POLITICS, POLITICIANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

SOMETHING SMELLS!

By Gigi M. Campos

There are many issues on the minds of people these days: the sinking economy, the scarcity of jobs, security and health. Somehow, environmental issues seem to rank very low in the consciousness of many, attributed I guess to a large extent to the under-reporting of environmental problems by our mainstream media. And when our politicians do get around to discussing important environmental issues with us-the air that we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the natural world we live in with the rest of the earth’s creatures-the falsehoods fly. 

In some cases, a politician’s rhetoric may be heart-felt, but in most cases it is merely spin, covering up for the fact that the politician is willing to sacrifice what is good for the environment and the general populace for a narrower benefit, such as protecting the interests of big campaign contributors and prospective voters. And there is also a little-talked-about reason - that politicians sometimes lie to us about environmental issues because we choose to remain blind to how each one of us has contributed to the problem. 

The truth is we, the general public are either unable to stomach certain aspects of reality or are happier being blissfully ignorant. In the case of the environment, most politicians don’t want to address issues of pollution, global warming, the deteriorating web of life. But why not? 

Each politician may have his or her reasons for stating untruths or lying by omission. Many may see the real solutions to some environmental issues as too complicated to explain to us unwashed masses, or they may view the solutions as striking at the heart of a way of life most people have gotten so used to and therefore, political suicide to bring up. Take the case of the implementation of RA 9003 or the National Solid Waste Management Law. To implement this will take much effort and a thorough education campaign on the part of government, and the involvement and cooperation of the citizenry. 

The facets of our existence that are wasteful or unsustainable are indeed threatened by sensible solutions. But the proper explanation of issues and solutions cannot easily be distilled down to 60-second sound bites, and politicians know that’s about all the attention they can expect from us in these days of hyper-busy lives and hair-trigger channel changing. If we are disengaged as citizens, our politicians will continue to relegate to the back burner important issues like garbage, flooding and the growing number of squatters in the city. 

For many, the most sought-after dream is to have a nice house with a green lawn and plenty of breathing room between us and our nearest nutty neighbor. Few think about the fact that every time a new housing development goes up on previously undeveloped land, we turn a natural ecosystem full of native plants and animals into an area that is usually replanted with a limited number of non-native species and therefore becomes unsuitable for the majority of its previous flora and fauna. The onward march of development continues to chew up more and more farm lands and natural forests. Where will it all end? Is there a point of maximum development at which the global ecosystem that sustains us becomes so altered that it goes into freak-out mode, threatening all life? Do we have a master development plan for the city? These are apt questions, but you rarely hear our politicians talk about them. 

Because of the uncontrolled influx of informal dwellers from out-lying towns and cities, there will be a need for more and more land for re-settlement, and more land for roads to get from their dwelling places to jobs and commercial areas. They will also require more land and energy for production and distribution of food, clothes, and other goods, and they will need more energy to light their homes and fuel their vehicles. What is the city government doing to address the problem of the ballooning numbers of informal dwellers? 

But it’s a rare politician who will step up and frame the issues of garbage, flooding and informal dwellers in these stark terms, if they are willing to address it at all. Additionally, our politicians promote constant increases in development because they (falsely) believe it is the only way to keep the local economy strong. 

We, as a society, have hard choices to make. It would be nice if our politicians would tell us the truth, explain the tough issues, and offer us concrete plans and solutions to the problems plaguing the city. But until there is a strong grassroots movement supporting discussion of difficult issues-until the supporting winds blow hard enough for politicians with their fingers in the wind to sense the need to do it-most politicians will continue to leave the tough issues in the Cone of Silence. Until we as a people learn to speak up and express our concern over our government’s inaction and indifference over these issues, we can expect our politicians to keep lying to us. 

There will always be some politicians who will lie more than others and some who come very close to telling us the truth. It’s easy enough to identify these two types: The lying politicians will usually be saying things that feel comfortable and require no effort on our part; the truth-telling politicians will usually be saying things we’d rather not hear and prefer not to think about.*