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August 2009

La Brea group holds smelter protest as PM passes through

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:10 by Monique

Vika Samuel
Wednesday, August 12th 2009

"This is not a La Brea thing, it's a national issue," were the words of Elijah Gour, member of La Brea Concerned Citizens United, when the group staged a protest on Monday evening, prompted by the visit of Prime Minister Patrick Manning to Point Fortin to address a People's National Movement meeting.

While many assembled in Point Fortin for Manning's address, members of La Brea and surrounding communities feverishly attempted to grab Manning's attention as he passed by the "cancer zone".

There was no shortage of police as demonstrators held their placards, showcasing their red "No Smelter" T-shirts and chanting: "Cancer zone, no smelter!"

Manning: Smelter coming

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:08 by Monique

Louis B Homer South Bureau
Wednesday, August 12th 2009

The controversial aluminium smelter plant at La Brea is a must for Government, insists Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

And there will follow a series of other industrial plants on the controversial La Brea Union Industrial Estate, he said.

At a public meeting of the People's National Movement (PNM) in Point Fortin Monday night, Manning and his Energy Minister, Conrad Enill said Government intended to build the smelter.

More plants for La Brea

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:07 by Monique

Published: 12 Aug 2009
Sascha Wilson

In the face of strong opposition against construction of the Alutrint aluminium smelter plant in La Brea, Prime Minister Patrick Manning has announced that the smelter will be among several industrial plants to be constructed in that area.

Manning’s announcement was met with a hearty round of applause from supporters at the PNM’s fifth “party school” at Frisco Junction, Point Fortin Monday night. The smelter has been the subject of several protests by anti-smelter groups and individuals. On his way to and from Point Fortin Manning would have passed an anti-smelter camp at the entrance of the proposed site and a banner which stated: “No Manning, Smelter.”

Kublalsingh: People not against industry

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:06 by Monique

Published: 12 Aug 2009

University of the West Indies lecturer in the Social Sciences faculty Dr Wayne Kublalsingh has welcomed additional industries in La Brea and Point Fortin, but warned that an aluminium smelter will be an economic bust. He was commenting on Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s announcement in Point Fortin Monday night that the Alutrint plant would be built. In addition, Manning said, several other industrial plants would be constructed in that part of the country. Manning said people were not opposed to the smelter, but to industrialisation.

Visiting Hindu group prays for environment

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:05 by Monique

Radhica Sookraj
Published: 12 Aug 2009

Members of the Hindu Seed Organisation, based in New York, participated in a prayer service last week at the Wellington Road Shiv Mandir in Debe. Under the guidance of Pundit Brahamanand Rambachan and Pundit Jeewan Maharaj, the worshippers prayed for the conservation of the environment and an end to the spiralling crime in T&T. One of the visiting members of the organisation, Damon Dolabaille, told the crowd to be mindful of the effects of pollution.

Environmentalist: Join forces to protect common resources

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:03 by Monique

Published: 7 Aug 2009
Christopher Boyack

Minna Pyhala, representative of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), says it is imperative that all those depending on, and affecting, the marine environment, “join forces to protect their common resource.”

She said human marine activities were having negative impacts and compromising the well-being of the sensitive environment we depend upon. Pyhala explained this in her opening statement of the two-day conference on the Institutionalisation of, and International Co-operation by the Caribbean Sea Commission (CSC) held by the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), at their headquarters on Sweet Briar Road, St Clair, yesterday. Since its establishment three years ago, the CSC has been tirelessly implementing its plan of action and initiatives to preserve the environmental integrity of the Caribbean Sea, and ensure sustainable development of the region. It focuses on resource mobilisation, tourism, climate change, fisheries and the ecological balance of the environment.

Gullies on river bank cause erosion at smelter site

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:02 by Monique

Published: 8 Aug 2009
Radhica Sookraj

Deep gullies have now formed along the Vessigny River which runs through the Alutrint’s Aluminium smelter site in La Brea, transforming the once clear river into a stream of slush. Checks revealed that gullies (deep channels made by running surface water) had formed along the banks of the river, causing the soil to erode.

NGC pipeline distresses farmers

Posted Wed, 12/08/2009 - 06:01 by Monique

Yvonne Baboolal
Published: 9 Aug 2009

Amidst the noise of heavy equipment and drilling machines, cane fields in Kelly Village, ruined by neglect, whispered a nearly forgotten tale of the sugar era, ended by government only six years ago. In an abandoned cane field on the Old Southern Main Road in Caroni, last Monday, workers laid down an eight-inch multi-fuel pipeline for the National Gas Company (NGC).

The Alutrint CEC judgement Hundreds of jobs in limbo

Posted Thu, 06/08/2009 - 07:15 by Monique

By Andy Johnson Senior CCN Writer
Wednesday, August 5th 2009

HUNDREDS of millions of dollars invested in projects related to the construction of the Alutrint smelter at La Brea, hundreds of jobs associated with the project and the reputation of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago have all been placed in jeopardy by the quashing in April, of a Certificate of Environmental Clearance for the project, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Utopia of full pockets and cloud forest

Posted Thu, 06/08/2009 - 07:13 by Monique

Published: 6 Aug 2009

Last week, the Business Guardian invited responses to the BG View column headlined, Does money grow on trees? The first and only response to the piece came from Yacoub Taleb:

The polemic on La Brea aluminum smelter’s CEC shows that anti-smelter environmentalists and T&T environmental movements in general, are in bad shape. The protests organised by environmentalists against the smelter reflected weak public support for their cause. No more than a few dozen supporters showed at any of their protests. “Our message is not coming through,” lamented one of the protest organisers. Public support is vital for environmental movements. Without it, their ability to influence is weak and their coffers are empty. Misconceptions, a flawed approach and little bit of politics, resonate in their arguments against the smelter and cost them that valuable public support.