You may think no-one knows what you do in a bathroom behind closed doors, but the men and women working at the Department of Water and Sanitation definitely do. They get to sift through your water waste to remove blockages from our sewers so that water is able to move freely through water treatment facilities back into our rivers and lakes. As tempting as it might be to dump … [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...]
Save water in your home and garden
With the rainstorms and snowfalls that have accompanied the winter of 2011, it might be hard to imagine that South Africa could be facing a water crisis - but experts say that unless we start taking water saving measures seriously, we could see demand exceeding supply as soon as 2020. With another scorching summer just around the corner, South Africans will need to be … [Read more...]
Beware the water guzzlers this summer
February is the worst month for water consumption in the Cape. One resident shares her water consumption calculations and saving devices and plans with us. The City of Cape Town gives all its residents 6kl of free water a month. Last February my family used up this allocation in 3 days. For some households, 6kl is enough water to last them the whole month. We live in the … [Read more...]
Footprint of a street person
Peter is 60, lying under an oak tree with his head on a small bag containing his worldly possessions. I've greeted him many times when out on a run; today I stop and ask him his story. 'I grew up in the Karoo and went to a Catholic school with German nuns. When I came to Cape Town I worked in a candle factory in Observatory until it closed down in 1994. I couldn't get another … [Read more...]
