Caribbean leaders today are challenged to solve economic problems that are created from natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding.

Small islands have the highest risk of being first impacted by rising sea levels. Many of these natural disasters are by-products of global warming.

Yes, global warming, get used to hearing it because it’s gonna keep coming up. It is at the forefront of the minds of most world leaders. That includes our Caribbean leaders back home. They are currently dealing with the water rationing that we talked about last week. They must look for more efficient forms of energy.

An article published online in the St. Lucia Guardian reported on the progress of the different Caribbean islands. The article spoke about a small business owner in Barbados who purchased a solar kit for about $100 and installed it on the top of his “one door” corner store.

This entrepreneur, who is a mechanic by trade, wanted to stop relying on the utility company because it is very expensive. Now he is harnessing his own energy. He is using it to charge his car battery and ultimately he is offsetting the cost of his electric bill.

The United States embassy is proud of their leadership on wind energy in Barbados. They have installed a 20 kilowatt turbine which is the largest operating system at any United States embassy in the world. It is designed to stand up to a category 2 hurricane and still produce up to 56 megawatts of energy in one year.

“Putting up this wind turbine has been an Embassy goal for several years and I’m delighted it has come to fruition,” said Larry Palmer, U.S. Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. “This shows we ‘walk the walk’ as well as we ‘talk the talk’ when it comes to being serious about mitigating climate change and promoting renewable energy.”

The Barbados government is also giving tax write-offs to citizens who install hot water solar heaters.

In his last State of the Union address, President Obama spoke about global warming. He said anyone who wants to dispute climate change, can go ahead and be in denial, but they will be pretty lonely because they will be debating the majority of the American people, the entire scientific community and 200 nations around the world who agree its problem and intend to solve it.

“But even if the planet wasn’t at stake; even if 2014 wasn’t the warmest year on record – until 2015 turned out even hotter – why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and sell clean energy?”

Could this be the way of the future? This is a valid question because most of the countries in the Caribbean are still relying on imported diesel oil for most of their energy. This is the case because of the cost of rebuilding or converting systems that have been in place for generations. And as President Obama said, instead of subsidizing the past, we should invest in the future.

The Caribbean has unlimited access to sunshine and trade winds so it seems as if it would be the ideal location for developing renewable energy. Petroleum resources are scarce so energy prices are high as there is little to no opportunity for competing companies to come in and offer more competitive prices.

World leaders have denied that global warming was real until Mother Nature demonstrated otherwise. Global warming is now a fact that is hard to deny. It’s up to the ordinary folks, like you and me, who believe that something needs to be done.

People right here in the diaspora need to put pressure on their political representatives to go back to Washington and get environmental regulations passed to fund some of these efforts in the Caribbean.

Caribbean people back home will also have to change their mindset and work even harder toward securing a better environmental future for their children.