Earlier in this month dedicated to remembering Madiba and the principles he held dear, The Green Connection handed over the verdict statement – as deliberated by an esteemed jury, at its Oceans Tribunal in September 2021 – to the Presidential Climate Change Commission. In the spirit of Ubuntu, civil society (coastal communities especially) want to ensure that they have a say … [Read more...]
No justification for new coal-fired power
Applicants in South Africa’s first youth-led climate change case have learned that the Minister of Mineral Resources & Energy will oppose their application to compel the release of documents about the Minister’s decision to include new coal power in the 2019 IRP, and the Ministerial determination for new coal issued under the IRP. The #CancelCoal case demands that the … [Read more...]
It’s time to uproot the DMRE
Solutions to South Africa’s crippling energy and climate crisis exist. Yet they are being blocked by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) under the leadership of Minister Gwede Mantashe. Mantashe’s DMRE is holding back a rapid and just transition to renewable energy - the fastest, most affordable way to solve load shedding. Instead, they are working to lock … [Read more...]
Dispelling Wild Coast seismic blasting misconceptions
Many of us remember being told by our elders when we were young to hold a shell to our ears to hear the ocean, no matter how far you were from a seashore. Later on one learns that it is the reverberant air moving inside the hard, curved inner surfaces of a shell’s cavity, which produces the coincidental, pleasant sound similar to waves on a shore. Interestingly the … [Read more...]
SA unites against Wild Coast seismic blasting
As papers are being served on the Minister of Mineral Resources and the Director General of Petroleum Agency SA, and the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment by Interested and Affected Parties to suspend Shell’s seismic survey, nationwide protests along the coastline continue. There is also a boycott of Shell in progress, the tally of over 300 000 signatures … [Read more...]
Eco defenders protest Wild Coast-bound seismic testing vessel
On Sunday morning, before the crack of dawn, nearly 200 concerned environmental defenders took to the Waterfront to get a glimpse of Shell’s seismic testing vessel as it made its way into Cape Town harbour. The vessel travelled down the West coast of Africa, on its way to the Wild Coast, to conduct seismic surveys for an estimated five months. The Green Connection’s … [Read more...]
Help save our bees from ecological collapse
Billions of bees, butterflies, and beetles... are dying off, threatening ecological collapse. Toxic agricultural pesticides are among the key culprits, but we now have a unique chance to phase them out in Europe. If we help win there, the rest of the world could follow. But to make it happen we have to drown out the voices of the industry lobby. Silently, the insect … [Read more...]
Greenpeace Africa demands accountability after Durban fire
Greenpeace Africa volunteers have launched a petition demanding accountability from United Phosphorus Limited following the July explosion of their chemical warehouse in Cornubia in Durban. An investigation by amaBhungane has uncovered that the warehouse stored hundreds of chemicals with known adverse health effects, including Masta 900, methamidophos, and paraquat. It also … [Read more...]
Let’s help free Charlie from the Pretoria Zoo
Charlie is a African bull elephant living at the National Zoological Garden of South Africa also known as the Pretoria zoo. We have learnt much since zoos became fashionable forms of entertainment in late 1899 when this zoo was founded. Zoos, like circuses, are becoming redundant all over the world. Zoos are incapable of being able to offer elephants the space which … [Read more...]
Campaign opposes Liesbeek River Valley development
On Youth Day, 16 June, we not only remember South Africa’s painful past, but also imagine what heritage we want to leave to future generations. Right now, we are witnessing the threatened destruction of a site of deep remembrance of our past, the ‘sacred’ land on which the Khoi-Khoin resisted colonisation for well over a century. The City of Cape Town gave the green light … [Read more...]
Is the Liesbeek River valley under threat of ecocide?
World Environment Day is a day when we are supposed to encourage worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. But some tenacious folks from Change spent it raising funds to go to the High Court to get our authorities to take environmental and heritage protections seriously. The City of Cape Town loves to praise its own record on the environment. Examples … [Read more...]
Global coalition demands cage-free eggs
Today, the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) joins a large-scale global cage-free campaign launched against Restaurant Brands International (RBI), owner of leading brands Burger King and Popeyes. The campaign – led by a coalition of more than eighty (80) influential animal protection non-profit organizations worldwide – urges the company to … [Read more...]
Help stop the controversial African crude oil pipeline
Oil giant Total is about to build the biggest heated oil pipeline in the world - right through the heart of Africa! It will rip through some of the most important elephant, lion and chimpanzee reserves on Earth, displace tens of thousands of families, and tip the whole planet closer to full-blown climate catastrophe. Local communities are doing all they can to fight the … [Read more...]
