THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WRITE in response to the article in The Cornwall Edition of The Gleaner on January 22nd entitled 'MoBay in Decay'. In view of the fact that Montego Bay has a solid waste problem, "beautification" is only a band-aid to push that concern into the background by trying to cover it up. The real issue is community education, especially of the choices we have as consumers not to buy plastic and Styrofoam items.
People need to be able to make a connection between what they buy and dispose of, and how it later comes back to degrade their very own environment and personal health. THAT is where the money should be spent.
I do not agree with Councillor Simone that doing away with the "bushy plots that flank the airport" have anything to do with the real problem. In fact, I am a neighbour to the airport and I find those "bushy plots" quite refreshing to drive by while our hurried pace of so-called development eats away the last remaining vegetated areas we have left in the city. These areas are beneficial to us not only for their aesthetic value and the shade they provide, but also for cleaning our air so heavily laden with pollutants, and providing much-needed habitat for wildlife.
While minimal maintenance of the vegetated area is fine, I hope we are not sending out the wrong message to all the Gleaner readers in Jamaica that bush must be chopped down.
I am, etc.
Concerned
