The idea of a 'good, or even great, Anthropocene' as promised in the Ecomodernist Manifesto is purely delusional, writes Derrick Jensen. Worse, it underlies a narrative in which the wholesale destruction of nature and of sustainable indigenous societies is repackaged as a noble mission - one whose ultimate purpose is the complete alienation of humans from the planet that … [Read more...]
An uncertain future for our living blue planet
A new report on the health of the ocean finds that the marine vertebrate population has declined by 49 percent between 1970 and 2012. WWF’s Living Blue Planet Report tracks 5,829 populations of 1,234 mammal, bird, reptile, and fish species through a marine living planet index. The evidence, analyzed by researchers at the Zoological Society of London, paints a troubling … [Read more...]
Bringing eco education to the leaders of tomorrow
The vision of the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management Department (ERMD) is to ensure that sustainable and equitable development is combined with sound environmental practice for a healthy local environment, which sustains people and nature, provides protection for our unique resources and brings about an enhanced quality of life for all. The vision of the … [Read more...]
Algoa Bay chosen for new Hope Spot
Mission Blue has been helping to establish important marine areas around the globe as 'Hope Spots'. The idea is that by putting protection in place around these diverse ecosystems we can hope to save and restore the whole ocean. So far 50 Hope Spots have been established around the world and with the help of the Sustainable Seas Trust, South Africa will be home to 5 more by … [Read more...]
Cape Flats home to 22 million birds
The Cape Flats, covered by about 2.7 million hectares of invasive species, including Australian acacias, is also home to about 22 million birds, an MSc student from Stellenbosch University found recently. Andrew Rogers, a postgraduate student in the Department of Botany and Zoology at SU, endured six months of fieldwork (often starting at sunrise) and a case of tick bite … [Read more...]
Dismay at devastating mass-poisoning of vultures
On the afternoon of the 15th of July 2013 an Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Wildlife light aircraft spotted a large number of vultures lying on the ground on New Hope farm, in Swartberg, during a routine game count. Ezemvelo KZN alerted the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the African Birds of Prey Sanctuary (ABoPS), and the partner NGOs visited the site early the next … [Read more...]
Too hot to handle
Could the lifestyle adaptations of Kalahari birds in response to rising temperatures be a signal of worse to come? “It’s called the Hot Birds programme because we work with birds in hot places, not because we are hot birds,” joked researcher Susie Cunningham, at an installment of the University of Cape Town’s ‘Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Seminar Series 2013’. … [Read more...]
Foxglove organic stories Part 5: Chicks and beekeeping
Amazing things are happening this early part of winter on the farm. 4 of our hens have been sitting on eggs and our first new chicks have hatched! Hopefully, over the next 2 weeks, I will be up to my elbows in little chicks. Sadly, the daddy of these chicks is no longer with us. The most gentlemanly rooster I have met so far, had a tennis ball-sized cancerous growth on his … [Read more...]
Riaan Manser takes on the Peninsula Paddle
The annual paddle event from the Indian to the Atlantic Oceans along Cape Town’s waterways takes place on Sunday 9th June. This paddling adventure passes through many neighbourhoods of the city through its canals, lakes and rivers. This year Riaan Manser joins the paddle. Riaan has ridden around Africa on his bike, paddled right around Madagascar and Iceland. Now he is going … [Read more...]
From waste to wonder
A little over a centimeter long, the common duckweed, Spirodela polyrrhiza, is often found colonizing ponds and lakes in a carpet of green. With a global distribution, the duckweed family claims the Guinness for some of the smallest, simplest, and fastest growing plants of the botanical world. Yet, despite their unassuming nature, these tiny fronds are making a huge splash in … [Read more...]
Help tree woman spread more saplings
In June 2005, Natalie Rowles flew to Johannesburg. During her flight, she stared out the window and was stunned to see the lack of trees in the countryside. Only here and there, closer to KZN, could you see some greenery. On her return home, she decided to do something about it and started her own project called Free Trees For Schools. She donated indigenous Yellowwood saplings … [Read more...]
Joy as migratory falcon arrives in KwaZulu-Natal
Raptor enthusiasts across the world were overjoyed and relieved to learn that a migratory female Amur Falcon (falco amurensis) finally reached her wintering grounds at Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal on the 10th of January 2013 after an eventful 14 500km journey from the species’ breeding grounds in northern China and Mongolia. This bird was fitted with a satellite transmitter in … [Read more...]
Beautiful Burman Bush
The Durban municipal Open Space System (D’MOSS) is a system of open spaces, some 74000 hectares of land and water, that incorporates areas of high biodiversity value linked together in a viable network of open spaces. Examples of areas included in D’MOSS are nature reserves (eg. Paradise valley, Burman Bush and Kenneth Steinbank Reserve), large rural landscapes in the upper … [Read more...]
