THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE GOVERNMENT signed an agreement under the Kyoto protocol to move aggressively to significantly reduce pollutants that cause green house gases by year 2010. We are now in mid 2006 and there are still no significant signs of anything being done to lessen the emissions or our dependence on the ballooning cost and the effects of imported oil.
Is the government aware that the price of oil will never go down and will only increase and the only ones who must pay is ultimately the already overburdened and overtaxed consumer?
The Government says it will be divesting its 20 per cent shares in JPS. Why does it continue to protect this entity and disregard the plight of Jamaicans? They intend to ask Jamaicans to purchase their 20 per cent shares in JPS to raise capital to fill the hole in the budget. I pray that no one buys any. Why not sell it all to Mirant? I bet they would not buy them.
LEGALISE 'NET METERING'
It is full time for the Government to legislate into law, 'net metering', remove all import duties on all renewable energy systems, and make it mandatory for all new housing schemes, Government buildings, schools and hospitals to retrofit with photovoltaic (solar energy) as the primary source for electricity.
In fact, all houses should be retrofitted with solar panels and the Government should assist homeowners with the financing with National Housing Trust (NHT) and National Insurance Fund (NIF) money. JPS would be used as a back up for providing the grid. The turbines would operate less and ultimately less oil burnt.
Countries such as Japan and Germany and regions of the United States (California) are rapidly converting to solar energy and allow tax credit incentives for people that convert to alternate energy.
Jamaica has a distinct advantage with an abundance of the sunlight (energy), with its close proximity to the equator, having longer hours and intensity of sunlight than many of these countries. Experts in the industry say that solar energy is the obvious choice if the cost for producing a kW of energy is US.23 cents or more. We currently pay more than that in Jamaica.
FREE OURSELVES
Doesn't it make sense to start the process and free ourselves from Mirant and the expense of imported oil and take advantage of our natural resource. The benefits of using solar are enormous; it is non-polluting, free, silent, abundant and unending.
Remember when the Jamaica Telephone Company was the sole provider of telephone service? Look at the results and the benefits to consumers because of the competition from Digicel and others. The rest of the world has seen the train coming and is getting out of the way by using renewable energy; we seem to be heading for a direct crash into the train.
Let us take the bull by the horn and do the right thing for God's sake.
I am, etc.,
ERROL HANNA
pscresort@hotmail..com
P.O. Box 1008
Kingston 8
