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Bermuda’s environmental charities will band together on Friday to celebrate Earth Day – and have urged the public to do their part for the environment.
Greenrock, Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Bermuda National Trust and other groups said they will release a list of 13 different environmental actions that anyone can do on April 22 to help make a difference.
The charity has challenged the public to use reusable bags, collect trash, plant trees, go for a nature walk, use zero-emission vehicles like bicycles, reduce electricity consumption or go meatless.
Eugene Dean, chairman of Greenrock, said: “The Earth Day Challenge is an opportunity for everyone, regardless of age, to engage in some form of environmental action.”
He added: “I’m going to try to do all 13 of them, and I encourage everyone to do what they can.”
Other groups supporting the effort include the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, Beyond Plastics, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce.
Mr Dean said that Earth Day was launched in 1970 and is considered to be the start of the environmental movement.
He said: “Industrialisation and the smell of air pollution was linked to progress, and people had little knowledge of the harmful impact of polluted environments.
“Earth Day was responsible for raising awareness.”
As part of Earth Day, KBB will host clean-ups at 22 sites across the island with the assistance of eight corporate groups and 14 schools with 600 volunteers expected to take part.
Meanwhile Buy Back Bermuda – a collaboration between the Bermuda National Trust and the Bermuda Audubon Society – will formally open the Eve’s Pond Nature Reserve on North Shore in Hamilton Parish.
The property was purchased by the group eight years ago, and over the past two years the area has been cleared of invasive plants and the pond – previously filled in with sand from Flatts Inlet – has been restored.
Myles Darrell, the BNT head of natural heritage, said: “It’s an opportunity to learn more and engage with a beautiful space, made possible by the Buy Back Bermuda Team.”
He added that he was excited that Earth Day would bring people together and hoped it would help the public create positive habits that they can continue well beyond Friday.
Original Link: https://www.royalgazette.com/environment/news/article/20220419/environmental-groups-issue-earth-day-challenge/
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Greater use of renewable energy is a “big ticket” wish for an environmental campaign group, its chairman said today.
Eugene Dean was speaking as he urged residents across the island to switch off their lights at 8.30pm on Saturday to mark this year’s Earth Hour.
Mr Dean explained that the event was marked by millions of people all over the world to “inspire action and encourage us to show our support for the environment and for our planet”.
He added: “Really it’s the Earth that sustains us, so this campaign around Earth Hour is really in support of our future and our sustenance on the planet.
“Although Earth Hour in many regards – the turning off the lights for one hour – is a show of solidarity for people around the world, it’s really more than that.
“It’s also a catalyst for positive change.
“It’s a mobilising initiative that is meant to inspire people to act all throughout the year, to encourage legislative change that helps us to address the issues that we are all aware of as it relates to our one home.”
The campaigner said: “The big ticket item for us right now is really this transition to renewable energy.
“There has been a lot of conversation around it, we would like to see more action.
“We’re involved at a level where we’re doing things to try to push that agenda along because a lot of the environmental challenges that we’re facing now, as it relates to emissions and pollution and the side effects that come from that – the only way we’re going to address that is by dealing with switching to renewable energy.”
Mr Dean said that the Earth Hour Council included representatives from the corporations of Hamilton and St George, the Chamber of Commerce, Wedco and Belco.
He added: “We encourage everyone in the entire country to participate.
“It’s one hour with no power and, no, you don’t have to sit up in your house with all your lights off in complete darkness but we do encourage people to turn off any unnecessary lights, even businesses, even if it’s your outside lights.
“Restaurants we encourage to do things like candlelight dinners.”
Mr Dean said: “The key thing, though, is not just what we do during the hour it’s what we do beyond the hour.
“That’s why this year we’re producing what we’re calling Earth Hour Live, an Earth Hour live broadcast and that’s going to be from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.”
He added that the programme would cover environmental challenges, solutions and work that has already helped to address the problems.
Mr Dean said: “We’ve taken the position that change is possible.
“As Greenrock, our goal is to stand in that position to inspire others to join us in terms of making those changes.
“When we look at carbon emissions in the country, how do we lower them? We can transition into renewable energy generation.
“Our transportation systems are a major contributor to our carbon emissions – how do we get to zero-emission vehicles all throughout the island?
“Food security is a big issue that we face locally and all around the world. How can we use our available land space to grow crops that can sustain and feed us as people?”
Charles Gosling, the Mayor of Hamilton, said that the corporation had backed Earth Hour, now in its fifteenth year in Bermuda, “pretty much from the get-go”.
He added that lights outside City Hall would be switched off for an hour on Saturday from 8.30pm and that the works depot would also be in darkness for the event.
Mr Gosling said that during his tenure, the corporation changed the Bull’s Head car park lights to LED.
He added that solar panels were installed at the works depot and Pier 6 with more planned for Bull’s Head.
The mayor said: “Each and every one of those is going to have a long-term cost-saving impact on the cost of enjoying the city and for the ratepayer.
“We encourage all of our taxpayers to go along with this campaign.”
Mr Gosling said people could use the Earth Hour to think about how they can make commitments to protect the planet.
He added: “We do not have any do-overs with this world.”
Rebecca Martin, marketing and events manager at Wedco, said that a “lights out” event at Dockyard on Saturday would run during Earth Hour.
She explained: “We will encourage all our tenants and businesses in the area to participate as well by turning off all unnecessary lights and electrical fixtures.”
Ms Martin highlighted that restaurants and businesses would still be open as usual.
Original Link https://www.royalgazette.com/environment/news/article/20220321/call-to-switch-off-to-support-earth-hour/
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The MarketPlace today announced it will be offering a 10-cent discount for each reusable bag presented and used at checkout as part of an overall commitment to becoming a more eco-conscience organisation.
Beginning today customers will get 10 cents off their bill for every reusable bag they use when they visit any MarketPlace or Price Rite store. There are no plans to charge for current brown paper bags. As part of the discount offer, The MarketPlace has rolled-out its own line of Bermuda-themed reusable grocery bags made with post–consumed recycled plastic. The reusable bags are available for purchase for $1.99 with new designs set to be released in early 2022.
Seth Stutzman, President of The MarketPlace group, said: “We are rewarding our customers for their efforts and hope that they feel like they’re winning with this offer—they’re helping the environment and saving money at the same time. Although we do not use single-use plastic bags at checkout to bag groceries,we wanted to take our efforts a step further by offering an incentive for our customers to adopt the reusable bag mindset.”
Offering an incentive for customers to use reusable bags is another step towards strengthening The MarketPlace’s commitment to environmental sustainability, and its ambition to creating an eco-friendlier business which benefits the environment whilst adding value for customers. By applying the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) strategy, the retailer has identified four key areas of focus where it can make the most difference, including in-store recycling, in-store product packaging, shipping logistics and availability of more eco-friendly products that promote and encourage 3Rs habits. Over the last year, The MarketPlace installed LED light bulbs throughout all stores and began using compost container packaging made from plants at its salad and food bars.
Mr Stutzman added: “Our efforts during the pandemic have shown that at the heart of The MarketPlace’s core values is caring for the communities we serve, and this includes the environment. As we continue to source sustainable solutions, we recognise that there are many more steps to take. We will continue to evaluate all aspects of our operations as we seek to continually improve. Our commitment will offer assurance to customers that their purchasing decisions are having a positive environmental impact.”
Original TNN Link: The MarketPlace to Offer Discount for Use of Reusable Bags – TNN (tnnbda.com)
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Electricity from Bermuda’s first large-scale solar farm has started to feed into the island’s electricity grid, power firm Belco revealed yesterday.
A Belco spokesman said that the six-megawatt solar farm – on a disused runway at the airport called the Finger – “achieved commercial operation on November 17”.
He added that the 19-acre site, developed by Canadian-based Saturn Power, was “delivering energy to Belco’s electricity grid under the terms of a power purchase agreement”.
The spokesman said: “A team from Belco has been working with the developers on the project for the past four years and building and upgrading the necessary infrastructure to enable the solar farm to deliver energy to the grid.
“This involved a major upgrade to the substation near the airport and cabling infrastructure and associated equipment to allow up to 6MW of electricity to be safely added to the grid.”
Wayne Caines, the president of Belco, said: “This is an exciting development and important milestone for the solar farm developers, for Belco and the people of Bermuda.’
Belco added it would not release the rates paid to the solar farm for its power.
The spokesman added that the combination of the Finger project and rooftop solar panels meant that about 12 megawatts of electricity were generated from sunshine “on good days”.
He said Belco’s daily load was about 70 megawatts at this time of year.
A Saturn Power spokesman later told The Royal Gazette that the company was unable to comment publicly “based on confidentiality agreements”.
Walter Roban, then the Minister of Transport and Regulatory Affairs, said in March 2018 that a solar farm at the airport could be operational by the end of the next financial year.
It was announced in June that year that Saturn Solar Bermuda 1, a subsidiary of Saturn Power, would develop the site.
Mr Roban said that the company was the lowest bidder of nine candidates – six of them Bermudian – at 10.3 cents per kilowatt hour.
He explained that replacement of imported fossil fuel with solar power would keep at least $20 million in the island’s economy over the farm’s lifetime.
Mr Roban added that the scheme would also allow “part of our electricity bills to remain stable for the next 20 years”.
It was announced that the Government would be paid $5,000 per acre in rent for the site.
Documents submitted as part of a Bulk Generation Licence application to the Regulatory Authority, published in August 2019, said: “Saturn Power’s mission is to ensure the safe, efficient and timely installation of the project and long-term operation of the project to exceed the expectations of the Government of Bermuda, the citizens of Bermuda and local agencies.”
The submission included an “expected commercial operation date” of September 2019.
Saturn Solar Bermuda 1 was granted a licence to produce power from April last year.
It emerged in October last year that a contract with Noesis Consulting Limited, a Bermudian company hired to manage the construction of the plant, was pulled.
Noesis launched a $1.3 million legal action against Saturn Solar Developments and alleged that the company suffered damages after it was fired.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Roban’s present ministry, said at the time that the plant would “hopefully” be producing electricity by the end of 2020.
Mr Roban said last August that there had been some infrastructure problems at the 24,000-panel solar farm that had to be resolved.
He added: “Over time those had been sorted out and we look forward to seeing that power contributing to the overall power infrastructure in Bermuda.”
Mr Roban said that the energy would be used to supplement peak load.
He added that there would be “a slight lowering of costs to every electricity user in Bermuda as a result of the solar facility at the Finger”.
Jeanne Nikolai, the Government’s director of energy, said at the time that the developers were “very close” to commissioning.
She added: “It could be as soon as the next few weeks, so that is exciting.”
A home affairs ministry spokesman said this month that the Government was "neither the owner nor the operator, merely the landlord“ at the site and added ”we are not directly involved in the project”.
He added that structural and electrical engineers had “stamped the working drawings and the building control inspections did not reveal anything untoward”.
He said: “Also, as with anything built in our harsh environment, there may be ongoing maintenance issues.
“However, we are not aware of any specific problems regarding the suitability of equipment installed being appropriate for a coastal environment.”
The government spokesman added: “Our only concern is that the project functions as intended and the owner lives up to the other terms of the agreement, which includes delivering power to the grid, the owner paying their rent, and clearing the site once their tenancy concludes.”
Original RG Link: https://www.royalgazette.com/environment/news/article/20211125/airport-solar-farm-goes-on-stream-to-belco-grid/
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An environmental pressure group has appealed to the Government to “take a progressive stance and truly be a role model in the fight against climate change”.
The Bermuda Clean Air Coalition made the call just before next month’s UN Global Climate Change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
Walter Roban, the home affairs minister, will represent Bermuda and the other Overseas Territories at the conference.
A spokesman for the BCAC claimed that Bermuda could “show leadership on the world stage” by moving from the use of heavy fuel oil to lighter diesel.
The group claimed that one pollution testing station near Belco’s main power plant on Serpentine Road in Pembroke had earlier this year recorded sulphur dioxide levels that exceeded UK air-quality targets.
The spokesman said: “Under specific atmospheric conditions, downdrafting appears to bring Belco fumes to ground level not only in Ocean Lane, but Rockville Lane and potentially other areas where there have been reports from residents of strong fume odours causing headaches and nausea, necessitating windows to be kept shut and children to stay indoors.
“In view of this, it is the BCAC's position that only a change in fuel type, away from highly polluting heavy fuel oil to lighter diesel, can at least partially address these problems.”
He added: “The BCAC calls on minister Roban and the Government to take a progressive stance and truly be a role model in the fight against climate change by ensuring that the island moves away from burning heavy fuel oil.”
The group admitted that the Government had taken “an important step” with legislation to bring the island’s emissions limits in line with global standards.
It also praised Belco for its use of new approaches to mitigate its impact, such as a more consistent roof painting policy, the installation of water filtration systems, and the reduction of soot fallout through adjustment of its engines.
But the spokesperson added: “The BCAC questions whether even the global standards are sufficient to prevent health impacts on Bermudians and whether there is a need to introduce stricter standards in Bermuda given the proximity of the power plant to densely populated residential zones and schools.”
The group said that consumers should not be “burdened” with additional fuel costs.
The spokesperson said: “Currently, Belco is permitted by existing regulations to transfer all of its fuel costs and any fuel taxes to the consumer.
“The BCAC calls for the Government to explore ways to achieve more equitable cost sharing – for example whereby the Government reduces its tax component – perhaps offset by the introduction of a carbon tax – and Belco absorbs some of the additional cost of a lighter fuel.”
Nadir Wade, Belco’s managing director of bulk generation, said: “We appreciate the ongoing dialogue with the Bermuda Clean Air Coalition and the community as we work to improve operations at our plant.
“As part of our efforts to achieve higher standards, we continue to assess the fuel used to power the generators in our plant.
“We are acutely aware of the rising cost of fuel and the impact higher prices will have on our customers.”
Mr Wade added: “Our goal at Belco is to become a renewable energy company and we hope to be afforded the opportunity to work with the Regulatory Authority to bring offshore wind turbines to Bermuda as outlined in the Integrated Resource Plan.
“We look forward to ongoing community outreach and engaging with stakeholders as we work towards a clean and sustainable energy future in Bermuda.”
Original RG Link: https://www.royalgazette.com/environment/news/article/20211026/group-calls-on-the-government-to-be-an-environmental-role-model/
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