The voice of reason
The Green Hornet writes: As I watch the latest shenanigans in the legislature, I am struck by the complete and utter lack of comprehension of the current climate crisis demonstrated by those who purport to represent the people of the Cayman Islands. With their decision to go ahead with the East-West Arterial construction without an environmental impact assessment, these so-called representatives have demonstrated yet again that all they represent are the vested interests of those with the biggest bankrolls.
They also have repeated the mantras that it will “solve the traffic crisis” and “we don’t need mangroves; we’ve always filled them in to build our houses” often enough that it seems they have come to believe it — as have many of their followers.
They choose to be oblivious to the fact that the planet is burning. So let me remind them of just a few simple facts:
- Temperatures are reaching record levels every day — all over the world.
- Floods are destroying crops and lives from Kenya to Bangladesh to Turkey.
- Wildfires rage from California to Australia.
- Glaciers are rapidly disappearing.
- The Arctic ice cap is vanishing.
- Sea levels are rising — islands are disappearing.
- Global warming is accelerating species extinction.
- Severe droughts on every continent.
And what, exactly, are they doing to help Cayman deal with what is coming? Absolutely nothing (apart from reports and studies). They just want to build a 10-mile freeway through the Central Mangrove Wetlands so they and their buddies can access their land and build lots of subdivisions (building subdivisions being part of Caymanian DNA). And, of course, make lots of money for our ruling class and their financial sector buddies.
It is true that humans have learned little or nothing from their past experiences. It’s almost 20 years since Cayman was trashed by Hurricane Ivan. At the storm’s peak, Grand Cayman was close to 90% under water. Had the tide been rising, not falling, that would have been 100%. Yet, driven by the financial sector and its dodgy investment funds, we strive to pour concrete on every living thing and pretend that hurricanes, as they continue to increase rapidly in strength and power, don’t exist — just like all the other non-existent impacts of global warming.
So, here’s a suggestion. Instead of starting the billion-dollar freeway (Yes, folks, that’s our projected final cost of this boondoggle), why not take the same money and fix the dump? That’s projected to cost about the same.
And here’s a wee reminder of Cayman post-Ivan flooding. The brown bits are not under water.
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Category: development, Local News, Viewpoint
I am sure this will not go down well but the planet has gone through heating and cooling periods since geographic time began.
It has to do with variations of our orbit around the sun combined with variations in the tilt of the planet during these oscillations.
It is probable that we are increasing that heating but on a geographical time frame it is not even verifiable.
The sun is expanding and will melt our planet long before it even reaches us.
The main reason for eliminating carbon elements from humanity would be to make the air we breathe sustainable for as long as we inhabit the earth.
By land in the Rockies
Spot on says the Cayman Mon.
Mangroves don’t stop flooding. They can knock down a wave but will not stop the water level from rising. I know it’s shocking because you’ve been told mangroves are practically like water tight dams. I’m not sure who needs to hear this but it seems like quite a few.
What I find interesting from the map is that the Central Mangrove Wetlands and the inland areas that have mangroves was some of the most flooded areas. The coastal areas except for the very thin SMB area were all of the areas that didn’t flood. In West Bay and in the Eastern Districts and North Side the coast didn’t flood. Kind of makes you question the mangrove value against the flooding when you actually take an objective look.
Elevation
Mangroves like to grow in the low spots=the flooded areas.
Dear 9:43pm, Mars is already quite dead.
Earth is still very much alive, just not as healthy (due to human activity of course).
“Such is the human race, often it seems a pity that Noah… didn’t miss the boat.”-Mark Twain
They people in the government should watch this movie called “Don’t look up” with Leonardo di Caprio.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SL9aJcqrtnw
Has anyone in Parliament had enough sense to realize that the people that will be affected by the installation of the highway, might want to actually know HOW EXACTLY will the highway affect their property??
Yes, we are worried about traffic congestion, but if my property value is negatively affected by potential increased flooding due to highway acting as a dam and blocking the water from passing through the area, would we not want to know how likely that scenario is?
One more question: Does Stan Thomas own land at the end of this section of the highway that those politicians want to be built without the EIA?
Good questions, Mr. Anonymous. It’s obvious that no one in government cares about hardly anything concerning the people. They are only interested in “WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME”! Of course that is just my belief……and maybe a few thousand others.
Stan is long dead…. Just sayin…
Weather is what’s happening today, climate is what’s happening over an extended period of time. Please stop trying to use daily weather to debunk the scientifically well documented change occurring to climate on our amazing God given living planet. But this EWA, which could become a lifeline for the east and ease traffic going home in the afternoon will also become a near term environmental hydrological failure (and long term contribution to climate change and death of our marine habitat) if we do not protect the Central Mangrove Wetlands from development before building the EWA. ENORMOUS volumes of rain water pass through this lowland carrying crucial nutrients into North Sound’s fish nursery each year. I beg you to pause, do the EIA and heed the anticipated advice that it will likely give to NOT use it to access anything north of the EWA into the CMW and to provide ample drainage under the road to the south. This huge decision will affect future Caymanians forevermore.
Why? Why? Why? CIG please stop allowing the destruction of our natural environment.
When we destroy our natural environment, then we are going to bite off the hand that is feeding us.
I am a Caymanian who has traveled the world quite extensively. I have seen beaches that are equivalent to our 7, 5, or 4 Mile Beach that we have, water that are just as crystal clear with abundance of marine life, friendlier people, prices that are much lower and tourism products that are equal to the quality that we brag about here, and that are doing everything possible to preserve their culture, their heritage and their natural environment for their people and generations to come.
Cayman isn’t all that it use to be and because of GREED our islands are losing their ‘appeal’. Who do we think are going to suffer most when God forbid tourism crumbles, then the economy and then the social fabric of our society?
People wake up and understand that we MUST make it known to CIG, MoP, Real Estate Moguls, Foreign Wealthy Investors that their time is now limited and their BS is not going to be accepted any longer.
Who and why are we developing these islands for? Rest assured the economical hardships, the wraft of mother nature and the downfall of these beloved islands are coming if we do not change our ways and mindset.
My heart truly cries out for our people especially the young and the generations to come. I doubt they will ever have the privilege of understanding how beautiful these islands were and certainly Google will do them no justice.
I pray that we understand that our government – past and present – will be held accountable for the destruction of the Cayman Islands. What a hell of a legacy these people will have to bear.
Temperatures are reaching record levels every day — all over the world. – BS. highs and lows are recorded all the time, nothing is new or accelerating. Show the data, not your hysterical doomsday propaganda.
Floods are destroying crops and lives from Kenya to Bangladesh to Turkey. – Floods have occurred since the beginning of time
Wildfires rage from California to Australia. – False, Australian and many California fires is arson, and may of the non arson is due to idiotic forestry management and pruning.
Glaciers are rapidly disappearing. – False
The Arctic ice cap is vanishing. – False
Sea levels are rising — islands are disappearing. – Demonstrably False and complete bullshit (please provide location and time of test sample, and tell us exactly how high the seas have risen since then)
Global warming is accelerating species extinction. – Absolute bullshit, show the evidence.
Severe droughts on every continent. – Nothing new since the last 10,000 years or so.
Ah, another global warming denier. Wake me up as you go under with the rest of the plunderers
You and those like you, who lack the sand to do scientific research on your own, always resort to strawman arguments, insults, and appeals to authority logical fallacies. You know who first coined the term, ‘global warming denier’? No, of course you don’t. It was Al Gore. Starting to get the picture?
If you have the grit to seek the truth, please do so, and cease parroting the sociological/political memes and paradigms. The truth is there, in black and white for anyone to see.
I urge you to not hang your hat on the IPCC, or the UN in general, who manipulates (still!) data to fit the hypothesis. The people deserve the truth, and repeating a series of nested lies will never lead to it.
Now, cue the parrot who tells me that “97% of all scientists support AGW and climate change”, without ever once wondering where that errant statistic came from. There is a starting place for you. Research where that figure came from. It will open your eyes, if you dare to be truthful with yourself.
Conservation and cleanup is vitally necessary. Never stop vying for the protection of your ecology. That is what truly matters.
All best, and good heart with your research.
Research done, your wrong.
Climate change does exist, or don’t you believe there have been ice ages?
Everyone knows climate change occurs, except you apparently.
The argument is around man’s affects on the climate.
Sad!
Whenever an anti-science kook brings up Al Gore you know it’s a lost cause. Just another zombie who surrendered to conservative propaganda long ago. Lost cause, can’t be saved. Sad.
For the record, the phrase “global warming” has been around since the 70s, long before Al Gore began to draw attention to this problem. And besides, who cares what Al Gore said or didn’t say? He was a politician. This is a matter of science so we should listen to scientists. And the scientists say loud and clear that we are in trouble.
We are rapidly modifying the environment that we depend on to live. I know that people like you think that food comes from grocery stores And water is something that comes out of pipes but, believe it or not, there’s a thing called nature, which we are a part of and depend on to live.
#lame
That is, I suppose, what you consider research. Pretty sorrowful. You would rather parrot talking points than conduct actual research. I get it. Being on the winning side is more important to you than the truth. You are far from alone.
Peer-reviewed, FOR YOU, because your peers appear in the same boat.
Have some guts. Do some real research. You don’t have to get back to me. I just want you to know for yourself. No need to subsequently apologise.
Look, there is no doubt that humanity ruins the ecology of everywhere they go. Want to guess why the movement changed from “global warming” to “climate change”? Want a hint? It is because global warming involved measurable parameters and constants that were not in any way consistent with IPCC model ‘projections’.
Climate change is real. It has always been real. Global warming isn’t a fact, it’s a religion.
You need to check off your “rationale” against this table. Maybe you missed a couple of points. lol
https://skepticalscience.com/argument.php?f=percentage&fbclid=IwAR2CoD4Idca5uFLqboe3M6MHpGylaphX3KhPEKHEi-7bQixit9WmOHGTDlw
Key West, my guy.
If Fox “News” or some oil company is paying you to post absurd disinformation like this, ok I get it. Everybody’s gotta make a living, I suppose. But if you’re doing it for free, as in you are so brainwashed as to actually believe it, then you are lost.
Future generations will look back at people who believed climate change was a hoax and wonder how so many brains could’ve been so thoroughly turned to mush. Tragic.
#lame
keep drinking the Kool aid. keep drinking. LOL
Where are you living ? Mars ?
@12:58:
Oh… so it is all BS?
Scientific analysis of satellite imaging and geophysical surveying over the last 40 years shows a clear and consistent trend of glaciers retreating and ice caps melting. The rate of melting has increased over time, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming decades.
Satellite imagery and geophysical surveying have allowed scientists to track changes in glacier size/depth and ice cap coverage and thickness over time. By comparing images and measurements taken years apart, they can measure the rate at which ice is melting and the extent to which glaciers are retreating. The data shows that glaciers have been shrinking in size and retreating at an accelerating pace since the 1970s.
The melting of ice caps and glaciers is a significant contributor to rising sea levels, which is a global concern. As ice melts, it adds water to the ocean, causing sea levels to rise. This poses a threat to low-lying coastal areas and small island nations such as ours. We are at risk of flooding and being submerged by rising sea levels.
I am not saying that the cause is largely anthropogenic. There may be no way to conclusively determine that. It may be that it is anthropogenic, in which case we might be able to do something about it. Or, it might be that the Earth is just going through another warming cycle that humans have not created and are powerless to stop. Maybe Mother Nature is getting ready to say Buh-bye to humans like she did to the dinosaurs and we need to prepare for a human extinction event. We are going away but no need to pack any bags…
Below are references to a few of many many peer reviewed sources.
Since you say it is BS, if you have credible peer-reviewed refutations of the studies and reports below, we shall be glad to review them.
–Kääb, A., Leprince, S., & Arnaud, Y. (2019). ICEsat‐2 satellite mission to provide unprecedented insights into ice sheet and glacier elevations, changes, and processes. Eos, 100.
–Gardner, A. S., Moholdt, G., Cogley, J. G., Wouters, B., Arendt, A. A., et al. (2013).
A Reconciled Estimate of Glacier Contributions to Sea Level Rise: 2003 to 2009. Science, 340(6134), 852–857.
–Zemp, M., Frey, H., Gärtner-Roer, I., Nussbaumer, S. U., Hoelzle, M., Paul, F., et al. (2015).
Historically unprecedented global glacier decline in the early 21st century. Journal of Glaciology, 61(228), 745–762.
–Mouginot, J., Rignot, E., & Scheuchl, B. (2014). Sustained increase in ice discharge from the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, from 1973 to 2013. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(5), 1576–1584.
–Bolch, T., Kulkarni, A., Kääb, A., Huggel, C., Paul, F., Cogley, J. G., et al. (2012).
The state and fate of Himalayan glaciers. Science, 336(6079), 310–314.
–Gardner, A. S., Moholdt, G., Cogley, J. G., Wouters, B., Arendt, A. A., et al. (2013).
A Reconciled Estimate of Glacier Contributions to Sea Level Rise: 2003 to 2009. Science, 340(6134), 852–857.
–IPCC. (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
–Joughin, I., Smith, B. E., & Medley, B. (2014).
Marine Ice Sheet Collapse Potentially Underway for the Thwaites Glacier Basin, West Antarctica. Science, 344(6185), 735–738.
Likewise, analysis of global ocean water temperatures over the last 40 years reveals a clear and consistent warming trend. The data from ocean temperature measurements taken over the last 40 years shows that the oceans have been warming at an average rate of about 0.1°C per decade. This might seem like a small increase, but it has significant implications for the planet’s climate and weather patterns.
The warming of the oceans is leading to more frequent and severe heatwaves, changes in precipitation patterns, and more frequent and severe extreme weather events like hurricanes. It is also causing sea levels to rise as water warms and ice sheets and glaciers melt.
Here are 8 sources on the topic of ocean temperature trends:
–Abraham, J. P., Baringer, M., Bindoff, N. L., Boyer, T., Cheng, L. J., Church, J. A., et al. (2013).
A Review of Global Ocean Temperature Observations: Implications for Ocean Heat Content Estimates and Climate Change. Reviews of Geophysics, 51(3), 450–483.
–Cheng, L., Abraham, J., Hausfather, Z., & Trenberth, K. E. (2019).
How Fast Are the Oceans Warming? Science, 363(6423), 128–129.
–Durack, P. J., Wijffels, S. E., & Matear, R. J. (2012).
Ocean Salinities Reveal Strong Global Water Cycle Intensification During 1950 to 2000. Science, 336(6080), 455–458.
–IPCC. (2021). Climate Change 2021:
The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
–Llovel, W., Willis, J. K., Landerer, F. W., & Fukumori, I. (2014).
Deep-ocean contribution to sea level and energy budget not detectable over the past decade. Nature Climate Change, 4(11), 1031–1035.
–Palmer, M. D., & McNeall, D. J. (2014).
Internal variability of Earth’s energy budget simulated by CMIP5 climate models. Environmental Research Letters, 9(3), 034016.
–Rhein, M., Rintoul, S. R., Aoki, S., Campos, E., Chambers, D., et al.
Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
–Wijffels, S. E., & Meyers, G. (2004).
An Intersection of Oceanographic and Climate Change Research: The Global Ocean Observing System. Marine Technology Society Journal, 38(4), 10–21.
If you live out East this road is essential for many reasons…not just to ease traffic. One accident on the single lane road now causes huge delays which have major safety implications.
Just needs the EIA to best say where the road should be located. Just because something is gazetted does not mean it has to be built right there- but these clowns don’t seem to want to hear that, the question is WHY???
An answer for you: MORE MONEY!!!!!
You ask why. Lack of coherent discussions and difficulty in understanding. Simply that is it.
Sorry for the inconvenience for arriving home late. 10 years from now if that long you may not have a home and most likely will be under water. Look at the bigger picture buddy!
The Compass 50 years ago segment just featured an article from 1973(!) about Dr Giglioli giving a presentation on the need for proper zoning and development plans. To an entity called the Cayman Islands Conservation Association. It’s 2023 and Cayman is still in the dark ages when it comes to such matters.
In the 70s it was global cooling; in the 90s global warming now the its climate change. Yes we need to stop polluting. But no the world is not burning / ending.
As the saying goes. “An idiot is born every day” Green hornet thanks for your ” voice of reason” but I am afraid these imbecile in charge cannot comprehend a single word you have written.
I too, am a science denying idiot
Please educate yourself. Repeating talking points from dumb/dishonest US politicians and TV characters is embarrassing.
Dude if the world not dying why is it the trying to get people to mars?