THE GREENING OF OUR SOCIETY

Jun 05, 2012 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Guyana is flying a green banner and it has nothing to do with the colours of APNU or the Mayor of Georgetown. The support given to last Sunday’s Green Walk is but a confirmation that in Guyana there is solid support for protection and preservation of our national environment and that this support is moral and economic.
Guyana’s decision to move towards a green economy is based almost totally on economic considerations. The price of oil has forced countries like Guyana to look towards not just more efficient energy technologies but also to seek alternative sources of energy. But even if there were no economic incentives for moving towards a green society, there is solid support within the country and therefore even if the economics do not support the creation of a green economy it makes sense still for Guyana to pursue this approach because not all political decisions should be based on market considerations.
If for example, citizens were required to pay for health care in Guyana, a great many persons would die. Education is generally free from nursery to secondary and if citizens had to pay then many would not benefit from having a sound education. In the end society as a whole will suffer.
It is the same thing when it comes to the health of the environment. Guyanese have generally tended to crowd together in towns and villages. They have constructed homes near to major roadways. Pollution was hardly a problem but with the number of vehicles today, many persons are trying to move their homes as far away from main roadways as possible. It shows a developing environmental consciousness.
For years now, Guyanese are not drinking the water that flows through the taps. They are buying bottled water. This shows they are concerned with contamination of their water supply.
The seashores are packed with people on weekends because this is the time that people have to go out and enjoy the fresh air. It shows here again an appreciation of healthy outdoors.
A great many people are now paying attention to their physical surroundings, trying to keep their yards looking nice so that they can enjoy the outdoors even in their own residences. This too is a sign of environmental consciousness.
Economics still however play an important part in the movement towards a green economy. The switch to energy-saving bulbs, replacing old incandescent lamps in many homes, is not about the environment. It is not about citizens making a contribution towards reducing the burning of fossil fuels in power generators. It is really a means to reduce their electricity bills.
The decision of the government to build a hydroelectric plant is also aimed to reducing the cost of electricity. But even if the overall cost of producing hydroelectricity is higher than what exists now, it may still make sense to proceed with hydroelectricity since this is a non- polluting source of energy and last Sunday’s Green Walk shows increasing numbers of Guyanese are becoming concerned about the health and environmental aspects of this country’s development.
The government has to tap into this development without ignoring the value of market incentives in individual choices. When a consumer switches to energy saving bulbs in their homes, this will save them money and at the same time protect the environment.
When a farmer pursues organic farming, he is giving up the benefits that fertilizers would bring. But he knows that despite his organic crops being higher priced, there are many local consumers who are out there looking for produce that are grown without the use of chemicals.
And there is a large external market for organically grown crops. So the farmer is being provided with economic incentives to move towards the use of organic cultivation while contributing to the reduction in the use of chemicals. The importation of these chemicals represents a cost to both the economy and to the farmer.
Citizens should not always be looking at government to provide them with incentives to make “green” decisions that is to switch to more environmentally friendly goods and services.
Citizens should factor in those benefits on which a dollar value cannot always be placed.
Right now, some good things are happening on the consumer side. Many bakeries are now using paper bags rather than plastic bags and they are doing this without being provided with an economic incentive. It is for the public to take this to another level and to demand that as many businesses as possible switch to paper bags where these can be used.
Certainly when you go into a store to buy a shirt or a pair of trousers, there is hardly a need for you to be given a plastic bag. A paper envelope-type bag will work just fine and there should be no need for economic incentives. When some persons choose toilet tissue that is wrapped in paper rather than plastic, they can discourage the use of plastic wrappers.
Raw food will still require the use of plastic but cooked foods such as those served by restaurants can be placed in a container and wrapped in a paper bag. In this manner Guyana can reduce the use of plastic bags and move towards more biodegradable materials.
But in the end it boils down to the consumer making the right choices. For the sake of a few dollars, some consumers may care little about the effects of their purchases on the environment. But as we are seeing today, there are growing numbers of Guyanese who want a better Guyana, a greener country and they are prepared even if it costs a few dollars more to contribute towards the emergence of a green society.

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