Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley is right to seek international funding to help the territory adapt to climate change. But if he wants to be taken seriously abroad, he must …
September 30, 2024
May 1, 2024
EDITORIAL: Sargassum is back, and the VI is not prepared
Sargassum is once again arriving on the shores of the Caribbean, but the Virgin Islands is not ready. Given the seaweed’s recent impacts in the territory, this is most unfortunate. …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Sargassum is back, and the VI is not prepared”
April 19, 2024
After 13 years, no end in sight for Caribbean sargassum invasion
Schools evacuated due to toxic gas. Smelly tap water at home. Tourist operators and fishers struggling to stay in business. Job losses. Power outages affecting tens of thousands of people …
Continue reading “After 13 years, no end in sight for Caribbean sargassum invasion”
December 18, 2023
EDITORIAL: Coral die-off is a crisis for the Virgin Islands
An environmental disaster is unfolding before our eyes, but it is receiving far too little attention and response. Historic heat waves this summer are causing a massive coral bleaching event …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Coral die-off is a crisis for the Virgin Islands”
December 11, 2023
EDITORIAL: COP28 a big deal for Virgin Islands
What happened in Dubai this month at the United Nations Climate Change Conference won’t stay in Dubai. It will have wide-ranging ramifications for the Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: COP28 a big deal for Virgin Islands”
December 8, 2023
Coral bleaching follows record summer heat
Across the territory in recent weeks, reefs have been turning white. The record high temperatures this summer created conditions for what will likely be the most devastating coral bleaching event …
Continue reading “Coral bleaching follows record summer heat”
September 4, 2023
Coral die-off likely this year
As darkness fell over Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park on Aug. 26, children crowded around a white canvas, picking bright pinks, oranges and greens to fill in the outline …
September 9, 2022
Leaders plan for upcoming COP27
Caribbean countries are working to learn the best ways to finance measures for mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said in a …
December 23, 2019
Slow progress at climate talks bodes ill for Virgin Islands
MADRID — No Virgin Islands delegation took part in the negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference this month in Madrid, but decisions made as the fractious two-week meeting …
Continue reading “Slow progress at climate talks bodes ill for Virgin Islands”
November 13, 2019
Sea rise likely to displace Caribbean towns
As sea levels continue to rise in the coming decades, entire communities in the Caribbean and elsewhere probably will be forced to relocate even if large nations keep the pledges …
Continue reading “Sea rise likely to displace Caribbean towns”
September 24, 2019
Coral already weakened by warming seas
Scientists believe that global warming has been affecting Caribbean corals for decades, weakening reefs and making them more susceptible to maladies like Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. Several warming-related bleaching …
July 9, 2019
EDITORIAL: Government is dropping the ball on climate change
The new government’s bumbling on climate change is endangering the territory’s future. On April 24, the Cabinet decided to revoke the membership of the Climate Change Trust Fund board, a …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Government is dropping the ball on climate change”
May 15, 2019
How to be carbon neutral: A Q&A with Bhutan’s former prime minister
The Virgin Islands’ Recovery to Development Plan promises to make the territory “near carbon neutral.” But what does that mean exactly, and how would it get done? The Beacon recently …
Continue reading “How to be carbon neutral: A Q&A with Bhutan’s former prime minister”
December 3, 2018
EDITORIAL: Climate Change Trust Fund should get eco-levy money
In 2015 the Virgin Islands proudly set an example when it became the first government in the Caribbean to pass a legal framework for a climate change trust fund. To …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Climate Change Trust Fund should get eco-levy money”
April 29, 2018
Islands Adrift: Trump politics hinder USVI climate change prep
PUERTO RICO CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM — When you approach St. John from the water now, the United States Virgin Island at first appears untouched by hurricanes Irma and Maria. …
Continue reading “Islands Adrift: Trump politics hinder USVI climate change prep”
