Thomas C. Famous. Photo: Provided

Legislation in Bermuda was recently changed by Deputy Premier Honourable Walter H. Roban to allow for those entities that wish to try out different forms of renewable energy such as solar and wave technology. Photo: Provided

[British] Virgin Islands Minister of Transportation, Works and Utilities Honourable Kye M. Rymer (R5) has said no one in the Virgin Islands would be able to control the price increases caused by the military crisis between Russia and Ukraine. Photo: Facebook/File

In more recent times, the minute the war broke out between Vladimir V. Putin and sanity, the world as we knew it economically, changed.

With Russia being the world's second-largest producer of crude oil, global oil prices have jumped from $65 per barrel in 2021 to $100 in mid-March, 2022.

Well, Ukraine is far away?

Correct.

Won’t affect anything to do with Bermuda and the rest of the region?

Incorrect.

This latest military and humanitarian crisis will most definitely affect us all economically in both the short and long run.

Here is a quote from [British] Virgin Islands Minister of Transportation, Works and Utilities Honourable Kye M. Rymer (R5).

"This is not going to be something that I or anybody here in the BVI will be able to control, that is going to be difficult…"

Here is what we can expect:

• Increase in the cost of producing electricity, as our electric cal power plants rely on imported refined oil.
• increase in the cost of fueling up our vehicles, as they all rely on imported fuel oils as well
• Cooking gas will go up
• Airline tickets will go up.
• The foods and goods we import will go up, as the ships bringing them have to use the same type of oil that our power plants operate on.

So, to borrow a line from the 1770s, “The increases are coming, the increases are coming!!"

Forward thinking

Fortunately, there is somewhat of a “silver lining” to this man-made catastrophe.

• Just recently we saw the arrival of  new  electric buses that will produce zero emissions and require zero fuel in order to operate

• The Saturn Solar farm down east is now operational and capable of producing up to 6 Megawatts or 6 per cent of our peak demands during the time that the sun is up

• Legislation in Bermuda was recently changed by Deputy Premier Honourable Walter H. Roban to allow for those entities that wish to try out different forms of renewable energy such as solar and wave technology

Like everywhere else in the world, we are reliant on the by-products of fossil fuels in order to maintain the standards of living that we have become accustomed to over the last 100 years.

• Refrigeration
• AC units
• Internet
• Mass transportation
• Tourism arrivals

Essentially, there is no escaping using fossil fuels in one form or another.

It is clear that events both near and far, can adversely affect our economies. As a region, we must continue to implement slow but steady increases to our energy supply mixes.