Responding to President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent comments at the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda, Greenpeace Africa's Climate and Energy Campaign Manager Happy Khambule has said: "The President of South Africa and Chair of the African Union is peddling 20th century solutions to 21st century problems. The President missed an opportunity to rise to the challenges of … [Read more...]
Rights of Rivers rapidly gains steam
A new report by the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, Earth Law Center, and International Rivers finds that a movement to grant legal rights to rivers and nature is rapidly gaining momentum globally. The report, Rights of Rivers, examines how the ancient notion that nature possesses basic rights is being adopted in laws from New Zealand to Colombia. Just … [Read more...]
Climate change review: humbling lessons from Australia
Australia, like South Africa in the last week and so many other regions across the globe before, has instituted strict lockdown measures to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Though this is not the first large scale crisis the country has been faced with since the start of the year, as just a few short months ago Australia was still making international headlines … [Read more...]
Plastic waste clean-ups head for KwaZulu-Natal after flood
Sincere condolences go out to the affected families and communities that have fallen victim to the devastating human tragedy caused by this week’s heavy rains and flooding in Kwa-Zulu Natal. A huge amount of plastic pollution has also ended up in KZN’s rivers and beaches. This event, more than any in recent times, reinforces the need for all of us – the industry, the … [Read more...]
Nightmarish scenes in Houston: a global warning
Let there be no doubt: the horrific damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey was an almost entirely man-made catastrophe, one fingerprinted by all-too-human neglect, corruption and denial. If we needed a reminder of the power of water to destroy an American city, Hurricane Harvey provided it. In Houston, a fast-growing metropolis of more than 2 million people, it wasn't the wind that … [Read more...]
Malawi faces ‘unprecedented’ flood disaster
The waters may be receding and the rainfall subsiding but Malawi is only now coming to terms with the "unprecedented" floods that hit the southern half of the country last week. At least 176 people lost their lives and another 200,000 have been displaced when heavy rains submerged homes, schools, and in places, washing away an entire village. The Malawi Defence Force has … [Read more...]
Thousands evacuated in Bosnia after ‘worst ever’ floods
More than 20 people have been confirmed dead and the exact death toll is still unknown after Bosnia and Serbia was hit by the heaviest rain and worst ever flood, breaking records in the past 120 years. States of emergency have been raised in the affected areas of Bosnia and Serbia after rivers burst their banks and left towns and villages submerged in seven to 10 feet (two … [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...]
New science centre for climate research
Five Southern African countries are establishing a regional science centre that will support cross-border research into climate change and land management. Ministers from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Germany met in Windhoek on Wednesday, 18 April, 2012 to sign a Joint Declaration that effectively inaugurates the Southern Africa Science Service Centre … [Read more...]
Respond to the call: Earth needs your leadership
Everyone is a sower of seeds. Every thought you think and word you say sows seeds which ultimately lead to actions. Which future are you selecting – which seeds do you want to sow? We are all aware that the future of humanity is threatened on Earth, just like the millions of species who die out each year due to mankind’s bad rule on this planet. With our focus on material … [Read more...]
COP17 conference kicks off in Durban
The President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma has officially opened the much anticipated COP17/CMP7 conference held at the Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. In his speech, he stresses the need for all involved parties to strive to find a solution, here in Durban. “For most people in the developing world and Africa, climate change is a matter of life … [Read more...]
Water gives and takes life
It came as a surprise to me that only 0.25% of the water on our planet is available to us. I do know that it is not evenly distributed and that water is the source of all of life. I've also heard a rumour about the shortage of this resource. It is therefore no surprise that an entire conference was recently dedicated to spreading awareness about the serious trouble our water … [Read more...]
Harsh realities of global warming in Namibia
I'm woken by the sound of rushing water. I get up and hang out of the window. A river rushing by? Indeed. I have lived on dry river banks for many years, so it's a sound I know well. But now we're in a suburb of Windhoek. It's cool and damp and you might think you were in a Cape Town winter, as it never seems to stop raining. Yet this is March and Windhoek is the capital of … [Read more...]
