“It's a basic instinct to protect your offspring.”

That's a sentence I've seen or heard during discussions, no matter what opinion people had. We seem to have that one thing in common - we want our children to survive. Or at least we say that. ‘Action speaks louder than words’ is a saying that comes to my mind.

Let's take a step back and think about the basic things they need to survive; food, water, love and air to breathe? That's a good start.

Malta is among the worst in Europe when it comes to air pollution. We have the fourth highest levels of particles in the air. PM2.5 is mainly caused by air pollution, while PM10 is bigger particles caused by dust and sand. PM10 might be hard to tackle due to the wind and the sand from Sahara. One way could be to enforce the laws of construction to not pollute the air. What we certainly can reduce is the PM2.5 level. We just have to get rid of the car addiction and be moderate users - we need to restore the balance.

The above are facts that aren't highlighted and tackled enough. A small island in the middle of the Mediterranean with high air pollution levels - I promise it's not a nightmare, it is just plain crazy!

We should be leaders when it comes to sustainability, healthy living, eco-tourism and any other environment-related area. I see no other way forward for Malta - we should be the champions of the member states and I will push for that until my last breath. No 'if’ or 'but’, we have to get our act together.

The one issue, and by far the biggest one, is that at the moment we have some ministers who do not believe in the people. Yes, that's the sad reality. Or are they trying to take us for a ride?  

Not long ago, our transport minister claimed that our nation was too obese to be able to cycle, and his solution was to widen the lanes for the cars. Where was the health minister at that time? He should have spoken up and told the transport minister off for enabling the issue of obesity by creating an infrastructure totally disabled for pedestrians and cyclists. It's like a parent giving their child everything asked for when crying and by that creating a human being not capable of caring for itself, as well as not being able to solve issues he or she faces. Our future generations are up for one hell of a battle to save their environment and here we are, reducing their knowledge and possibility to survive.

Don't we have ministers for certain areas for that simple task, to speak their mind when their area is “under attack”?

If you ask me, they shouldn't only work with promoting good things, but they should also speak up against the bad! I love to see the environment minister planting trees and initiating the bottle deposit scheme. But where on earth is he when trees are chopped to the left  and right, the air pollution is on a killing spree and our children don't know what nature is? He himself has stated that he had to buy a piece of land for his own children to see butterflies. Oh, the irony.

We have an environmental crisis and no one seem to take note of the signs. Not even the ones in charge of our country. Are they blindfolded?

The other day I saw some Asian tourists walking on the pavement outside Valletta wearing face masks. People stared at them like they were crazy. Dear reader, you know what? That will be us in a very near future. Actually, we should be wearing those masks already. The time has come to stop laughing and deal with the bad stuff.

Ask yourselves the following:

Should children really have to wear masks to protect them from the dangerous PM2.5 levels caused by the traffic, especially the ones that are more vulnerable, the ones suffering from respiratory illnesses? How much do you care about the children and elderly of Malta who suffer more than the rest?

Time is passing fast and we better tackle this sooner rather than later. I've heard enough excuses - we all need to do our part. It's not about being perfect and cycle to work with two kids on the panniers. It's about one simple fact.

Everyone who can, should.

This one thing can be implemented in any area of the society, be it using alternative transportation methods, buying less food packaged in plastic or volunteering by cleaning up marine debris.

My advice: don't consider yourself a nobody. Instead, be somebody. Your actions matter. I believe in you.
It's our children, for god's sake.