, as we continue to receive calls from concerned citizens who are worried about using our beaches due to possible sewage contamination. We are assured once again by the Env Agency that east side beaches are being sampled at least twice weekly but that we can expect to see the increase in data posted on the EA website as from Monday. It is important that people check the site as we are experiencing higher levels of pollution at most of our beaches than has ever been recorded. Checking the site will enable people to decide where to go and cool off on these excruciatingly hot days. Visit the site at environmental-agency.gi for further details.

We shall be issuing press releases this week on other environmental issues of interest so why not check our website at esg-gib.net for info, call us on 200-48996 or 54960000 and we shall be very pleased to hear from you.
Thanks for listening