Lister: Energy & Environment Town Hall
Saying that his key principles were Accountability, Responsibility, and Togetherness (ART) the MP Terry Lister, a contender for the leadership of the PLP and for the post of Premier held his second of a planned series of Town Hall meetings at St Paul’s Church in Paget last night [Aug 12]. Mr Lister promised that under his leadership there would be a taking down of barriers between black and white and Bermudian and non-Bermudian.
The meeting’s focus was on Energy and the Environment and MP Terry Lister led with an opening presentation. He said that as Party Leader/Premier he would ‘bar code’ Planning Applications so that clients could better and more efficiently follow the progress of their plans through the Department of Planning and the plan vetting and approval process with a view to getting any application through Planning in less than six months.
As Party Leader/Premier, on the Environment, he said that he would enhance Planning enforcements; upgrade Parks; and review the placing of commercial establishments on some of Bermuda’s beaches; get ‘dumpsters’ positioned about Bermuda so as to actively discourage the illegal dumping of trash; deal with the feral cats, chickens, and now turtles that are all over Bermuda; and get parties of prisoners working outside the prison on tasks such as getting rid of invasive non-indigenous trees.
On Energy, and as Party Leader/Premier, he said that he would set targets for the use of renewable energy; work with BELCO to reduce Bermuda’s reliance on fossil fuels; move to making much more use of Solar Energy; and encourage the use of Tax breaks to get people and businesses to make more use of Solar Energy. He would also consider the use of offshore Wind and Wave power to help reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
In support of Mr Lister’s position on energy, Tim Madeiros offered a brief overview on Solar Energy.
There was a full and lively discussion, led by the audience, that covered a wide spectrum of Energy and Environmental issues. Chief amongst these were concerns about BELCO’s need to be able to develop and pursue, with Government support, a long term plan that would enable BELCO to make more and better use of alternate energy sources and thus reduce its reliance on fossil fuel. MP Terry Lister was supportive.
Concerns were expressed about the number and size of cars in Bermuda; the changes in the City of Hamilton; the level of air pollution on East Broadway during the twice daily rush hours.
With the recent drought in mind, there was a suggestion that Bermuda’s hillside water catchments should be resurrected and properly used to catch and store water. In addition, they could be used to host Solar panels. This would get a double result. Save and store water and create renewable Energy.
