Calls to decolonise our seed system at Gauteng public hearings on the Plant Improvement and Plant Breeders’ Rights Bills. Are there alternative systems that put farmers at the centre, do not reduce genetic and agricultural diversity, and support agroecology, seed and food sovereignty and resilience? South African smallholder farmers, consumers, academics and civil society … [Read more...]
New partnership aims to protect endangered birds from power lines
As South Africa’s electricity needs continue to grow, power lines and other accompanying electrical infrastructure are expanding daily. Eskom and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) formalised their long-standing relationship by entering into a partnership in 1996 to address the problem of wildlife interactions with electrical infrastructure in a systematic manner on a national … [Read more...]
Development threatens nearly half of all natural World Heritage Sites
The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System. The Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. These are just three of the 238 natural and mixed (cultural and natural) sites designated as World Heritage by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. And all three are threatened by human development. They’re not alone. … [Read more...]
Biggest petition for bees EVER!
Bees are facing a giant global crisis that threatens our food supply. Now Canada is considering a game-changing ban on one of the worst bee-killing chemicals. But Big Ag is fighting back, and it’s up to us to stop them. Imidacloprid is a terrifying chemical used on much of the world's fruits and vegetables -- and it's threatening our web of life from bees to insects. Now … [Read more...]
Scientists accidentally discover efficient process to turn CO2 into ethanol
If scientists can figure out how to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into fuel - and do it at an industrial scale - it would, quite literally, change the world. Last month, we hit the highest levels of atmospheric CO2 in 4 million years, and it’s now permanent, meaning we’ll never be able to drop to 'safe' levels again. But if we can turn CO2 into a fuel source, we can at … [Read more...]
Carbon nanofibres made from CO2 in the air
Scientists in the US have found a way to take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and make carbon nanofibres, a valuable manufacturing material. Their solar-powered system runs just a few volts of electricity through a vat full of a hot, molten salt; CO2 is absorbed and the nanofibres gradually assemble at one of the electrodes. It currently produces 10g in an hour. The … [Read more...]
Sense Africa brings Foster Brothers’ award-winning doccies to CT
A giant black leopard's entire personality was changed when he communicated with the amazing animal-whisperer Anna Breytenbach in The Foster Brothers’ latest film The Animal Communicator. This film brought The Brothers’ work to the hearts, and minds, of a whole new audience around the world. SENSE AFRICA is an overview of the past, and ongoing work of two of South Africa’s … [Read more...]
Image series shows ozone hole development since 1979
The stratospheric ozone layer protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet light, which damages DNA in plants and animals (including humans) and leads to skin cancer. Prior to 1979, scientists had not observed concentrations below 220 Dobson Units. But in the early 1980s, through a combination of ground-based and satellite measurements, scientists began to realize that … [Read more...]
Groups seek glyphosate limits to protect butterflies
Monarch butterflies are declining in number due to herbicide spraying related to biotech crops, according to environmental groups in the US. Environmental groups seeking federal protection for monarch butterflies blame the use of genetically modified crops for the insect’s steep decline. Petitioners claim that while there were as many as 1 billion monarchs as recently as … [Read more...]
Eskom and Sasol use us as pollution filters
How much is a human life worth? How much is our future and that of our children worth? Well, the answer to both is “not too much,” if Eskom and Sasol’s pollution-friendly tactics are anything to go by. Allow me to explain. On paper, South Africa has some pretty decent environmental legislation intended to protect the quality of our air and environment, in the form of the … [Read more...]
City requests declaration of the Cape Town Bioregion
The City of Cape Town is hoping to be declared as a bioregion. The City's Council has recognised the City’s efforts to create a balance between urban development and environmental protection by recommending that the MEC for Environmental Affairs be requested to declare Cape Town as a bioregion. This would be one of the first of such regions for a South African metro. It … [Read more...]
NASA launches carbon tracking satellite
The ability of scientists to make accurate predictions about future effects of CO2 will be boosted by vital data from a new US satellite sent to take a detailed inventory of the planet’s sinks and sources of carbon. The US space agency NASA sent up a satellite on 2 June, which will provide vital data for predicting future effects of CO2by taking the measure of the planetary … [Read more...]
Algoa Bay chosen for new Hope Spot
Mission Blue has been helping to establish important marine areas around the globe as 'Hope Spots'. The idea is that by putting protection in place around these diverse ecosystems we can hope to save and restore the whole ocean. So far 50 Hope Spots have been established around the world and with the help of the Sustainable Seas Trust, South Africa will be home to 5 more by … [Read more...]
