Michael Taylor | From the weight of waiting to the agony of the aftermath

Discussion on Jamaica-Gleaner

Dennis A. Minott, PhD 3 hours ago

Shouldn't Climate Denialism Now Be Criminalised?

Professor Michael Taylor’s column is a vital public service. He shows, with scientific clarity and pastoral concern, that Melissa’s horror is not “natural” but climate-changed – scarring both our landscapes and our minds. Denise Forrest and I have clearly argued in this and other spaces that wilful, knowing promotion of climate-change denial anywhere in CARICOM should be a criminal offence, especially when done to project and/or protect “billioneering” for private gain. After Jamaica's Melissa and Baryl cases, that position is no longer radical; it is elementary self-defence. To keep licensing, subsidising, or platforming climate liars is to aid and abet future Melissa-like disasters and their psychological carnage. Taylor is right: resilience must include emotional first aid, guided by the best science. Law, policy, and public finance must now follow that science, not the pockets of reckless profiteers. Our children deserve truth, protection, and leaders brave enough to act.