RE: Yesterday's posts2 Dec 2025 10:33
Thanks for sharing that Jonah.
The reality for emerging economies is that they go through developmental stages. Primary industries such as farming and mining dominate employment.
Our own country (England) went through this and then onto manufacturing and now mainly services.
The scars have been left behind. I live in Rotherham and worked in local coal mines. Steel works were plentiful. The rivers were so acidic that if you swam in them it burnt your skin. The air was full of soot, washing often had to be rewashed on bad days as it got filthy on the washing lines. The air was acrid with smoke. I played on the pit pony fields as a youth or the local refuse tip.
I would like to think that if we were doing it all again, we would do it differently, but that is putting our current standards and expectations on the past. This is possible in Africa, where the damage being done is obvious and preventable. Human nature wins out. There are profits to be made and jobs to be had. The only people standing up to the pollution are the ones suffering financially i.e. the farmers. Easy to blame the Chinese but they are Johnny cum lately's to the African pollution scene. We have the knowledge and skills to avoid it all, but not the will. Simpering compassion achieves nothing, maybe the farmer's leagl routes to compensation will make a difference. Money talks.