MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
Source: Future Centre Trust (FCT)
Contact: Rebecca Skeete
Marketing Committee Member
and Volunteer of the Future Centre Trust
T: +1 246 435 5369
E: rebecca@nicholsonskeete.com
W: www.nicholsonskeete.com

St Thomas, Barbados (June 18, 2010)

Clean Up Barbados Launch for September 18, 2010

Be part of an environmental solution – raise your hand and join Clean Up Barbados September 18th, 2010

Barbados was recognised in 2009 by “Clean Up The World” the world’s largest community-based environmental project, started 21 years ago by just one person. The Future Centre Trust embarked on the inaugural “Clean Up Barbados” campaign in 2009 where local businesses and community members contributed to a healthier environment.

The theme – ‘Communities uniting to combat climate change’ – emphasised that global warming is not just the responsibility of politicians. It said that by working together, in our local communities, we can make a difference – and what a difference we made.

Clean up’s are not uncommon in Barbados as individual citizens, community and business groups have adopted an area to clean up throughout the year. However, 2009 was the first time on such a large scale a coordinated day with documented results had been achieved. The Future Centre Trust’s Clean Up Barbados accomplished:
- 740+ volunteers and group members
- 36 different registered community groups
- 28 different sites were cleaned
- 41 tonnes of waste collected

On recount of the areas cleaned volunteers and businesses were pleasantly surprised with the cleanliness of Barbados beaches managed by the NCC. It was however the foliage at the edge and behind the beaches, the gullies and our very own communities that needed the most support and attention. Some amazing efforts were seen on the day by a vast range of groups eager to make a difference to our environment and can be seen in the Clean Up Barbados 2009 event videos 30 sec video shown here and the 3 min video shown here.

During the Clean Up debrief the government was highlighted as one of the key problem areas due to the lack of implementation of legislation relating to fines for illegal dumping. The debrief consensus said “yes” we need more vigilance from the authorities to control and penalise those contaminating our environment but as Ian Kiernan, Chairman and Founder, Clean Up The World stated “We need our politicians to act but we can’t wait for them and ultimately the planet will be saved by the actions we take as individuals – by what we do to minimise our impact on the environment and what we do to repair the mistakes of the past.”

The community coming together to act and raise awareness to achieve a healthy environment can provoke other groups to recognise the need for support.

The Future Centre Trust thanks all the volunteers for their continued commitment and to the sponsors who can be seen www.cleanupbarbados.org/blog/sponsors/ or visit our site www.cleanupbarbados.org . For sponsorship enquiries please contact Nicole Garofano at nicole@cleanupbarbados.org or to register you community or group please contact Krystal Boyea at krystal@cleanupbarbados.org.

A full press release is available at: http://www.businessbarbados.com/blog/be-part-of-an-environmental-solution/.

For additional information contact:
Nicole Garofano
Administrative Director
The Future Centre Trust
T: + 1246 625 2020
E: futurecentretrust@gmail.com
www.cleanupbarbados.org
www.futurecentretrust.org

About Clean up Barbados
The Clean Up Barbados event will take place September, 18, 2010. Many of our open spaces, beaches, gullies and roadways need attention. Clean Up Barbados is linked by the membership to the Clean Up The World weekend, held the third weekend of September every year. The event gives groups and individuals the chance to get out and get involved with cleaning an area that needs attention and that the community shares a passion in maintaining. www.cleanupbarbados.org

About Clean up the World
The Clean Up the World campaign originated in Australia and was the brainchild of Ian Kiernan who organized a clean up of Sydney harbour in 1989. In 1993, with support and funding from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the California based EGBAR foundation, Clean Up the World was launched with 30 million people from 80 countries participating in the first clean-up. Since then it has been held every year and has not stopped growing. In 2001, 37.5 million people from 128 countries demonstrated their commitment to a healthy environment through various clean ups throughout the world. www.cleanuptheworld.org

About Future Centre Trust
The Future Centre Trust is an environmental Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) and registered charity providing environmental education to the public of Barbados. Its mission is “To stimulate awareness and encourage responsible management of the vital relationship between people and nature leading to a sustainable future for all”. This is achieved through various programmes, activities and presentations to the community which are included and highlighted at www.futurecentretrust.org

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MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
Source: Future Centre Trust (FCT)
Contact: Ms Nicole Garofano +1 246 256 8837
futurecentretrust@gmail.com

Bridgetown, Barbados (June 20, 2010)

BARBADOS AND OFF SHORE DRILLING – STILL AN OPTION?
A few years ago, off shore drilling in Barbados was listed as one of the Nation’s highest priorities. How has the recent leak to the tune of some 60,000 barrrels per day changed this agenda?

The past two months have been a wake up call to oil producers globally, or at least one would hope so. The BP disaster in the gulf of Mexico on April 20 has raised many questions of the safety, not only of staff who take on the contracts to man these off shore oil rigs, but to the all important ecosystems which help feed thousands, if not millions of people through related business – be they tourism related livelihoods or through the fishing industry as examples. And of course we think of the human impact first, but what about the mammoth impact to the innocent bystanders of nature – marine ecosystems and their accompanying bird life and reptiles who depend on the effectiveness of a clean and functioning environment for their basic survival?

Barbados has implemented various measures over the years to tout oil producers to the area to consider the options of off shore drilling within our marine boundaries. Reading today’s papers, it would seem it’s the question on everyone’s lips – what is the current state of the nation as it relates to developing an off shore oil drilling operation in light of this absolute debarcle now taking place?

As R.E Guyson Mayers says in the Sunday Sun dated June 19, “Were drilling to be done off Barbados, how could this country insist that the large oil companies…adhere to to the best industry standards and seek to protect our environment?” More importantly he questions “What would a significant oil spill that turns our white sands black do to our Tourism Industry?” One wonders if the view that ‘Tourism wouldn’t matter anymore because we would have oil’ would become the norm, as was the case when agriculture turned into Tourism… Noone can ever guarantee that such an all encompassing mistake would never happen to any oil rich country. But to a small island nation such as Barbados, the effects of a similar leak, would be monumental.

We ask of government – be that Ministry of Energy, the Ministry responsible for governance of such a project or a response from the Ministry of Environment as the nation’s watchdog for environmental impacts – for an update to the current plans for offshore drilling in Barbadian waters. And if this is still on the national agenda, what changes to safety mechanisms will be put in place and adhered to in light of this massive botch up to the region’s ecology – all in the name of money?

We look forward to a reply.

About Future Centre Trust

The Future Centre Trust is an environmental Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) and registered charity providing environmental education to the public of Barbados. Its mission is “To stimulate awareness and encourage responsible management of the vital relationship between people and nature leading to a sustainable future for all”. This is achieved through various programmes, activities and presentations to the community which are included and highlighted at www.futurecentretrust.org. ENDS

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MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
Source: Future Centre Trust (FCT)
Contact: Ms Nicole Garofano +1 246 256 8837
futurecentretrust@gmail.com

Bridgetown, Barbados (June 20, 2010)

CAN THERE BE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
The ground is broken for the newest development in the north of Barbados – Pickering Housing and Town Centre – at what cost to Barbados?

When reading the front page of the nation’s two newspapers today, the question that came to mind was ‘Where are the natural resources coming from to supply this wonderful new job creating, money making development?’

Barbados relies upon the importation of Bunker C Crude Oil for the creation of the main supply of electricity to the island at great cost to the country’s bottom line and to the environment. As we have seen in the media for the past two months, the extraction of oil can and does have even greater costs on the ecosystems of fragile marine areas. Does Barbados need to add to the need of global oil supplies for the sake of a new development to the north? Could this mean the approval of the much touted Barbados Light and Power Company Wind Farm near to Josey Hill in order to supplement the required power supplies in light of the increased need in the area?

Of course the other necessity for any new development is water – what are the plans here? Is every new home and business required to install, actually keep, and use – for the sole purpose of rainwater catchment – large scale rainwater tanks? Or will this be another example of simply installing the tanks as per Town and Country Planning requirements and proceed to fill with BWA water?

In a land dependent on Tourism as its main income source, these matters of fluctuating, but yet impactful, strains on our various resources must be considered. With the mention of many of these homes being of interest to persons from overseas who are not used to such limitations, it begs the question – will these all important facts be advertised? More than likely not. Marketing packs including information to the effect of – Buy a condo in Barbados, but you must install a rainwater tank; or Buy a Condo in beautiful Barbados – Bring your own renewable energy equipment’, will not be on the front page. These vital pieces of information are for those locals who have to just put up with water and electricity outages routinely throughout the year.

Development of small island countries must be Sustainable. Development creates jobs; brings in foreign exchange; and raises the profile of the country as a whole. But – it needs to be sustainable. When a new development is approved – ensure resource use is addressed and not only that, ensure plans are implemented to reduce their impact on an already fragile physical environment.

Barbados does not need to add to its 280,000 gallons of fuel per day required to provide electricity, or to further impact the BWA limited supply networks for the sake of quick money. The country must plan and plan for the future – the future of the children who will be leading this country quicker than the blink of an eye. We must conserve – for them at least!

About Future Centre Trust

The Future Centre Trust is an environmental Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) and registered charity providing environmental education to the public of Barbados. Its mission is “To stimulate awareness and encourage responsible management of the vital relationship between people and nature leading to a sustainable future for all”. This is achieved through various programmes, activities and presentations to the community which are included and highlighted at www.futurecentretrust.org. ENDS

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With great thanks to Rebecca Skeete, we are now able to view the Clean Up Barbados Videos from 2009 which were created thanks to Nicholson Skeete and Studio Caribe TV contributions.

Click here here for the link to the 30 second video on Youtube and here for the 3 minute version! We are very grateful and really quite proud!! Bring on 2010! Lets do it bigger and better in 2010! Register now by emailing info@cleanupbarbados.org.

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MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
Source: Future Centre Trust (FCT)
Contact: Ms Nicole Garofano +1 246 256 8837
futurecentretrust@gmail.com

Bridgetown, Barbados (June 20, 2010)

FINALLY – WATER RELIEF IN OUR MIDST
Barbados Water Authority advertises its tender for Water and Sanitation Systems Upgrade thanks to IADB funding.

The Future Centre Trust applauds the Inter-American Development Bank and the Barbados Water Authority(BWA) for their plans to upgrade the Water and Sanitation Systems of Barbados as reported by the Sunday Sun on June 19, 2010. Water in Barbados is a scarce resource. The country is listed in the top ten water scarce countries per capita in the world. Water is not seen as precious, however, thanks in part to the price charged for this life giving necessity. But will the fifty million USD upgrade to the BWA come at too high a price for Barbadians?

Upgrades to the BWA systems both for water supply and its reorganisation of customer service systems, public awareness and IT are long overdue by all accounts. It is the first point raised when the issue of water conservation measures such as Rainwater Harvesting are mentioned to the general public. “Why should we install rainwater harvesting systems, when the biggest waste of water in Barbados is made by the Water Authority itself!”, is a quote heard many a time at the various presentations which the FCT provides regularly. Now we have the answer! An upgrade will help to solve these issues – never mind that these changes will not come easy, but at least now they are coming!

One is aware that with financing comes repayment. The fear is that by implementing such a welcomed change to ‘business as usual’, that for so long has been the BWA, it will end up costing more for our water supplies and waste water treatment. When something costs more money, it all of a sudden becomes precious. This may not be such a bad thing as the continued threat of annual droughts and their severity increases due to climate change. We need to conserve our water – each one of us!

A couple of examples if you will – We all know how much car owners in Barbados love to keep their cars clean. If all of the 116,000 cars in Barbados were washed every week – once every week – with two five gallon buckets of water, this would amount to almost four and a half million litres of water a week‼! A week‼ What about if everyone only had one five minute shower per day using five gallons… This works out to four point nine million litres per day – and this is just a population number of 260,000 used‼ We need to start realising water is precious, and if a rate increase make those who flippantly use water stop and think twice about letting the hose run, or the tap run in the sink, then that is a good thing!

At the start of the Environment Day Parish Walk organised by the NCC from the Eric Holder Centre in St Joseph, the FCT was impressed to learn, after questioning a police officer washing his vehicle with a hose, that the Centre uses rainwater for car washing and irrigation purposes. Very impressed indeed! We need more of this within public and private sector businesses and organisations (and householders for that matter). This is one way to appease any increases which may be imposed thanks to the planned upgrade of the BWA systems.

The Future Centre Trust looks forward to hearing more of this tender process and implementation, which of course will take much time to find the right people to do the jobs at hand and to actually see the finished product. At least there is a plan and the plan is backed with funds‼ Here’s hoping!

About Future Centre Trust

The Future Centre Trust is an environmental Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) and registered charity providing environmental education to the public of Barbados. Its mission is “To stimulate awareness and encourage responsible management of the vital relationship between people and nature leading to a sustainable future for all”. This is achieved through various programmes, activities and presentations to the community which are included and highlighted at www.futurecentretrust.org. ENDS

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On Saturday June 12, the FCT officially welcomed its new patron as part of the June Board and Committee Meetings.

Mr Harold Hoyte GCM has graciously agreed to become the patron for the organisation for the upcoming twelve months and hopefully beyond.

We are grateful for Harold’s many years of experience in many circles in the region and particularly his involvement in the Greening Barbados organisation in recent years through The Nation. He is keen to assist where and when he can and we thank him for his choice to be involved in this newly energised organisation.

We also would like to thank at this time, Mr Ralph ‘Bizzy’ Williams for his tenure as patron from December 2009 until 31 May 2010 and we look forward to continuing to work with Bizzy in the future.

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