Hey Family:
Our planet is being destroyed by greedy corporations (cutting trees for paper, digging for oil, gold, producing toxins at manufacturing plants).

Our water, air, food, even our bodies are full of pollutants.

Has the Bahamas gotten more environmentally conscious yet. Haven't been home in about 12 years, and haven't been able to find any online content that would show that we care about environment.

I know when I left we were just getting into saving CONCH and TURTLES. But it was from a more selfish business/tourist perspective as opposed to really appreciating, respecting and caring for our environment.

Any politicians or business leaders pushing GREEN issues yet. If not, "would you all remind them that our country is built on low land, beaches, etc. If we don't do something not only will tourism and other sectors be negatively impacted, but we could be wiped out.:bouncy:

Hey Family:
Our planet is being destroyed by greedy corporations (cutting trees for paper, digging for oil, gold, producing toxins at manufacturing plants).
Our water, air, food, even our bodies are full of pollutants.
Has the Bahamas gotten more environmentally conscious yet. Haven't been home in about 12 years, and haven't been able to find any online content that would show that we care about environment.
I know when I left we were just getting into saving CONCH and TURTLES. But it was from a more selfish business/tourist perspective as opposed to really appreciating, respecting and caring for our environment.
Any politicians or business leaders pushing GREEN issues yet. If not, "would you all remind them that our country is built on low land, beaches, etc. If we don't do something not only will tourism and other sectors be negatively impacted, but we could be wiped out.:bouncy:

With the crime situation the way it is and these hoodlum now having deadly drive-by's on Bay Street, we don't have to worry as much about the environment since the tourists won't come here anymore in any event.

//sarcasm off//

With the crime situation the way it is and these hoodlum now having deadly drive-by's on Bay Street, we don't have to worry as much about the environment since the tourists won't come here anymore in any event.

//sarcasm off//

We have to not only deal with environment and youth, but also invest in other viable sectors/industries (technology, entertainment, manufacturing, off shore banking, agriculture and fishing.)

We have too many eggs in the tourism sector; and not enough in our youth (building youth centers, investing in youth cultural events, building gang amnesty houses, investing in youth related social services, teaching Bahamian men how to be MEN.) Adults so busy fighting (and working) the kids alone to watch all the junk on tv, etc.

The only "green" in the Bahamas has been the increase golf courses being shoved down the throats of islanders and the greening of the water from algae and sediment as a result of poor environmental practices.

Still no strong legislation and no monitoring. No Freedom of Information. And that equals no power for the people in deciding their own futures. In many ways too, not just environmental. But the enviro side is a strong example and clear as day.

We have to not only deal with environment and youth, but also invest in other viable sectors/industries (technology, entertainment, manufacturing, off shore banking, agriculture and fishing.)
We have too many eggs in the tourism sector; and not enough in our youth (building youth centers, investing in youth cultural events, building gang amnesty houses, investing in youth related social services, teaching Bahamian men how to be MEN.) Adults so busy fighting (and working) the kids alone to watch all the junk on tv, etc.

:tup:

could write a novel on going green, senseless crime and putting our eggs in one basket. wish the people that mattered(government) would open their eyes and really make an effort to diversify our income streams.

I'd say we are still greener than most, but that is rapidly going out the door as the new generation picks up habits from the huge variety of online communication and tv channels now available.

You know what they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Nobody really polices what we can access anymore(and i like it that way),
but let's face it - a large portion of adults need guidance, and many adults also don't really monitor what their children are watching on tv or online, so the kids are getting most of their guidance directly from what they are being exposed to.

By the way, are you planning on coming home (after 12 years elsewhere) to advocate going green?

I'm guessing that where you've been for the last 12 years is much less 'green' than the Bahamas or have you experienced an epiphany?

could write a novel on going green, senseless crime and putting our eggs in one basket. wish the people that mattered(government) would open their eyes and really make an effort to diversify our income streams.
...
By the way, are you planning on coming home (after 12 years elsewhere) to advocate going green?
I'm guessing that where you've been for the last 12 years is much less 'green' than the Bahamas or have you experienced an epiphany?

Yes all our EGGS are in one basket, TOURISM, very bad strategy! But the old school hotel owners and their families gat lots of clout. I HEAR BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT gives all kinds of $$$$$ to ships coming in harbor, hotel owners, and have organizations setup abroad that spend MILLIONS to get tourists to Bahamian hotels, etc when the HOTELS themselves SHOULD BE SPENDING THAT MONEY. They're bleeding us...

Re coming home, I plan to once I have accomplished more Internationally. I think that coming home without hit movies, etc, most Bahamians won't listen to any feedback I give. Am I wrong?

Re where I am, on East Coast, things are much more environmentally friendly that what I gather is happening at home. Here we have to recycle newspapers, bottles, cans, etc or FACE fines (if you own a home. And renters have to put them in certain bags on certain days for the garbage collectors).

And for the Bahamas, a country that prides itself on beaches, etc, to not be ENVIRONMENTALLY friends, beats any common sense!

On a individual basis, here are five basic things that EACH Bahamian COULD do to improve the quality of life in your country.

Stop bringing home plastic grocery bags, and use cloth carrier bags instead. Plastic bags, which wind up in the municipal dump, take about 200 years to break down in the soil. Pressure the grocery stores to sell recycled cloth bags at cost to their customers. Place a 25 cent per bag tax on plastic bags.

Buy cars that don't burn gasoline. Electic, propane, and natural gas powered cars are widely available in the USA and Canada. Remove the import tax on "green cars ".

Install solar powered water heaters, and wind powered electric generators and solar powered water purifiers, to provide clean drinking water from sea water. All are availible now.

Demand that the government STOP burying valuable recycling materials like aluminium cans, and newsprint, in the dumps. That stuff is worth money in Florida. Institute a national recycling program.

Make the cost of "not being green " so high that it forces people to make changes to their attitude about waste and recycling of materials.

It is an attitude change that needs to happen "soon ".

Jim Bunting. Toronto.

Hey Family:
Our planet is being destroyed by greedy corporations (cutting trees for paper, digging for oil, gold, producing toxins at manufacturing plants).
Our water, air, food, even our bodies are full of pollutants.
Has the Bahamas gotten more environmentally conscious yet. Haven't been home in about 12 years, and haven't been able to find any online content that would show that we care about environment.
I know when I left we were just getting into saving CONCH and TURTLES. But it was from a more selfish business/tourist perspective as opposed to really appreciating, respecting and caring for our environment.
Any politicians or business leaders pushing GREEN issues yet. If not, "would you all remind them that our country is built on low land, beaches, etc. If we don't do something not only will tourism and other sectors be negatively impacted, but we could be wiped out.:bouncy:

All paper companies practice mandated tree replanting across the US and Canada and clear-cutting is banned. Trees are a renewable resource and are treated that way.

Gold is the bottom-line standard of financial security for the entire world. BTW/ the United States of America hold the largest gold reserves on the planet. That is why the US dollar is the standard of financial excellance for the world.All efforts to devalue the dollar are worhtless in the sense that the devaluing countries do not own the majority of the world's gold,the US does.So these devaluations are really a confidence of economic strength,not the true worth of a nation.

In the US and other developed countries,all mining operations of any sort are required to remediate the mining site as work progresses.

Until alternative energy is developed,oil will be drilled for and we can only put our trust in the host to force the oil companies to practice green techniques.:)

All paper companies practice mandated tree replanting across the US and Canada and clear-cutting is banned. Trees are a renewable resource and are treated that way.
Gold is the bottom-line standard of financial security for the entire world. BTW/ the United States of America hold the largest gold reserves on the planet. That is why the US dollar is the standard of financial excellance for the world.All efforts to devalue the dollar are worhtless in the sense that the devaluing countries do not own the majority of the world's gold,the US does.So these devaluations are really a confidence of economic strength,not the true worth of a nation.
In the US and other developed countries,all mining operations of any sort are required to remediate the mining site as work progresses.
Until alternative energy is developed,oil will be drilled for and we can only put our trust in the host to force the oil companies to practice green techniques.:)
Oh Dear lemme see, I own a Tree "Care" Company, and I cant tell you what I go through in a day.
Some people if they had their way would cut down evey living tree in existence. I get calls ALL the time to "come chap down dis tree"
My response "Would you mind me asking why you want tree down?"
Client "It too "dirty", it drop too many leaves. I een ga say no more
Some folks idea of prosperity is buy lovely piece of property with lots of trees and bush, (can you say underbrush) so first thing on agenda is get heavy equipment, D8 tops the list, and Walla, no more pesky trees, no more top soil. Ahh aint life grande?:taped2::realmad:

Oh Dear lemme see, I own a Tree "Care" Company, and I cant tell you what I go through in a day.
Some people if they had their way would cut down evey living tree in existence. I get calls ALL the time to "come chap down dis tree"
My response "Would you mind me asking why you want tree down?"
Client "It too "dirty", it drop too many leaves. I een ga say no more
Some folks idea of prosperity is buy lovely piece of property with lots of trees and bush, (can you say underbrush) so first thing on agenda is get heavy equipment, D8 tops the list, and Walla, no more pesky trees, no more top soil. Ahh aint life grande?:taped2::realmad:

Key words being: Trees and Paper,as in trees being used as pulp wood for the production of.

I too like forests and decorative trees,but paper is a necessity. Even if only to clean B!!ngey.lol! We all need it.

On a individual basis, here are five basic things that EACH Bahamian COULD do to improve the quality of life in your country.
Stop bringing home plastic grocery bags, and use cloth carrier bags instead. Plastic bags, which wind up in the municipal dump, take about 200 years to break down in the soil. Pressure the grocery stores to sell recycled cloth bags at cost to their customers. Place a 25 cent per bag tax on plastic bags.
Buy cars that don't burn gasoline. Electic, propane, and natural gas powered cars are widely available in the USA and Canada. Remove the import tax on "green cars ".
Install solar powered water heaters, and wind powered electric generators and solar powered water purifiers, to provide clean drinking water from sea water. All are availible now.
Demand that the government STOP burying valuable recycling materials like aluminium cans, and newsprint, in the dumps. That stuff is worth money in Florida. Institute a national recycling program.
Make the cost of "not being green " so high that it forces people to make changes to their attitude about waste and recycling of materials.
It is an attitude change that needs to happen "soon ".
Jim Bunting. Toronto.

Here you go:

http://www.gogreenbahamas.com/

This is run by a friend of mine, go get your shopping bags

A high price, at five dollars each. Not going to get much support, in my opinion.

Here in Toronto the recycled cloth grocery carrier bags are 99 cents each, to buy, and if you use them at the grocery store where you bought them, the store knocks a dollar off the total cost of the groceries, for EACH bag used, EACH time you shop there. We use 6 bags each Sunday so we get $6 off our total food bill, each week. That is the kind of incentive that DOES work.

The bags are made of recycled plastic pop bottles , woven into a strong and durable cloth fiber. Strong enough to carry 20 lbs of stuff each and washable, AND when they do wear out, the store will replace them for FREE.

Here is a video about the Loblaws green bags, turn on your speakers to hear the company President talk about distributing a million bags in two weeks to start the program.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Video/2007/05/09/4166735.html

I made a number of suggestions, does no one have any reply to make about the concept of "clean air cars " or a national recycling program ?

Jim B Toronto.

Well in the Bahamas, the bag program sponsored by private individuals, the cost is going to be a bit high. But 5 bags at $5 each is an upfront cost, but reuseable. You will not get the support of the grocery stores to have any sort of rebate programs.

As to clean air cars - there is a premium just for these cars and then with duty it just dooesnt make financial sense. What I am in favor for is a reduction in duty paid by a half for vehicles that are energy efficient and have high mile per gallon ratings. You need to provide financial incentive and this will do so.

As to a recycle program, I agree it is a good idea, hoever, given the population of Nassau, and the expected participation rate, it just would not make financial sense to build a recycling facility.

I haven't heard any politicians pushing "green" issues. Other issues are more pressing at the moment. More people would have to want change so that agenda would be pushed to the forefront.
In Nassau...
We're taking teeny tiny steps to do better in my household.
We replaced all the light bulbs in the house with those energy-saving ones.
We unplug everything that's not in use (before, we'd just switch an appliance off, but leave it plugged in).
We stopped burning garbage (we used to do this years ago...it's really awful)
We stopped dumping (we used to do this religously almost 15 yrs ago)
We make sure there are no buckets or containers in the backyard that could collecct water and breed mosquitoes.
We have a looooong way to go, but at least there's improvement.

Personally up here in school...
I carry bags to the grocery store to pack my food in, instead of using the plastic bags.
I recycle.
I carry my huge mug to Tim Horton's for coffee refills. There are many. lol
Little things...