Safe to swim? Durban puts water quality info online
August 5, 2008
Posted in Green News
North Beach © eThekwini Municipality
Earlier this year, four of Durban’s beaches lost their Blue Flag status because of unacceptable faecal pollution readings. But the eThekwini Municipality appears to be working to reassure beach bunnies who may be worried about whether the beaches are safe for swimming. Water quality information at 26 beaches is now available on the municipality’s website.
The water at these beaches is tested weekly for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Enterococcus, which are both indicators of faecal contamination, and the results are posted on the site along with a comment on whether the results are poor, moderate, good or excellent.
Beaches with excellent water quality are marked with a happy little fish logo, which appears next to 17 of the 26 beaches listed. Read more
New coal-fired power plant for Mozambique
July 3, 2008
Posted in Green News
A new 2,000MW coal-fired power station is to be built in the northern Tete province of Mozambique, Reuters reports. Australian coal mining company Riverside Mining has obtained licences to start building the R2-billion plant. The feasibliity study will reportedly be finished by December and construction should start early next year. It looks like 500MW will be exported to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. Read more on Engineering News
Cement industry focus of new clean-up campaign
May 30, 2008
Posted in Business
South Africa’s Environmental Management Inspectors, the Green Scorpions, launched a “Clean Cement” campaign this week with a series of compliance inspections at cement manufacturing facilities across the country, says the department of environmental affairs and tourism.
“The cement industry has been prioritised in this new environmental compliance campaign because of the growing demand for its products. An increase in construction and development projects in the country and rapid expansions in the cement sector means that the industry may contribute significantly to pollution if not mitigated and managed properly,” said Joanne Yawitch, deputy director general for environmental quality and protection at DEAT.
She added that inspectors would consider findings of significant non-compliances to environmental authorisations at cement plants in a serious light, and take appropriate enforcement action.
Photograph: © Dan Moore, iStockphoto.com
Green Scorpions show their sting
April 8, 2008
Posted in Green News
Environment minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk praised the country’s Environmental Management Inspectors, aka Green Scorpions, yesterday, saying they had “worked hard to change the common perception in South Africa that government lacks the will to enforce our environmental legislation”.
The reporting of illegal activity, the enforcement of environmental legislation and actual enforcement results had increased dramatically in South Africa over the past two years, he told delegates at the 8th Conference on the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement in Cape Town.
The Green Scorpions were formed in 2005. South Africa now had 866 Inspectors in 15 institutions across the country, but more and better trained and equipped inspectors were needed, the minister said.
He highlighted encouraging results from the recently released second annual National Environmental Enforcement Report, which shows that:
● Environmental inspectors were investigating more than 1,756 criminal dockets or case files in 2007-8;
● Reported arrests by the Green Scorpions have increased from 898 in
2006-7 to more than 2,612 in 2007-8;
● Reported convictions of environmental criminals have increased from
134 in 2006-7 to 746 in 2007-8.
Van Schalkwyk said that the discrepancy between the number of criminal dockets and arrests, and the actual number of convictions was a cause for concern. “This indicates an urgent need for more effective investigations and for increased support from our National Prosecuting Authority for the prosecution of environmental crime,” he said.
He added that the department of environmental affairs and tourism was on the verge of signing a formal Standard Operating Procedure with the South African Police Service that would allow members of the Green Scorpions to carry their own criminal dockets or case files, and to hand those over for prosecution to the National Prosecuting Authority. He said this would allow for the more effective and efficient prosecution of environmental crime.
Pollution news in brief
March 31, 2008
Posted in Green News
SULPHUR BUSTING FIRST – A new 5,400MW coal-fired power station planned for the Mpumalanga town of Witbank will be fitted with technology to control sulphur dioxide emissions. This will be the first time Eskom installs technology to control sulphur dioxide emission. In the past the utility only regulated dust emissions. Environment minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has promised that the power station would be fitted with “the most advanced air pollution abatement equipment installed at a power station in South Africa”. According to a government media release, “the technology to be installed is called flue gas desulphurisation or FGD and involves the scrubbing of sulphur dioxide gas with a sorbent (limestone) to limit the emissions of sulphur dioxide to the atmosphere. The process also removes the majority of the dust from the emissions and has added benefits such as reducing the mercury emissions from the plant.” The reason behind the new power station’s pollution control measures appears to be that it falls within the recently declared Highveld Priority Area. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has plans to do something about the poor air quality in the region.
CARBON CREDITS – Chemical group Omnia will reportedly get R60-million from the International Finance Corporation for 1-million of its carbon credits. Omnia will generate about 500,000 certified emission reduction units (CERs) from its Sasolburg plant’s nitrous oxide destruction facility. The IFC has reportedly committed to buying 50 percent of Omnia’s CERs which it will then sell globally. Richard Worthington of the South African Climate Action Network asks in a letter Business Day whether there will be a contribution to sustainable development in the Omnia deal. He says that the emission reduction will be achieved by flaring nitrous oxide, which is required by law in most industrialised countries but is not a costly exercise. (Business Day 1, 2)
BURNING ISSUE – Parliament’s environmental affairs and tourism committee has decided not to ban waste incineration outright but has opted for strict regulation, Business Day reports. Incineration is also used to dispose of hazardous waste and could be used for the co-generation of electricity. Cement producers use incinerated waste in their kilns, the repor says. But environmental NGO groundWork wants incineration banned outright. All “burn” technologies resulted in the release of dioxins and furans (cancer-causing chemicals) and also heavy metals such as mercury, it says. The NGO took the issue to the public protector saying that incineration was a violation of our constitutional right to a healthy environment. According to the new National Environmental Management Waste Bill, applications for licences to incinerate waste would have to provide the department with information about the waste to be disposed of, the existence of incinerators in the area and alternative environmentally friendly treatments. (Business Day)
Making fireworks less toxic
March 22, 2008
Posted in Green News
Fireworks displays are a popular way to celebrate, but they’re not very environmentally friendly. “When a firework is set off, it releases a whole cocktail of poisons damaging to humans and the environment: heavy metals like lead, barium and chromium, chlorates, dioxins, smoke and particulates, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen and sulfur oxides,” says a report.
But it is possible to make them much less dangerous to the environment by using nitrogen-rich compounds and other new strategies, say two European scientists. The main stumbling block to the development of more environmentally friendly pyrotechnics is price pressure, says Thomas Klapotke of the University of Munich. The new products must compete with established ones. “Lawmakers and other promoters must intercede to address this,” he says. Read more at Terra Daily
News in brief
March 22, 2008
Posted in Green News
Elephant trouble – Kenyan conservationist Richard Leakey has given his “qualified backing” for South Africa’s lifting of the ban on elephant culling. The new elephant management norms and standards were announced on February 28. He told the BBC that it was a “necessary part of elephant population management”. But he also said that South Africa had a responsibility to curb human activities that impinge on elephant habitat. Read more at BBC.
Water trouble – Many conflicts around the world erupt or are worsened by water shortages, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in an opinion piece this week. And population growth and climate change are only going to make things worse. So, we urgently need to use water more efficiently and share it more fairly . “International Alert has identified 46 countries, home to 2.7 billion people, where climate change and water-related crises create a high risk of violent conflict. A further 56 countries, representing another 1.2 billion people, are at high risk of political instability,” according to Ban. From Environment News Service
Pollution on the move – Nasa has found that about 15 percent of the pollution over the Western United States and Canada actually originates in East Asia. What’s more it moves pretty quickly – pollution from forest fires or industry in East Asia can reach the western US in about a week. But you can’t simply blame East Asia for the pollution levels, says one scientist, some of it also originates in Europe, North America and elsewhere in the world. Environment News Service
News in brief
March 17, 2008
Posted in Green News
BEACH BUMMER – Four of Durban’s swimming beaches have lost their “blue flag” status because of unacceptable faecal pollution readings, Sapa reports. This comes less than a week before the start of the Easter school holidays. The blue flag is an “eco-label” awarded by independent non-profit organisation Foundation for Environmental Education.
BIG GAME SPENDERS – Dubai World, the investment arm of the government of Dubai, has bought into three South African game reserves for an undisclosed amount – Shamwari (Eastern Cape), Sanbona Wildlife Reserve (in the Western Cape) and Jock Safari Lodge (near the Kruger National Park) – Business Day reports. Dubai World acquired Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred Water Front in 2006.
ANOTHER BIOFUELLED BOEING - American carrier Continental Airlines, Boeing and GE Aviation have announced plans to conduct a biofuels demonstration flight early next year using a Boeing Next-Generation 737. Last month a Virgin Atlantic Boeing flew from London to Amsterdam on a biofuel mix. The three companies are looking identify sustainable fuel sources that don’t impact food crops, water resources or contribute to deforestation, and which can be produced in sufficient quantities. Read more at EnergyDaily
CLOSING PRICE - Think nuclear power stations are expensive to build? Well decommissioning them doesn’t appear to be cheap either. Britain’s Sellafield nuclear site is expected to cost billions of pounds to decommission. At present, a number of consortia are at bidding for a 20-billion pound (about R320-billion) decommissioning contract, the Observer reports. According to Britian’s Independent, the Sellafield site’s main activity over the past few decades has been reprocessing used reactor fuel, separting out plutonium and uranium from nuclear waste. The Thorp reprocessing plant will reportedly close around 2011 when its contracts run out.
Diesel fumes may damage your brain
March 11, 2008
Posted in Green News
A team of Dutch researchers did an experiment to test the effects of exposure to diesel fumes on the brain by putting 10 volunteers into a room filled with exhaust from a diesel engine for one hour, reports Reuters. The volunteers’ brain waves were monitored with an EEG. The level of fumes was similar to that found on a busy road or in a garage. After about 30 minutes, the brain wave patterns displayed a stress response, which suggests changes in information processing in the brain cortex. More research is needed to determine the clinical effect of this stress and whether it has any long-term effects. Previous studies have found very small particles of soot are able to travel from the nose and lodge in the brain.
Via :: Planet Ark
Top athlete pulls out of Olympic marathon because of pollution
March 10, 2008
Posted in Green News
World marathon record-holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia says he won’t compete in the Olympic marathon this year because of fears that Beijing’s air pollution would damage his health, Reuters reports. But he will compete in the 10,000 metre race. The long-distance star suffers from asthma.
Via :: Environment News Network
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