Tag: flooding

The careful implementation of a Caribbean carbon pricing regime could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions but should be associated with a redistribution of any revenues

September 28, 2021

As the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) draws ever closer, I will try to focus more on some of the issues that Jamaica and the Caribbean should be paying attention to. Here is the latest from the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Jamaica, on the Jamaica Economy Panel’s (JEP) deliberations on carbon pricing. … More The careful implementation of a Caribbean carbon pricing regime could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions but should be associated with a redistribution of any revenues

ICYMI in Jamaica: November 21, 2020, The Bad Dog Edition

November 21, 2020

It has been quite a week. The debate over the threatened mining operation in Puerto Bueno Mountain (Dry Harbour Mountain) dominated much of the local media (including social media), with many radio interviews, discussions, letters to the editor and columns, such as this piece by environmentalist Peter Espeut (who does not mince his words). Besides … More ICYMI in Jamaica: November 21, 2020, The Bad Dog Edition

Caribbean Environment Week: Stepping Up to a Sustainable Future

November 5, 2020

Just take a look at the photos and videos from the past three or four weeks, as Tropical Storms Zeta and Eta hovered on our doorstep: eroded hillsides sliding onto roads and blocking them; large (and deep) flooded areas, potentially creating major health problems; we even had a “mini tornado” in Portland. We can no … More Caribbean Environment Week: Stepping Up to a Sustainable Future

Post-Zeta the Question is: How much longer will we continue neglecting our environment?

October 26, 2020

Tomorrow, or maybe the next day, we will start picking up the pieces. Tropical Storm Zeta has passed us by, but according to the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, is “interacting” with a tropical wave. Sort of a double whammy, created by an intermingling of systems. There is a flash flood warning, and the rains may … More Post-Zeta the Question is: How much longer will we continue neglecting our environment?

“Daylight Come” by Diana McCaulay

September 15, 2020

Award-winning Jamaican writer and environmental advocate Diana McCaulay has just completed her fifth novel. An earlier version of the novel won third place in the CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature in 2019. Peepal Tree Press will publish this, the first Jamaican climate change novel, on September 24. It is available for pre-order … More “Daylight Come” by Diana McCaulay

Fifteen Clarendon Communities Consulted on Risk Profiles and Climate Change Adaptation Plans

December 29, 2019

I have spent some time in the beautiful central parish of Clarendon in the past year. Studies (and recent events) have shown that the area is particularly vulnerable to flooding, prolonged drought, and other impacts of climate change.  Prime Minister Andrew Holness pointed out in Parliament in October that Clarendon was responsible for a large … More Fifteen Clarendon Communities Consulted on Risk Profiles and Climate Change Adaptation Plans

A Letter to the Editor from WMW Jamaica on the Riverton Dump Fire

August 1, 2018

The fire is not yet out, and many Kingston residents continue to suffer tonight. Firefighters continue to work on subduing and containing the fire, which is now in its third day. WMW Jamaica (formerly Women’s Media Watch, and celebrating its 30th anniversary this year) has written a letter to the Editor regarding the health impacts of … More A Letter to the Editor from WMW Jamaica on the Riverton Dump Fire

There Are No Cases of Yellow Fever in Jamaica

May 16, 2018

This week is Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week. We never used to worry too much about these dangerous little creatures (of which the female is, in fact, deadlier than the male) – until the Chikungunya virus (Chik V) and the Zika virus came along, riding on the climate change wave. Dengue fever has always been around, … More There Are No Cases of Yellow Fever in Jamaica

Jamaica’s Garbage Issue

November 24, 2017

As I write, people are frantically cleaning up Montego Bay after devastating floods on Wednesday afternoon destroyed businesses, washed away houses, carried vendors’ wares floating downstream and turned cars upside down, flipped over by the torrent. Gullies and a river overflowed. The whole of the low-lying downtown area was flooded. Apart from the extreme weather … More Jamaica’s Garbage Issue