What a month March has been! First we had a burglary and my son was assaulted in the house in the middle of the day. My life changed in an instant. Nothing can be as intense for a mother as having your child’s life threatened. How are people so brazen to commit crimes in broad daylight? Why did my big and uber defensive German shepherd not protect him? Was she drugged? How I … [Read more...]
Moratorium on the rollout of 5G essential
Radiation exposure has long been a concern for the public, policy makers and health researchers. Beginning with radar during World War II, human exposure to radio-frequency radiation (RFR) and associated technologies has grown more than 100,000-fold. In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reviewed the published literature and categorized RFR as a … [Read more...]
Let’s turn the corner on food wastage
If you take a moment to digest the statistics around the amount of food we waste today, it can be pretty overwhelming. It is thought that around one third of the food produced around the globe is lost or wasted. Richer countries waste something like 222 million tonnes per year, in Europe and North America that equates to 95-115kg of food per person, per year. The numbers are … [Read more...]
Features to look for in an eco-friendly home
Being eco-friendly is no longer just a fad or trend; it’s a lifestyle choice and it’s here to stay. With the Western Cape’s current severe drought situation, and thousands of tonnes of waste poured into our landfills every year, there’s no time like the present to think more seriously about adopting the ‘green’ lifestyle. If you’re browsing for houses for sale, and want to … [Read more...]
How to ditch Day Zero
The ways to respond to our looming Day Zero are as vast as the diversity in this country. But there seems to be two poles in conflict with each other: Those who have decided to do what they can to avoid it – as we still can. This means you’ve made your calculations. Minimum 3 million folk for 200 water points? I think best the City delivers the water in trailers behind the … [Read more...]
Turn your home into a green zone, one room at a time
Often the thought of recycling or being more energy efficient makes one think of expensive contraptions, modern interiors or fittings, and a lot of extra work to make the home more eco-friendly. While the results may not be physically visible all the time, doing your bit in the home on a daily basis is not as difficult or expensive as you may think, and can even save you money … [Read more...]
Drought adaptation DIY style: steps to save water
January was not for chickens in the Cape – extreme drought and fires saw the gardens shrivel up and die. So sad to witness and feel the distress all round. Once our veggie plants got stressed the diseases followed. Watching your water consumption with Stage 3 water restrictions and growing food without the farmer’s concessions calls for innovation. How to capture each … [Read more...]
Finding smart insulation for a hot house
Another summer almost over … hope to goodness the worst heat is over. How clueless was the building industry about energy efficiency when most of our houses were built! Who does not want to save energy now – and it is indeed all our duty to relieve the pressure on the national energy supply. Our double storey really cooks upstairs, where we work. Ancient traces of insulation … [Read more...]
Robben Island beaches enjoy green sweep
Robben Island had her beaches swept of junk last Saturday when PETCO, the Plastics Federation and the Overberg community launched a big clean-up initiative. The clean-up generated no less than 15 bags of recycling material including plastic, glass, and metal in two hours. John Kieser, environmental manager of the Plastics Federation was the host of the clean-up and guided … [Read more...]
Save water in your home and garden
With the rainstorms and snowfalls that have accompanied the winter of 2011, it might be hard to imagine that South Africa could be facing a water crisis - but experts say that unless we start taking water saving measures seriously, we could see demand exceeding supply as soon as 2020. With another scorching summer just around the corner, South Africans will need to be … [Read more...]
BabyDams: saving water for Africa
Slowly transforming your life and work to one that considers the earth's carrying capacity and future generations in everything you do is a life-long journey of innovation, care and creativity. Every small idea and implementation is valuable and important to share so others can follow. An exciting one I found this week speaks to my concern about our water crisis. Here in the … [Read more...]
Beware the water guzzlers this summer
February is the worst month for water consumption in the Cape. One resident shares her water consumption calculations and saving devices and plans with us. The City of Cape Town gives all its residents 6kl of free water a month. Last February my family used up this allocation in 3 days. For some households, 6kl is enough water to last them the whole month. We live in the … [Read more...]
Where do we go with our polystyrene?
When I think of Polystyrene my mind conjures pictures of drinking cups, egg trays, meat trays and picnic plates. This spongy material is called Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). EPS was invented in 1952 by BASF. It is a lightweight cellular material derived from petroleum and natural gas by-products. It is initially produced as small beads containing a blowing agent. The beads … [Read more...]
