Written by Deryck D. Pattron
...Chemical safety may be defined as all the necessary activities taken from manufacture, synthesis, processing, storage, distribution, transportation, handling, use and disposal to ensure or preserve human health and safety and the environment... Hazardous chemicals constitute a wide range of industrial and commercial activities and have been directly or indirectly linked to occupational diseases through exposure to such substances... The major problem lies when these hazardous chemicals are improperly managed... The health burden of hazardous chemicals on societies is enormous and governments worldwide must take the necessary initiative to protect their most valuable resource-the public's health...
Written by Norma Cherry-Fevrier
... Around the globe, there is evidence of vast amounts of environmental degradation. For this reason, sustainable activities along with sustainable financing mechanisms geared towards environmental conservation must be explored...In many Caribbean countries, revenue collected by the state for the financing of environmental conservation projects, such as environmental levies and taxes is often not used for the intended purpose, but instead, is put into national consolidated funds and used to finance other projects...As a result, new and more innovative financing mechanisms should be utilised to illustrate their benefits in the long term to society, the environment and the economy and not divided between the three as is sometimes presented...All things considered, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) should seek to utilise these sustainable financing options that can provide longer-term financing streams for conservation activities, rather than relying on traditional government funding that further increases national debt...
Written by Alphonso Grennell
Driving is a risky activity. Each year, more than 300 people are killed in motor vehicle crashes and several more hundreds are injured in Jamaica. In the USA, over 40,000 people are killed in motor vehicle collisions and over 3 million people are injured annually...reading, writing, eating, adjusting the radio/CD/tape, interacting with others in the car, grooming, as well as cell phones use, were major distractions. Employing in-car video cameras to observe how drivers behave, the study concluded that all drivers in the study had been distracted to some degree...Most countries have some level of prohibitions on cell phone use while driving. In Australia, cell phone use while driving is banned in all states and fines varies. In Ireland, handheld cell phone use while driving is banned, with a fine of US$380 and/or up to 3 months imprisonment on a third offence...