The Prime Minister has championed the policy of heavy industrialisation. He has made an about turn and has become an apostle of Climate Change. Something will surely be rotten in Denmark when he arrives there this weekend.

Monday morning blues for the average citizen driving through rain on traffic clogged highways.

No such horrors for Prime Minister Patrick Manning still on a high from what he and other leaders have described as a “successful” Commonwealth Heads of Government from which he emerged as a newly converted apostle of Climate Change.

Mr Manning, of course, is a born-again Christian: throughout his career he has vigorously championed and promoted the cause of heavy industrialistion using natural gas to the extent that this small country with its fragile environment is weighed down by over 20 ammonia, methanol, urea and steel plants at Point Lisas and a huge Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) complex at Point Fortin.

He has been furiously pursuing the building on aluminium smelter at Union Village, La Brea; has plans for building an island off Otaheite Bay to construct another and has earmarked a steel plant for Claxton’s Bay.

Two years ago, the Government rushed through legislation for quarries of 100 acres or less to be established with no environmental questions asked.

The environmental consequences of all of this development, as the country is now learning the shocking news is that Trinidad and Tobago has the tenth highest emissions of carbon dioxide, per capita.

The Prime Minister has tried to scoff at this disturbing fact by downgrading such a basis for rating Trinidad and Trinidad’s as a contributor to global warming but the fact is hat he has fought concerned environmentalists tooth and nail to the extent that the aluminium smelter issue is before the courts.

Peter Vine, Wayne Kublalsingh, Gregory Aboud and other courageous sould who have been campaigning for the preservation of the environment have been seen as obstructionists.

Now the Prime Minister with his precious Port of Spain Climate Change Consensus tucked away in his briefcase will be heading to Denmark this weekend for Monday’s Climate Change Summit to spread the gospel of this anti-Global Warning crusade.

He spoke rather glibly on Sunday of repairing the environmental damage here by mandating plants to refit and to undertake carbon capture and sequestration.

Something will be surely rotten in Denmark when he arrives there.

The evidence of falling prices cannot be found in grocery bills. Nor in the cost of household help or plumbing services.

We have to believe, I suppose, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and also the Central Bank.

Although there is abundance evidence that prices are going up and up and up, we are being told that the inflation rate is not its lowest in years.

In October 2008, it was 15.4 per cent and now in August it has fallen to 5.9 per cent.

Can anyone really believe that?

Well, according to official data there have been declines in the prices of bread, cereals, milk, cheese, eggs, vegetables, fruits, oils, fats and sugar although these declines somehow do not show up in grocery bills. The price tag for a chicken roti with slight pepper has not decreased nor has the price of a doubles with kuchela. Or, for that matter, the price of a coconut around the Queen’s Park Savannah.

Let’s not go into the question of labour-like household help, wages for the yard boy or the cost of plumbing services.

However, somebody said that what goes up must come down.

There is expected to be a colourful parade through the streets of Port of Spain on Saturday. Emancipation has caught the eye of the BBC.

The Emancipation celebrations got a boost this week on the BBC’s Fast Track programme.

The programme stated that this was an event for people to witness because there was drumming, music and parades. This bit of publicity on a major international television network and the organisers of the various Emancipation events throughout the country and the Ministry of Tourism should be very happy. How many people will actually visit the country will be left top be seen.

The Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) has a programme of shows and celebrations at the Queen’s Park Savannah last night. Tomorrow night there will be another big show entitled “Pan African Night Expressions of Freedom”.

On Emancipation Day, which is Saturday, there will be the customary march through the streets of Port of Spain to the Savannah by people dressed in African wear.

There will also be early morning parades in Point Fortin and elsewhere. The celebrations will end on Sunday.