We are heartened by the commissioning of an $8-million solar energy system yesterday at the Irwin High School in St James.

Yesterday's ceremony highlights an important step in that school's journey towards self-sufficiency, as according to the report in Thursday's edition of our sister title, the Observer West, the system may cut that institution's energy bill by some 25 per cent.
Would that others would emulate the school's initiative!

Even more commendable are Principal Aldin Bellinfantie's plans to pump the money he hopes to save from the system, which was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ), into the school's reading village.

Indeed, we recall Mr Bellinfantie's stated ambition to hone the institution into an ideal learning environment through a systematic process of development and believe that he is well on his way.
In this regard, we wish him every success as he strives to make an example of Irwin High.

At the same time, we hope that the Government would see fit to put in place a framework which will see to it that the savings that Irwin High is about to enjoy do not remain a mere symbol of the country's potential to conserve on energy.

For despite their steep start-up price, solar energy systems are virtually guaranteed to pay for themselves in the long term and ease the back-breaking burden that is the country's energy bill.
As such, there can be no excuse for failing to make use of this form of energy.

Jamaica, like many other countries, is in dire straits in terms of dealing with galloping energy and food prices. And if we hope to pull ourselves out of these hard times, we certainly cannot afford the luxury of spending money on unsustainable, short-term measures.

We must begin to take ourselves seriously in terms of the types of investment that we are making. Solar energy is not a new phenomenon. And we are fortunate enough, from a geographical perspective, to take full advantage of it. What credible reason could anyone tender to justify our failure in this regard?

Had previous administrations taken the bull by the horns with regard to solar energy many decades ago, Jamaica certainly wouldn't be lagging so far behind now.
However, it is not too late to catch up.

And while we are at it, it would make sense to start paying some serious attention to other alternative forms of energy which would lessen our dependence on
fossil fuels.

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS

Pepper Pot