Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited
Publication: Daily Nation
Paper Section And Page: 17A
Paper Date: Wed, May 30, 2001
Byline: Compiled by Terry Ally
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Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited |
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FRIDAY is the official start of the six-month-long hurricane season and experts are forecasting a "normal" season but warn that on average one major hurricane usually makes landfall somewhere in the Caribbean during "normal" seasons.
The experts are from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and released their forecast last week and will update it in August.
"Although we expect an average level of activity this season, that is no cause to become complacent. With the possibility of five to seven hurricanes, residents in hurricane-prone areas can't afford to let their guard down. Just one storm can dramatically change your life," Scott Gudes, NOAA's acting administrator, told reporters Monday.
The NOAA scientists are predicting between eight and 11 storms this year, of which five to seven will develop into hurricanes, with two becoming major hurricanes with winds of 111 miles per hour or stronger. Last week, the world's most well known forecaster, Professor Bill Gray, of the Colorado State University, said when he updates his forecast next week, if the numbers do change, they should go up. In his pre-season forecast in April, he also forecast a normal season with ten storms, of which six would become hurricanes, with two of these becoming major hurricanes.
"There's perhaps a little greater chance of raising than lowering those forecast numbers, but there's also a good chance we'll just keep it the same," Gray said in a release last week.
The causes of uncertainty are "mixed
climate signals," including whether or not there would be an El Niņo this
year or whether upper level winds (Quasi-Biennial Oscillation or QBO) would
reverse and start blowing from the east. Director of the Barbados Meteorological
Service said he would not be surprised if Gray increased his forecast because it
was almost certain now that even if an El Niņo surfaced it would not suppress
hurricane formation.
Project training kids in environmental health
SCHOOL KIDS from three primary schools are
learning all about the dengue mosquito and will soon conduct a health inspection
of their own schools. The students at St Joseph, St Elizabeth, and St Bernard
are undergoing a three-week training course in environmental health as part of a
thrust by the Ministry of Health to reduce the number of dengue fever infections
experienced annually. The competition among the three schools was launched on
May 25 and will end on June 15. During that time, they would have had lectures
on environmental health and gone through three test levels, including a true and
false quiz, spelling, essay writing, and playing out scenarios. This is the
second year that these three schools are engaged in this type of environmental
education. The exercise was jointly organised by the Ministry of Health,
Ministry of Education, the principals of the schools, and the Maurice Byer
Polyclinic and sponsored by various private sector businesses in the parish of
St Joseph. At the end of the exercise, the students will also inspect their
schools and write a report, with the assistance of teachers, on the
environmental state of the school.
Beach clean-ups hauling in more garbage each year
THE GARBAGE problem on Barbados' coast is worsening.
Statistics compiled as part of International Coastal Clean-up Day, held each September, show a 193.4 per cent increase in the quantity of garbage collected from the beach and underwater over the last four years. In 1997, a total of 2 917 pounds of garbage was collected from selected beaches and that number increased to 3 400 pounds last year. Underwater clean-ups started in 1998 and, over the last three years, the quantity of garbage increased from 802 pounds to 1 080 pounds. These clean-ups were conducted at selected sites and when the total quantity of garbage and the number of miles over which the garbage was collected are taken into account, they show a steady increase:
The 12 top international litter items were:
cigarette butts; food bags/wrappers (plastic); plastic pieces; caps, lids
(plastic); foamed plastic pieces; other plastic items; paper pieces; glass
pieces; beverage bottles (plastic); straws; beverage bottles (glass). Marine
garbage is harmful to sea life.
Worldwide blackout urged in Bush protest
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are urging Americans and others around the world to roll their own blackout on the first day of summer to protest President George W. Bush's energy policies. In his first 100 days in office, Bush took unpopular environmental decisions on climate change which brought him world condemnation. In protest, they are asking that people in America and around the world stage a voluntary blackout from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on June 21 in all time zones. The campaign asks that people unplug whatever can be unplugged at home and to light a candle for the three hours and to "have fun in the dark".