One hundred street and park clean-ups formed part of the World Environment Day celebrations for the Miss Earth South Africa Leadership programme in partnership with the City of Joburg and Pikitup. From the 1st – 5th June, 100 Miss Earth SA regional finalists have been hard at work connecting with their communities across the country. Under the banner of the international … [Read more...]
Western Cape declared a disaster area amid worst drought in 100 years
Premier Helen Zille has officially declared the Western Cape a disaster area in response to the current drought – the worst since 1904. “The disaster declaration will accelerate the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre’s project 'Avoiding Day Zero', the province’s strategy to ensure that taps do not run dry,” said Zille. The declaration will be formally gazetted … [Read more...]
Health and water impacts of coal still missing from energy plans
The Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle campaign, [1] together with Greenpeace Africa, welcome the rigorous research undertaken by the energy unit of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). [2] This research has been described as a “comprehensive alternative” to the draft Integrated Resource Plan Base Case (IRP) published for comment by the … [Read more...]
West Africa loses over $2 billion to illegal fishing annually
Greenpeace says poor government communication and coordination is hurting West Africa’s ability to combat illegal fishing, costing it billions of dollars each year in the process. The problem has become so severe that it is threatening food security in the region, the environmental group says in a new report (pdf). “Fish stocks are not restricted to national boundaries, and … [Read more...]
Climate change is already forcing U.S. communities to abandon their homes
Projections of climate-fuelled sea level rise show terrifying scenarios with major economic centers like New York and Miami losing much of their land to rising seas. But for some communities in the United States, losing land to climate change isn’t a future nightmare — it’s a present and daily struggle. According to new analysis from the Center for Progressive Reform, at … [Read more...]
How learning empathy can improve community projects in Africa
Empathy is one of the most important skills any leader can have. A huge 2015 research project across 38 countries found that empathy makes leaders more effective and their businesses more successful. But how do you teach empathy? How can it be cultivated in students who will become leaders in future? And could it be done in a way that foregrounds ancient, indigenous … [Read more...]
No accounting for water millions while poor KZN residents struggle
While thousands of residents in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal struggle daily to get water, the Umkhanyakude municipality has squandered nearly R1-billion, some of it earmarked for water projects. Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu has slated the district municipality in a report leaked to The Times. Among the findings are that the municipality did not know the location of … [Read more...]
Changing lives through recycling in Ngwelezane Township
Two years ago, Nokubonga Mnyango was dreaming about making a better life for herself and her family. She noticed the need for litter collection in her small community of Ngwelezane. After doing some research, she learned that some of the waste that was present in the township actually had value. More than this, she learned that there are businesses who would pay for this … [Read more...]
Pollution responsible for quarter of deaths of young children
Pollution is responsible for one in four deaths among all children under five, according to new World Health Organisation reports, with toxic air, unsafe water, and and lack of sanitation the leading causes. The reports found polluted environments cause the deaths of 1.7 million children every year, but that many of the deaths could be prevented by interventions already … [Read more...]
Make or break for complementary medicines this year
This year is going to be a ‘make or break’ year for the Complementary Medicines sector, as well as for African Traditional Medicines in South Africa. There are three new pieces of legislation in the pipeline which are being steam-rolled by our government, and threaten to restrict the public’s access to traditional and natural health practices and products. 1. Protection, … [Read more...]
Coming together for water crisis awareness and solutions
Water is essential to sustaining all forms of life on Earth – a heavenly gift. Yet, driven most critically by climate change, water crises are on the rise and access to safe, clean water for drinking and for purposes of sanitation – as well as, of course, agriculture – is becoming increasingly problematic in many parts of the world, including our own. It is also becoming … [Read more...]
Cape Town looking into ‘suspicious’ series of fires
Cape Town’s government is currently investigating whether or not there’s another, more sinister force at work behind all the fires in predominantly the Western Cape, with special teams of investigators looking into the causes behind some of the fires. It was suspicious that so many fires were breaking out in the city and its surrounds, the City of Cape Town said on Tuesday, … [Read more...]
Palm oil plantations wreaking havoc on Africa’s forests
Its lower cost has made it popular in commercial food production, but after being blamed for deforestation in Asia, palm oil plantations are now getting a similar rap in Africa. The sheer scale of land required is having an impact in Gabon, Cameroon and the Congo Basin, environmentalists say. With financing coming from American, European and Asian agri-businesses, palm … [Read more...]
