Nevis in the frontline as world marks Earth Day
By Pauline Waruguru
Nevis Reporter, SKNVibes.com
CHARLESTOWN, NEVIS - AS millions of people around the world recognised Tuesday, April 22 as Earth Day, Nevis was in the frontline showing the island’s commitment to protecting the environment with a march to keep litter off the streets.
The march, dubbed “Litter Stomp” and included students and youth groups, was organised by the Solid Waste Management Authority with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of keeping litter off the streets by always disposing such in receptacles provided.
Nevis Health Minister Hensley Daniel, who participated in Tuesday’s event, said the planet is getting hotter and called for careful reflection citing the need to rethink consumption patterns.
He said conserving the environment means donating what you do not need instead of turning it into garbage. “Check your closets and donate what you do not need. Carry them to the Red Cross.”
The Minister said Nevis’s ongoing environmental work programme initiated to keep Nevis clean was successful and called on villagers to enlist and participate in the Village Beautification contest.
Minister Daniel also said bad eating habits contribute to environment destruction. He called for greater passion for farm products: “Nutritional value of packaged foods has deteriorated and we need to return to kitchen gardens.” He said the island imported 98 percent of food consumed. General Manager, Solid Management Authority, Calyn Lawrence talked of the basic activities that could impact the environment negatively or positively, such as purchasing quality products that would last longer, buying products with less packaging material, returning the egg cartoon to the Nevis egg farmers, using energy saver light bulbs, parking cars and walking through the town to on errands, making sure refrigerator door is sealed properly, installing a timer on hot water heater, and donating instead of throwing away unwanted items.
~~Adz:Right~~Lawrence also said, “Don’t idle your car engine for long periods; idling gets you zero miles per gallon. Use reusable shopping bags when shopping. Remember, keeping Nevis clean is everybody’s business…Wise Up, Team Up, Clean Up.”
HOPE members threw their weight behind the efforts being made to keep Nevis clean and Karene Paul spoke on behalf of the group. She said some of the greatest threats to future resources come from things thrown away everyday: “Household batteries and electronics often contain dangerous chemicals that may, if sent to a local landfill, leak through the botton barrier and pollute the ground water.”
“This,” she added, “can contaminate everything from the sol in which our food grows, to the water which will eventually come out of aquifers and into our tap water. Many of these chemicals cannot be removed from the drinking water supply, nor from the crops that are harvested from contaminated fields. The risks to human health are tremendous.”
