Wild Tobago

An exhibition of art with ocean themes was mounted at the Trinidad Art Society on Saturday, January 14, by the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) to encourage its audience to restore the ocean and defend the deep. It was a significant event in their on-going project to raise awareness about the threats posed by Deep Seabed Mining. The Sustainable Ocean Alliance is working in support of a moratorium on Deep Seabed Mining sanctioned by the International Seabed Authority and likely to start as early as July this year, said Khadija Stewart, Coordinator of SOA Caribbean for Trinidad and Tobago. The Sustainable Ocean Alliance is a global non-governmental organization started in 2014 to mobilize a network of young people in support of the world’s oceans. SOA “has cultivated the world's largest network of next-gen leaders, entrepreneurs, advocates, mentors, and partners, working to create solutions for the largest challenges facing our ocean.” DEFENDERS OF THE DEEP

Two years after the worst effects on humans from the Covid-19 pandemic, Anjani Ganase reports on how it affected the natural world. The lessons still to be learned involve reducing human activities to allow nature to thrive.   During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns, there were numerous reports about the return of wildlife to urban spaces. These were the positive feel-good side notes while we were restricted in lockdown. Much of what was observed reveals the much-needed respite for the natural world from humans. Two years on, scientists have finished crunching the data on the significance of changes observed in natural ecosystems during lockdowns.   Here in Trinidad and Tobago, the beaches were closed for over a year.   Face mask at surface. Credit:  The Ocean Agency / Ocean Image Bank Our carbon footprint Apart from the obvious declines in traffic and congregating, the declines in outdoor activities equated to significant drops in carbon dioxide emissions at a global scale. What

Technology for carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been known in Trinidad and Tobago for decades but is yet to be a component in reducing carbon dioxide emissions of major greenhouse gas emitting industries. Most recently, a pilot sanctioned by the Ministry of Energy – for the dual purpose of enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration - was undertaken in 2010. Dr Anjani Ganase explains the technology and wonders why it is not used widely in Trinidad’s industrialised centres.     What is carbon capture and storage? The idea of capturing carbon dioxide emissions to curb global warming was first suggested in 1970s and was developed in 1992 in Norway. It is the method in which carbon dioxide is removed from industrial processes and stored for the long-term as an active climate mitigation strategy. Carbon capture is done in three main forms: (1) post-combustion, when the CO 2 is extracted from the flue gas (exhaust gas) when the fuel is burned; (2) precombustion