St. Maarten Private Eye

Just a question, how much polution does SXM emit that contributes to climate change and the so-called greenhouse gasses? Just wondering since you brought it up.

J. Baptiste

it might be difficult to gauge the amount of pollution from traffic anywhere in the world, all one has to look for is the long lines of traffic emitting exhaust fumes from diesel and gasoline.
Add to that the heavy fuel that GEBE is using now compared to light fuel they were using in the past.
Walking on SXM roads has become a nightmare, try taking a walk in certain areas such as Simpson Bay or Cole Bay. The exhaust from vehicles is just down right nasty. Inhaling these fumes can cause headaches, vomiting, nausea and the more serious cardiac and lung problems.
In a recent BBC broadcast there was mention that there was a Caribbean conference on Climate Change, many of the islands (SXM and the Neth.Ant. were not present) said that the islands do not contribute as much as the larger more industrial countries. Other islands pointed out that for instance Curacao's and Trinidad's oil refinery's do their part in the pollution factor. There was a conclusion that even a small island can play their part to cut down on pollution/greenhouse gasses and at least set the frame work to be ready for the effects of climate change.

SXM is a tiny speck on this planet and our emissions are minor, alone we would make no difference at all. But we are not alone. Millions of people in thousands of communities, towns, cities, states and countries around the world are making an effort to reduce their emissions and switch to cleaner renewable energy systems. Together they make a huge difference and St. Maarten should be part of that effort instead of the pariah it is now with no policies, no plans and no visions or political will to do anything at all.

If that argument isn't enough then consider the fact that the island is a slave to oil, completely and utterly dependent upon it, not just for transport and electricity, but for everything we eat, drink and consume. Oil prices are not going to go down, over the past 5 years they have gone up over 300%, from around $30 a barrel when Bush invaded Iraq to over $110 today. Climate change is going to cause, in fact is already causing, massive disruption and destruction to shipping, agriculture and economies World wide.

There is a tendency on St. Maarten for bubble thinking, that what happens out there in the ROTW is not our problem, it's someone else's. It is our problem, we are part of the cause and a vital part of preparing for the consequences, is to invest in energy independence and food production. We are doing zero with either and this, to me, is criminal negligence on the part of our government.

They operate and plan with very little thought for the future of the island, while millions of people are working to help combat climate change, our leaders continue to believe that the future is going to continue much the way it has. Sorry Maria, but the message is not that Climate Change MAY affect our tourism economy, it WILL affect it and may very well destroy it in the coming years. The time for talking passed a long time ago, we are at the point where immediate action and policies are needed and nothing is there. Nothing.

The ICCP Website contains many reports and summaries for governments, I doubt even one of our politicians have taken any notice of them. Someone else's problem, we are too small and too poor to do anything. That is Roy Marlin's approach, the only time the man mentioned climate change he talked about carbon trading. By doing little to reduce our footprint we will therefore have plenty to trade when someone eventually comes knocking on our door.

I strongly suggest this new video from TED with Al Gore, filmed in March this year.

Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis

Flipper

I agree with Flipper, but counciosness and responsibility starts with oneself. Why don't we show Roy Martin or whoever is in charge our own behaviour? We can do awareness campaigns too, we don't need governments to show others what is needed. If I do what I have to do to be responsible not contributing to climate change, I can show my neighbourhood and others.Think big and start with small actions is what is required.

...that even if all the islands in the Caribbean just up and stop everything that causes pollution, it won't make a bail of difference in the climate. And even if we were the only land masses in the world polluting, we wouldnt even cause a ripple of worry. We're too small to affect anything. (I think I read this in one of the Caribbean newspapers). The US is the largest polluter in the world. If the US ALONE cuts back, it will reverse the effects of global warming. So I guess we could be more conscious yes, of course, for the cleanliness of our island , its attractiveness to visitors etc etc. But in the bigger picture of things..in the world wide picture, what we do or don't do is of little significance isnt' it?

J. Baptiste

3 years! By then I'll have my Electrical Engineering degree and I'll be on my way back home to make Saba entirely independant of carbon producing and air polluting diesel generators and entirely dependant on alternative energy. But it wont stop there. The initiative will "catch a fyah" and spread across to SXM and Statia, and why would it stop there? I have already declared this my life's mission, and determination knows no obstacle.

J. Baptiste, what if some guy named Gandhi had decided that he, as an single person, was not significant enough to help liberate the world second most populous nation. What if a fella named Mandela decided, once imprisioned, that he could make no difference on an entire country's corrupt political system. How can we therefore say that whatever we do will be "of little significance"? Shall we shoot down this promising effort before it even gets off the ground because it couldn't possibly make a difference? Has history not torched that notion? But have no fear, for 2011 will be here sooner than you think.

I don't know if I'd go as far as comparing Ghandi and Mandela's causes with climate change, but I do admire a young person's drive to change his or her community for the better.

On another note, I'm off to Dominica in the morning, the patriarch of my family passed at 98. Full Life. So I hate to leave some posts unanswered but I'll tak to y'all when I get back. Keep it hot!

J. Baptiste

Comparing Mandela, Ghandi, M.Luther King Jr, Al Gore is one and the same. They have all fought and in Gore's case still fighting for a better world.
The call for climate change now extends into us having to pay more for bread. Some time ago I passed by a road side fast food and asked for a johnny cake and cheese, only to find out that the Johnnie Cake and Cheese went up by a $1.-
Imagine that, SXM National little fried bun now part of inflation.
While you may read in history books on the fine things that Mandela, M.Luther King Jr. and Gandhi did, sometimes very little is mentioned on how their public lives impacted their private lives and how many obstacles they had to overcome with many people around them thinking differently.
Do you know that there were many that prefered the status quo back in the 60's in Georgia? There were many that just prefered the apartheid status in South Africa? In Gore's case, he is still fighting, he has won a Nobel peace prize and he will go down in History as the man that brought the plight of the earth to the forefront and because of this dramaticaly changed public's perception of how we go about our daily lives.
We have entered the 21 century and it will not resemble the 20th. century, get ready for some life changing methods to come in our every day lives.

You are right that what the island contributes is of little significance to the overall global problem. But I think it should be viewed in a different light, in the potential risks we are facing, because in the end we have a chance of loosing this life game, just as everyone else.
I don't want to delve too deep into this because Flipper & Caribdude explained what effect a "bottoms-up" approach can garner and the potential impact our children are facing. But it might be helpful in reading these two articles that explain the social trap that many people fall into;

Commons Dilemma

Tragedy of the commons

I'm afraid that too many people on this island resort to this tragedy of the commons on the global warming topic, but thats just me speculating.

Climate Change is already happening and even if the whole planet stopped emissions today we already have a big price to pay. Have you heard of tipping points? These are events and effects that we are incapable of fixing, ocean currents stalling, permafrost melting releasing vast amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas far worse than CO2. Greenland and Antarctic land based ice sheets speeding up their slide into the ocean, raising sea levels and adding to the problem. (White ice reflects the sun's heat, dark sea and land absorbs it.)

The World is a small place, what goes on in one country can seriously affect others. The Amazon has been called the 'lungs of the World' and hundreds of thousands of acres are being torn up every year. Rain forests and trees bring rain and the Amazon is in danger of drying up and becoming scrub land and grasses like Africa.

Everyone, every individual on this planet has a responsibility to understand this problem we all face, as Flipper said, millions around the World are doing their 'little' bit and added together it can make a difference, or maybe buy us a little time. Obama say's he will appoint Gore as his lead man on this issue and for that reason alone he would get my vote, if I had one.

We are borrowing this planet we live on, from our children and grandchildren and all the generations that come after. It is incredibly immoral and contemptuous for anyone to suggest we are too small to do anything, that whatever we did would make no difference, so we should do nothing. Do you even comprehend the scope and dimensions of the problem every one of us and our planet is facing? Everything is on the table in the pot, everything. And all of us, individually have a moral obligation and responsibility to accept and embrace.

I agree too that the time for talking passed a long time ago, Maria comes late to the table and has a great deal of catching up to do. Showing Gore's movie to the public would have been admirable 2 years ago when it came out, showing it now only shows there is at least a hope this issue will start to be taken seriously. But we don't have time for workshops, movie shows and press releases, we need action and progressive enlightened policies, now.

Caribdude

Thank you Caribdude, I couldn't agree more!
Now, for our plan: I think we all agree that Maria's movie show won't do the trick, more action is necessary and SXM PE ought to play a part in this.
For instance: an ultimatum, if the government hasn't got a plan to reduce greenhouse emissions by 10 % by the 15th of December 2008 (where have we seen this date before...won't postpone it this time though); their vehicles will be green. Options:
*A new law that will ban big pollutive SUV's
*$ support to encourage use of solar power
*any suggestions?
There are so many ways for a government to reduce their CO2 emissions, all it takes is some legislation.
So, if politicians refuse to act timely and with that decide to abandon their moral obligation; we'll just have to apply a bit more pressure on them. Constitutional change can wait; will that help us when water levels rise? Or when oil attains the value of gold? No.
Therefore, I suggest we set an ultimatum.

You mention a suggestion of banning large SUV's. While this is an option in most countries, here on SXM many of the people depend on a SUV to climb the hills, we depend on the SUV's to trek through flood areas and during hurricane times, not to mention these SUV's survive the potholes better than the small eco-cars.
How about taxing the SUV's owners extra? tax them and hopefully the ones that do not really need a SUV will consider buying something else. I have noticed that in general the ones that pollute are the large buses especially the buses that do the island tours for a particular bus company located in Cay Hill.
Next time while sitting in traffic pay extra attention and see who the real carbon polluters are and I can assure you that you will see the large buses, large trucks and other construction equipment.
Just today I passed one such dump truck spewing his thick black smoke into our environment, when I checked for his number plate, it was French. I wonder if they now have vehicle inspection on the French side.

Sounds great! Shall we set the ultimatum then? Goal: either a carbon emission related taxation or a total ban on big polluting trucks (usually overloaded too, which is dangerous; especially when driving behind one uphill…).
I am an advocate of the latter.
In order to make this all work, letters ought to be written and dispatched to the government, the newspapers, the foundations and…Al Gore? I put myself forward to compose the letters and do some research on the topic, but of course under one condition: that I can count on a substantial support.
Maybe we could even pull of a demonstration to support our view?
Dress code: green outfits.

Greetings,
The treehugger

Not much enthusiasm eh?…well, I guess it’s not a number one priority right now, but I agree with you that laws and subsidies are needed to jump-start the market; and they can be slowly phased out as production revs up and equipment prices come down. I think a feed-in tariff should be established and people ought be looking at photovoltaics and solar thermal collectors. One must focus on local-generation technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels and household-size boilers to cogenerate power. I am well aware of the investments it will require, but with rising fuel costs and climate worries, we must think a lot harder about how we get our power. Now, taking measures is the future. And these technologies are increasingly hitting the market and at declining prices. Wake up! Use the sun to the fullest. Even in Germany, villages have solar collectors and I can assure you, Germany is not the sunniest place in the world, especially not in the Black Forest (der Schwarzwald).
But in order to make this work, cooperation is essential. The community must work together with the government and vice versa. Like I said, a feed-in tariff would be excellent, it will be the perfect measure to promote local sources of alternative energy. Although, it would be worthless if local sources of alternative energy happen to be nonexistent…
Anyway, the number one priority I mentioned above is of course the landfill. No civilized country has that! And above all not in their capital! Yes, keep cruise tourists in P’burg, I couldn’t agree more, but what if they - when wondering about town - end up staring at the Pond Fill? That would not be the best Kodak moment, now would it? Or when cruise passengers (I support the writer above) walk to P’burg and big trucks emitting filthy black clouds race past them? Won’t make them want to revisit the island!
By the bye, ought we not sent a get-well card to the youngest member of the ExCo? Once recovered, perhaps he’ll decide to pay a visit to SXM PE…

You know what, the whole idea has already been carried out in the Netherlands, so all the government has to do is copy & apply. Here's the website
It's called the bpm (belasting van personenauto's en motorrijwielen = tax for cars and motorcycles) and one can calculate the amount like this:
Stap 1 - Step 1
Percentage van de catalogusprijs. Daarbij moet u een bedrag optellen of aftrekken, afhankelijk van de soort brandstof. - Take a percentage of the catalog price, this is fuel-related
Stap 2 - Step 2
een toeslag of een korting, afhankelijk van het energielabel van de auto - an extra charge which depends on the energylabel of your vehicle
Stap 3 - Step 3
een korting voor hybride-auto's - a discount for hybrid cars
Stap 4 - Step 4
een CO²-toeslag - an extra charge for CO2 emissions
Stap 5 - Step 5
een fijnstoftoeslag - a charge for the emission of fine particles

So, Roy Marlin may take some notes here, if it's to his fancy.

1/ Probably the most important decision and policy that can be made is to have GEBE make buy/sell solar power possible, as I mentioned in my post. Making it possible for people with solar on their roof to sell their surplus to the grid would make installing such systems more financially attractive and viable. Unfortunately GEBE and our govt are blind to it and it has been suggested to me many times that it's not only because they are ignorant of this idea, but because they like their monopoly and see it as a threat. Never mind that allowing it would save GEBE from having to invest in more generators.

2/ An efficient and comprehensive public transport system. Mini cabs with meters that people can use for short journeys. Bigger and more efficient buses with scheduled routes. They could run on the used cooking oils from all our fast food restaurants.

3/ Better planning and corrections where possible. So many of our traffic jams are created by the constant in and out parking most businesses have, for example along Simpson Bay and the Pond Fill. Amazingly, although this is so easy to see, more and more buildings are being permitted with the same front parking spaces. Also, in Philipsburg in particular I think a great deal of traffic is caused by people driving around looking for parking spaces. A mulit story carpark, where the old administration building is, or on Wathey Square, would help ease this.

4/ Energy waste tax. Roy mentions that Front Street is almost an airconditioned street, with stores having doors wide open and their blowers often right over the door and blowing out in order to attract hot tired tourists in. This has to stop, it can be by laws, but another way would be to have higher electricity prices or fines for those who waste it. Office buildings do not need to be lit up with spotlights, the airport does not need to be lit up all night, nor the harbor. Govt should start setting an example with their own businesses.

5/ Wind and geothermal energy. Roy mentioned a couple years ago that a report had to be made by GEBE concerning alternative energies such as wind. The press should ask if this report has been made and if there is one it should be made available to the public. The French side have been looking at wind options for a while, they have more possibilities because they are on the windward side, places like where their dump is and the rocks and islands between here and St. Barths, like Isle Forche. Geothermal energy is also a very good possibility from Saba and Statia. Of course this would mean close cooperation and agreements with these islands, something we have seen is almost impossible for our govt.

Oil hits new high above $114, dollar supports - 15th April 2008

Here's another question. How long will the NA government keep the NAF tied to the sinking dollar?

China 'now top carbon polluter' - 14th April 2008

Forecast for big sea level rise - 15th April 2008