By Ron Daniel
The revolution in the caption above does not refer to anything that is virulent, violent or vicious but rather pure, peaceful and propitious. Around the world there is a big push for everyone to go green as the world realises the importance of implementing measures to protect and preserve the environment. There was a time when environmentalists were seen as boring people with nothing else to do but emphasise something that most of the world thought to be unimportant. However, now going green is the new catchword of the 21st century as governments, lobbyists, environmentalists, companies and even celebrities have been touting the importance of green alternatives all in the name of Mother Nature.
In April the whole world celebrated Earth Month with Earth Day being celebrated on Wednesday, April 22, 2009. All over the world people were having rallies and marches and promotional activities to promote the importance of preserving the purity of the environment. The RBTT Regional Young Leaders Programme is hinged on the environment. Oprah Winfrey, the richest and most influential black woman in America, dedicated the April 2009 Oprah magazine to Earth Month. A cursory glance at this magazine depicts advertisements and special features that speak to the whole theme of protecting the Environment. In Nevis, the Nevis Solid Waste Management Agency, in conjunction with the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, hosted a rally through Charlestown where school children and other groups were inundated with the message of protecting the environment.
Ebay.com also followed suit with the green theme. In April, Ebay launched a campaign entitled 30 days of green with their special website www.ebay.com/greenteam. Nike themselves have launched a green campaign where they encourage you to return any used sneakers to them in return for a discount on your next purchase. They will in turn convert these used shoes into material used for sports and playground surfaces. Timberland also has a similar promotion for all shoes with a 20% discount. Timberland has gone even further by using only recycled wood to build their countertops and showcases in their stores. Al Gore, the former Vice President of the USA, won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his work on Global Warming and Climate Change and won a Grammy Award in 2009 for a book he wrote on the same subject. Beyonce Knowles and other high profile celebrities have also launched green campaigns using their songs and their publicity to promote the green theme.
It is against this backdrop that, as a Nevisian, I am proud to beat my chest about the fact that Nevis should soon be moving towards geothermal energy and end our reliance on fossil fuel for electricity. Nevis will be the first island in the OECS to go green. For me, our move to geothermal energy is not a political issue but a patriotic issue. Geothermal is too big for us to let politics divide us on it. The funny thing is that if we learned that Nevis had found oil we would all be overjoyed, but the fact is the research shows that geothermal energy is way more potent and profitable than oil.
That is why I have been disappointed to say the least with what the CCM has attacked with such venom everything regarding geothermal, instead of educating their supporters that it is indeed a good thing and that they should wish the project well. The strange thing is that they seem to be wishing with all their might that Nevis NEVER EVER goes green with geothermal. It is almost as if, if you are a CCM you are not to know anything about what geothermal energy is and you are to see geothermal as the DEVIL itself. One speaker at a recent CCM public meeting said that geothermal will ONLY eliminate the fuel surcharge off of one’s bill. It is apparent that this speaker didn’t realise the fuel surcharge fluctuates according to the cost of oil on the world economy. When the economy recovers, the cost of fuel will again skyrocket and if it increases to the levels it did last year, it will mean that Nevisians will have to pay double their actual electricity bill if we still are using fossil fuels. In simple terms, if we continue without geothermal our $150 bill could be $300, while if we get geothermal our $150 bill will be $150. I remember earlier this year when there were some earthquakes, the CCM used the media to spread fear saying that the geothermal drilling had created the earthquakes and that Nevis should stop. This ridiculous claim was refuted by independent geologists all across the Caribbean as other areas of the Caribbean felt these same tremors. When steam was emanating from one of the sites at Hamilton, Massa went on the SKNlist and intimated that they should close it down because of sulphuric acid although, again, the steam was independently proven to be very clean and very environmentally friendly.
For me, geothermal energy provides, first and foremost, an opportunity for Nevis to join the green revolution that is happening around the world. It is expected that this will yield tremendous economic benefit if this energy can be sold to St Kitts and other islands. Nevertheless, if the energy is used ONLY in Nevis for Nevisians, it means that we would have preserved our clean green environment for decades to come. It also means that Nevis will be able to attract investors who are always looking for cheap electricity. Furthermore, it means that Nevis’ tourism product will be able to benefit from various international Green Groups around the world who may want to come here for conventions and things of the sort. Nevis will also benefit from gifts from these Green Groups that have associations with companies who make donations to green countries and green initiatives. The CCM, on the other hand, cares nothing about it. They claim that no one will purchase geothermal energy from Nevis, that geothermal energy wont make a huge difference to consumer bills nor will it have a positive effect on our economy.
I do not know if it is that the CCM is too blue to appreciate the importance of Nevis going green. However, it is time that we put aside petty politics and embrace the fact that Geothermal Energy is great news for Nevis, irrespective of your political affiliation. I think that there are many other things they can find to oppose the NIA but Geothermal is not one of them. The world is going green and now we in Nevis have the opportunity to be the showpiece of the hemisphere to be completely green. Let us decide to put country above self and thank God for the opportunity to be able to use clean, cheap energy. Other countries would gladly change places to be in the same position we are at now. Let us all with one voice decide to join hands in the Green Revolution.
