The fate of one of Africa’s most valuable ecosystems may depend on results from wells being drilled deep into the bedrock beneath the Kalahari of northern Namibia and Botswana in the hunt for a petroleum reservoir. For a distance of some 150km, Canadian company ReconAfrica’s oil and gas prospecting concessions border the Okavango River, a crucial source of water in a … [Read more...]
If not addressed, climate change will shift political power structures
Preliminary Election 2019 results show that the African National Congress (ANC) has maintained its position as the country’s governing party despite the party’s lack of focus on the critical issues of our time – namely climate change and environmental degradation – in their manifesto. According to an environmental and social justice coalition, the ‘new’ government has the … [Read more...]
It’s time to break free from fossil fuels
There has never been a better time to break free from fossil fuels. Record-breaking global temperatures, plummeting fossil-fuel prices, historic investments in renewable energy, and global pressure to honour climate pledges are all coming together to create the ideal setting for this world-changing shift. The shift could not be more urgent. The United Nations climate … [Read more...]
Campaigners attack UK government u-turn on fracking
Campaigners have attacked a UK government U-turn that could result in fracking being carried out beneath the New Forest and the South Downs National Park. A cross-party committee of MPs will debate the potential impact of fracking and the level of protection given to special areas of the English countryside. The government originally pledged that fracking would be banned … [Read more...]
Cansa launches fracking transparency initiative
Cansa is worried hazardous substances & carcinogens could contaminate drinking water in the Karoo. The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) has launched an initiative which it hopes will force companies to be transparent, should fracking for shale gas become a reality in the Karoo. The association is worried hazardous substances and known carcinogens, which are … [Read more...]
R1 trillion can take all homeowners off the grid
I think one would need a referendum to spend R1,000,000,000,000. But my calculations show that for about R1 trillion one can take the entire homeowner load off the grid between 6am and 10pm. This is a MUCH better use of resources than spending this on a new nuclear plant with the help of Russia, says David Lipschitz, solar energy expert. And in this system no government … [Read more...]
Zuma has 30 days to halt fracking process
"We want to see physical steps to halt the fracking process....He is the one that needs to put a stop to it [bearing in mind] the new evidence," CEO Jonathan Deal told reporters in Johannesburg. TKAG and civil rights group Afriforum hand-delivered a letter to Zuma's offices at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday. In the letter the groups call for Zuma to investigate … [Read more...]
SA insurers polled over fracking risk
Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) and AfriForum have formally approached South African Insurers and the South African Insurance Association to clarify their policy on the unique risks presented by shale gas mining and ancillary activities. With the advent of new technology and shale gas mining spreading at a rapid pace in the United States, insurance providers are … [Read more...]
Join the fracking debate this Friday
As the ANC’s new cabinet moves into gear, expectations are that President Zuma will soon issue final regulations in connection with shale gas mining. This, as promised by Mr. Zuma in his State of The Nation Address, ‘will be followed by the processing and granting of licences.’ At that point, the doors to exploration will have been opened and Shell, et al will be set loose … [Read more...]
Fracking: a dead end for Britain
Large-scale fracking is a must for the UK economy, says a new report from the House of Lords. But it confuses opinion with fact, cherry-picks data, and six of its authors have a stake in the industry. The real solutions, writes Tony Bosworth, lie in energy efficiency and renewables. Thursday's report from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee on shale gas was a … [Read more...]
Elections 2014 – who gets your green vote?
This week we will vote for the future of this country. If you are aware of climate change and other threats to our environment and therefore to our civilisation, it helps to take note of how the different parties plan to respond to these threats. What are they saying in their manifestos about: Energy and Climate change Water (services and resources) Mining and … [Read more...]
Fracking directly linked to earthquakes for the first time
Geologists in Columbus, Ohio, have for the first time linked earthquakes in a geologic formation deep under the Appalachians to hydraulic fracturing, leading the state to issue new permit conditions Friday in certain areas that are among the nation's strictest. A state investigation of five small tremors last month in the Youngstown area, in the Appalachian foothills, found … [Read more...]
Editor’s note: Ditch the fossils?
If there is one time when this nation speaks with one voice it’s when we experience power cuts. We seem unified in our addiction to fossil fuels. Suddenly the complaints roll in from business, domestic, rich and poor alike. We can’t cook, we can’t run our factories, the aeroplanes are delayed. Chaos ensues. Of course we need power. We are dependent on Uncle Eskom and if he … [Read more...]
