Referred to as ‘spekboom’ by both English and Afrikaans speakers, iNtelezi in Zulu and iGqwanitsha in Xhosa, this plant is an important part of the Addo elephants’ diet. Portulacaria afra is a slender, evergreen shrub with small, rounded succulent leaves. It has a varied growth habit; in the Addo Elephant Park the plant grows wide with a loose, rounded shape due to its … [Read more...]
New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration
The New Zealand government will grant no new offshore oil exploration permits in a move that is being hailed by conservation and environmental groups as a historic victory in the battle against climate change. The ban will apply to new permits and won’t affect the existing 22, some of which have decades left on their exploration rights and cover an area of 100,000 sq … [Read more...]
Hope and mourning in the Anthropocene era
We are living in a time of extraordinary ecological loss. Not only are human actions destabilising the very conditions that sustain life, but it is also increasingly clear that we are pushing the Earth into an entirely new geological era, often described as the Anthropocene. Research shows that people increasingly feel the effects of these planetary changes and associated … [Read more...]
Battle against climate-destroying new coal plants escalates
In the past week, the Life After Coal Campaign (which comprises: the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), Earthlife Africa, and groundWork) has instituted fresh court proceedings against the Minister of Environmental Affairs in relation to the proposed Thabametsi independent power producer (IPP) coal-fired power station. The Campaign has also made further written and oral … [Read more...]
When will climate change make Earth too hot for humans?
If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today. And yet the swelling seas — and the cities they will drown — have so dominated the picture of global warming, and so overwhelmed our capacity for climate panic, that they have occluded our … [Read more...]
Fallen trees, traffic and flooding – rain wreaks havoc in Johannesburg
Three lanes on the M1 North were closed, after a tree fell on the highway, and two homes were flooded in Klipspruit as overnight flooding wreaked havoc in Johannesburg on Friday. Johannesburg Metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar confirmed the incidents and emergency services personnel cut up the tree. He described traffic as "very bad" and confirmed that a pedestrian … [Read more...]
Pupils put heads together to discuss saving environment
Tuesday July 31 is calculated to be the day on which humanity’s resource consumption exceeds earth’s capacity to regenerate. This was according to Myles Siebrits, Rustenburg Girls’ High School campus manager, who was invited to Wynberg Boys’ High School to chat to the pupils about sustainability. Mr Siebrits says Earth Overshoot Day, previously known as Ecological Debt … [Read more...]
Water shortages could affect 5bn people by 2050, UN report warns
More than 5 billion people could suffer water shortages by 2050 due to climate change, increased demand and polluted supplies, according to a UN report on the state of the world’s water. The comprehensive annual study warns of conflict and civilisational threats unless actions are taken to reduce the stress on rivers, lakes, aquifers, wetlands and reservoirs. The World … [Read more...]
Durban’s beaches are disappearing
Durban is becoming a seaside city without any sand as strong waves pummel its beaches and the city's sand pumping efforts come to naught. Swathes of what used to be wide stretches of sand are now under water and beachside infrastructure, including a booster pump station at Dairy Beach, is being destroyed. Coastal activists and regular beach users blame the eThekwini … [Read more...]
Putting a positive spin on climate mitigation
To generate effective, universal action that will solve the problem of climate change, the global community needs to abandon the “wussy” language of climate mitigation and rethink the “negative” sports and war metaphors that are pervasive in discussions about the issue. This was the advice offered by American environmentalist, author and activist Paul Hawken at the recent … [Read more...]
Archbishop speaks out on climate action urgency in Fiji
The Archbishop of Canterbury was formally welcomed to Fiji today – and he took the opportunity, before the President and leading members of Fijian society, to make a ringing public declaration about the need for climate action. The Archbishop, who arrived in Fiji last night to join the three-day Oceania Fono – the annual gathering of the Primates of Australia, Melanesia, … [Read more...]
Illegal logging returns to Congo forests despite carbon threat
The Congolese Minister of Environment, Amy Ambatobe, has reinstated 6,500 km² of logging concessions that were cancelled in August 2016 by the then Environment Minister Robert Bopolo following instructions from then Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo. The three concessions reinstated on 1 February 2018 were awarded to the Chinese-owned logging companies Forestière pour le … [Read more...]
Arctic temperatures soar 45 degrees above normal
While the Eastern United States simmered in some of its warmest February weather ever recorded Tuesday and Wednesday, the Arctic is also stewing in temperatures more than 45 degrees above normal. This latest huge temperature spike in the Arctic is another striking indicator of its rapidly transforming climate. On Monday and Tuesday, the northernmost weather station in the … [Read more...]
