THANK YOU: Earth Day Volunteers, Exhibitors and OTEP

Thank you to everyone who volunteered and helped us make Green Anguilla’s “Think Globally, Act Locally” the biggest public celebration ever of Earth Day in Anguilla. We had an amazing turnout and great response from the children and teachers that attended. The poems and posters were outstanding – it was so difficult to pick winners because they were all amazing. I believe we’re growing an army of little ‘greenies’ who are now well armed with information and who have a great attitude – that they can make a difference to Anguilla’s future.

We are very grateful for the funding for Green Anguilla’s Earth Day celebration which was provided by the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) as part of an overall programme of activities in Anguilla – organized by the AREO.

LOCAL NEWS: Cutting out plastic waste in Anguilla

I am delighted to report that two of Anguilla’s restaurants as well as our famous Cap Juluca Hotel are making progress with decreasing the amount of plastic waste they produce. Cap Juluca has recently decided to ban the use of plastic and styrofoam for serving their staff meals. This activity is likely to save over 4,000 plastic knives, forks, spoons and plates a week being put into Anguilla’s dump. I‘d also like to recognize Veya Café for being both ground-breaking and inspirational when they became the first café in Anguilla to use biodegradable cups, plates and containers. And this week the SandBar is introducing ‘fallen leaf’ plates and other biodegradables. These items were all purchased from ‘Good-2-Go’ in St. Martin and were imported via the Anguilla National Trust – who would be happy to assist you in buying these products – please call Farah Mukhida, the Executive Director on (264) 497-5297 or email her on antpam@anguillanet.com

IN THE USA: Wind farms boom despite the recession

GRIST reporter Todd Woody reports that the wind-farm boom continued through the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, with a record amount of new capacity added last year in the United States. In fact, wind energy accounted for 39 percent of all new electricity generation that came online in 2009. A record 10,010 megawatts of new capacity was added last year in the United States. He says, “Sure, the renewable energy tax incentives in the Obama stimulus package and various state renewable-energy requirements certainly helped prime the pump. But even absent a national cap on greenhouse-gas emissions, the strength of the wind industry indicates the decarbonization of the economy is already underway, if haltingly. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), 90 percent of new power generation built over the past five years has come from renewables and natural gas. In other words, you are not likely to see many, if any, new coal-fired power plants built in the coming years. California regulators have prohibited big investor-owned utilities from signing long-term contracts for electricity generated by coal plants in places like Utah and Arizona, while the Golden State’s biggest coal-consuming utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has pledged to wean itself from that particular fossil fuel.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: The Soroptimists

The Environment Committee of the Soroptimist Club has been encouraging the use of reusable bags for over a year now. To date, 2000 reusable bags have been imported by the Club and re-sold to grocery stores for sale to the public. Members are asking customers to remember to take the bags when visiting the grocery and if you do take plastic bags, to re-use them for garbage or take them back to the grocery to use again. Many countries around the world have now banned plastic bags or have stopped giving free plastic bags. These countries include China, Ireland, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Canada, Singapore, Kenya, South Africa, and many more. In the region, Curacao has just put a ban on plastic bags and St Maarten is working towards it.

In a small island like Anguilla it should not be difficult to cut down on the amount of bags used by remembering to take re-usable bags to the store and not accepting plastic bags for items that are already bagged like oranges and potatoes.

At the landfill site plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to degrade and then photo-degrade which means they break down into smaller toxic bits that can contaminate soil and water. Every year hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die from eating discarded plastic bags that they mistake for food. On land goats, cows, dogs and other animals can die by accidentally eating plastic bags while foraging for food.

The Soroptimists’ reusable bags are still on sale at many grocery stores and at the Anguilla National Trust office, and now carry the wonderful Green Anguilla logo. Future plans include marketing the bags at more stores and in the hotel boutiques and shops.

DID YOU KNOW?: Solar hot water heaters enjoy duty free status in Anguilla, and solar systems for power generation are charged at only 5%. Both carry an additional 1% Customs service charge, but with these special rates are better investments than you may have realized!

I hope you’ve enjoyed your Green Anguilla newsletter – please pass on to any friends or family who may find it interesting – we would love them to join the Green Anguilla movement, too.

Articles courtesy:

Beth Barry, Renewable Energy Coordinator
Anguilla Renewable Energy Office