There is a single species that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic - us. As with the climate and biodiversity crises, recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity – particularly our global financial and economic systems, based on a limited paradigm that prizes economic growth at any cost. We have a small window of opportunity, in overcoming the challenges of … [Read more...]
Enlightened self-interest needed to protect the ocean and climate
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Crysophere in a Changing Climate reveals the extent of the crisis facing humanity as the ocean and its services begin to show signs of collapse. Although the ocean is inextricably linked with the climate, the two working together to make planet Earth habitable, this is the first time that … [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...]
Coal power: 50% less jobs, 1000 times more destruction
As our new Minister of Mineral and Energy Resources fights to keep our economy in the dark ages, aided and abetted by a media sector credulous enough to repeat ‘clean coal’ rhetoric,* it’s worth trying to get a sense of the full damage being done. As a Minister, his duty is to a Constitution that aims to extend the human and socio-economic rights of all South Africans; but his … [Read more...]
SA’s Green Party: educating to empower
The Green Party of South Africa's manifesto is inspired by the fundamental right of justice to all, as manifested in the values that are shared by Green Movements around the Globe. In particular, the Ten Key Values of the Green Committees of Correspondence, as applied to the unique South African political, social and economic environment. 1. A System that Works It is a … [Read more...]
Writing love letters to our rapidly dwindling forests
This summer, the world lost a Nebraska-size chunk of forests. Logging, expanding palm oil plantations and wildfires are to blame. This continuing deforestation trend could have devastating implications for the climate. Simply put, forests aren’t merely pretty places. We need them. Dense tropical forests keep the climate stable by sucking up large amounts of human carbon … [Read more...]
Let’s support the plan to protect our dying oceans
Our oceans are collapsing, with vast disturbing dead areas reported to be expanding in the Pacific. But hope is also rising, with more ocean protected last year than ever before! This week could decide whether collapse or conservation wins the race. Scientists say if we conserve 30% of our oceans, that will be enough to regenerate the rest -- and this plan is actually on the … [Read more...]
Antarctic melt could cause global coastal destruction
Parts of the vast ice sheet of East Antarctica – which collectively holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 53 metres – could begin an irreversible slide into the sea this century, causing an unstoppable process of global coastal destruction, scientists have warned. East Antarctica is widely considered to be more stable than the West Antarctic ice sheet but a study … [Read more...]
Cameroon palm oil project finally on ice
After years of controversy surrounding the proposed palm oil plantation in Cameroon, the Cameroonian government has ordered Herakles Farms to suspend all logging at its main worksite at Talangaye, in the Nguti region of the country. Greenpeace Africa is encouraged by this decision - there are numerous illegalities associated with the project, not to mention the social … [Read more...]
The end of the world as we know it?
The end of the world? No, the world isn't falling apart, as you might have read lately, but those structures and institutions supporting it as we knew it: capitalist markets, civilized norms, personal autonomy, global cooperation, and democratic processes. As modern people, we are used to thinking in linear and progressive terms, open to the future. Certainly, there were … [Read more...]
Help defend the brave indigenous folk of the Amazon
"We have come here to tell the government and companies that these lands are not for sale."– Jaime Vargas, President of the Achuar Nationality of Ecuador. Jaime and Narcisa traveled from the Ecuadorian Amazon to Houston recently on a mission… to challenge the Ecuadorian government face-to-face during its 11th Round oil concessions promotional roadshow at the North America … [Read more...]
A Sea Change shakes up viewers
The sensitive shells of Pteropods in the oceans are dissolving as they absorb high levels of carbon from the atmosphere and become more acidic. These tiny snail-like, delicate creatures with flapping 'wings' are affectionately called 'sea angels' and live in planktonic form in the oceans. This threat to Pteropods is now threatening crucial fish like salmon, which provides … [Read more...]
Good Earth Day contemplations
Last week we celebrated Good Friday and Earth Day wrapped into one. Perhaps we could combine it as Good Earth Day in the future. Naturally my Christian roots honoured the day when we remember and revere the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his descent into the darkness of death in the ultimate sacrifice. Was it not also at that moment that the sun dimmed and the earth was … [Read more...]
