Animal-human diseases that may spread in a warming world
October 13, 2008
Posted in Green News
In the past week the effects of climate change on human health have come to the fore. The World Health Organisation made it a priority research area at its conference in Barcelona last week after acknowledging that the issue had up to now received little research attention, ENS reports.
Also in Barcelona, the World Conservation Society (WCS) released a report in which it listed 12 animal-human diseases, the so-called “Deadly Dozen”, that might spread to new regions as a result of projected temperature and rainfall changes. Read more
Joule is a hit in Paris
October 11, 2008
Posted in Transport
SA’s Joule electric car was described as “the darling of the Paris autoshow” this week. Which is something to make us Sefricans feel very proud of Optimal Energy, the Cape Town company that made the car. Now that Optimal has lifted the veil of secrecy, you can go to the website to find out more about the Joule and see pictures. But, in the meantime, here are some facts about the car that weren’t in the press release:
- The Joule’s lithium-ion battery pack will cost about a third of the price of the car (word is the car will sell for around R200,000), so Optimal Energy plans to lease the batteries rather than sell them. A battery is expected to have a lifespan of about seven years. They are recyclable and contain no heavy metals.
- The car’s overall running costs will be around 20 percent lower than a petrol- or diesel-powered car at today’s fuel prices, and this could increase to as much as a 40 percent saving by the time the vehicle is launched in 2010 if fuel prices continue to rise as expected, according to Optimal Energy.
- Maintenance costs will be half that of petrol or diesel equivalent vehicles, the company says.
- The car goes from 0-50km/h in 4.8 seconds and 0-100km/h in 15 seconds.
- The car is 3.9m long and 1.8m wide, seats six and has a 700-litre boot.
- It comes standard with blue tooth compatibility and iPod functionality,
- It will be available for media test drives next year.
Sources: Edmunds Inside Line, Wired Blog Network, Optimal Energy, Car Today
Cool gadgets for eco-friendly people
October 8, 2008
Posted in Lifestyle, Renewable energy
Here’s proof that environmentally friendly gadgets don’t have to be home-made and held together with duct tape. The three below are clever, simple, look good and use renewable energy.
SAKKU SOLAR BAGS
Swiss-based company Sakku produces solar bags with an integrated ultra-light and flexible solar panel that allows you to charge your cell phone, MP3 Player or GPS tracker with solar energy. The bags come in three models: Sakku.traveller, which is made out of recycled sail cloth from boats sailing on Swiss lakes; Sakku.worker, which has a cushioned compartment for laptops and comes in black cordura with an extra-large belt; and Sakku.buddy, which uses recycled sun shutters. Best of all these bags are available in South Africa from Tashi Solar. The bags are available either with or without a battery which stores energy so you can charge your appliance when you need to. The bags start at R3,352.00. Read more
Sonar use linked to whale strandings
October 8, 2008
Posted in Conservation
Sonar is killing more whales than we realise, says a whale expert who has been tracking the patterns of mass whale strandings around the world for the past eight years.
In a paper entitled “Navy Sonar and Cetaceans: Just how much does the gun need to smoke before we act?”, Professor Chris Parsons of George Mason University in the United States strongly argues for stricter environmental policies related to the use of sonar in the US Navy. “We are increasingly finding if there is a beaked whale mass stranding, there is a military exercise in the area,” he says.
Parsons is a national delegate for the International Whaling Commission’s scientific and conservation committees, and on the board of directors of the marine section of the Society for Conservation Biology. He has been involved in whale and dolphin research for more than a decade in South Africa, India, China, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.
He argues in his paper that the US navy could perform its exercises and affect less of the whale population if it had properly trained, experienced whale experts as lookouts – “not just someone who has watched a 45-minute DVD”, as is now the case. They also need to avoid sensitive areas completely, he says.
“Eventually the Navy may have to reconsider the use of certain types of sonar. Without strict mitigation, they could be wiping out entire populations of whales, and seriously depleting others.”
[Via: EurekaNet]
Power from above: the pope goes solar
October 7, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
In keeping with today’s theme, renewables and icons of the establishment, we turn our attention to the pope, who has started to install photovoltaic panels on the roof of the papal audience hall at Vatican City. A total of 2,700 panels will eventually be installed. They will generate electricity for lighting, heating and cooling the 6,300-seater building and excess electricity will reportedly be used in the Vatican offices. The panels are reportedly worth $1.5-million and were donated to the German born Pope Benedict by Solar World, a German company
Sources: CBS, BBC,Cath News
Wind power: Queen Elizabeth sets a record
October 7, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has commissioned the world’s largest wind turbine. It’ll produce 7.5MW of power and, says EcoGeek, it’ll be taller than “600 corgis standing on each other’s backs” (love that description) – about 175 metres.
As for the effect of wind turbines on the birds on her majesty’s properties, apparently research has shown that offshore turbines are largely safe for migrating birds. And a recent study done in England seems to show that the birds on English farmland aren’t particularly affected by wind farms either. Only one species (pheasant) seemed to roost further away from the turbines. The study was done in winter, so the turbines may have a different effect when the birds are nesting.
The European Union has set a target that 20 percent of energy should come from renewable sources by 2020. In Britain, experts seem to agree that most of this energy will come from wind. Charles Anglin from the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), was quoted by the BBC as saying that by 2020 the UK would have about 6,000 or 7,000 turbines offshore and about 5,000 onshore. “That alone could provide about 25%, possibly 28%, of the country’s electricity,” he said.
Sources: EcoGeek, ScienceNow Daily News, BBC, ENN
Scientists call on Tanzanian government to protect Lake Natron
October 7, 2008
Posted in Conservation
Lesser flamingo on Lake Bogoria in East Africa. Picture courtesy BirdLife International, www.jameswarwick.co.uk
Conservationists have urged the government of Tanzania to protect Lake Natron, the world’s most important lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) breeding site, from a proposed soda ash (sodium bicarbonate) plant.
The Lesser Flamingo population in East Africa – some 1.5-million to 2.5 million birds – accounting for 75% of the global population, is dependent on the lake for its survival, stated 250 scientists from around the world, who had gathered near Cape Town for the 12thPan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC 12), in a resolution. Read more
Mammals face extinction crisis, says IUCN report
October 7, 2008
Posted in Conservation
“The damage industries and commerce do to people and the environment is real, it is considerable, and it is unacceptable,” said Valli Moosa, the president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), who was, until recently, the chairman of South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom.
Speaking at the opening of the conservation body’s 10-day meeting in Barcelona on Sunday, the former SA minister of environmental affairs called on businesses to change their attitudes to environmental issues and largely blamed them and unfettered markets for the world’s environmental woes, the BBC reports.
“Leading entrepreneurs and markets have certainly contributed to the growth of the global economy; yet while individuals may be moral, markets are not,” he was quoted as saying.
A day later the conservation body released its 2008 Red List, the “global standard for conservation monitoring”, which paints a grim picture of the state of the environment. It confirms that the world’s mammals and amphibians face an “extinction crisis”. Read more
Update: Solar Challenge in Cape Town
October 4, 2008
Posted in Transport
The solar-powered cars racing in the South African Solar Challenge have left Cape Town and are on their way up the garden route towards Durbs. You can see pics of some of the vehicles on Urban Sprout and Carbon Copy. They went to see the cars at Canal Walk shopping centre.
Climate change? Never heard of it.
October 4, 2008
Posted in Business, Green News
More than 40 percent of South Africans claimed to know nothing about climate change, according to the results of a survey by the Human Sciences Research Council. And 27 percent said they had never even heard of climate change before they were interviewed for the survey.
Only 18 percent of the respondents thought they knew a lot or a fair amount about it. Nevertheless half the respondents thought climate change was a serious problem. And even though concern seemed to have increased on the year before, levels of awareness of the seriousness of climate change are low in South Africa compared with other countries, even developing countries such as Nigeria, China, India and Brazil, the HSRC report said.
3,164 people were asked questions about climate change in the 2007 South African Social Attitudes Survey. It was the first time a module on climate change had been included in the survey.
Interestingly, people seemed reasonably well informed about the impacts of climate change, the report said.
The majority of respondents (48 percent) felt that the government, in its various forms, should take responsibility for action to prevent further climate change. Only 14 percent thought that large companies had a role to play. But nearly 40 percent of the respondents answered “didn’t know” or “cannot choose” when asked whether they thought the government was doing enough about climate change.
The report concluded that greater efforts were required to increase general awareness of climate change and to catch up with public opinion in other countries.
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