I think one would need a referendum to spend R1,000,000,000,000. But my calculations show that for about R1 trillion one can take the entire homeowner load off the grid between 6am and 10pm. This is a MUCH better use of resources than spending this on a new nuclear plant with the help of Russia, says David Lipschitz, solar energy expert. And in this system no government … [Read more...]
SA insurers polled over fracking risk
Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) and AfriForum have formally approached South African Insurers and the South African Insurance Association to clarify their policy on the unique risks presented by shale gas mining and ancillary activities. With the advent of new technology and shale gas mining spreading at a rapid pace in the United States, insurance providers are … [Read more...]
Fracking: a dead end for Britain
Large-scale fracking is a must for the UK economy, says a new report from the House of Lords. But it confuses opinion with fact, cherry-picks data, and six of its authors have a stake in the industry. The real solutions, writes Tony Bosworth, lie in energy efficiency and renewables. Thursday's report from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee on shale gas was a … [Read more...]
Elections 2014 – who gets your green vote?
This week we will vote for the future of this country. If you are aware of climate change and other threats to our environment and therefore to our civilisation, it helps to take note of how the different parties plan to respond to these threats. What are they saying in their manifestos about: Energy and Climate change Water (services and resources) Mining and … [Read more...]
Editor’s note: Ditch the fossils?
If there is one time when this nation speaks with one voice it’s when we experience power cuts. We seem unified in our addiction to fossil fuels. Suddenly the complaints roll in from business, domestic, rich and poor alike. We can’t cook, we can’t run our factories, the aeroplanes are delayed. Chaos ensues. Of course we need power. We are dependent on Uncle Eskom and if he … [Read more...]
Fracking in South Africa: a civil society perspective
Fracking has been perhaps the hottest environmental topic in South Africa in the last year – and for good reason. While industry would have us see hydraulic fracturing as the cure to South Africa’s energy shortages, communities, environmentalists, and a range of experts have raised serious concerns. So next month (actually just before Shell hosts a similar talk) … [Read more...]
Shell moet antwoord oor hidrobreking – AfriForum
Die waghond vir burgerregte, AfriForum, is gekant teen en bekommerd oor die moontlike gevolge van skaliegasontginning in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie organisasie het ʼn brief aan RoyalDutch Shell en Shell (SA) gerig waarin die maatskappye uitgenooi is om met hulle in gesprek te tree oor verskeie vrae wat deur verteenwoordigers van gemeenskappe dwarsoor Suid-Afrika ingedien is, waarin … [Read more...]
Government publishes new fracking regulations
Our government seems determined to ensure that fracking for shale gas will happen in this country, despite years of resistance and much evidence of the dangers this action would hold for the environment and for our nation. This week the government published two proposed new laws regarding the environmental regulation of fracking, “which indicates commencement of such … [Read more...]
Minister Molewa urged to address fracking implications
The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) considers the Minister’s decision to gazette the intention to declare fracking a controlled activity a portent of the risk fracking poses to our water resources in the greater Karoo. WESSA continues to urge the Government to exercise the precautionary principle enshrined in the National Environmental Management Act … [Read more...]
State intends to go ahead with fracking
In a General Notice, published by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Bomo Edna Molewa, dated 23 August 2013, there is a clear indication that the state intends to allow exploration for the purposes of shale gas production. The process used to obtain shale gas is colloquially referred to as "fracking". The Minister has also reiterated in a press briefing in … [Read more...]
Global activists warn SA against fracking
European environmental activists have warned that the oil and gas industry “cuts corners” when drilling for shale gas through hydraulic fracturing. But once disaster occurred, the companies would then blame locally outsourced suppliers, they claimed. Friends of the Earth activist Darek Urbaniak from Poland said this during a meeting with Barry Wuganaale, the newly-elected … [Read more...]
Fracking activist wins international environmental prize
South African environmental campaigner Jonathan Deal was today awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work in the fight against hydraulic fracturing in the Karoo. Each year, the Goldman Environmental Foundation selects grassroots activists from around the world to honour them for their work. With an individual cash prize of $150 000 (close on R1.5m), it is the … [Read more...]
Unlocking a green economy
Humans are making Earth unliveable with assaults on climate, topsoil, fisheries, biodiversity and other ecological systems, says Simon Zadek (pictured), a senior fellow at the Global Green Growth Institute in Seoul. Speaking at a panel discussion on the green economy at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) in November, Zadek said that the world is … [Read more...]
