Waste disposal norms and standards have been implemented at South Africa’s 876 in order to minimise pollution and protect the health and safety of residents by correctly containing the waste. Jan Palm, President of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA), discussed the importance of having these regulatory mechanisms in place to ensure that the … [Read more...]
Small Arctic water bodies emit greenhouse gasses
Carbon and hot gaseous emissions from small water bodies in the Arctic continental shelf have emerged as a major cause of concern, more worrying than the speed of thawing Arctic glaciers. Having spent 20 years studying water bodies formed when permafrost thaws, a team of Russian scientists have found that these thermokarst lakes are sources of carbon dioxide and hot methane … [Read more...]
Carbon time-bomb in Siberia threatens catastrophic climate change
A devastating and sudden acceleration of climate change which is currently being sparked could result in "awful consequences", a leading scientist has warned. Experts have said thawing permafrost in little-known peat bogs in the frozen Russian wilderness could expedite the global warming process. Vast swathes of marshland in Siberia are starting to emit greenhouse gases … [Read more...]
Extreme weather will be new norm without immediate action
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said this weekend that the organization’s investment focus will be on clean energy and that it will back coal-fired and other fossil fuel projects only when there is “extreme need.” Flying in the face of a popular climate denier narrative that says phasing out fossil fuels and addressing extreme poverty can’t be done at the same time, Kim said … [Read more...]
The Trillion Tonne Communiqué calls business to demand policy response
Green Times this week signed The Trillion Tonne Communiqué, a global call to arms from businesses who take the science of climate change seriously and are demanding a proactive policy response. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sets out the link between the cumulative total of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the resultant … [Read more...]
GMO lies will not be tolerated
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of South Africa has ordered Monsanto to withdraw its advertisement on Radio 702 with immediate effect, wherein Monsanto claims the benefits of GM crops. According to ASA, Monsanto’s claims were found to be unsubstantiated. The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) lodged a detailed complaint to the ASA following an advertisement on … [Read more...]
IPCC statement: warming is unequivocal
Human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident in most regions of the globe, a new assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes. It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. The evidence for this has grown, thanks to more and better observations, an … [Read more...]
Fast food worsens GHG emissions
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says food wastage across the world – totalling 1.3 billion tonnes of food annually – is the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions after China and the USA. The FAO estimates the direct cost to producers of food that goes to waste is currently US $750 billion (R7356 billion) annually, a figure that excludes wasted … [Read more...]
New era of eco shopping
In these times, it is important for retailing to be as sustainable as possible. In this spirit, the flagship Pick n Pay on Nicol store has introduced a new era in sustainable retailing through the integration of world class retail thinking and the very best in sustainability principles. An integrated energy-efficiency strategy has been adopted in order to balance … [Read more...]
Composting offsets carbon footprints
The nebulous greenhouse gas (GHG) issue comes to the fore every now and then. Who doesn’t get uneasy about the effects of global warming and the impact it can have on our lives? Most people tend to dismiss the warnings, but luckily there are some who take it more seriously once they understand the extent of the threat. We all have a carbon footprint. Some companies, due to … [Read more...]
Who’s the greenest – printed or online newspapers?
The history of the South African English newspaper industry goes back hundreds of years as mining tycoons acquired newspapers through Johannesburg Consolidated Investments, a subsidiary of mining giant Anglo American. Independent Newspapers, South Africa's largest newspaper group, traces its history back to 1889 when Francis Dormer established the Argus Printing Company, … [Read more...]
Durban kicks off to “save tomorrow today”
Against a background of record greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, more frequent and intense extreme weather events, but also growing momentum for action to fight climate change, the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban (28 November to 9 December) kicked off today. At the start of the conference, South African President Jacob Zuma pointed to the climate impacts in … [Read more...]
Climate change 101
'The cost of addressing climate change is manageable, but the cost of not doing so is unaffordable,' said Yvo de Boer, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This was mentioned during a Carbon Literacy course conducted by Adam Green from Global Carbon Exchange (GCX), which I attended this week. Did you know that one ton … [Read more...]
