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THE GLEANER, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016 • www.jamaica-gleaner.com •gleanerjamaica •jamaicagleaner • FEATURE

Water to power future cars, homes
Amitabh Sharma
Contributor

TOKYO, Japan:
MAGINE NEEDING torefuel your car, but insteadof popping the tank open toa petrol pump, you are doing soto a generator that produces
energy from water.
Yes, you read correctly; theuniversal thirst quencher is thenew fuel in town.
In Minato-ku, Tokyo, Honda
Motor Co Ltd is showcasing
their hydrogen fuel cell-powered car, standing next to ahydro generator.
The generator produces
energy from water, breaking
the molecules to releasehydrogen as fuel with the byproduct oxygen, which isreleased into the atmosphere –emissions do not get cleaner
than this.

IRAW ENERGY“We are using water as raw
material to produce energy,”
said Yukihiko Kakutani,assistant manager of corporate public relations at thecompany. “This is the future,
not only (for) powering cars,

PHOTOS BY AMITABH SHARMA

A generator connected to the Honda Clarity, which, when fully charged,
can power a home for almost a week.
but (also) creating smart andsustainable communities,” headded.
The hydro cell-powered
Honda Clarity, Kakutani
informed, can run 700 kilometres on seven kilogrammes ofhydrogen fuel, making it energy
efficient. Also, when connected
to an electric generator, theHonda Clarity can power one
household for almost a week –a step towards reducing
dependency on fossil fuels anda move to renewable fuels,
which is being researched byautomobile manufacturers
worldwide.
The technology, according tothe Honda executive, will be

The hydropowered Honda Clarity stands beside the Smart Hydro Station,
which breaks down hydrogen molecules from water and powers thevehicle. The by-product — oxygen — is released in the air.

apt for island states, which will
help to decrease reliance on theelectricity grid. Further, shoulda natural disaster strike, itwould ensure uninterrupted
power supply for the residents,
essential services and educational institutions.
“Hydrogen technology isbeneficial in many aspects – itrequires less space, can retain
charge longer and there is lessdrainage of energy,” noted
Kakutani.
This pioneering technology is
not a distant dream; Honda
plans to roll out the Clarity inselect markets in 2017.
Though the cost to the customer of this Star Trek-ish,hydropowered technology
would be prohibitive for massroll-out, car manufacturers areresearching how to rationalise
the prices.
“Our goal is to keep the skies
blue for the next generation,”
Kakutani said.
amitabh.sharma@hotmail.com

FILE

Dr Homero Silva and UnaMay Gordon, principal director
for the Climate Change Division, thumb through the pagesof Jamaica’s Climate Change Policy Framework recently.

New climatechange board
holds first meeting
JAMAICA’S NEW Climate
Change Advisory Board –tasked to advise the Ministerof Economic Growth and Job
Creation Prime Minister
Andrew Holness on climate
issues – has had its firstmeeting.
“This was a meeting to lookat the terms of reference, tounderscore the relevance androle of the board as well as to
set the frequency of the meeting which we agreed would beevery quarter – unless there
are emerging issues,” UnaMay
Gordon, principal director of
the Climate Change Division(CCD), told The Gleaner.
The meeting, held onNovember 23, was convened
post the recent climate changetalks, held in Marrakech,
Morocco, from November 7 toNovember 18.
Chaired by Pro ViceChancellor for Graduate
Studies at the University of theWest Indies, Dr Dale Webber,the board draws its membership from not only academia,
but also the private and public
sectors and civil society.
Members include celebrated
climate scientist Nobel Peace
Prize-winner Professor
Anthony Chen and former
international climate change
negotiator and retired head ofthe Meteorological Service,
Jeffrey Spooner.
Other members include:n Professor Anthony
Clayton, University of theWest Indies;n Dr Livingston White,
Caribbean Institute of Mediaand Communication;n Professor Homero Silva,
University of Technology;n Dr Delano Lewis,
Northern Caribbean University;n Energy consultant DavidBarrett, ENBAR Consulting; andn Dr Susan Otuokon,Jamaica Conservation andDevelopment Trust.

BOARD MEMBERS
Peter Knight, head of the
National Environment andPlanning Agency; Marilyn
Headley, head of the Forestry
Department; and Claire
Bernard, deputy director general and director of sustainable
development and regional
planning at the Planning
Institute of Jamaica, also siton the board.
In addition to Gordon, other
Ministry of Economic Growthand Job Creation representatives include permanent secretary Audrey Sewell, Dr
Sharon Crooks and chief technical director Oral Khan.
For Barrett, it was a productive meeting that identified key
issues and gaps, including theabsence of a legal mind and an
economist from among theirnumbers.
“I felt that a number of critical issues, which should be on
the table were put on the table.
I think what is important now is
the execution, that is, addressing those things that were considered important,” he noted.
Ultimately, the energy consultant said, “I think it (the board)should achieve what it intends.”
pwr.gleaner@gmail.com

CONTRIBUTED

Youth comprised the majority of those who participated in Climate Walk 2016.

A walk to secure water
WITH THE stress of the recent
drought still fresh in a lot ofminds, it was little wonder thatwater was made the focus of
Climate Walk 2016, and 1,000
Jamaicans, the majority of themyoung people, supported it.
With the benefit of banners
and posters, and in a carnivallike atmosphere, walkers madethe journey from Emancipation
Park in Kingston to Half-Way
Tree and back on December 3.
With the theme ‘Secure Water
for All’, the goal was to raiseawareness about climate change –a clear and present danger towater security, given, among otherthings, the prospect of warmer
temperatures, more severe
droughts and rising sea levels.
While the consensus is that
greater numbers would havebeen welcomed, organisers aresatisfied.
“We would always prefer alarger number as the aim of thewalk is to sensitise and increaseawareness,” noted Nalini
Jagnarine, environmental analyst and business development
coordinator at Environmental
Solutions Limited.
“Many events took place thatday, but regardless, the turnout
was great and the aim of thewalk was accomplished,” sheadded.
Colonel Oral Khan, chief technical director in the Ministry ofEconomic Growth and Job
Creation, said, too, that there wasroom for greater public support.
However, he maintained that theClimate Change Awareness Weekof activities – which concluded
with the Climate Walk, a concert
involving Panos Caribbean’s
Voices for Climate Change

A carnival-like atmosphere typified Climate Walk 2016.
Education artistes and a climate
smart expo – was a positive step.

WEEK OF AWARENESS“The walk culminated theactivities around Climate
Change Awareness Week. Muchof the earlier activities did not
really engage the (general) public and so we were happy forthis event. The public’s attention
was drawn to the fact that climate change is a reality. We
attracted a lot of onlookers along
the way and I hope they could
appreciate the message,” he said.
The Climate Week of activities included a visit from theIntergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), which“assesses the scientific, technical and socio-economic infor-

mation relevant for the understanding of the risk of humaninduced climate change”.
That visit saw the hosting of amedia-training workshop organised by Panos Caribbean;
engagement between government actors and IPCC scientists
as well as with students andmembers of the local academiccommunity.
The University of the West
Indies also launched its supercomputer SPARKS. SPARKS –the Scientific Platform forApplied Research andKnowledge Sharing – wasfinanced to the tune of
US$750,000 by the InterAmerican Development Bank
under the Regional Track of thePilot Programme for Climate

Resilience.
“Climate change is affecting us
all and will continue to affect usand future generations. It iseveryone’s business,” said
Jagnarine.
“The time to act is now. Be apart of a movement to increaseawareness of climate change ad
its impacts on Jamaica and how
we as Jamaican business owners,
youth, teachers, etc, can learn tomitigate and adapt to climatechange,” she added.
Proceeds from this year’s climate walk – the tally for whichis still ongoing – will go to theinstallation of rainwater harvesting systems in select vulnerable
schools.
pwr.gleaner@gmail.com