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Picture this: fumes rising that block the sun in clouds of grey, beastlike machines roaring that scare the birds away, concrete jungles and concrete plains stretching from Mellieha to Birzebbuga. This land degradation and ungodly urbanised (lacking any appeal) plateaus are any islanders worst nightmare.

Throughout this article, I might sound overly dramatic and I could easily say: we are on the brink of annihilation, on the front lines of this battle for mother earth and our future; and hope that would prove to you how crucial a role we all have to play in the avoidance of this hellish nightmare that`s sitting on our doorstep, and leave it at that. However, that might sound to most like hippie nonsense so I`ll try a different approach and be more graceful throughout this piece.

I don`t know about you, but personally in the corner of my mind I do find myself occasionally having a conversation with myself (or sometimes with actual people) about the perception of distance. Us Maltese tend to find it, somewhat begrudgingly to travel from one side of the island to the other, or even a 1 or 2-hour drive is often regarded as a day`s trip; while for our friends across the pond, those from mainland Europe, seem to regard distance somewhat differently. For instance, if you had to travel from one of the northern most cities in France, Dunkirk, to one of the southern most cities in France, Perpignan, it would roughly take you 11 hours to cross circa 1,140.7km. While in Malta, from Birzebbuga to Mellieha, roughly a distance for 28.5km is estimated to take 39 minutes. But as we know all too well, with the number of cars on the road, it would take 2 or 3 hours depending on traffic.

While we can appreciate the different perception of distance, we need to recognise that we live under this illusion of a grand distance from one side of our tiny island to the other. For instance, let`s compare a port city in southern France, Marseille, which has an area of 240.6km² with a population of 861,635, while in Malta we have an area of 316km² with a population of 518,536. We fail to realise that Malta is but a microstate. It should not take us all these hours to cross our beautiful country. If it hasn’t occurred to people yet, by tackling the issue of construction and transportation, Malta would not be just any old concrete jungle, but could rise to heights of how people regard grand cities like Dubai. Malta can be a great, sustainable, blue-green circular economic, megalopolitan microstate.

More people in the street means more cars on the road. In Malta we have got used to butchering the little nature we have left, to replace the trees with concrete pillars to hold our junctions, soil with tarmac, animal sounds with machine noise. Last October, the NSO released a shocking statement how the stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 422,576 (74.9% were passenger cars). That’s more than half our population. This increase in vehicles, 58.8% of which are petrol-powered engines and 36.9% of which are diesel-powered engines, have tremendous environmental and health issues.

As you can see, we miss the forest for the trees, but now we miss it for the cars. This dire issue is affecting us all: past, present, and future. What I mean by this is that we, the present, have a duty to change the face of the past for the future. We are the road to change. Nothing can be changed until we face this challenge. 

For a state of our size, shouldn`t we opt to be Greener? We could utilise the roads we have and convert their purpose for transportations to that of trams, which fills the gap between trains and buses. They can carry large numbers of people, are faster than buses, and can stop more often than trains. Trams would help add to our aesthetic capital, improve our air quality, reduce congestion, tackle climate change, cutting down on car expenses…just to name a few. Does this not already sound much nicer? Obviously, this is just one idea. There are various political parties and organisations, such as: Rota- who advocate for sustainable mobility in Malta for instance bicycle transportation.

Changing the face of the Maltese public transport will encourage people to leave their cars behind. Imagine not having to worry about parking, petrol consumption, car maintenance and so on, and instead using that extra cash to treat yourself. Obviously, Malta needs a multifaceted and sustainable solution to make the shabby buses, and the act of being packed like sardines gasping for air, a thing of the past. Imagine taking the public transport that is sustainable, is on time, aesthetically pleasing, having plenty of leg space, and actually getting to your job on time.

Obviously, cars will not be eliminated. As such, hybrid/electric cars should therefore be the definition and face of the Maltese private transport. This will in turn help create more pedestrianised and bicycle friendly towns which would add to our aesthetic capital and improve our health.

This is just the beginning, the beginning of the end of all worries hopefully, and unlike Babylon, Malta won’t fall. We need to start step by step, from the bottom, and work our way up or we will never live to see Malta achieve greater heights. After all, we the people have the power to redeem the work of fools, and through our collaboration we can pump life back into our islands.   

This article was written by an independent writer whose views are not associated with The Third Eye. The Third Eye strives to be the student’s voice, and that entails giving them a platform to voice their opinions.

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As Earth Systems students, lecturers develop our perception regarding current and ongoing events from the first semester. The best way to apply our knowledge concerning current issues is by inspiring others to follow in our footsteps.

This was done by developing a fitting role within the Earth Systems Association. An individual is chosen to be a leading example and look out for alternative practices which could be done in a less impactful way.

S-Cubed was one of the other few organisations that have also introduced roles of a similar nature, having introduced the role of Environmental Officer in 2019.

What is sustainability?

Sustainability is an act that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (WWF). This means that our actions have consequences that can be positive or negative, all depending on how sustainable our actions turn out to be. One can evaluate how sustainable their actions are by meeting the three pillars of sustainability which are; the economy, the society and last but not least the environment. If an action exploits any of the three pillars, then that act is labeled as unsustainable.

The difference between ‘sustainability’ and being ‘green/environmental’

Going green or eco-friendly is not the aim of this notion. Sustainability can be perceived as a means of shaping our daily mentality and choices into considering long term impacts and benefits from such choices.

Importance of the role

It is crucial to monitor, record and review our decisions and progress in order to learn and enhance future decision-making. With a sustainable mindset, each field of interest gains the upper hand, be it from an economical, social, environmental or cultural aspect. Hence, we greatly urge other organisations to establish this position within their committee. By doing so, this will be beneficial for the organisation in the long run. At the end of the day we as a society stand to benefit.

cover image: source

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