THE EDITOR, Sir:

I FIND the constant utterances of the new mayor of the municipality of Portmore quite alarming. Mayor Hinds constantly refers to clearing the "bush and macca" as part of his clean-up of the municipality, and also making it look like south Florida. Admirable as that goal may be, the mayor needs to understand certain basic environmental principles and Portmore's own peculiar geography.

First, Portmore is in one of the driest areas in the island. It has a very large population and is surrounded by water-intensive agriculture. All this makes Portmore's water situation very different from south Florida, which is much wetter and has a huge freshwater wetland, the Everglades, at its heart. This means the verdant lawns of south Florida are less suited for Portmore.

In addition, the so-called "bush and macca" are all part of the natural flora of Portmore. They are part of the adaptation to a hot, dry environment. They help to protect the soil from erosion and play an important role in the removal of the huge amounts of carbon dioxide that the municipality generates.

In this era of climate change and environmentally sustainable prin-ciples, the mayor, in his quest for a more aesthetically pleasing city, may want to ditch the south Florida model. My suggestion would be for him to find ways to incorporate some of those hardy drought-resistant plants in his landscaping efforts, rather than simply clearing them as "bush and macca".

I am, etc.,

RICARDO SMALLING

rsmalling@sympatico.ca

Ontario, Canada