If Jamaica has oil, it should be tapped

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing with reference to Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie’s article in The Sunday Gleaner of April 19. While Jamaica’s long-term objective may be to abolish the use of fossil fuel, finding oil now could be an enhancing factor.

To speed up the provision of electrical vehicles’ energy requires a great deal of investment. This has been limiting the creation of new solar generating plants and so causing us to burn more fossil fuel for a longer time. If we should be told today that there is oil within our shores, it may be another five years before pumping becomes a reality. Within this time Jamaica will be working assiduously to replace fossil fuel. Do you think we will be able to reduce fossil fuel usage by 35 per cent by then, and at what funding? It could happen if funding is diverted from other priority areas.

If Jamaica should reduce it’s greenhouse gases to zero, large countries would be happy to continue the maximum use of fossil fuel so how profitable would it be to Jamaica to have never pumped oil and earn any cash to mitigate damages caused by natural disasters. If we should find oil, my take would be to make as much money as we can from it and use it to push the development of environmentally friendly power sources and of the country in general.

DANIEL LEWIS