environment

An Endangered Planet

An Endangered Planet


To be a man is to be limited and mortal. To be on earth is to live within a finite and restricted environment. Life is sustained by a thin belt of atmosphere above a skin of earth crust. The life-support system based on air, earth, and water is delicate, subtly intertwined, and remarkably intricate.
The Need for Limis. The rise of the industrial state, and with it, science and technology, has led us to overlook these conditions of finitude and fragility. We have come to accept theories of progress and of inevitable development that look toward an indefinite improvement of the human condition by continuous economic growth made possible by an endless sequence of technological improvements. We have identified growth and expansion with progress, and we have not acknowledged the existence of any limitations on progress. The decline of an active religious consciousness in our century has reinforced this habit of inattentiveness toward the limits and contingencies that surround our individual and collective presence on earth. In earlier periods of history the active presence of religious thought helped keep alive the distinction between the finite and the infinite.

This Endangered Planet

Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) seeks court order to block release of costs report

I shall attempt to unpack the Caribbean Utilities Companies situation here in the Cayman Islands, as well that of its majority shareholder Fortis Inc of Canada. https://www.fortisinc.com which owns at least 60% of Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd.

“Realise therefore, that over half of every dollar of Caymanians hard earned money ends up in the pockets of Fortis Inc. Shareholders.”

In fact, the total foreign ownership of Caribbean Utilities Company is in the vicinity of 81%.

Cayman Compass Article

FortisBC will Invest Close to $700 Million to Reduce GHG Emissions and Lower Energy Costs for Customers

Reducing energy use is a key pillar in the company’s goal to lead the clean energy transformation in BC Canada.

FortisBC will invest a record CA$694.8 million to help customers reduce their energy use over the next four years, a key pillar in the company’s goal to lead the clean energy transformation in B.C. The investment will allow FortisBC to shift its efforts to more advanced energy-efficiency initiatives, build new energy-saving programs and work with Indigenous communities to develop targeted programs for their unique needs.

It is indeed interesting to note the difference between Fortis Inc’s policies in Canada and their regional policies in The Cayman Islands, The Turks & Caicos Islands and Belize.

In British Columbia (BC) Canada FortisBC will invest CA$694.8 million to help customers reduce their energy use over the next four years, a key pillar in the company’s goal to lead the clean energy transformation in B.C.

In the Cayman Islands however Caribbean Utilities Company is seeking court action to block the public release of a pair of reports containing details of its costs and the capacity of the Cayman Islands power grid to add new renewable energy.

Public sector transparency watchdog, the Ombudsman, had ordered the release of the reports following a protracted Freedom of Information dispute.

In a ruling which also highlighted concerns over apparent conflicts of interest involving Grand Cayman’s monopoly utility company, the Ombudsman decided in February that the two documents should be released.

The differences in policy between the way customers are treated by Fortis Inc in BC Canada, and how they are treated in the Caribbean by their subsidiary Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd (as well as Fortis Inc’s Belize and Turks & Caicos operations) leads to only one possible conclusion which is that their Cayman Islands operation is exceedingly profitable, and that they will do everything possible to maintain their monoply. The fact that the cost of living in the Cayman Islands is the highest in the world is obviously meaningless to the management of Caribbean Utilities Company as they are at heart Capitalists whose only care is Fortis Inc shareholder profits.

Cleaning Water Naturally the Ancient Maya Way

Cleaning Water Naturally the Ancient Maya Way | Scientific American

Water is life. That’s why we need to take care of it. Even plentiful water supplies are moot if they are undrinkable. Climate change, pollution and growing populations only add to the urgency of maintaining adequate water supplies and water quality for humanity.

After doing archaeology for 35 years in Belize, focusing on the ancestral Maya, I have learned a great deal about living sustainably with water. I’ve learned that they lived in better harmony with the environment and kept water clean naturally. We can learn from them. We must.

(https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cleaning-water-naturally-the-ancient-maya-way/)