EMA out of its crease

Saturday, June 20th 2009
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=161493998

The Environmental Management Authority's statement following the judgment on the Alutrint smelter plant was "the judgment itself concedes the EMA has performed well in its attempt to achieve balance between the economic and environmental factors".

Economic factors? What does economics have to do with an environmental assessment?

It is like the Ministry of Health saying "economic considerations are taken into account, that is why we are not doing full operations on the patients".

Mr McIntosh, sir, the EMA's job is to protect the environment, just as it is the Ministry of Health's job to save the lives of patients. Leave the economics to the Ministry of Finance. So somebody better change the terms of reference of the EMA soon, and while you are at it, change the "Management" word to "Protection". And also, Mr McIntosh, on a sunny day, take a boat ride into the Gulf of Paria and look toward Port of Spain, and you will see a yellow haze enveloping the city. That, sir, is pollution. So start protecting our environment and stop playing politics. Nizam Mohammed via e-mail