A prominent Canadian Indigenous leader and lawyer, Grand Chief Wilton Littlechild, has issued a blistering critique of Chevron in a United Nations speech for poisoning ancestral lands in the Amazon rainforest and engaging in “countless violations” of Indigenous peoples’ rights related to the dumping of billions of gallons of oil waste in Ecuador. The speech by Chief … [Read more...]
Women and babies thrive by ditching disposables
When my daughter was small I overheard a conversation between her and a friend, who asked her what karma was. “Well,” she said,” it’s like this. You know the planet is round? So if you do anything to anyone that badness or goodness goes right around the planet, then hits you from behind.” How true. And so it is with anything we try to toss. “Disposable” anything is not cool, … [Read more...]
Time to act on uranium mining while we still can
We have a small window of opportunity – until Tuesday 15 March 2016 - to make submissions on the uranium mining rights application of Tasman RSA Mines, which is set to destroy more than 500,000ha of Karoo farmland and contaminate the last remaining groundwater. Beaufort West will be the epicentre of millions of tons of radioactive uranium ore. This cannot be the future for … [Read more...]
African women gather to say ‘no’ to coal
Women, grassroots activists and leaders recently gathered in Johannesburg for a Southern African exchange on "Women stand their ground against Big Coal". Coal kills people, Coal destroys health and community well-being, Coal devastates land, water and ecosystems and Coal is destroying our planet. These are the conclusions of more than fifty women, grassroots activists and … [Read more...]
Court action launched against illegal nuclear metal smelter
Did you know that the National Energy Corporation of SA (NECSA) has permission to smelt and release radio active metal into the South Africa marketplace? Last week a court action was launched to call for a halt of the operations at Pelindaba (just outside Tshwane), and a new process for authorisation to commence. According to papers filed in court this week, the test … [Read more...]
How to save the planet from gold mining
Diamonds are supposed to be forever, however it’s the human love affair with gold that has been truly lasting. For thousands of years, since even before the time of King Tut, gold has been prized for its beauty and value. It’s no wonder, then, that so much gold is sitting in jewelry boxes and central bank vaults. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 171,300 tons of gold … [Read more...]
Defy the rules and change the world
“Don’t accept no for an answer. Defy the rules! It’s the only way we’re going to make the change.” This was the opening statement by Prof Gunter Pauli, Blue Economy entrepreneur from Belgium, who was the keynote speaker at the international Student Environmental Network summit hosted by the Stellenbosch University. He has written 20 books, published in 34 languages, … [Read more...]
