Social Impact with Emma » Climate Change : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

Not in Kansas Any More

May 30th, 2018

A friend of mine, who lives in much colder climes in Europe, recently expressed anxiety over a brochure that arrived on his doorstep, on how to prepare for crises: an act of terrorism, a natural disaster, a cyber-attack – perhaps, even, a military invasion of some sort. “This is a frightening reality check,” my friend […]

Landscaped Tourism In a Sea of Plastic

May 25th, 2018

Several weeks ago, the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) showed a short documentary related to its Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica campaign. Now, this is (or was) more than just a catchy tune and a strong public education message. It was about ongoing projects on the ground, which will now dry up as the Tourism Enhancement Fund […]

Earth Day 2018: Can We Win the Battle Against Plastic?

April 23rd, 2018

This Earth Day, I found myself struggling with some philosophical truths. We humans are in danger of destroying everything around us (and thus, inevitably, ourselves) with situations that we have ourselves created (and one material in particular, which was this year’s Earth Day theme: plastic). Climate change has now been acknowledged by most scientists as […]

Bird Notes, Part 2: Of Small Islands, Hurricanes and Opportunity Grabbers

April 16th, 2018

This is about the other side of the Caribbean. It’s not entirely about birds – it is more about humans, and what we call “natural disasters” (although they are quite unnatural, these days, since they are a consequence of humans’ actions). I would like to discuss two tiny islands, specifically. Quite frankly, these kinds of situations, […]

The Deforestation of Our City

March 31st, 2018

I love my city of Kingston. I have my favourite spots, that I always enjoy. One of these is that little corner on the intersection of Old Hope Road and Lady Musgrave Road. A small church (the “Babbins Church,” founded in 1900 by Rev. Francis Bavin of the United Free Methodists) nestled there comfortably for 88 years, […]

Jamaica’s Ability to Respond to Natural Disasters Is Almost Non-Existent

January 11th, 2018

On Tuesday night, while many of us were tucked up in bed, a tsunami alert for Jamaica and other islands went out, triggered by a huge earthquake between Honduras and the Cayman Islands, for an hour or so; it was then discontinued. The next day, there were some careless and downright silly comments on social […]

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