Activists on board the Greenpeace ship Esperanza documented a large methane leak located in the British exclusive economic zone in the North Sea. Using an ROV (Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle), they were able to film two of the gas-emitting craters at about 100m water depth on the seafloor (at positions 57°55.30’N, 001°37.87’E and 57°54.81’N, 001°38.72’E), which are … [Read more...]
Natural methane release leads to increased atmospheric warming
The World Business Academy has released a 31-page whitepaper addressing a global phenomenon it calls the “Methane Accelerator”: cumulative emissions from massive deposits of methane gas, sequestered for millennia in permafrost, glaciers and marine sediment, but which are now being released due to warmer atmospheric and ocean temperatures. For at least 100 years after it is … [Read more...]
Diverting organic waste from landfills to produce green energy
The improper disposal of waste is one of the fastest growing risks to our planet and way of life. Rotting food leads to increases in methane gasses as the food decomposes in landfills. To address this, the City of Cape Town plans to start banning wet waste from its landfills from 2022. The Waste Transformers from the Netherlands and South Africa’s own JSE-listed … [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...]
Global mean methane levels are higher than ever
At no time in the past did humans exist under conditions that we are facing now, no matter how far back you go in history. Global mean methane levels as high as 1840 parts per billion were recorded on August 4, 2015. This is the highest mean level since records began. This new record is likely to be superseded by even higher levels soon. The carbon dioxide that is … [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...]
Drakensberg also under threat of fracking
Many people are aware of the recent campaign in the Karoo against a proposed natural gas mining process known as hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'. However most do not realise that large parts of the Free State, Eastern Cape Highlands and KZN are also under threat. This map confirms that a consortium of Sasol, Statoil and Chesapeake have been granted exploration licenses … [Read more...]
