There was good news and bad news for the world's coral reefs last week. The good news, announced 19 June, is that the global coral bleaching event that started in 2015 appears to be over, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, Maryland. The bad news, released 23 June, is that the 3 successive years of bleaching conditions … [Read more...]
Inside the Knysna inferno: smoke on the water
Writer, journalist, producer and musician CHRIS DU PLESSIS lost his home and everything in it during the recent fires that raged through Knysna. Here he attempts to dissect the schizoid frenzy that comes with the experience. It’s a damn good question actually. What DO you pack if your house is about to burn down? I found myself living the cliché on Wednesday, 6 June 2017, as … [Read more...]
China landslide: desperate search for survivors continues
Thousands of rescuers are searching through rubble to find 93 people missing after a landslide devastated their village in Sichuan province, southwestern China. Dozens of homes were buried when the landslide hit Xinmo village in Mao County, Aba Prefecture Saturday morning. According to the Mao County Government Press Office 10 bodies had been recovered since the beginning … [Read more...]
Experts warned about Garden Route fires
A group of scientists led by eminent NMMU botanist Professor Richard Cowling warned nearly a decade ago that the uncontrolled spread of alien vegetation posed a fire threat that could devastate the Garden Route. Contained in an article in the 2009 edition of the Veld & Flora magazine, which The Herald accessed yesterday after an alert from the Endangered Wildlife Trust … [Read more...]
Once again, climate change cited as trigger for conflict
The national security establishment needs to prepare for a series of global crises sparked by climate change, a group of experts wrote in a report released today. The analysis by the Center for Climate and Security identifies 12 “epicenters” where climate change could stress global security, possibly igniting conflicts around the world. American diplomats and military … [Read more...]
Climate change evident in Cape storm and Knysna fires
The mother of all storms. The worst drought in a century. More intense fires than any in living memory. The hottest years on record. This is the new normal. South Africa’s climate is changing and with that comes extreme weather. Events such as crippling storms and droughts, which used to happen once a century, will happen every decade, or more frequently. We know this. There … [Read more...]
Heavy storm damages 135 schools across Western Cape
A massive weather system is pummelling SA, but bringing welcome rain to drought-stricken areas. Follow all the latest details here. The Western Cape Education Department on Friday said that 135 schools in the province had been damaged as a result of the massive storm which struck earlier in the week. Education MEC Debbie Schafer said in a statement that learners and … [Read more...]
DA’s Maimane to visit fire-ravaged Knysna
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane will on Monday visit Knysna in the wake of the devastating fires which have claimed the lives of seven people, including children and left widespread damage across the region. Maimane will visit residents affected by the inferno and assess the damage caused. More than 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to the … [Read more...]
Taiwan to phase out nuclear power by 2025
The Cabinet reiterated Monday the government's resolve to move away from nuclear power, as it sought to reassure environmentalists who were protesting against the recent reactivation of a reactor at the country's second nuclear power plant. The government remains committed to the goal of decommissioning the three operational nuclear power plants as scheduled and making … [Read more...]
Western Cape officials brace for storm‚ prepare for ‘extraordinary circumstances’
The air force is on standby‚ schools are closed‚ swells of up to 12 metres are bearing down on the coast and people are being urged to stay indoors. What is expected to be the worst storm in living memory in the Western Cape when it makes landfall on Wednesday is not expected to break the worst drought in the province in more than a century‚ but on Tuesday disaster … [Read more...]
Trump poised to quit Paris climate deal
US President Donald Trump is poised to pull the country out of the Paris climate accord, US media report, quoting senior officials. The 2015 accord for the first time united most of the world in a single agreement to mitigate climate change. It was signed by 195 countries out of 197 in a UN group on climate change, with Syria and Nicaragua abstaining. In a tweet on … [Read more...]
Time to end our destructive obsession with economic growth
The idea that the economic “pie” can grow indefinitely is alluring. It means everybody can have a share without limiting anybody’s greed. Rampant inequality thus becomes socially acceptable because we hope the growth of the economy will eventually make everybody better off. The Conversation In my new book “Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth” I point out … [Read more...]
Quick action vital for GHG emission reporting regulations
On 3 April 2017, the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs Ms Bomo Edith Edna Molewa gazetted the National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Reporting Regulations under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act. According to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the GHG Emission Reporting Regulations aim to introduce a single national reporting … [Read more...]
