POLÍTICA NUCLEAR
exceptions oí bauxite and petroleum, most of their income is deri–
ved from Agriculture ;and/or Tourism. The most prosperous, Tri–
nidad, is blessed with reIatively large quantiúes of oH and natural
gas, the export of which has provided for a booming economy
based on petro-dollars. Barbados has some petroleum already in use
and there is promise of substantial quantities, though these could
be difficult to recover. Jamaica to date alas has not yet discovered
a single barrel of oil. Nevertheless the per capita consumption of
energy in Jamaica is relatively high. The commercial energy con–
sumption per capita in 1974 was probably slightly higher than that
of Japan and Chile for example, but this reflects to a large extent
the energy intensive nature of the bauxite industry.
The University ol the ''Vest lndies is the largest source ol research
in the Caribbean. Last year we had only some
8,000
students regís–
tered, but with a staff/student ratio of something like 1 in 10 and
with virtualIy alI of the staff full-time, the manpower available for
research, at least in principIe, is quite significant. The impact oí the
energy crisis has kindled interest both in the University and in the
Jamaica Govemment in various aspects oí energy, its use, conserva–
tion, and in possible altemative sources.
To understand our approach
tú
nuclear studies it helps to take
a brief overvíew oí the present and projected energy use in Jamaica.
CONSUtMPTION QF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS IN JAMAICA
The present energy requirements ol Jamaica is now met almost en–
tireIy by imported petroleum. The increased price of oil since 1973
has placed enormaus strains on the economy and has helped to
make a shambles of the foreign exchange situatían. The oil impor–
tatÍon cost has rocketted. The cost in íoreign exchange was about
us$ 71 million in 1973 increasing to us$ 203 million in 1976. To
illustrate what this means in terms of foreign exchange earnings.
Note that the 1971 figure represented about 18% and the 1976 fi–
gures amounted to sorne 30% of the foreign currency eamed by
export trade.
A breakdown of the consumption oí petroleum products in Ja–
maica is given fur two years 1974-1975 in Table
1.
The dominiance
oí the bauxite industry as a consumer of energy is emphasised by
