The Great Wilson City Power Plant Indeed

Like parts of Greece a few weeks ago, the City of Angels (Los Angeles) is burning, again. Although no stranger to forest fires, the magnitude and intensity of its spread is attributable to the fact that Earth’s surface is getting hotter and hotter. Even though the initial cause of the fire is said to have been man-made, officials admit that excessively dry conditions, created a perfect scenario for the out of control blaze.

Every corner of our planet is experiencing some threat from the fury of Mother Nature in response to Global Warning. As the countdown to Copenhagen (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) ticks nearer, every serious government and regional block is giving special consideration to their respective goals and needs to be presented at the Convention. Just recently, Ministers from ten African Countries met to strategize their demands, almost as restitution, over the fact that although Africa emits (percentile wise) among the least levels of greenhouse gases, that Continent is pegged to suffer most.

Another region which Scientists have predicted will face great devastation is the Caribbean – flat lying Island Nations in particular. Not only will Global Warming increase the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and associated weather but the melting of arctic ice shelves will cause a rise in sea levels which will dramatically “swallow” much of the land mass of non mountainous terrain. Some projections for The Bahamas in fifty years show us losing up to 90% of the land mass of Islands such as Grand Bahama (The Fleming Strategy for Grand Bahama Island), the coast of which is not very high above sea level. The Bahamas and the Caribbean by extension have already been warned as to what this is likely to mean for tourism and the displacement of populations.

With the threat of Global Warming being so imminent and pronounced, one would imagine that countries set to suffer most from Climate Change would be doing all that they can to not only sound off at the more industrialized among us but also to set examples as to how to be more environmentally responsible.

There must be a resounding voice, a clear message articulated at December’s meeting, that: just as humanity cannot allow war or greed or oppression nor any other form of injustice to threaten the existence of any nation – heavily industrialized countries cannot be allowed to continue to put at risk the futures of the less developed, the less affluent. Climate Change is this generation’s great cause – a cause this time more universal than the needful fall of Hitler’s regime in their annihilation of the Jews; of slavery and post slavery segregation and colonial apartheid; of even the personal and collective struggle of HIV/AIDS.

Here in The Bahamas, we are all aware of our challenges when it comes to the efficient, responsible and affordable delivery of our energy needs. The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) is of late operating with much borrowing, while having to initiate creative solutions for growing demands for energy consumption in an archipelagic Country.

So as to stress the apolitical nature of present concern, we applaud the Government for their compassionate approach a few months back in attempting to respond to the many households whose power supplies were at threat of being interrupted due to the economic ramifications personally in the lives of many affected by a global recession. Additionally, we applaud both the BEC and Freeport Power for their seeming commitment to researching the possible use of alternative sources of energy as evidence of this Country’s own attempt to cut our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels, demonstrative of our ecological conscientiousness in the mitigation against Global Warming.

Having noted this however, like unexplained hikes in billing at times, we are similarly perplexed as to the proposed plans for the Great Wilson City Power Plant in Abaco. The intended move by BEC and the Government strikes as more than a mystery (as described by columnist Larry Smith) – indeed, it is a grave inconsistency! We need not examine it again in depth, as Larry Smith exercised in surprising fashion a great degree of detailed objectivity in his article, “The Great Wilson City Power Plant Mystery,” found on his web-page http://bahamapundit.com .

We make mention however, that what is proposed is one of the most harmful carbon emitting forms of energy production available because bunker fuel contains the highest levels of impurities imaginable. Not only does this potentially undermine our ability to seriously appeal to the more industrialized nations to cut their emissions, it is environmentally unfriendly. We ask therefore, that the Government through BEC ensures that what is planned for Abaco at the new power plant is indeed, after careful examination, the best option short term and long term for that Island and our Country, and that it is handled in a truly transparent and accountable way.

Having an affiliation with an alternative energy company in the United States, which was in talks with the Schooner Bay Development in Abaco, we can reveal that alternative energy solutions are available for that Island. And while an integrated solution would include wind, solar, thermal energy storage, and a boiler, preferred fuels which are renewable and carbon neutral would be the most suitable to be burned. The Government’s commitment to a project as such would not only send the right kind of message to the Global community but would certainly attract sufficient backing and attention so as to set a trend in the region. This would truly signal that we are prepared to enter the new age of energy production, and to be a part of what the Americans believe will drive the new economy.

Behold I show you a mystery indeed, we are not all asleep. We are awake and watching and in need of answers. After all, the environmental decisions we make today will decide the quality of life to be endured by generations to follow.

Climate Change & Personal Responsibility

There is no more wondrous an experience than when humanity partners with God to do the impossible, whatever we call God, whatever our expression. One of the greater historical examples of such was the coming of age of so many once colonized societies in quest of Independence or greater political freedoms, and likewise the African American civil rights movement for full integration into the American way of life.

At the heart of what swept our World and inspired so many other peoples were men and women so infused with the vision and anti-violent passion of God that old unjust kingdoms fell, giving way to newer more fair nations and truly “first” world democracies. And with this, in some corners of our world eventually new flags were hoisted as symbols of a commitment to social and political equality while in others, walls fell, boundaries were agreed upon, and we were all ushered into a global responsibility for a better appreciation of the rights of all humanity.

The efforts of our fore-parents just one generation removed were typically battles fought to distinguish and celebrate our differences: race, nationality, ethnicity, religion (as examples). Struggle found us therefore at odds, at war, with each other. While in every region, in every way, everyday struggle persists in pursuit of more equitable freedoms for some marginalized group, there is a challenge upon us which affects us all, no matter our differences and therefore presents an opportunity this time to harness our universal energies toward a common cause, in the face of our collective survival.

Notable scientific data makes it clear that it is through the handiwork of humanity that we have so off-set our planetary atmosphere that we are all threatened in some form or another with climate related consequences. Likewise it is only through the handiwork of humanity, all humanity that we can slow down or stabilize the destructive motion of Global Warming, which calls into question eventually our continued relationship with Mother Earth.

Somewhat eclipsed by the untimely death of Michael Jackson, on Friday June 26, 2009, the Obama administration enjoyed somewhat of a victory as Congress by a small margin voted in legislation to give proper attention to that Country’s response to mitigating the effects of climate change. America took a definitive stance on their responsibility to the “green revolution.” And while capitalist America, and a non compliant faction of the GOP used the potential increase in the cost of energy for the consumer, as an argument to try to stall the legislation, the idea of a potentially new industry fueled by “green” jobs in the field of the less harmful production of alternative sources of energy, as well as the urgent responsibility to cut green house gas emissions, proved a weightier argument in the end.

Responding to the slim margin victory, former Vice President of the United States, Nobel Laureate, and leading American advocate on the subject, Al Gore, said among other things, thusly, “I was so pleased to see a majority of the House of Representatives, Republicans and Democrats, vote to pass the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act. The Republican leadership and some on the right have promised "dire consequences" for those who helped to pass this bill, but Michael Gerson, former speechwriter to President George W. Bush, in an op ed in the Washington Post said, "And for the eight House Republicans who took this stand at great political risk, it is not only legitimate – it is admirable." I agree.”

Yet in the midst of these occasional legislative victories in some developed Nations around the World, as a young citizen of The Bahamas, a developing Country whose challenges with Global warming are immediate with the rise in frequency and intensity of hurricanes and tropical storms, and potentially ruinous given our vulnerability in the face of the rise of sea levels, I often wonder if humanity is doing enough.

Were there as many ordinary folk around the world paying as much attention to America’s legislative commitment to the global warming crisis as there were immediate and passionate mourners of the late Michael Jackson? Are there enough persons moved by the human carnage, displacement and uncertainty resulting from Mother Nature’s furious retaliation for our historical collective neglect, and in some cases wanton abuse of the planet we call home?

A few weeks ago I found myself in Michigan, in the company of three extraordinary African Americans, having great conversation over dinner and Bubbles & Berries Martinis. Two were resident in or around Detroit - a retired professor with a Ph.D in History, and a multi million dollar business executive. The other was a highly influential Baptist Minister from Harlem New York who was attending sessions of the National Baptist Congress, while I was drawn there to a small alternative energy company which I helped to co-found.

Being at diverse phases and stages in our lives, each one’s personal emphasis during conversation was of course dissimilar. Our lives had taken different routes to that table where we were in that moment companion sojourners. However, two things made our differences obsolete as we aired our many frustrations with the shortcomings in each of our personal “worlds.” It was our Jesus as Christians that connected us all as the source of our determination to return to our lives more committed than ever to overcoming the impossible. But it was our planet that made our lives and histories universal and continuous in our connectivity.

That experience cemented for me my personal responsibility to the “green revolution.” As I wanted more and more people to be concerned about the potential fate of my Country, The Bahamas in relation to global warming so too did I feel the pain of the distressed inhabitants of Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean or the climate related refugees of sub Saharan Africa or for that matter, the victims of the Gulf Coast, U.S.A., whose lives were lost or uprooted due to vulnerabilities in the face of a seemingly vindictive and violent hurricane Katrina.

It is in response to the magnitude of the pains, fears and monumental challenges surrounding global warming that my faith has come alive. We enter now a period in human history when universally we must raise the consciousness of human heart and mind, this time for a collective mission. Not just a barefoot Hindu now or non-violent marches led by the feet and dreams of African American Baptist preachers and civil rights leaders. But in every corner of our world, every able bodied man, woman and child has thrust upon him/her the responsibility of being a true citizen of the World – our World, in what is fast becoming humanity’s most fierce battle for survival.

As we move toward the United Nation’s draft convention on Climate Change in December of this year, it is my hope that through whichever language we speak and whatever faith we express (even if that faith is in science or logic) that we are not overcome with doubt or fears associated with climate change but rather overcome with a resolve to do all that we must to secure a livable and fully functioning planet Earth for generations to come.

Some generations exist as beneficiaries of the success of generations before them forced to make great sacrifices for a future they would never see. Other generations exist to put in motion solutions to great human challenges which threaten the continuity and quality of life for generations unborn. It is simultaneously in both contexts which those of us alive today find ourselves.

I am certainly inspired and willing to use my God given talents to do my part. Are you?