How Bermuda Is Leading The Sustainability Charge
Could a tiny 21-mile island in the middle of the Atlantic be a model for the rest of the world?
ABermuda’s brilliant white rooftops are not just for show: these eye-catching structures are also a testament to Bermudian ingenuity and creativity. Terraced limestone roofs collect rain to provide the island’s water supply.
s climate change concerns grow in the 21st century, Bermuda is making strides to become a global leader in sustainability. Of course, this is nothing new for the mid-Atlantic destination. Sustainability has been encoded in the island’s DNA from the very beginning. All the way back in 1623, one of Bermuda’s very first laws was put into place to protect sea turtles. That legacy of conservation has been maintained for the past four centuries. Yes, Bermuda is just 21 square miles in size — but its inhabitants know that every inch counts. Today, “green” strategies are more important than ever. Island nations and sea level cities will be among the first to experience global warming firsthand as rising oceans threaten to wipe some destinations from the map. “When you live on an island in the middle of the ocean, every single factor needs to be taken into consideration; down to the trash each family produces,” Phillippe Rouja, Bermuda’s Custodian of Wrecks says. “When we throw away rubbish, it doesn’t get shipped to some far-off locale that’s out of sight and mind. We are imminently aware of the cause and effect of our actions with regard to our natural environment.” With those very real causes and effects in mind, Bermuda is taking a frontline approach to its sustainability efforts. Recently, the island completed construction on a solar farm that will provide six megawatts of clean energy, powering the equivalent of 1,100 homes annually and saving 150,000 tons of CO2. The solar farm is just the first step towards the goal of supplying 85 percent of the island’s electricity through renewable sources by 2035.
In addition to the adoption of solar energy, Bermuda has embraced the electric car. Historically, Bermuda has only allowed one car per family on-island, but recently, the island has begun to roll out electric fleets of vehicles that are slowly replacing gas guzzlers. Additionally, for Bermudians, electric cars are duty free, while all other cars are imported at a duty rate of over 70 percent!
Recently, the government of Bermuda joined forces with the Waitt Institute and Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences [BIOS] to form the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme. The Programme will sustainably manage and improve ocean industries like fishing and tourism while at the same time preserving 90,000 square kilometers [50,000 square miles] of Bermuda’s waters, where no fishing, extraction, or destruction of any kind is allowed. Finally, Bermuda’s tourism industry offers visitors the chance to not only enjoy the destination’s spectacular beauty, but also to learn about how the island is protecting that beauty for generations to come. The island has become an ecotourism hub, thanks to the island’s sustainable hotels and a host of unique natural attractions, from Nonsuch Island to the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. The future isn’t just bright in Bermuda — it’s bright green.