Caymanians fear climate change will impact their lives
(CNS): The cost of living may be the most pressing issue facing the people of the Cayman Islands right now but climate change is also ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ important to the majority of people who took part in a recent government survey on the topic. Of the 1,085 people who answered all the questions, 80% said they were concerned that climate change will impact them personally at some point in their lives. More than a quarter said over-development is Cayman’s most pressing problem.
The survey was facilitated by the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency to evaluate and measure local climate change knowledge, attitudes and practices as part of the ongoing national Climate Change Risk Assessment. The anonymous digital survey was open for four weeks and 1,085 people took part; about three-quarters of them were Caymanian or permanent residents. According to the report, 924 respondents answered every question in each section.
The results showed that over 60% of people don’t have enough information to prepare for what might happen but over half of them believe the government should be responsible for tackling the impacts. However, most respondents said they trust climate change information from scientists and environmental groups rather than the government.
Around 90% of people said that they had noticed coastal erosion and beach loss in Cayman, and around 80% said the weather was hotter here and that rain patterns had changed. Over 80% of respondents associated climate change with sea level rise and loss of coral reefs. But most of those who took part (90%) believe the impact of climate change in the Cayman Islands can be tackled.
The ministry welcomed the survey results and officials said in a press release that the number of respondents exceeded the goal of 400 people taking part to get a meaningful measure of public insight and opinion and mirrored participation levels in similar surveys in European countries.
Ministry Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn said there was a high level of awareness and concern about climate change in the Cayman Islands community. She said the insights would be “incredibly valuable to our efforts to update the 2011 Draft Climate Change Policy” and the development of public awareness and education initiatives related to climate change.
While the full Climate Change Risk Assessment report is expected next month, a technical working group spearheaded by the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency is working to update the 2011 Draft Climate Change Policy by the end of 2022.
“In an effort to have an updated policy to Cabinet by the end of the year, the technical working group recently presented Caucus with our ambitious schedule of stakeholder consultation and public meetings. Working closely with the climate change risk assessment stakeholder group, our aim is to have a working draft finalised for public review and input by October 2022,” Ahearn said.
“I know the level of ongoing projects can sometimes feel overwhelming but public participation is essential to developing inclusive, holistic policy and we hope to see a high level of turnout at the public meetings once those dates are announced next month,” she added.
See the full survey in the CNS Library.
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Category: Climate Change, Science & Nature
No kidding when your government allows the destruction of Natural buffers like mangroves.
And when it all goes wrong and we get smashed to bits by a hurricane, the same rich developers will be the first off the sinking ship.
I first hear of the Ozone Layer opening up in the 90’s, it’s still opens and closes yearly over the Antarctica, which is safe enough to say it’s a natural phenomenon. And then Global Warming and now Climate Change, Heatwave and Flooding. None of the above is caused by Humans. We need to stop blaming fossil fuels, green gas and gasoline motor vehicles, for what we experience today. The Earth has been doing these great natural phenomenons for billions of years and it is for reason’s beyond human comprehension, regardless of what Scientist and Environmentalist want to say. The Earth is perfectly fine, we cannot fix what we can’t control. Electric Cars, solar panels, zero emissions or whatever that they can come up with next would not changed anything. We would still have floodings, heavy rains, heatwaves, Snow Storms, Ozone layer opening and closing, hurricane’s, Earthquakes, and tsunami’s, These natural phenomenons can be more active some years than others, even in decades. Once again we as Humans done nothing to disturb the balance of the Earth, what we see today has happened for generations, regardless of what some people say that is trying to make it seem like it’s something new or different. The Earth knows what it’s doing, these natural phenomenons are necessary for the earth and humans and every living thing. We must stop trying to control the Earth, we all live and die, but mother nature would continue to do what it’s been doing for billions of years.
Agree. There are well-documented cycles which affect the Earth. That’s not to say that people don’t screw up the environment everywhere in which they gather.
Here is a recent story which asserts that the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane season is early, due to climate change. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/16/atlantic-hurricane-season-starting-earlier/10337612002/ It is NOT “early”. For decades, there have been Atlantic tropical cyclones in June, and even earlier. There are well documented cycles, including the ENSO, the PAC, the solar cycles, including sunspot cycles: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364682616302012
I wish we would focus on conservation — cleaning up the groundwater, land, seas, and air. Helping to create more energy systems to help us all get off fossil fuels. Preservation of forests and wetlands. Alas, that doesn’t make billions of dollars for anyone.
Beaumont, how can humans screw up something they can’t control, people going on talking nonsense about fossil fuels is causing climate change, the climate always changes. Example the day is sunny and all of sudden it rains with no dark clouds the temperature drops, that’s a change in the climate. Again there is nothing wrong with fossil fuels, what you see happening today has happened 100’s of years ago, it’s just that our generation was not here, going back in history can show you that these floodings, heatwaves, snow storms etc. Has happened before, we can’t fix something we can’t control and Mother nature is one of them. Read about Pompeii, there were no fossil fuels or green gases back then and it was a normal day and suddenly the Skies became dark and in the afternoon the Volcano erupted. That was a natural phenomenon, we have no control over Earth, the Earth take care of itself.
“Example the day is sunny and all of sudden it rains with no dark clouds the temperature drops, that’s a change in the climate.”
That would be a change in the weather you absolute donkey.
This a very popular and very wrong perspective.
Turn off Fox News. Read a book. Listen to real scientists.
Yes, climate change is real and is affecting/will affect us all, some perhaps more than others.
I understand, appreciate and accept every reason to protect the environment. Having originally been inspired while at the Cayman Islands High School by the old “ecology” movement of the early 1970s (Google), I am an original supporter of environmental protection.
However, only recently in my lifetime have any meaningful options to a main destroyer of the environment, the consumption of fossil fuels, become available, even now not yet generally available. So, I’m among the generations who actively contributed to the situation our planet now faces.
For my business I still have to use gas-guzzling vehicles because there are no other options in that market. Personally, I continue to use two 20 year old vehicles (one truck and one convertible) for which there are no available or affordable electric replacements; I’ve never owned a boat. Ok, call me hypocritical for using 20 year old vehicles instead of way more costly newer, more fuel-efficient ones which I can’t comfortably afford. My home is still dependent on CUC or a diesel-burning generator because I can’t afford the initial cost and absorb the ROI period on an appropriate solar panel system.
I bought my home and an adjoining parcel thirty years ago and what was green is still green, in fact, I’ve added significant greenery instead of concrete or processed wood. I have never sought any permit to erect any sea-wall or remove any mangrove.
So, while my heart has been/is in the right place, I’m unable to do very much personally to counteract the main causes of climate change. Factor my situation by many people in Cayman.
So, as far as Cayman’s residents are individually concerned, there’s little that the general population can do.
What we do need though, is a national approach underpinned by serious environmental protection policies. Our legislators and public administrators need to, respectively, create and implement good policies against, primarily over-development, careless development and un-authorized development. There needs to be a cap on some types of development and others paced over the least impactive time-frames. The shell of the old Hyatt Regency remains with us, with potential to re-develop (?). After the two hotels presently under construction in Dixie and the unnamed one near the Kimpton, there should be no more hotel developments approved for a certain term. Such was the much respected moratorium of the 1980s before it was lifted to allow the Marriott and was never reinstated. However, it’s disappointing to read that the reference polling indicates that my sentiments are among only “more than a quarter”.
Also, the said legislative and administrative ‘powers-that-be’ need to get serious (not continued lip service) about a good public transport system. Lessen the public need to buy and use less private vehicles! That would ease the traffic problems, as acknowledged, thus lessening environmental impact. These may be the two largest and most approachable contributions our Government could do towards climate resiliency.
Yet, per Saunders and Bryan the Government seems to have quickly re-directed its focus to building more highways to accommodate more traffic and destroying more of the natural environment in the process!
For many years to come, Cayman’s climate resiliency and all factors involved in that will depend on the voters. I believe Premier Panton’s personal commitment to environmental protection but I fear, for now, his wishes are superseded by the starry-eyed ones in his circle. They see personal opportunity!
Don’t be so quick to offer Panton excuses! If this meant anything to him he would either fire a couple ministers or resign and cause a new election! Instead he calmly folds his arms and pretends he doesn’t see what’s going on! His “bigging up” of his Government at the press briefing last week was nauseating at best. Grow a pair Wayne seriously !!! This isn’t what you stand for and now you just look weak!
A balanced explanation of climate change from MIT professor: https://youtu.be/RCgEAmr42yI
CNS: NASA – Do scientists agree on climate change?
“Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change. Most of the leading science organizations around the world have issued public statements expressing this, including international and U.S. science academies, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a whole host of reputable scientific bodies around the world. A list of these organizations is provided here.”
If 97% of climate scientists are in agreement, that means 3% aren’t. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that many climate denying climate scientists (the extreme outliers) and the platforms that give them an outsized voice, are totally funded by, or receive significant funding from, the fuel industry, which pours millions into PR so it doesn’t lose trillions in profits. Here’s more on Richard Lindzen.
Really CNS? If the 3% are funded by the fuel industry, then please elaborate on just who is funding the other 97%?
CNS: Who do you think is funding it and why?
The other 97% are likely funded by the WEF who want to use it to exercise control for the great reset.
Island of concrete and cars..
Yep, people have forgotten the island that time forgot.
Duhhhhhhh Ya think! But let’s keep building right CIG ?
Not only Caymanians will be affected, everyone living here will.
9:14, Non-Caymanians will be the first to leave like they did after Ivan and it will be us to clean up the mess.
Problem is you can’t / won’t be able to clean it up this time.
https://youtu.be/–QS_UyW2SY
Jordan Peterson interview on current predicaments.
Have a watch and enlighten yourself.
CNS: But first read this – ‘Word salad of nonsense’: scientists denounce Jordan Peterson’s comments on climate models
Caveat: 1) The article is six months old. 2) I didn’t watch the video. 1&2) JP has been spinning the same twaddle for years.
Bernard Schiff, a former colleague of JP at the University of Toronto, wrote in The Toronto Star in 2018: “I was once [JP’s] strongest supporter. That all changed with his rise to celebrity. I am alarmed by his now-questionable relationship to truth, intellectual integrity and common decency, which I had not seen before. His output is voluminous and filled with oversimplifications which obscure or misrepresent complex matters in the service of a message which is difficult to pin down. He can be very persuasive, and toys with facts and with people’s emotions. I believe he is a man with a mission. It is less clear what that mission is.”
Jordan Peterson is yet another grifting clown. Al Gore was right and we all ignored his warnings. We have also ignored Carl Sagan’s warnings, and yet, here we are.
A planet filled with an insatiable appetite for resources, power, money and things we desire that continue this death spiral to oblivion of our species.
Jordan Peterson is ridiculous. Sure, he’s the go-to hack regarding the horrifying existential threat of pronouns. But to cite him in a climate change discussion is hilarious.
He is a waste of time, a fountain of shrill rants about nothing. He’s the patron saint of moral panics.
Almost everywhere in the world is experiencing some climate change related challenges. That said, countries like the Cayman Islands have some unique challenges and I would encourage everyone to take the steps needed to globally diversify their portfolios.
We don’t offer the world enough for them to take out well-being into account. Pay more for energy or let cayman slowly succumb to the sea? What do you think will happen?
Climate change affects the poor quite a bit more, but sure, lets tell those struggling to eat that the portfolios have been diversified.
Diversifying my portfolio as the river bringing water to our crops and drinking water dries up
wow…a survey?…thanks for that.
too little too late for caymanian poorly educated mla’s who have spent decades literally sticking their heads in the sand regarding climate risks…..
just another day in wonderland.
We all see and smell the dump everyday and we can’t solve that issue, much less prepare for something that isn’t as obvious to most people.
That dump isn’t going to get fixed until there is a island wide work strike and I suspect it will take similar measures to continue to motivate politicians to back up their promises with substance. We have to find a way to really hold the ppl that represent us accountable or the status quo will continue. And by status quo I mean if cayman was a car it’s been driven by immature selfish children for decades. It’s time to let the adults get us headed in the right direction. The problem is, this island is full of kids.
Have you driven by the dump lately and seen the work being done by our friends at DART?
Lots of things in shops on the Brac are double and more than Grand
. That’s a big problem on the Brac.
Prices on any mainland are always cheaper.
Perhaps stopping facilitating the world’s rich pay tax which would fund climate initiatives would be a start?
Makes way too much sense, probably never going to happen.
It’s not the Rich or Climate change that Caymanians should fear, it is the wholesale invasion of Jamaicans and our Jamaican vote hungry politicians.
I know things aren’t great there and people have changed due to poverty, but they are people looking for somewhere better/safer to live. Their behavior can be very ratchet but if that’s all they know? BTW, Jamaica now is not what it used to be. With all that’s going on, Cayman could very well become just like Jamaica considering Caymanians can’t find work and cant afford to keep up with the current cost of living …
It could get very rough here.
What about the brits and Americans coming here with their disgusting cultural habits making office environments damn near impossible to endure, giving us culture shock in our own home, and paying salaries that could only support addicts; while breathing down our backs every 2 seconds. Caymanians are overworked, overlooked and verbally abused until they walk out. Then they bring in expats and give them better salaries while they are allowed to slack off and delegate while being rewarded with promotions. They get relocation packages while no one bothers to check if locals need a salary advance to help get on their feet assuming everyone here is financially stable. Grown people are taking home 35,000 a year at some of these big firms. AND if you are a well paid Caymanian you would be lucky to tuck your kids in at night or you’re probably living through the most difficult days of your life. You either eat and not see your family or see your family and not eat. Meanwhile, your boss has no empathy cause his wife is home with the kids and nanny, and he doesn’t want to see them anyway. And his wife just wants the money so she doesn’t care if he comes home either. We know this is not our standard and we love our families. They love their dog(s), who btw just needs a pee pad and a bowl, while their kids are neglected but somehow they manage to find time to teach them to be racist which shows up in schools like Cayman Prep and CIS! AND your children are so wild and ill-mannered. Oh, they’ll grow out of it they say or…. or…… someone is going to slap the sh@t out of them one day. So crazy you are!
I don’t think many people are inspired to be a part of corporate Cayman or Cayman as a whole, to be honest! The job duties are endless and they call it “cross-training”. It’s repulsive. Gone are the days when you go to work and actually do your own work! When was the last time someone received a comprehensive job description? On top of that how do we relax outside the office when you cant use the beach… oh wait, what beach? Cant buy land or a home. Cant afford to eat! Expats treat you like crap at restaurants. Excuse me, you are working in the bar/restaurant all high and mighty and you are too good to treat me like a decent human being? I think not. No tip for you! I think it’s time to go. Only a small percentage of our children can/will have a future here.
Stop worrying about Jamaicans – we are very much Jamaica and have forgotten our roots. We are a colorful country or we used to be. Now we’re just puppets watching other people enjoy our home. Pity!
I was going to almost feed this troll, but resisted all temptation.
As a Caymanian, I find this diatribe tasteless, uninformed and without merit.
There are good locals and expats on this island. Sometimes an attitude adjustment can go a long way.
So simple minded that you are blinded.
You have more in common with the poor than you ever will with the wealthy.
Only 1,085 took part in the survey, it skews very much to those who already care about the subject.
Sadly the other 98 percent of Caymanians do not care as much about climate change.
Same reason we shouldn’t allow the two percent of eco-nuts control and govern the world.
This lack of thinking is endemic to this country. Congrats on your clown award.
So you enjoy rising sea levels, melting polar ice caps, increasing air, land and sea pollution and exploitation of every last natural resource until the world becomes inhabitable?
Cool.
5:38, that will be a Jamaican or Hondurans fault to the vast majority of unedumacated eejits that wote.
No. They made their homelands uninhabitable even before the effects of climate change.
Beach erosion and higher tides are a given.
come back in 10 yrs and see it. Most homes will be on the water line and below by then.
Cayman nor the world can fix it , silly
Actually, planting mangroves and letting them grow, in conjunction with healthy reefs, would allow the islands to keep pace with sea level rise and allow the islands to continue – although every couple of hundred years the inhabited areas would need to be planted with mangroves and rotated into existing mangroves. Snail shells, crab shells, barnacles, sargassum trapped in root systems, leaf litter and the like will all combine to raise and create new land – but only if we let it. I disturbed mangrove fringed islands in the pacific have actually been growing over the last century, despite sea level rise.
But of course this option will not fit with the “let’s develop the pristine central mangroves” narrative.
Both you and Elvis are correct, but the concrete jungle must grow for the profits and stonks
Mangroves do nothing for the coasts.
Madness. An existential threat to Cayman and you preach insanity.
By the way, healthy mangroves increase land levels by as much as 5mm/year and therefore can outpace sea level rise (but only if you don’t kill them).
“Caymanians fear climate change will impact their lives”
Great to see we’re still living on planet earth then.
What’s the point of these surveys when government still clearing trees for more roads and for more development?
Remember when cost of living goes up, somebody makes more money.
Hopefully, but not always the case. Very possible for everyone to have lss.