Wallowing in our filth

I can see the “probers” now— dressed in protective wear, long sticks in hand, poking floating faeces! I wonder what is their goal and how they intend to achieve it? While this issue of filth in our sea has suddenly been placed front and centre, it hardly is something new. Does anyone believe that our beaches and waters were clean and healthy but suddenly became filthy and toxic? I do not believe that this is the first acknowledgement from the Institute of Marine Affairs or the Environmental Management Authority that our marine environment is filthy, toxic and a danger to marine and human life. What I do believe is that this is the first time that the matter has been publicly exposed.

This sort of hazard is usually kept hidden from the public and denied by those in charge— whoever happens to be in charge when reports are handed in, filed and hidden.

But now the reality has been officially acknowledged, maybe to divert attention and concern over the recent large oil spill from a tank at the Petrotrin refinery, so officialdom must at least announce “a probe”. Is sewerage in our seawater more dangerous to us than oil or chemicals? Or do we even care? To me it does not really matter, mostly because we endure both hazards in far greater quantities and for much longer than we know or even really care.

The filth in our sea and rivers and along our beaches did not just arrive there. Like child abuse, spousal abuse and all the endemic forms of petty and grand corruption, in which we all participate and endure, the sins of environmental poisoning and degradation have been with us as long as any of us can remember.

But like other forms of personal cruelty and abuse, the poisoning of our environment was something quietly “hushed up”—in the family, the workplace and the nation.

As we slowly and reluctantly try to evolve into a caring society— caring for our elderly, infirm, poor and for our nation, its natural attributes and the infrastructure we have built—we are beginning to expose the slackness, the wrongs and the dangers we have allowed to develop on our shores.

We need to accept that most, if not all of the pollution of our beaches and sea is not dumped on spot by beachgoers.

Much of the litter is, and maybe some of the faecal matter, is left on beaches to wash into the sea. Some faecal poisoning comes from defective—read unmaintained— toilet facilities built and abandoned by the government.

I am confident that most of the pollutants are introduced way upstream, in our rivers and canals.

Litter, filth, industrial and chemical poisons are introduced to our environment in our neighbourhoods and industrial estates.

Everything that is dumped on our roadsides and ditches eventually washes out to our beaches and our seas. The recent oil spill, caused by the rupture of a Petrotrin refinery storage tank, flowed down the Guaracara River, into the Gulf of Paria and out into the Gulf Stream. And of course, the oil spill disaster did not suddenly occur. It was known for several years that the tank was leaking, and nothing was ever done to repair it.

This to my mind was not accidental or unfortunate. This was simply criminal neglect on the part of Petrotrin. But no doubt their own report will find some way to excuse it.

Cleaning our beaches of garbage and poisons will be an everlasting Sisyphean task if we continue to concentrate on the beaches and the sea itself. I know that there is a huge “feel good” effect among people who organise massive beach cleaning efforts by volunteers. But we need to realise that when we collect more garbage this year than last year, we are really losing the battle.

More and more visible garbage is being dumped everywhere, to wash down to the beaches to feed the “clean-up” volunteers’ zeal.

So while we must commend those who go to clean our beaches, we really should be teaching our people not to dump garbage, chemicals and sewerage on our roads and in our drains. We are attempting to solve problems which we should simply have prevented in the first instance.

I do not pretend to have the answers on how to prevent all of the dumping of pollutants everywhere.

But until we find the answers we are doomed to bathe and wallow in filth and toxins in our rivers and along our beaches.

We await the report of the task force assigned to assess the faecal content of our popular bathing beaches, assuming of course that it will be made public.