Burning of cane should be reconsidered

Feb 14, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,
A recent ProPublica article concluded that the burning of sugarcane in Central Florida has caused elevated levels of asthma in children and other health issues in nearby communities and of course it contributes greatly to CO2 emissions and global warming.
Calls are now increasing in the US and elsewhere to stop this practice. For example, Brazil is heading in that direction and is still a low-cost producer. I would assume that GuySuco has no study on the effects of its practice of burning cane but there do seem to be quite high levels of asthma in the general population.
There is also another local industry that is a significant contributor to global warming: That is rice cultivation which emits 12% of the world’s total methane output, a gas that is 23 times more damaging to the environment than C02. Many studies have been done on this and estimates range from around 200 to 600 kg of methane released per hectare of wetland, double cropped rice. With 98,000 hectares under cultivation in Guyana that amounts to up to 58,000 tonnes of methane being released annually into the atmosphere.
It would be good if each ministry here publishes an estimated carbon footprint for its sector. For example, the use of cement (globally 8% of emissions) in public and private infrastructure projects, mining’s clearing of forests, the use of heavy fuel oil for power generation and so on.
The ministries could then develop a policy on how to reduce these emissions over the next 10 years.
Yours sincerely,
Lynn Nicholas

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