Belching diesel smoke on Ave. Septima. |
Perhaps the possibility of preventing tens of thousands of deaths will motivate officials to enforce environmental laws? No. That's unthinkable.
Will the prospect of tens of thousands of unnecessary, preventable deaths make air pollution as important as the Millionarios' win-loss record or the price of gasoline? Impossible!
Perhaps this mass killing will push Justin Bieber and George Clooney out of the headlines? Don't even think about it!
Would it be different if they were 25,000 deaths? 30,000? How many people must die?
Sooting up the air near the Universidad Nacional. |
According to the National University study, cleaning the air would save the lives of 21,000 adults and 900 children young than five, as well as prevent thousands of hospitalizations, emergency room visits and avoid more than 30,000 cases of acute respiratory disease.
A cement truck sends up a blast of smoke on Ave. Septima, near Parque de la Independencia. |
What kind of society just stands by while tens of thousands of people die and many more suffer needlessly? Who is responsible? The companies which don't want to hurt their profits cleaning up their machines? Or the environmental officials don't bother to enforce the laws? Or the public which suffers passively? Maybe all of them.
A generator belches smoke on Plaza Bolivar during the memorial ceremony for writer Gabriel Garcia Márquez. |
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