I hate going to the dentist. However, the other day in an Environment Committee meeting in Brussels, when it felt like a hedgehog was trying to escape from my tooth, I realised I had no choice but to put myself at the mercy of a very competent man named Pierre.
The tooth in question was removed with a minimum of fuss but Pierre the dentist was horrified at what he discovered. "Your teeth monsieur", he pronounced. "They are très dangerous".
I've been accused of many things in my time as a MEP, but never of having dangerous teeth. They may not be perfect but I felt this was unmerited: I brush twice a day. Pierre the dentist went on to explain that he wasn't criticising my dental hygiene, but was instead expressing surprise at the amount of amalgam fillings I have. Amalgam contains mercury and has been banned from fillings in Belgium and other countries for safety reasons. I had visions of my mouth being home to the dental equivalent of asbestos. Pierre told me it was imperative to replace the amalgam immediately and soon he had a small bag of my fillings in a "waste disposal package". This package was handled with gloves and dealt with as if it were nuclear waste. How could something too dangerous to be put in a dustbin have happily lived in my mouth for so long?
Returning home I discovered that amalgam is still used for fillings in the UK as scientific experts around the world have concluded there is no safety risk. That's good enough for me; I just wish someone had told Pierre before he turned my mouth into a war zone. However, the way the fillings were disposed of made me wonder if similar care is taken over waste disposal in the UK.
The UK's record on these issues is not great, and the amount of dangerous waste being produced is increasing, but we are getting better. The EU, often pushed by the European Parliament, has done a huge amount to improve environmental standards. Getting this type of legislation right is very tricky, there is a fine balance to be struck between the economic cost of doing something and the environmental benefits. It requires careful study of what works, how to involve interest groups and business and how to ensure that the legislation has the effect it is intended to. The Environment Committee is currently considering legislation about waste, which aims to simplify existing structures, clarify previous definitions and ensure that the objective of reducing environmental impacts is met.
This is important stuff and should actually reduce our impact on the environment. We need to balance, and keep idealism for reducing our impact on the planet with a realistic notion of what we are really prepared to do for the environment in our everyday lives. Good environmental legislation, combined with public commitment, will do much more than any number of speeches about climate change. If all we ever do is talk about tackling global warming, we'll be left with nothing but hot air.
