Social Impact with Emma » Portland : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

The Mystery of “Chik-V”

September 8th, 2018

It’s the time of year when we get a little more rain, after a long drought. It’s hurricane season too, so we may possibly get a great deal of rain – and with it, more breeding mosquitoes. We should all know the routine by now. We should be extremely careful about storing water in and […]

Bird Notes, Part 1: Jamaica

April 12th, 2018

As some people may know, I am rather addicted to birds – of the wild variety, that is. I am a member of BirdLife Jamaica, the local branch of a global entity called BirdLife International. It changed its name from Gosse Bird Club in 1998. The history of ornithology (that is, the study of birds) […]

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 […]

Too Many Humans, Not Enough Fish in the Sea

May 25th, 2017

Something is slightly rotten in the state of our fisheries. Or so I suspect. Is this real, or a perception? I would love someone to tell me. I am basing this conjecture on a series of reports. A very recent experience seemed to reinforce it, too. On eating at a well-known fish restaurant, the waitress […]

Healthy Seas…Happy People. Makes Sense!

May 27th, 2016

Do we think about the health of our seas, which occupy seventy-one per cent of the Earth’s surface? Or do we just assume they are managing just fine? It’s a funny thing, but I believe we tend to think “out of sight, out of mind” when it comes to the ocean. We rarely peep beneath […]