In the wake of renewed complaints about the state of the New Providence landfill, with the stink of possibly toxic smoke still lingering in the air, Stellar Energy Ltd. and Stellar Waste to Energy Ltd. have waded into the debate over what to do about the site. Spokespersons for Stellar are "encouraged by the interest" in waste-to-energy and are using the developments as a way to prod the government to expeditiously address the company's interests.

Up to November 2015, Stellar principals acknowledged that they had not received government approvals to access the landfill and conduct necessary tests, so it is not clear whether there is a project to be addressed.

The landfill has been plagued by occasional outbreaks of what most assume to be gas-fueled fires for decades, and the most recent round of fires have sparked outrage and reinvigorated discussions about waste-to-energy solutions. And in fact Stellar became enmeshed in a political firestorm when it received a letter of intent from then Parliamentary Secretary Renward Wells as part of its campaign - mounted in 2010 - to get a government go-ahead for pre-proposal activities for a $650 million waste-to-energy project. The fallout of that action saw Wells fired from his post and cast doubt on Stellar's future in The Bahamas - particularly after the landfill's current managers, Renew Bahamas, refused Stellar access to the site without government approval.

Yesterday, Stellar pointed out that it has been in talks with the government for a number of years. According to a release issued by the company, it has been "negotiating a plan for a large scale plasma gasification waste-to-energy plant at the New Providence landfill site."

"Over the years, government, through its ministries, has shown an interest in this technology. Members of opposing political parties have also recognized what a waste-to-energy facility can do for The Bahamas, not only to reduce the cost of electricity, but also as a tool to end the vexing and hazardous fires at the dump, such as the one that has been burning since Easter Sunday," the Stellar release said.

Stellar said that on August 13, 2015 it had received a letter from the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) confirming that the authority was in receipt of Stellar's files, and would present them to the National Economic Council.

"Six months later we have been told the authority has not yet met on this matter, despite an assurance that our file is complete and needs no further explanation. We eagerly await a reply, as this process is as expensive as it is time consuming. Stellar Energy is still strongly committed to seeing significant reductions in the cost of electricity as well as being an integral part of a permanent solution to the ever growing challenges at the New Providence landfill. Our commitment also extends to creating more jobs and ownership opportunities for Bahamians," the statement said.

Last April, Stellar reported that it had already spent $2 million on its preliminary investigation into the feasibility of building the plant at the New Providence landfill. The company's executives have stated that the waste-to-energy facility could be operational within 24 months of government approval, claiming that the facility could provide power at 19.5 cents per kilowatt/hour.

Meanwhile, Minister for the Environment Kenred Dorsett said this week that Renew Bahamas has made good progress and fires at the site have been reduced since the company took over management of the landfill in June 2014. According to Dorsett, measures are being taken to alleviate any smoke which may be emanating in the interest of public health. He added that the security regime at the site was being assessed as a result of several fires that were suspected to be the result of arson.

K. Quincy Parker

Guardian Business Editor

We are all concerned about the violence being perpetrated in our homes, schools, and sometimes on church grounds. It is disturbing to witness a child in a fight with her parents, or parents brutally beating their children with a piece of wood. More so are the painful, violent scenes on our school campuses that make them look like war zones.

With the new age of cheaper cellular phones, we now have a new weapon assisting in the eruption of violent explosions. Angry perpetrators use the cell phone to call for reinforcement or for others to do the dirty work for them. This only adds to the long list of "virtual weapons" being used to inflict pain and misery on innocent lives. This power struggle with the tongue is often a competition of who can say the meanest, foulest, and most derogatory things.

The truth is that none of the individuals wants to lose, so the "virtual war" will be an endless brawl, most often ending in a physical, senseless confrontation involving real weapons of rocks, bottles, cutlasses, pieces of wood, and sometimes guns. There is no letting go. No giving up. It is a fight to the end. Where does the seed of violence first begin its germination? Is it in the school, the church, or the home?

We've all heard about road rage, a problem occurring too often on our streets. Road rage occurs when impatient drivers, perhaps frustrated over personal things in their lives, act in an uncultured manner while driving. Similarly, there is a tidal wave of family rage sweeping our country. I call this family rage because its birth begins in faulty interpersonal relationships. Rage, whether at home, school, or the church, is a shame-based expression of anger.

The "rager" (the one who is in rage) exerts his or her power to survive the episode as "king" -- king of rage, king of shaming. A "rager" is inflexible, always right, unbending, and poisoned with selfishness. To use a theological term, I can also say that "ragers" are self-righteous, especially during the moment of rage. To use a psychological term, "ragers" are dangerously narcissistic. For the purposes of this article, I describe a narcissist as one who creates his own world around him, as if he is the only important citizen. All others are to get out the way if they refuse to cooperate with him. If he has to use pain to force one to cooperate, then so be it.

Typically "ragers" grew up in an environment of shamed-based relationships. "Ragers" were typically shamed or punished by their caretakers for expressing emotion when they were young. For example, they were told things like: Be a man and don't cry. Nice girls don't get angry. Or I'll give you something to cry about. Or, you are a no good child. Or I don't know why you are such a worthless fool.

Their parents did more shaming than praising. Most of the angry, "warrior-like" students had to learn how to defend themselves before they could even hold a knife and fork properly. Sometimes the first use of the knife was to harm another, even at the tender ages of two, three, and four. Since these persons were mostly shamed than loved, they grow up thinking that shaming others is normal.

Characteristics of shame-based relationships
It is my opinion that children, teenagers, and adults who think of non-physical or physical violence as a normal expression of life are coming from shame-based family settings. Sad to say, they really do not know better. However, they can learn to do better.

After much research on the subject, I came across social scientist and pastor, Thomas F. Fischer's "Eight Characteristics of Shame-based Relationships". I share them without any adaptation:

o High shame/low self-esteem: Shame-based individuals cannot honor and respect themselves or others. Instead, they're trapped by their self-consciousness, their sense of inadequacy, and their defense mechanisms that  shield them from their own hypersensitive self-judgmentalism.

o Distorted view of others: With anger too strong and frightening to admit, they tend to project these feelings outside of themselves. They often make themselves victims by characterizing others as angry, blaming, unfair, aggressive, judgmental, controlling or mean. Since the victimization needs must be maintained, the hostile or unfair feelings projected toward others tend to remain unchanged too.

o Distorted view of themselves: Unable consciously or unconsciously to deal with the shameful awareness that they can and do make mistakes, shame-based individuals will engage in various self-distortions and denials. These may come in many forms. Perhaps a common manifestation of this tendency toward self-distortion is when they are hard on themselves or when they see themselves as infinitely better than others. Such narcissistic tendencies may move them to over-report the good things they do while under-reporting their failures.

o Motivated by fear: The greater their fears, the greater the need for their mental censors to protect them from their fears. As heightened fears raise the level of hyper-vigilance, their increased hyper-vigilance requires a rapidly increased defensive hyper-response.

o Black-and-white thinking: Closely related to fear motivations is the practice of splitting or assigning people and their behaviors to rigid categories. Yes/no, black/white, either/or, safe/unsafe, good/bad are all examples of the rigid categories they create. When they judge others, there is no gray area. Nearly always it's all or nothing, throw the baby out with the bath water, etc.

o Enslaved by hyper-self-criticism: Those upon whom this judgmentalism falls may feel intense guilt. As if it were any consolation, shame-based individuals judge themselves even more critically, mercilessly and unfairly than they do others. As they have been taught, they are either good or bad, perfect or failure, saint or sinner, worth love or unworthy of love, competent or incompetent, etc.

o Fear of abandonment: Being abandoned is a fate worst than death. It must be avoided at all costs by behaviors such as people-pleasing, perfectionism, giving in, overextending themselves to find love, putting up rigid boundaries to avoid relationships and thus abandonment.

o Loneliness: Shame-based loneliness results from the strict detachment that characterized shame-based individuals. This detachment may be seen in their preference for isolation. This isolation can be accomplished in numerous ways including physical withdrawal, emotional withdrawal, or putting on a subtlety-guarded life of the party facade.

If you are a pastor, teacher, community worker, or parent, and you know any teenager who is always angry or responds to disappointments and disagreements in violent ways, look a little closer and see which of these eight characteristics are manifested in his or her life.

I do not want you to think that we are all innocent bystanders who are never violent or mean. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you may need some help.

o Do you think that most of the people you know are stupid jerks who can't do anything right?

o Are you impatient with the people who wait on you in stores and restaurants?

o Do you argue with nearly everyone you meet at some point in your encounter with them?

o Do you prefer to watch violent, action movies and television shows, and sometimes secretly wish that you could do the things that the characters are doing?

o Do you prefer to play with violent action video games, kick the cat, beat the dog, or your children or your spouse, or fantasize about doing those things?

o Have the people around you told you that you have a very short fuse?

o Have you ever tried to control your angry outbursts?

o Do you feel, in secret, that you are losing your grip on your life?

o Barrington H. Brennen is a marriage and family therapist and board certified clinical psychotherapist, USA. Send your questions or comments to barringtonbrennen@gmail.com  or write to P.O. Box CB-13019, Nassau, The Bahamas, or visit www.soencouragement.org or call 242-327-1980 or 242-477-4002.

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning the women took the spices they had prepared, and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly, two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they remembered his words." - Luke 24:1-8

As Christians, our calling is to tell and retell the story of the cross in word and deed. We are to become instruments of the reality of the resurrection in the reign of God. Yes, the tomb is empty, and because it is empty, we have life eternally.

The tomb is empty not because of vandals and grave robbers who desecrate graves; not because government officials want to use the grave for something else, it is empty because Jesus Christ our Savior, who came and died had the power to take up his life again. He had the power to conquer death. He had the power to restore the kingdom to us. He had the love, the care and concern for us poor miserable sinners. Christ has risen! Christ has risen -- the tomb is empty.

In the above text we are told of some women followers of Jesus who went to his tomb very early in the morning with spices they had prepared. To their surprise, his body was gone. He was not there. They were instead greeted by "two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning."

The women were surprised by the two strange looking men who addressed them. "Why look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!" They were given three bits of instructions by the strange men -- remember; return to the world; and retell what you have witnessed.

We along with the witnesses to the empty tomb are called to remember. Remember that we are sinners. We have fallen short of the glory of God.

Remember the massive number of people who are starving to death worldwide. We are to remember the hurt we have caused to loved ones and to our neighbors. Remember the disturbing news about the murder in our streets. Remember the disturbing news we receive about the people of our world on a daily basis. Remember the story of Jesus, his life and death. Remember that he suffered for you and for me. Yes, remember.

Friday night he died. Friday night brought about the dawning of the new day. The story did not end on Friday night. On Sunday morning we stood gazing at and empty tomb.

The grave has been robbed of its victory. Death has lost its sting because Christ has risen, Christ is risen -- yes the tomb is empty. Thank God for the empty tomb. Thank God for Jesus Christ who experienced the pains of death. He took our sins upon himself and became sin for us so that we can experience the righteousness of God.

Yes remember, remember the words of Jesus on the night before he was killed. He took the bread and said, "Take and eat; this is my body," and with the wine, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood..." [Matt. 26:26-28] As we eat and drink the bread and the wine, we have the assurance that Jesus is with us always.

Don't forget to tell and retell this story. Tell of the Savior that you know. Yes! Retell your experience that others may believe and have eternal life. Amen.

o Reverend Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas, or telephone 323-4107 or email: lutheranchurch@coralwave.com.

Save the Bays Chairman Joe Darville (top row, third from left) with Bahamas Agricultural Forum for Youth members from D.W. Davis Junior High School. Youth involvement in the expo was coordinated through the Inter-American Institute on Agricultural Cooperation with local headquarters on Village Road in Nassau.

Healthy, Affordable Food Grown Locally Touted as Answer to Food Crisis

As Bahamian consumers become savvier about seeking out alternative ways to source healthy, safe food that’s affordable, the answer to Bahamas’ food future could very well be a return to its past.

“Until we as a people come back to the land and connect with God’s green earth, until we fully appreciate what growing more of our own food means, the full richness of our lives will never be realized,” said Joe Darville, Chairman of the environmental organization Save The Bays which has become an almost overnight sensation on Facebook with nearly 20,000 friends and followers.

Darville’s “back to basics” message was an often repeated refrain at the Agri-Business Expo 2016 which took place at Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre in Nassau March 9-13, the theme for which was “Progressing Toward Food Security: Our Food, Our Future, Our Bahamas.” Hot topics over the course of the five-day event centered on buying and growing local foods as the ultimate answer to the ongoing Bahamian food crisis.

“We remain dedicated to spreading the message of ‘buy what we must, grow what we can,’” said Alfred Gray, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources.

Also known as the farm-to-table food movement, the success rate of producing and delivering food locally will be heavily contingent upon the way resources are seen and used by future generations of Bahamians. Youth involvement in the expo was coordinated through the Inter-American Institute on Agricultural Cooperation with local headquarters on Village Road in Nassau and sponsored by Save The Bays, BTC and Super Value.

“We are proud that Save The Bays is playing a small part in involving young people in the promising future of agribusiness,” Darville said. “I am thrilled to see so many new farmers, to see the government recognize farming pioneers and to be part of the new energy that farming is attracting.”

Although Save The Bays is commonly associated strictly with the protection of marine resources, Darville emphasized that environmental sustainability is an issue affecting all aspects of Bahamian lives, not the least of which is the food consumed by the country’s citizens.

“When people see or hear ‘Save The Bays,’ they automatically think marine resources because so much of our work revolves around protecting the waters and bays, mangroves, coral reefs and all the life they support,” Darville said. “But environmental sustainability is so much greater. True environmental sustainability is all encompassing.”

Source: Diane Phillips & Associates