Being Green

Being Green - 10 March 2017

If you’re wondering why there are so many recreational cyclists out on the roads in colourful outfits on sporty racing bikes or chunky mountain bikes – well, you’re probably from another planet. Yes, the 40th Cape Town Cycle Tour is dominating the scene this weekend and this is just a…

10 Mar 2017 3 min

Being Green - 3 March 2017

The Chameleon Survey – and the Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area John Richards talked to Ismail Wambi, a senior Field Conservation Officer for the KRCA, about the unique conservation status of the 52-hectare area and its vital role in conserving the few remaining natural sites in the urbanized Cape Peninsula region.

3 Mar 2017 6 min

Being Green - 24 February 2017

Humankind has benefited immensely from the natural abundance of biodiversity in the world. And evolved and adapted through technology to the point where we now control the environment, or think we do. No other species has changed and transformed nature – we call it agriculture and industrialization. And now we…

24 Feb 2017 6 min

Being Green - 17 February 2017

The political season is in full swing, and we will all soon be wishing fervently for a little relief from politicians’ antics and expostulations. But bear with me for this one edition of B-G – it is something we should be concerned about, because it’s about health, our health and…

17 Feb 2017 7 min

Being Green - 10 February 2017

"Army Worms on the March in Limpopo – and a Rhinoceros In Norfolk". In this nervous time of environmental uncertainty let me add one more thing to worry about. Don’t take your eyes off the water crisis in the West of the country, but do be aware of the fall…

10 Feb 2017 5 min

Being Green - 03 February 2017

Emphasis on personal responsibility for managing your own ecological footprint and keeping it to the absolute minimum - some tips and ideas from ROBYN SMITH, founder of FAITHFUL TO NATURE, an online supply enterprise committed to providing ethically endorsed organic products, with every product sourced and checked for credible labelling…

3 Feb 2017 9 min

Being Green - 20 January 2017

"Hydro-geologist Dr CHRIS HARTNADY of Umvoto, an environmental consulting group specialising in hydrology applications, outlined the history of the original TMG Aquifer studies, which have been on hold since 2011. He talked about the geological formations containing the aquifer, prospects for development and exploitation, and the proposed Pilot Study drilling…

20 Jan 2017 6 min

Being Green - 13 January 2017

"You have probably glimpsed on TV news, like me, the odd scenes of people on the streets of Beijing hurrying along, many with surgical-looking masks. And the murky, fog-like, smog or vapour that hangs in the air, through which the high-rise buildings loom; and the street lights just seem to…

13 Jan 2017 5 min

Being Green - 06 January 2017

"The Fire Season is upon us and it’s early in the cycle. Yesterday a sample from the Vital Fire website, which offers a forestry-based Fire Index information service, said that, for instance, in the Breede River region the wind was SSW, 5kmh, the temperature at 10 am 17 degrees and…

6 Jan 2017 6 min

Being Green - 30 December 2016

"This is BEING GREEN for week 52 of 2016. Yes, the final one of the year. Well we all know what we think of 2016, so will 2017 be better - or worse? Funny how we talk like that. How can any year be better or worse? What does ‘year’…

30 Dec 2016 7 min

Being Green - 23 December 2016

"A message from someone who has uniquely earned the right to remind us. He was speaking atop a skyscraper overlooking the centre of London; Sir David Attenborough, winding up the final episode of PLANET EARTH’s second series on BBC Television. A supremely poignant moment, as Attenborough has just turned 90,…

23 Dec 2016 5 min

Being Green - 9 December 2016

"I’m always keen to refresh my understanding of the basics of environmental science that underpins our understanding of where we’re at on the planet. The 7-plus billion humans that share the planet with all other living creatures, vegetable or animal."

9 Dec 2016 5 min

Being Green - 2 December 2016

"There has been so much political ‘noise’ as Pravin Gordhan so memorably characterized it, that quite a few significant events and processes have flown under the radar in the last few weeks. One of these sectors is our favourite environmental concern, energy in the form of electricity and how it…

2 Dec 2016 5 min

Being Green - 25 November 2016

"The Non-Profit-Organisation SOIL FOR LIFE has made a great impact on communities here in the Cape since 2002. And they go from strength to strength. By training and mentoring keen food gardeners from often disadvantaged neighbourhoods they offer inspiration - and concrete advantages – you can enjoy and eat what…

25 Nov 2016 7 min

Being Green - 18 November 2016

"Whilst the world waits with bated breath for signals from the US President – elect, Secretary of State John Kerry has been wasting no time in getting his points home and lambasting climate-change deniers. He was delivering an impassioned address at the COP conference in Marrakech."

18 Nov 2016 7 min

Being Green - 11 November 2016

"Now that we’re in this tricky inter-presidential period speculation is bound to be intense, which is good news for the media, we love speculating. So here goes for our green corner of the field, what you could loosely term “the environment.” There’s no doubt the election of the now-increasingly silver-haired…

11 Nov 2016 5 min

Being Green - 4 November 2016

"{Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink, Water, water everywhere, And all the boards did shrink…} I can identify with the plight of the Ancient Mariner. As we head deeper into Summer and into water restrictions I did a quick review of the long-term outlook for the next few…

4 Nov 2016 7 min

Being Green - 28 October 2016

"The Death of the Great Barrier Reef? A headline in the Facebook-based 'Outside Magazine' proclaimed the death of the world’s largest living structure. Dead and dying are two very different things. If a person is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, their loved ones don’t rush to write an obituary and…

28 Oct 2016 5 min

Being Green - 21 October 2016

Energy Debate Enters New Phase: "The energy discussion has taken a bit of a back seat recently, as political concerns concentrate around the perceived or real division in the ranks of the ANC, the power struggle, if that’s what it is, between the Treasury and the Presidency, and the continuing…

21 Oct 2016 5 min

Being Green - 14 October 2016

Our Oceans: Facts and Futures – a must-read! "You may be living on the Peninsula, which means you’re almost entirely surrounded by the ocean. But do we think about it? Probably not a lot unless you’re a keen surfer. Or driving - or stuck – on one of the marine…

14 Oct 2016 5 min