This April the Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DoE) is taking part in the 45th annual Earth Day, an internationally recognised event focused on the protection of the environment with the objective of broadening, diversifying and activating the environmental movement through education, public policy and consumer campaigns. The aim is to get people to be environmentally conscious all year round. This year the Global theme is “It’s Our Time to Lead”; various events are taking place throughout April hosted by the Department of Environmental Health, Department of Tourism, Chamber of Commerce, National Trust, Green Tech, DiveTech, Don Fosters, Junk, and the Turtle Farm.

Check out the Calendar of Events, keep an eye out on the Earth Day Facebook page for daily environmental facts and if you’d like something to do with your kids, or want to have someone talk to your group about Earth Day, you can use our Calendar of School Talks to see what’s available and who to contact.

For its part, the DoE is focussing on sustainability and ways of reducing carbon footprints. Energy use in homes, workplaces and transport is directly linked to our impact on the environment through carbon emissions (called a carbon footprint) created by the production of energy. The amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere can be directly attributed to the amount of energy you use as a consumer to power things such as household appliances and the production of goods that you use. In the Cayman Islands, electrical energy is produced mostly by diesel powered generators which emit Carbon Dioxide. Therefore, every time you use an electronic appliance (even a battery powered one that has been charged) the energy it uses has been created by the combustion of fossil fuels and the emission of carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere. When driving your car, carbon dioxide is also emitted into the atmosphere by the combustion of gasoline or diesel, this also accounts for a large proportion of your personal carbon footprint. Similarly the products we buy and use also have a carbon footprint of emissions. When you buy an apple from a supermarket its carbon footprint can be calculated as the energy used in its production, such as: watering the tree, treating it with fertiliser and pesticides, to picking it, transportation and storage.

REDUCING YOUR CONSUMPTION OF PRODUCTS AND ENERGY WILL HELP TO LOWER YOUR INDIVIDUAL CARBON FOOTPRINT AND REDUCE YOUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT.