The South African Organic Sector Organisation (SAOSO) in collaboration with Participatory Guarantee System South Africa (PGSSA) has launched SA’s first Ecological Organic Agriculture Pollinator programme. The programme is training 20 people to set up PGSs throughout South Africa that will help build more connected local food systems, provide organic assurance for consumers … [Read more...]
The road to ending plastic waste in SA
The South African Initiative to End Plastic Waste has already made important progress in its efforts to find workable solutions that will prevent plastic from polluting the environment. According to Plastics SA executive director Anton Hanekom, this initiative was formed earlier this year and enjoys the support and active participation of the entire packaging value chain – … [Read more...]
HBO documentary focuses on solutions to environmental crisis
Ice On Fire, a new HBO documentary focusing on solutions to our escalating environmental crisis, is now streaming first on Showmax in South Africa, just months after its world premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The documentary has a 90% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and “should be essential viewing for anyone who plans to carry on living on the planet,” to quote … [Read more...]
Health club chain tackles climate change
Virgin Active South Africa has partnered with the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) to sponsor a Net Zero Rating Tool. Committed to ZERO environmental impact by 2030 across its 143 clubs in Southern Africa, the health club group is already making operational changes to reduce water consumption and waste; switching to renewable energy to drive down carbon emissions; … [Read more...]
Solving climate problems and beyond by looking at core issues
The core drivers of climate change cause other problems too. The good news is, for every problem there’s a group of people who would benefit from solving it. From the first exploratory survey for fossil fuels until the end of the century, when today’s greenhouse gas emissions will still be influencing our planet, the fossil-fuel economy causes harm. Climate advocates have … [Read more...]
Social cost of carbon six times higher than thought
The economic damage inflicted by climate change could be six times worse than previously thought, US scientists have warned. The US government takes climate policy decisions on the basis that emitting one tonne of carbon dioxide incurs US$37 of social costs. In a study published in Nature Climate Change, researchers from Stanford University reached a figure of US$220 a … [Read more...]
NASA launches carbon tracking satellite
The ability of scientists to make accurate predictions about future effects of CO2 will be boosted by vital data from a new US satellite sent to take a detailed inventory of the planet’s sinks and sources of carbon. The US space agency NASA sent up a satellite on 2 June, which will provide vital data for predicting future effects of CO2by taking the measure of the planetary … [Read more...]
Microsoft’s sustainability predictions for 2014
2013 was a busy year for sustainability activities: More companies purchased more green energy, we saw advances in wind and solar penetration and efficiency, "natural capital" became a better defined and more prominent phrase, and environmental reporting continued to spread to more companies. 2013 was a busy year for sustainability activities: More companies purchased more … [Read more...]
Tread lightly on your travels
The Vineyard Hotel & Spa, a leader in sustainability in the South African hotel sector, has made huge strides in implementing various “green” initiatives over the last couple of years. Chris van Zyl (pictured below), group sustainability manager and horticulturist at the Vineyard Hotel & Spa, has highlighted a few essential tips that hotel guests can implement in … [Read more...]
One year’s PET recycling saves 75,000 tons of carbon emissions
PETCO’s Annual General Meeting took place on Wednesday, 28 August at the SAB World of Beer in Newtown, Johannesburg. The event was well attended by close on 100 stakeholders, shareholders and friends and was an opportunity for the PETCO Board and Management team to report back on the PETCO model and activities that contributed to the increased recovery and recycling of PET … [Read more...]
400 parts per million – now what?
On 26 June 2013 CO2 in the atmosphere rocketed to 400 parts per million, partly due to emissions caused by human actions. This carbon concentration was recorded in the Southern Hemisphere in the region of Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. According to the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii already had carbon recorded at this staggering amount in May. This last happened 3 to … [Read more...]
Thinking ahead for a future worth living
“Ask yourself: Are you thinking of now, or are you thinking of your grandchild’s future?” This was the question posed by climate scientist Inez Fung, a professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of California and co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment. Prof Fung was giving a lecture entitled ‘Climate Math,’ which was hosted by the African Institute … [Read more...]
Thanks for Connecting the Dots
This is a thank you note, a thank you note to the whole planet. From every corner of the earth people have been doing their best to Connect the Dots on climate change. And their best has been pretty amazing — we have photos from beneath the ocean waves and from high-altitude glaciers, from the middle of big cities fighting sea level rise and remote deserts battling … [Read more...]
