Following President Ramaphosa’s Youth Day speech last week – which mostly focused on the unprecedented high unemployment rate and lack of opportunities – young small-scale fishers, along the coast, say they are concerned that government does not recognise their value as South Africans who are self-employed and trying to create sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their … [Read more...]
Biodiversity loss driven by world’s largest dam builders
International Rivers has published a report calling attention to the need for the world’s largest dam building companies to take urgent steps to address the increasing scale and severity of their biodiversity impacts. The report, Advancing Ecological Civilization?, examined the biodiversity footprint of the world’s two largest dam-builders, PowerChina and China Three Gorges … [Read more...]
Let’s help make ecocide a crime
A growing number of people believe ecocide should be recognised as an atrocity crime at the International Criminal Court - alongside Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. Ecocide is serious loss, damage or destruction of ecosystems, and includes climate and cultural damage. Any member state, however small, can propose an amendment to the International Criminal … [Read more...]
Mexico death toll reaches 361 after massive earthquake
The death toll from Mexico's magnitude 7.1 earthquake rose to 361 on Sunday after another casualty was confirmed in the capital, where a search continued at a collapsed seven-story office building in a central neighborhood. National Civil Defense chief Luis Felipe Puente reported on Twitter that the dead include 220 people killed in Mexico City by the Sept. 19 quake. The … [Read more...]
Strongest ever Atlantic storm causes ‘major damage’ in Caribbean
The most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history has destroyed buildings and caused major flooding on several Caribbean islands, as British tourists are evacuated from the region amid warnings the storm will be "potentially catastrophic". The island of Barbuda was the first to bear the brunt of Hurricane Irma - a category five storm with winds of 185mph - early … [Read more...]
How hard is climate change affecting the world’s poorest nations?
When Nicholas Herold was hunting for data on how much climate change was affecting the world's poorest nations, he was surprised when he couldn't find answers in the published research. "Everyone's spoken for years about how poor countries are going to suffer more – or are suffering more – and I couldn't find one figure actually showing this," the research fellow at the … [Read more...]
Lack of invasive plant management compounds Somerset West fires
“Landowners who have not managed invasive alien plants on their properties must be held accountable for that impact on the fires that have ravaged areas around Somerset West.” That is the view of Dr Guy Preston, Deputy Director-General in the Department of Environmental Affairs, responsible for the Working on Fire and Working for Water programmes. “We know that invasive … [Read more...]
Fukushima plant to leak radioactive water for 4 more years
Operators of Japan’s damaged nuclear power plant Fukushima have warned that it will take a further four years to fix the problem of contaminated water leaks. The admission was made as a sombre nation prepared to mark the fifth anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which triggering the world’s worst nuclear disaster in decades. The problem of dealing … [Read more...]
Rich governments accused of blocking UN climate talks
As shocking stories continue to roll in from communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, rich countries persisted in blocking UN climate negotiations, civil society observers warned. Speaking at a press conference at the Summit, observers from across the world warned that there were few indications that the governments of rich industralised countries would … [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...]
Mother City wins Recycling Municipality of the Year
The City of Cape Town has been awarded the PETCO ‘Recycling Municipality of the Year’ award in recognition of its ongoing efforts in waste minimisation. PETCO aims to minimise the environmental impact of post-consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate plastic (PET). “As one of the larger metropolitan municipalities, Cape Town was nominated for this award for its leading approach to … [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...]
Hopes to salvage Kiani Satu sink along with the ship
All hopes to save the ship wrecked off the coast of Knysna plunge as the Kiani Satu sinks into the dark abyss of the Indian Ocean on Wednesday 21 August. After the attempt to float the ship on Saturday 17 August, nature took its course at 4:00 am on Wednesday and dragged the vessel underwater 200m South of Buffels Bay. The carcass of Kiani Satu now lies at a depth of 1000m … [Read more...]
