Coralpedia
Ocean Literacy
Green Guide
> Chairman's Message
> Introduction
> Purpose
> Threats
> Protection
> Conservation
> Ideas & Actions
CONSERVATION
YOU CAN MAKE A MEASURABLE DIFFERENCELife on an island is great, but small islands generally rely on bringing in much of their basic needs from elsewhere, usually at great cost. And, on a small island we soon run out of space when we try to get rid of all our waste and trash.
There are some basic necessities that we all need, but we tend to forget about them during the daily hustle and bustle.
Water
Fresh ground water flows in the bedrock and sand
beneath the surface of the island. The supply of
water depends on the amount of rainfall, the size of
the reservoir, and the connectivity between the areas
of recharge (or replenishment, like wetlands) and
where wells are being drilled.
The small size of the Cayman Islands makes it impossible for Mother Nature to replenish the ground water at a fast enough rate to serve our population size. There are two alternative ways to produce water.
Catchments collect and hold rain water in cisterns or wells, and desalination plants use a system called reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis works by forcing the salt water through a membrane, so that the salt is stuck on one side and fresh water comes out on the other side. This, however, requires an enormous amount of fossil fuel energy, which is expensive in the Cayman Islands.
|
Grey water gardens are also a fantastic opportunity to recycle the water that you use in your showers or that you wash down your sink drain. CCMI has a grey water system at the Little Cayman Research Center that services the landscaping.
The sun’s free energy
Solar energy has been used for thousands of
years, and today solar technologies to harness the
sun’s energy and use it to produce electricity, heat,
and hot water. Little Cayman Research Center uses
a solar panel with copper tubing coils inside to
capture the suns energy and heat our water.
CCMI relies entirely on the sun’s energy at the bath house for lighting and all of the energy needed to operate. The major issue that is always of central concern is the cost of such a system. In most places the cost of fossil fuel energy averages 7.5¢ CI per kilowatt hour whereas the cost in Cayman is roughly 30¢ per kilowatt hour. The Little Cayman Research Center will recoup the $15,000 investment in solar energies within 4 years as compared to between 12 – 15 years in the US.
|
Waste
Composting is not a new idea either, although there is
more to it now than just digging a hole in the ground! This
method allows human waste to fall into a large container,
where it is literally eaten by tiny microbes until it is turned
into earth! One major asset to composting systems is that
they reduce water consumption – making this a perfect
example for sustainable development especially for public
facilities and for private homes.
With advances in some of these technologies and a better understanding of how nature works, it is possible to live an ideal island life and minimise your impact on the environment. Solar power and composting toilets are two ways in which this is possible. It is only proper that CCMI’s facility uses rain water catchments, solar power for hot water in the bath house, and a special system of composting toilets.
(above) Model for Sustainable Living: Little Cayman Research Center’s Bath House
(above) Passive Solar Heating
|
