Officials could lessen carbon emission by reducing their flights

Jul 24, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
I opened my telephone bill yesterday (22-07-09) and was startled to find enclosed therewith a letter dated 25th June, 2009 on the letterhead of the Office of the President and signed by His Excellency.
Reading the letter, I was relieved that it had nothing to do with the calls I was making, but had everything to do with His Excellency’s so-called “Low Carbon Development Strategy”.
I wish to quote two sentences from the second paragraph which struck me:
“The earth’s surface has been warming rapidly over the last century, mainly due to the amount of carbon dioxide that has been emitted into the air from the use of fossil fuels. Unless urgent action is taken the consequences will be catastrophic”.
It was not that the sentences were stating the obvious, which was incredulous, but it was that it was coming from the jet-setting leader of a government, whose Ministers and petit demagogues drive around Guyana in the most expensive, fuel inefficient, gas-guzzling and polluting vehicles available on the market.
This is in addition to their frequent trips out of Guyana on aircraft which contribute significantly to the pollution of the atmosphere.
Surely Mr. Jagdeo and his merry band should lead by example. How about them traveling abroad less and using e-mails and video conferencing more, and driving smaller more fuel efficient or even hybrid cars.
One recalls the castigation of the CEO’s of the three large automakers in the USA got from Congress, when they turned up to beg for money in their private corporate jets. On the next occasion they drove hybrid vehicles.
But better still, I would look forward to seeing Mr. Jagdeo and his confederates riding bicycles to work or in keeping with the kind of economy over which Mr. Jagdeo presides, the implementation of the use of donkey carts as the preferred means of transportation for all those Government Ministers and officials and their friends and family, who at present go around in their Toyota Land Cruisers, Range Rovers, Hummers, BMWs etc.
And what about the paper on which Mr. Jagdeo’s letter was written? Is he capable of conceiving of the amount of trees that were cut down to make that paper?
These are the very people who we are now hearing mouthing platitudes and mantras about some nebulous low carbon development strategy.
Perhaps an introspective look at their lifestyles may focus their minds upon their hypocrisy. But don’t hold your breath!
Bibi K. Nandram

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