Bauxite mining has ruined Jamaica
Published:Saturday | July 13, 2019 | 12:21 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
All countries are very aware of environmental issues and the devastating consequences of not implementing regulations to protect against destruction. Ironically, the Jamaican Government is doing the opposite.
Most of the island’s beaches and other environmental sensitive areas have already been adversely affected by ill-advised policies or lack of regulations to safeguard those areas. Now one of the most treasured places, the Cockpit Country, is under attack by profit-driven interests without regard to the long-term ruination that will result.
Bauxite will bring dubious short-term financial gain, but at what cost? St Ann, Manchester, St Catherine and St Elizabeth are testimony to the devastating effects of strip mining and the benefits are invisible. Yet we are left with caustic mud lakes, groundwater pollution and then closed plants. The people are still poor, their lands ruined, and yet the Government is hell-bent on more of the same.
For heaven’s sake, are you politicians so stupid that you are unaware of how important it is to preserve the country?
Mining in Jamaica cannot be sustained long term, but tourism can. Wouldn’t it be far wiser to use the Cockpit lands for eco-tourism than the inevitable disaster of bauxite mining?
KEITH MILLS