Is the country finally waking up?

Abstract

Jolted out of its summer torpor, the country awakened in August to a fusillade of pro-environmental tirades from some major exponents. Don't let your imagination, or optimism, run too far, however, since such contributions failed to address the real preoccupations of the green sector in this country - land use and wanton urbanisation. No, nothing like the statements made by Monaco's Prince Albert, but more parochialism in the form of concern over the cleanliness of the country and, on the more intrepid side, concern over the state of Fort St Elmo as expressed by President Guido de Marco himself. Not that such interventions are not positive for the country; rather, they are failing to hit the nail on the head by not highlighting the real problems - the loss of natural beauty spots and wilderness. Environmentalists, or rather concerned citizens (since the former word has some derisory connotations for some Maltese), long for the same attention reserved to the tourist industry.