Fresh life for old tyres; visionary 3D-printing for construction: these are just some of the clever and sustainable ideas presented by university students competing in the annual Growthpoint Properties and Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Greenovate Awards. The University of Stellenbosch triumphed overall, notably in the engineering category – which … [Read more...]
Help our planet sustain its 7 billion people
The quintessential three R’s of waste management – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – have been given a makeover. ‘Rethink’ has been added to the popular slogan. The Department of Solid Waste Management, as part of its Waste Wise campaign, wanted to pay tribute to individuals who embody the ‘rethink’ motto. On World Environment Day – Wednesday 5 June 2013 – the City of Cape Town … [Read more...]
Too hot to handle
Could the lifestyle adaptations of Kalahari birds in response to rising temperatures be a signal of worse to come? “It’s called the Hot Birds programme because we work with birds in hot places, not because we are hot birds,” joked researcher Susan Cunningham (main picture), at an installment of the University of Cape Town’s Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation Seminar … [Read more...]
A political stalemate for the environment
Could climate adaptation be blocked by a political stalemate at local government level? “Local government is doing more than we think, but they are not doing enough,” said Lorena Pasquini (pictured), postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cape Town (UCT), in her lecture ‘Hot, or Not: Local Government and Climate Change Adaptation.’ Hers was the second in a series of … [Read more...]
‘Building whisperer’ to make UCT Africa’s first smart campus
A public lecture by guest international speaker, David Bartlett, shone light on a new project to make the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) campus the first ‘smart campus’ in Africa. David Bartlett, also known as ‘the building whisperer’ is an internationally renowned IT professional, known for reducing the energy consumption of buildings considerably. He was listed by … [Read more...]
