George Town Harbour named global environmental Hope Spot

Cayman Reporter
September 14, 2016

Local environmental advocacy group Save Cayman announced on Friday 9 September the awarding of the greater George Town Harbour area as one of 14 new global Hope Spots.

Hope Spots are designated by Mission Blue, which is an initiative of the Sylvia Earle Alliance (SEA) to ignite public support for the protection of Hope Spots—special places that are vital to the health of the ocean and which Mission Blue calls “the blue heart of our planet.”

The news was announced at the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) World Conservation Congress, which took place from 1-10 September in Hawaii and was quickly snapped up by social media. Read the whole story here.

Reduction key to future waste plans

Cayman News Service
June 27, 2016

The George Town dump smouldering during one of its underground fires

The government will be focusing very heavily on reducing the amount of waste people generate in Cayman then re-using and recycling what continues to be produced, but it has not ruled out waste-to-energy as part of the solution. The Department of Environmental Health has published the final reports from consultants hired by government to develop its future rubbish policies. With the solution to the George Town dump seen as a priority for the wider community, the current administration has been criticised for dragging its feet over the issue. Read the whole story here.

CUC breaks ground on Cayman’s first solar farm

The Cayman Reporter
May 10, 2016

The groundbreaking ceremony for Cayman’s first solar farm was held in Bodden Town on Monday, 9 May.

The 5 megawatt(MW) solar project will allow the Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) to reduce exhaust gas emissions and the use of imported fossil fuels thereby promoting a greener environment. Read the whole story here.

Weather Service: Climate change making Cayman hotter, drier

Cayman Compass
January 15, 2016

The average temperature in the Cayman Islands has risen steadily for the past four years due to the effects of global climate change, according to National Weather Service Director John Tibbetts. He said annual average temperatures have risen 1.2 degrees over the past four years, and he expects the trend of warmer weather and less rain to continue in the years to come.

Over the past 30 years, the average annual temperature rose from about 80 degrees Fahrenheit in 1985 to 82.9 degrees last year. Mr. Tibbetts said the temperature trend is following the model forecasters use to predict the impacts of global climate change on the weather in Cayman.

“We will get warmer and drier,” the Weather Service director said in an interview this week, and the changes to Cayman’s climate could have far-reaching effects on the islands. Read the whole story here.

How Can We Make People Care About Climate Change?

Yale Environment 360
July 9, 2015

Per Espen Stoknes, a Norwegian psychologist and economist, has been doing a lot of thinking about a question that has bedeviled climate scientists for years: Why have humans so far failed to deal with the looming threat posed by climate change?

That question is the focus of his recent book, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming, in which he analyzes what he calls the five psychological barriers that have made it difficult to deal realistically with the climate crisis. Those include: the distant nature of the problem (it’s far off in time and often in other parts of the globe); the Per Espen Stoknes doom-and-gloom scenarios about the impacts of climate change, which make people feel powerless to do anything about it; and the psychological defenses that people have to avoid feeling guilty about their own contributions to fossil fuel emissions. Read the whole story here.

Pope Francis, in Sweeping Encyclical, Calls for Swift Action on Climate Change

New York Times
June 18, 2015

Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, blending a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified global action.

The vision that Francis outlined in a 184-page papal encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: He describes relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment and says apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness are to blame.

The most vulnerable victims, he declares, are the world’s poorest people, who are being dislocated and disregarded.

Francis, the first pope from the developing world, used the encyclical — titled “Laudato Si’,” or “Praise Be to You” — to highlight the crisis posed by climate change. He places most of the blame on fossil fuels and human activity, while warning of an “unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequence for all of us” if corrective action is not taken swiftly. Developed, industrialized countries were mostly responsible, he says, and are obligated to help poorer nations confront the crisis. Read the whole story here.