The Tribune

WHEN Hurricane Dorian tore through The Bahamas, the main worry was for the people in its path.

But our environment was also a casualty – not least of all when the storm hit the Equinor site in Grand Bahama, spilling oil throughout the surrounding area.

Despite 18 months of work since then to remediate the damage, there still remains high concentrations of oil in and around the site.

Meanwhile, we have had a change of government and even the new Prime Minister, Philip “Brave” Davis, standing up in front of a climate change conference and being quoted around the world. He talked of how a recent study “declared that The Bahamas had the cleanest air in the world. Other studies have shown that our distinctive, beautiful, aquamarine seas are a magnificent carbon sink. Our seas reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. The Bahamas is not now and never has been the problem. But yet we are forced to pay the price.”

Mr Davis was not in office when the storm hit, but he inherits its aftermath. And speaking up about the wonders of environment while far from home is one thing, but we should also be taking action right here on our doorstep.

What action can be taken? Well, oil residues remain high, and the Waterkeeper Alliance and Waterkeepers Bahamas recommend “strategic remediation of the Equinor crude oil residues should be undertaken”.

More than that, how do we stop such a thing happening again? Dorian was a monster storm, but reportedly the oil storage facility has not been hurricane hardened to withstand the wind and tides expected if another hits.

Equinor is far from alone, either, and the report also calls for the strengthening of requirements across the country to deal with oil spills.

That should also include oil boom containment capabilities and more, to stop a spill having a major effect in the future, whether through a storm’s effects or other leaks.

There has been a prolonged discussion about the possibility of oil drilling in this country – but as Equinor shows, we need to be ready for spillages even without the prospect of drilling taking place.

Vaccination lottery

We can boast about our environmental credentials as much as we like when we are overseas, but we need to live up to them here at home. That’s something this new administration needs to step up to the plate on. We hope it lives up to Mr Davis’ words.

Anything that encourages people to put their hesitancy to one side and get their vaccines is to be encouraged.

The statistics are piling up around the world to show that the majority of people being hospitalised, and the majority of people dying from COVID-19 are the unvaccinated. By a large margin.

So while we welcome the prospect of a lottery with a $25,000 prize to encourage people to overcome the hesitancy, is there a certain bittersweet feeling to it?

For those who got their shots right away, there may be a feeling that others are being rewarded for waiting while they got nothing for leading the way. It’s the same feeling some who kept their property tax up to date might have felt when seeing people rewarded with discounts on their delinquent accounts.

We certainly hope it doesn’t put people off in future of coming forward right away in such circumstances, in the hope they might hold on and get a reward for it.

That said, if it works, it will probably save money if it reduces hospitalisations – at the least making resources go farther by having fewer patients in need of intensive care if their vaccination helps to protect them.

And, of course, as the long list of deaths from COVID show, with another three deaths recorded on the latest figures, those who got vaccinated early are more likely to have the most precious prize of all: Life.