Act now!
In a letter to the Editor on January 17, Muhammed Jamil Ather writes from Karachi that we need to act now to reverse the causes of global warming and strike the right balance between development and conservation. I agree. Instead of whining about what the "developed" world has already caused (and as an American, I confess we've done a lot wrong) let's get on with correcting what we can where we are. Here in Dhaka, the asthma caused by "dust" (air pollution) is killing babies and shortening the lives of all residents. Let's enforce the laws already on the books to get brick factories to install scrubbers in their smoke stacks. You can see which ones are complying by seeing the white smoke pouring out, and which ones are polluting our lungs with coal-black smoke. Are bribes involved with this? And the buses and trucks with black exhaust--why are they allowed to operate? Construction sites? They should have "curtains" to contain the dust of concrete, sand, and sawdust and not be allowed to spew it into the atmosphere. We have the means to greatly improve our environment just by enforcing the laws we already have. Please, let's get started. It's a matter of life and death, and it's do-able!
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