On July 22, 2020 Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams gazetted a new policy on the development of communications networks in South Africa. The motivation for promoting 5G electronic communications networks ‘was for the creation of a digital economy and society’, she said at the time. Activists have criticized the draft policy, that will … [Read more...]
Asbestos exposure: an environmental carcinogen
Before the 1970s, asbestos was a widely used home and manufacturing additive for its heat and fireproof resistant properties. Due to this, asbestos fibers can be found in buildings and products alike, and although it is banned in the UK, there have been lasting detrimental and cancerous effects through first, second, and third-wave exposure. In the U.S., this carcinogen is … [Read more...]
Joburg townships pay the price for SA’s gold mining legacy
This week, as South Africa adjusts to the eased of restrictions of lockdown Level 1, more people are likely to travel domestically again, many heading to SA’s economic hub for business. According to Earthlife Africa Johannesburg’s Makoma Lekalakala, “Many South Africans do not know that Johannesburg, the country’s largest city, is also the most radioactive city on the … [Read more...]
Will the UK House of Lords protect rural residents from toxic pesticides?
Despite the fact that we are in the midst of the biggest public health crisis for a century with the Covid-19 pandemic - and all the mass deaths and horrifying devastation it is causing - the UK government is forging ahead trying to force through various crucial pieces of legislation. One of those pieces of legislation is the Agriculture Bill which was debated and voted on … [Read more...]
Ecological reflections on the coronavirus
The coronavirus health crisis is connected to the emergency of extinction, the disappearance of species and the climate emergency. All emergencies are rooted in a mechanistic, militaristic, anthropocentric world view of humans as separate from, and superior to other beings who we can own, manipulate and control. It is also rooted in an economic model based on the illusion … [Read more...]
Moratorium on the rollout of 5G essential
Radiation exposure has long been a concern for the public, policy makers and health researchers. Beginning with radar during World War II, human exposure to radio-frequency radiation (RFR) and associated technologies has grown more than 100,000-fold. In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reviewed the published literature and categorized RFR as a … [Read more...]
War Chemical 2,4 D GM maize: coming to our plates soon
The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has published a briefing paper titled, ‘South Africa and 2,4 D GM maize: Biosafety and Socio-economic risks’, exposing ongoing risky technological developments with South Africa’s staple food – maize. It exposes that plans are underfoot to commercially grow genetically modified (GM) maize resistant to the war chemical, 2, D (event … [Read more...]
Research reveals mammograms may do more harm than good
Millions of women are wrongly diagnosed with ‘breast cancer’ concluded the National Cancer Institute (NCI) commission last year, thanks to over-diagnosis via mammograms. This is because what is known as ‘early stage cancers’ such as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) should not be regarded as cancers, but benign or indolent growths. In an attempt to quantify the benefits and … [Read more...]
South Africa: Stop this criminal devastation of the Transkei ecology
Now you can voice your concern about the toxic spraying in the Transkei. In 1995, the South African Police Service (SAPS) began the aerial spraying of cannabis in the rural former Transkei. Every year since 2000, three SAPS Air Wing squirrel helicopters (donated by the American DEA) arrive at a luxury resort in Port St Johns on the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast. For 3 - 4 weeks, … [Read more...]
Monsanto to face tribunal for ecocide and crimes against humanity
Last week, dozens of farming, sustainable food, and environmental justice groups announced they would bring insidious agrochemical giant and food-experimenter, Monsanto, to trial before The Hague for charges of ecocide and crimes against humanity and nature. The tribunal will commence in The Hague, Netherlands, appropriately, on World Food Day, which falls on October 16th of … [Read more...]
Help keep cancer at bay by avoiding these chemicals
Scientists are only beginning to investigate how certain chemicals may contribute to cancer development. But given that we live in a sea of chemicals, it makes sense to begin reducing exposure to those that have been found to disrupt cancer-related pathways — known as cancer hallmarks: 1. Bisphenol A (BPA) An industrial chemical used to make plastics that are used in food and … [Read more...]
Autism study shows links to pesticides and other toxic chemicals
The cause of autism is still unknown, but we are definitely closer to figuring it out. A new study published in the journalPLOS Computational Biology, from researchers at the University of Chicago revealed that autism and intellectual disability (ID) rates are linked with exposure to harmful environmental factors during congenital development. “Essentially what happens is … [Read more...]
WHO admits Monsanto’s glyphosate ‘probably’ causes cancer
The chemical industry's stronghold over many of the world's largest and most influential regulatory trendsetters appears to be waning after the World Health Organization (WHO), defying the propaganda endorsements of U.S. regulatory agencies, found that Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, which contains the weed-killing chemical glyphosate, "probably" causes cancer in animals and … [Read more...]
