Does City Hall appreciate what it will take to make Georgetown a green city?

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

There has been a lot of talk by the Georgetown City Council recently about making our capital city a green city. But is it anything more than just that? Talk? I have hardly seen any real initiatives in this direction. Of course there has been the posting of monstrous billboards all over the city with green city catchphrases but with the only thing being green about that is the millions of dollars that the city has wasted on sloganeering.

Then there has been the poorly attended Green Conference and Expo which turned out to be little more than a free concert, along with the distribution of freebies such as tee shirts, bags etc., again a tremendous cost to the City.  But does anyone at City Hall really appreciate what it will take to make Georgetown a green city?

Guyana and Georgetown’s  energy infrastructure such as those generators located in Kingston is ripe for improvement. Most of our electricity is generated in dirty fossil fuel power plants, which pump greenhouse gases into the air and contribute to climate change. Our electricity is then distributed through thousands of miles of inefficient and unreliable power lines. Transforming our outdated electricity grid into a cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy system would be a critical step towards making our capital a green city.

Then there is the city’s transportation infrastructure. There are minibuses zipping along our roadways all day and night long joined by an unprecedented number of private cars traversing the roads. This is now the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Why is the council not making Georgetown more biking- and walking-friendly? The Mayor and Town Clerk should get out of their fancy vehicles and lead by example by riding to and from work if they are sincere about this initiative.

And then there is the design of our buildings, which are no longer being designed for natural ventilation with Demerara shuttered windows etc, but rather large concrete edifices that rely on dirty energy sources for their power and cooling needs. One just has to look at the City Hall and one can see all the air conditioners that have been tacked on to this glorious old building.

It is time for City Hall to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk.

Sincerely,

Nadine Jerrick

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