This visit to the UK has been very revealing. I realise how, although this "developed" nation is a great one, in so many respects (that could so readily be sorted out) it is very similar to the "undeveloped" Nepal.
If there is one thing that could drive me out of Nepal (a country that I love so much in spite of my frequent rants on this Blog), it wouldn't be the corruption, the endemic ineptitude, the lack of basic amenities (the nation is now experiencing 48 hours of power cuts per week), the growing violence or a feeling of general ennui; it would be the pollution. It is bad enough that Kathmandu is rendered disgusting through traffic fumes, brick kiln smoke and uncontrolled effluent into the "holy" Bagmati river; worst of all is the apparent indifference to the problem in a land where people superficially claim to love their nation so much. The ease with which the silence of those who should be regulating such problems is bought through bribes condemns them, us and, worst still, the next generation to residing in a planet that seems to be fast spiralling into a polluted oblivion.
Then I read today (to my surprise) that one and a half million Londoners are living with air quality that is below acceptable levels for pollutants and the prevalence of asthma is on the increase. In response most of the city has today been declared a "Low Emission Zone". This means that vehicles that pollute will be charged £200 to enter the zone or face a £1,000 fine. Some small companies are up in arms saying that they can't afford this and that it will drive them into liquidation. As far as I am concerned, with the future of our children at stake, these arguments - which are entirely money-driven - are just not valid. Sad to say, these businesses will have to be able to afford to move with the times, or go under.
Tomorrow Bev, Alisha and I go off to the Suffolk coast to enjoy three nights in a National Trust cottage. That will give Alisha her first sight of the sea. Never mind her, how exciting that will be for me! I will send this Blog a picture from what will no doubt be a very windswept beach. But at least the air will be clean.
