It’s been more than four years since we started our retirement in Malta. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was a thorough review of the pros and cons of moving here.

And, before I go on, I would hasten to point out that our decision to move here has not changed. The people still come first.

Maltese people are a great, caring bunch. The history is still staggering. The food remains wonderful, populated with chefs that take a world view, much based upon local ingredients. I do love the rabbit! The local produce, what remains, is great.

Healthcare remains a good service but the brightness is now rubbing off like a band aid ripped from the skin. Too many words to describe my sadness over what the politicians have done to it. But that is another tale.

What concerns me is how the country is being torn apart in the name of providing benefits ‘for the people’. Too many cars on the road, let’s build more roads.

Let’s lower the price of petrol for everyone not in dire fiscal straits.

And, now, destroying the complete uniqueness of Malta by erasing the heritage of thousands of years by unbridled destruction/construction. All in the name of providing benefits for the people of Malta. Well, the head of the MDA says it’s true. So, it must be true. As his company feasts at the trough so pleasantly given by successive governments, he produces enough manure to fertilise what is left of Malta’s agricultural heritage.

So, finally, the people of Malta are starting to rally around the belief that the environment is worth fighting for. Although I must say that it is most paradoxical that a citizenry that so love their multiple cars per family are actually rallying for the environment. But this stream of activism comes at the same time as a reminder to me of where I have come from.

I still subscribe to The Seattle Times (reasonably located in Seattle, Washington state, US). For those not familiar with it, it is located on Puget Sound, next to the Pacific Ocean, water on one side, with mountains on the other. It is located a three-hour drive south of Vancouver, BC, Canada. With moderate climate (with a tad much rain, little snow, along with dry summers). As a result, Seattle, and the whole of the Pacific Northwest, is filled with trees. Very big trees.

While Seattle has a very vibrant economy, based upon Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks and others. It also has a very healthy tourist industry. As a result, they build only when they need to sustain the growth. Which means they established an economy not based upon construction.

Why do we insist on cutting trees down? We are killing the green lungs here- Alan Zelt

Even minimum wage workers earn at least $15 (€14) per hour. Virtually all the imported workers are in the tech sector (entering with a visa). Most construction involves the business sector. And there are strict planning rules, which are enforced.

Seattle has very minimal environmental fallout from construction and the rules governing this construction are very strict. Seattle cares about the environment.

They built a good bus transportation system that in many areas runs on dedicated lanes. They have built and are expanding a light-rail network.

The city recently passed a law that protects thousands of trees and makes you pay if you take down any trees on your property. And you also must replace them. And there is no ‘Infrastructure Seattle’ minister who delights in tearing down trees and expanding roads all over the place.

Seattle is about the same size as Malta. The population is greater than Malta. Admittedly, Malta has few trees, compared to Seattle. So, why do we insist on cutting them down? We are killing the green lungs here.

There is scheduled pickup of garbage, sorted by type. The pavements are not littered with garbage. People get fined for littering. Why can’t we care about the cleanliness of our streets and pavements, like we do for our houses and entrances?

It is completely shameful how our authorities plan construction. Instead of tearing down buildings, tear down the Planning Authority. It does no planning and does not represent the greater good of Malta. They only represent developers and contractors.

Silly me, I thought the role of government was to protect the public.

Noise pollution is also another ruining of the environment. The hair-brained scheme to allow late night music in Valletta is to the detriment of the residents of Valletta trying to get a good night’s sleep.

So the deputy mayor of Valletta told his residents that if you are confronted with an overbearing barrage of music, throw down water on them. And, on Saturday night, that is exactly what they did. While the incident could cause an escalation, which would be unfortunate, it might also cause the government to review its ill-thought-out policy.

Whether you drive a car, or have too many cars, love loud music and think little about the impact of construction and complete lack of a coherent policy, while wasting energy and natural resources, we can all still get together to stop this government-fuelled insanity which will surely bring ruin to Malta.

Again, I would ask the government and the developers: what do you really mean by saying what they are doing is for the betterment of Maltese citizenry?

Alan Zelt lives in Naxxar and writes a photo blog for friends around the world extolling the beauty of Malta (https://MaltabyZelt.home.blog).