Energy-saving ideas for ordinary people
June 14, 2007
Posted in Green tips, Lifestyle
The Western Cape held a renewable energy and climate change summit in Cape Town last week and on its website there are a number of helpful ideas on what you can do to tackle climate change by improving your car’s fuel efficiency and using less electricity.
SA must increase its share of the multi-billion-dollar carbon trade
June 13, 2007
Posted in Business
South Africa must position itself to take advantage of the huge carbon market developing internationally, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the minister of environmental affairs and tourism, said on Friday in a speech at the Western Cape Renewable Energy and Climate Change Summit held in Cape Town.
Africa has a mere 3% stake in the carbon market, which was valued at about $30-billion (R218-billion) in 2006, the minister said. South Africa accounts for about half of that 3%. By comparison, China supplied about 60% of the emission reductions purchased by industrialised countries since 2002.
EWT’s joke of the bushveld
June 11, 2007
Posted in Conservation
Tourists come to Africa in their droves for the quintessential wildlife safari. But what will the African safari of the future be like? The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has posted a tongue-in-cheek look on YouTube in a video titled Joke of the Bushveld, a play on the famous South African novel by Percy Fitzpatrick, “Jock of the Bushveld”
The EWT’s objective is to highlight the potential effects of climate change on South Africa’s wildlife. It says that if we do nothing the joke might be on us.
To get us off our complacent butts, the EWT offers suggestions of things ordinary people can do to limit the effect of climate change: at home, at work, eating out and shopping. The most powerful tools we have, though, are education and knowledge, the EWT says.
For more click here
Let them eat hake
June 11, 2007
Posted in Food
Sea Harvest frozen hake fillets have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a sustainable fish product. The company, which is based in Saldanha Bay on South Africa’s west coast, can now display the MSC’s blue eco-label on their products.
The MSC is an independent non-profit organisation founded in 1997 to find a solution to the problem of overfishing. It has developed an environmental standard for well-managed and sustainable fisheries. For a list of fisheries that are MSC certified go to the MSC’s website.
For more click here
Good food guide for fish lovers
June 11, 2007
Posted in Food
South African seafood lovers who want to be ecofriendly have never had it so easy. Thanks to the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi), information about the types of fish it’s fine to eat and the types that should avoided is just an SMS away, or rather a FishMS.
So, if you’re sitting in a restaurant and you want to make sure the linefish of the day isn’t a vulnerable species, simply text the name of the fish to the number 079-499-8795. You’ll be sent back a message telling you whether the fish’s status is green, orange or red as well as a few words about why.
E-waste: Don’t let your laptop turn toxic
June 7, 2007
Posted in Lifestyle
South Africans don’t really have a clue when it comes to recycling e-waste — old electronic equipment, like PCs, TVs, printers. Your average person on the street here probably doesn’t know that you can’t just throw e-waste out with the garbage in case it turns toxic in a landfill site. Although, fortunately, Mr Average is more likely to store old PCs and printers in a garage on the off-chance that they can be given to a good cause one day. After all, we PC owners in Africa live on a little first-world island separated from our poorer neighbours by a gaping digital divide. The problem is, nobody seems to know who to give their old PCs to. So they gather dust until Mr Average decides to clean out the garage. Then what? But things are beginning to change.
Climate crisis: Tips from Al Gore
June 5, 2007
Posted in Green News
If you haven’t seen Al Gore’s movie about climate change “An Inconvenient Truth” because you’re not sure you could sit through a feature-length lecture/slide show given by a US politician, his TED lecture offers a less intimidating introduction to the man with the message for the world.
Gore is surprisingly funny and engaging, despite the weighty subject matter: what individuals can do to stem the tide of climate change.
Beware, he’s likely to keep you riveted for a full 15 minutes and you won’t be the first person he’s converted to the cause.
View the lecture here
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