Vieux Fort South MP Dr. Kenny Anthony has expressed concern over sea levels in his constituency, as he recalled repeatedly addressing the House of Assembly regarding the community’s ‘peculiar’ vulnerability.
In this regard, he observed that the time had come for a more constructive approach to protecting the area as Caribbean Islands had to take climate change and rising sea level warnings seriously.
He drew particular attention to the Northern part of the Hewanorra International Airport runway close to the sea above Sandy Beach and requested the Ministry of Infrastructure to seriously examine it.
Anthony also spoke of the stretch of road from Sandy Beach to Bruceville.
On Tuesday, the former Prime Minister told the House of Assembly the time had come for a serious study to determine mitigation measures to protect that area.
Anthony declared that unquestionably, the area is extraordinarily beautiful.
He observed that hundreds of Saint Lucians converge on Sandy Beach on holidays or weekends.
And he joked that perhaps the time had come for a levy on outsiders to raise funds to clean the beach.
But adopting a serious note, Anthony spoke of the need for an assessment to decide on mitigation measures to address rapid erosion and damage in the area.
“Let this just be a little wake-up call for all of us. Nobody expects things to be done overnight, but we have enough signals to suggest that the preparation should be underway,” the Vieux Fort South MP told the House of Assembly.
He explained that should the sea level rise to levels forecast by those responsible for climate change, the area, including the international airport, would be in serious trouble.
“We need to really take responsibility,” Anthony declared.
But he said he feared the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) would not do so.
“It is not usual that SLASPA has interest in these matters. If they had, they wouldn’t be putting a terminal so close to a river as happening in the last few months with the construction of this new terminal building,” Anthony declared.
Headline photo: Stock image
I’ve been walking along the Castries waterfront for 50 years. It is the same level it has always been. Is there a different sea level in VF? Or is Anthony on that climate emergency BS as well?
Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere were as high as 4,000 ppm during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago during which a wide variety of animals burst onto the evolutionary scene in an event known as the Cambrian explosion. The first plants appeared on land around the Cambrian period. (Land plants had evolved on Earth by about 700 million years ago and land fungi by about 1,300 million years ago — much earlier than previous estimates of around 480 million years ago, which were based on the earliest fossils of those organisms.)
In the Triassic Period (252 to 201 million years ago) the CO2 levels were still in the thousands range. Until about 215 million years ago, the Triassic period had experienced extremely high CO2 levels, at around 4,000 parts per million — about 10 times higher than today. But between 215 and 212 million years ago, the carbon dioxide concentration halved, dropping to about 2,000ppm. The Dinosaurs lived in the Triassic period. They were very much alive.
Mammals were derived in the Triassic Period (about 252 million to 201 million years ago) from members of the reptilian order Therapsida. They too were very much alive.
For the Late Triassic and earlier Jurassic (approximately 237-174 million years ago), scientists found zero evidence of polar glacial ice sheets in fossil records — likely a result of CO2 levels that may have reached as high as 6,000ppm. During this greenhouse state, dense conifer and deciduous forests covered most of Pangea from the North Pole and the South Pole to the subtropical latitudes.
The Cretaceous Period (145 million to 66 million years ago) was one of the warmest periods in the last 140 million years. Atmospheric CO2 levels reached as high as about 2,000ppm. Back then, the planet’s climate meant that temperate rain forests could grow at the poles.
Life proliferated when carbon dioxide was plentiful millions of years ago. The mass extinction events were special events like the meteor which wiped out the Dinosaurs, or they were events that lasted for millions of years at a time like the Ordovician extinction. Unless another meteor strikes the Earth or the Circum-Pacific Belt erupts all at once, then we are not going to die.
The current concentration of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere is 421ppm. Before the industrial revolution the concentration of CO2 was somewhere around 280ppm. Plants start dying at 150ppm. In 200 years of burning fossil fuels we’ve only added 141ppm of CO2 to the atmosphere.
Very simple dredge Savannes Bsy and Praslin Bay where heavy siltage has occurred from the rivers over the years and especially after heavy storms/hurricanes.
Problem at VF would be solved immediately.
Now my boss seeing everything that needs to be done in Vieux Fort. As if this all happened overnight and he has not been the rep for over 25 years, 15 of which he was Prime Minister. Daily, I see how politicians generally take us for fools.
Well I have plenty of before and after pictures dating back to the late 70s right up to now and I am in disbelief how much of the shore line is gone without a doubt their is serious beach erosion at Sandy Beach. I remember when you had to go way out before you could swim. We have been lucky to date, the sea has not come on the concrete road by Kitch and if that should ever happen the runway would get flooded and when flights cannot land due sand and debris left after a storm or just high tide nobody will be thinking KDA Bellow’s were funny. It has come close to this just the other day when we had a tropical wave. There is a need for a sea wall right up to coconut Bay it’s only a matter of time.
Dredging Savannes Bay and also the bay at Praslin will solve this problem easily. When Debbie came both bays became heavily silted and caused the rise in the ocean level at VF.
It has been exacerbated by later storms and hurricanes.
Once those bays are desilted the beach will return to how it used to be in the 70s.
On another note Pointe Sables is no longer the beautiful beach it used to be. Just show up and you will see what has been allowed to happen there. It’s an eyesore and nobody in their right mind will want to go there these days.
All what the ex prime minister is saying there is good ideas but I have heard he mentioned anything about the crime situation in vieux fort so he doesn’t look too concern about it or maybe its not important enough
What climate change?
One of the biggest hoaxes in history to funnel billions of dollars to Universities, hucksters, media and businesses. And of course we have to pay.
For Kenny Anthony this is just to divert attention from his nonsense clown show about a peace and love mecca in VF.
So he has done nothing for VF in decades so now to divert attention it is climate change.
Oh Lord – Give me strength!
Oh boy Dr Anthony and you scarlet fever butt kisser Highgrade. This situation has been in existence from the 70’s. The sea has been gradually taking over the coastline especially in the last 30 years. I forgot, WHO WAS PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FINANCE FOR ABOUT 15 OF THESE YEARS. Oops. I guess now the selfish Kenny knows the plight of Vieux Fort. Man take a hike and let someone with vision and fortitude run the constituency.
‘Stop the climate hoax’, thanks for the brief history of the planet.
Regretfully most people here believe the Old Testament!
So we living on a piece of borrowed rocks, you picking a fight with the sea… you want to fight mother nature, like serious an-to-nee? you looking for gravy browning mun!
He not saying anything about a minimum wage
He refuse to tell coconut bay ,true value ,the liquor store food mart , radio , the brewery , st lu and baron foods and icon security to pay the people of vieux fort 15 dollars an hour
@Ant bring back your Massa Allen Michael Chastanet he’ll make you safe
You idiot Clowns who are doing your usual grappling as soon your forever Boggy Man says something or anything in regards to VF to that I would say to KDA you have sounded the Alarm. Those who live here and drive by daily enjoy the view but also enjoy the occasional sprinkle from the waves when there is rough sea. This is not a debate on climate change and the usual fools want to add crime to it or debate who was in power this is an issue that’s chipping away at the economic source of St Lucia our international airport.
The hole in the ozone…they forget already? The ice caps are melting raising the sea levels…there is much more water on the planet circulation hence flash flooding etc. Anybody seen what’s happening in Dubai lately…it’s the legacy of the slave masters who got rich off of niggers and the natural resources of their homeland then used the wealth to cause creation much more grief with their industrial wastes and weapons of mass destruction…right now the universe rebelling until this whole evilous regime get take down