Norway's 937 hydroelectric-generating plants provide the country with 96 percent of its electricity—making it the world’s sixth-largest hydropower producer. Now, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology are figuring out how to spread the water power wealth to other nations by turning Norway into the “green battery pack” of Europe. The idea is to … [Read more...]
Enter the 2015 Eco-Logic Awards today
The time has come for the Eco-Logic Awards 2015. Through these awards, The Enviropaedia recognises and honours organisations and individuals that provide products or services that nurture Planet Earth. Due to the rising popularity of the awards, the deadline for entries has been extended to 14 August. Be sure to tell them about your green activities, project, business or … [Read more...]
HOW TO SERIES PART 1: How to go off the grid with solar
Today starts our new HOW TO SERIES – on demand by you our readers. How do we take our environmental footprints into our own hands and radically reduce our negative impact on the planet we hope to leave behind to our children in a liveable state? How do we adapt to the realities of the environmental crisis and live with reverence and joy? Every second week we will publish the … [Read more...]
O + H2 = the greatest treasure
One oxygen atom and two hydrogen molecules can create treasure. The greatest treasure on this planet is not actually gold, diamonds or a rare painting by Picasso. Our greatest wealth and our most prized possession is … water. Johannesburg based environmental NGO, Green Beings, teamed up with Cosmo City schools, Rand Water and Smokolo to promote water conservation and … [Read more...]
WESSA project wins UN award for water commitment
A joint water project initiated by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) under the Chief Directorate Transformation and by WESSA Eco-Schools has won a United Nations-Water “Water for Life” Best Practices Award. The DWS/WESSA Eco-Schools Water Project was awarded in the category “Best participatory, communication, awareness-raising and education practices” and shares … [Read more...]
5 most shocking things people flush down the toilet
You may think no-one knows what you do in a bathroom behind closed doors, but the men and women working at the Department of Water and Sanitation definitely do. They get to sift through your water waste to remove blockages from our sewers so that water is able to move freely through water treatment facilities back into our rivers and lakes. As tempting as it might be to dump … [Read more...]
SONA: response to environmental commitments
WWF's Salim Fakir asked the Presidency to rethink the so called need for nuclear power in his response to President Jacob Zuma’s 2015 State of the Nation address. He commented on the address in terms of environmental matters: Fakir, Head of WWF’s Living Planet Unit, commended the focus on the energy crisis and the need for both short-term and long-term energy planning. … [Read more...]
Cansa launches fracking transparency initiative
Cansa is worried hazardous substances & carcinogens could contaminate drinking water in the Karoo. The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) has launched an initiative which it hopes will force companies to be transparent, should fracking for shale gas become a reality in the Karoo. The association is worried hazardous substances and known carcinogens, which are … [Read more...]
Stop complaining and do-it-yourself
Do you want things to be done, and done properly, in 2015? Then do it yourself. Behave as if government is not going to deliver any services, and if it does, see that as a bonus. The poor management and planning, deployment of loyal cadres not up to the job, attempts at state capture, corruption and weak political leadership of the last decades are now really adding up and … [Read more...]
DAILY GREEN DAY 1: one year of tuning into the miracle
Creation is a miracle – a perfectly ordered conglomeration of atoms designed with intent! Even if you regard it as random, it’s a pretty awesome coincidence, don’t you think? And you get to be part of it, for a split second in the eons of time. At the foot of the New Year I am grateful for my little spot in this cosmic dance. The greatest work of art and I get to be a … [Read more...]
A good time to frack the ocean?
Here is an intelligent look at what lies ahead for SA if we push forward with the plan to frack the ocean near Mossel Bay, by Andreas Wilson-Späth, a freelance writer with a PhD in geochemistry: If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know what I think about fracking: it’s a dangerous, polluting, wasteful, climate changing and altogether unnecessary technology, and … [Read more...]
SA’s green economy transforms bottom lines
South Africa's fast emerging green economy is driven by factors such as radical cost savings, brand differentiation, sustainable futures, skills attraction and retention. Driving its uptake is business, particularly multinational companies (MNCs), which – through its global nature and the interconnectedness of markets – is harnessing green principles to do good and boost … [Read more...]
Register now for marine & coastal educators conference
All those promoting awareness and education of the marine environment are gathering in Gauteng from 11-16 January 2015 to share research, classroom and field activities and be energized with new ideas. Now is the time to book for the 15th Marine and Coastal Educators Network (MCEN) Conference, which brings together formal and informal educators from schools, public … [Read more...]
