Social Impact with Emma » Florida : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

On “Calling BS” – Shouldn’t We Do It More Often?

May 16th, 2018

Just after the terrible school shootings in Parkland, Florida earlier this year, a young woman named Emma González made a passionate speech, in which she challenged the gun lobby and lawmakers. She described the attitudes and expressions of apathy and inaction by politicians, and their justification of gun ownership and violence, repeatedly punctuating her comments […]

Hurricanes and the Media: Yes, We Have a Choice

September 10th, 2017

Hurricane Irma (and her boyfriend, following along behind, José) both decided not to bother with Jamaica, for which we are thankful. While the north coast had blue skies and sunshine however, down in Kingston we have had heavy showers, stopping and starting, and thunder grumbling away. A storm on Friday has sent our dogs into […]

The Uncertain Life and Times of the Jamaican Weather Forecaster

October 5th, 2016

In the wake of Hurricane Matthew – who is still churning around Cuba and giving the Bahamas and Florida the jitters – one thing struck me. Our friends at the Meteorological Office of Jamaica received unjustifiably harsh criticism from the Jamaican public. It is almost as if some Jamaicans felt cheated that they had gone […]

The Lion and the Parrot

April 20th, 2016

Is this a story about the depredations of humans on our wildlife – hunting the lions, trafficking our endangered parrots? Well, it could be, and certainly humans have been the instigators of a worrying dual problem. This is about the Caribbean, however, and it relates to fish. Let’s start with the Parrot Fish, that beautiful […]