Sprig » sustainability

Anti-fracking Petition to SA Government

via Email — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:06:05 +0000

We have written briefly about fracking here and here. What are your thoughts on it? Is it a viable energy source? Too much of an environmental risk? So says the reader who sent in this link to an anti-fracking petition… Do you agree with what is written below? mol-d

In South Africa, the government is considering whether to remove the moratorium that prohibits fracking – a practice that destroys our environment by creating greenhouse gases, consuming water in unsustainable volumes, increasing air pollution, putting people at risk of toxic pollution and more. Don’t let fracking endanger South Africa’s environment and people. Keep dangerous fracking out of South Africa.

Fracking is an environmentally dirty process which will:

Add significantly to world greenhouse gases.
Consume water in unsustainable volumes.
Increase damaging air pollution up to 300km downwind.
Risk polluting groundwater.
Put workers and our people at risk of toxic pollution.
Produce wastes that we cannot treat.
Industrialise a hauntingly beautiful landscape.
Create temporary boom-town conditions.
NOT provide long-lived jobs with useful skill sets.
Increase the traffic on poor roads a hundred-fold.
Cause noise, dust and light pollution.

South Africa has no trained supervisors for fracking operations, which coupled with a low price of gas will mean that companies will cut all the corners they can. A free-for-all will result. That can be avoided by careful use of balanced, renewable energy sources. Tell the President, the Ministers and the Cabinet that removing the Moratorium will harm South Africa and its citizens!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/tell-the-south-african-government-that-they-must-not-remove-the-fracking-moratorium/

Target: The South African Government
Sponsored by: www.fractual.co.za

Honeybee problem nearing a ‘critical point’

Sprig — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:55:05 +0000

Anyone who’s been stung by a bee knows they can inflict an outsized pain for such tiny insects. It makes a strange kind of sense, then, that their demise would create an outsized problem for the food system by placing the more than 70 crops they pollinate — from almonds to apples to blueberries — in peril.

Although news about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has died down, commercial beekeepers have seen average population losses of about 30 percent each year since 2006, said Paul Towers, of the Pesticide Action Network. Towers was one of the organizers of a conference that brought together beekeepers and environmental groups this week to tackle the challenges facing the beekeeping industry and the agricultural economy by proxy.

“We are inching our way toward a critical tipping point,” said Steve Ellis, secretary of the National Honey Bee Advisory Board (NHBAB) and a beekeeper for 35 years. Last year he had so many abnormal bee die-offs that he’ll qualify for disaster relief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In addition to continued reports of CCD — a still somewhat mysterious phenomenon in which entire bee colonies literally disappear, alien-abduction style, leaving not even their dead bodies behind — bee populations are suffering poor health in general, and experiencing shorter life spans and diminished vitality. And while parasites, pathogens, and habitat loss can deal blows to bee health, research increasingly points to pesticides as the primary culprit.

“In the industry we believe pesticides play an important role in what’s going on,” said Dave Hackenberg, co-chair of the NHBAB and a beekeeper in Pennsylvania. Of particular concern is a group of pesticides, chemically similar to nicotine, called neonicotinoids(neonics for short), and one in particular called clothianidin. Instead of being sprayed, neonics are used to treat seeds, so that they’re absorbed by the plant’s vascular system, and then end up attacking the central nervous systems of bees that come to collect pollen. Virtually all of today’s genetically engineered Bt corn is treated with neonics. The chemical industry alleges that bees don’t like to collect corn pollen, but new research shows that not only do bees indeed forage in corn, but they also have multiple other routes of exposure to neonics.

The Purdue University study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, found high levels of clothianidin in planter exhaust spewed during the spring sowing of treated maize seed. It also found neonics in the soil of unplanted fields nearby those planted with Bt corn, on dandelions growing near those fields, in dead bees found near hive entrances, and in pollen stored in the hives. Evidence already pointed to the presence of neonic-contaminated pollen as a factor in CCD. As Hackenberg explained, “The insects start taking [the pesticide] home, and it contaminates everywhere the insect came from.” These new revelations about the pervasiveness of neonics in bees’ habitats only strengthen the case against using the insecticides.

The irony, of course, is that farmers use these chemicals to protect their crops from destructive insects, but in so doing, they harm other insects essential to their crops’ production — a catch-22 that Hackenberg said speaks to the fact that “we have become a nation driven by the chemical industry.” In addition to beekeeping, he owns two farms, and even when crop analysts recommend spraying pesticides on his crops to kill an aphid population, for example, he knows that “if I spray, I’m going to kill all the beneficial insects.” But most farmers, lacking Hackenberg’s awareness of bee populations, follow the advice of the crop adviser — who, these days, is likely to be paid by the chemical industry, rather than by a state university or another independent entity.

Beekeepers have already teamed up with groups representing the almond and blueberry industries — both of which depend on honey bee pollination — to tackle the need for education among farmers. “A lot of [farm groups] are recognizing that we need more resources devoted to pollinator protection,” Ellis said. “We need that same level of commitment on a national basis, from our USDA and EPA and the agricultural chemical industry.” Unfortunately, it was the EPA itself that green-lit clothianidin and other neonics for commercial use, despite its own scientists’ clear warnings about the chemicals’ effects on bees and other pollinators. That doesn’t bode well for the chances of getting neonics off the market now, even in light of the Purdue study’s findings.

“The agency has, in most cases, sided with pesticide manufacturers and worked to fast-track the approval of new products, and failed in cases when there’s clear evidence of harm to take those products off the market,” Towers said.

Since this is an election year — a time when no one wants to make Big Ag (and its money) mad — beekeepers may have to suffer another season of losses before there’s any hope of action on the EPA’s part. But when one out of every three bites of food on Americans’ plates results directly from honey bee pollination, there’s no question that the fate of these insects will determine our own as eaters. Ellis, for his part, thinks that figuring out a way to solve the bee crisis could be a catalyst for larger reform within our agriculture system. “If we can protect that pollinator base, it’s going to have ripple effects … for wildlife, for human health,” he said. “It will bring up subjects that need to be looked at, of groundwater and surface water — all the connected subjects associated [with] chemical use and agriculture.”

Source: Originally published by Claire Thompson, an editorial assistant at Grist. See original article HERE.

Save the Elephant Coast

via Email — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:17:05 +0000

A deepwater harbour development has been announced in the Techobanine region, in the Matutuíne district of Mozambique’s Maputo province. The governments of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana initialed memorandums of understanding on the implementation of this tripartite project in April 2011. Mozambican Transport Minister Paulo Zucula said that the private sector has already guaranteed access to the necessary finance.

Zucula pointed out that the feasibility study has been completed and stated that he was certain that work would begin next year. The minister said that the Techobanine project comes at a time when there is a regional boom in the extractive industries, with large discoveries being prepared for exploitation. The Botswanan Minister of Transport and Communications, Frank Ramsden, said that developing an efficient transport system was central to secure rapid economic growth : “we need economic freedom, not just political freedom”. The port will also include offshore deepwater oil stations for large petro chemical vessels or VLCC’s.

See more detail in the video below:

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST THE TECHOBANINE HARBOUR

Check our FB wall out HERE for more details and like our Facebook page. More info on:

From unspoilt eco-tourism hub to dusty, mining town in 10 years? A perspective on mining in Mtunzini

via Email — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:43:37 +0000

HOW MINING WILL CHANGE MTUNZINI

The tourism brochures boast about its ‘pristine coastline’ and ‘zig-zagging rivers and streams’ in a ‘clean and safe environment’. They also mention its commitment to the ‘preservation of its natural heritage’. But if mining giant Exxaro KZN Sands gets its way, all this could be lost for future generations who may well wonder how a village like Mtunzini and its ravaged, dusty surroundings was ever known as the Jewel of the Zululand coast. Exxaro is due to start mining the 4 000-hectare Fairbreeze site in 2013 – once mining at Hillendale, near Felixton, is complete and the facilities currently being used at Hillendale are moved to a site near Highfield Country Home.

Digital artist's impression of potential damage

The minerals to be mined include titanium, ilmenite and zircon, with the richest deposits found in Fairbreeze C Extension adjacent the Xaxaza Leisure Park at the end of Mimosa Street where Exxaro hopes to start mining. All Hillendale staff will transfer to Fairbreeze and no new permanent jobs will be created. Exxaro anticipates that just over 1 000 temporary jobs will be created in the construction phase – mostly when the plant is physically lifted off the Hillendale site and moved along the N2 (the bridges will be lifted to allow the plant to pass underneath) to Fairbreeze and later when the plant is enlarged.

Once Exxaro gets the go-ahead to mine, the present vegetation on the mine site will be bulldozed and burnt, exposing large areas of soil which will then be broken down by a high-powered hydraulic process requiring 48million litres of water a day running 24 hours a day. The minerals are then extracted from this slurry and the waste pumped to two slimes dams about 5kms away on the inland side of the N2. One of the main concerns of the Mtunzini Conservancy and the Mtunzini Residents Association (MRA) who are opposing the mining is that these mega-dumps, as they are also known, are not only enormous (600 hectares in size, 5 kms long and 1,4 kms wide) but are sited on environmentally sensitive wetlands, and will never be able to be rehabilitated. These dumps will become a permanent eyesore at the entrance to Mtunzini. To understand the size of these slimes dams, you have to imagine 17 golf courses the size of Mtunzini Country Club placed side by side.

“There is no evidence in the Basic Assessment Report (BAR), or elsewhere that we know of, to support the claim by Exxaro that such slimes dams can be successfully rehabilitated to economic timber production – or any other crop,’ said a spokesperson for SOS (Save Our Sands) which represents the interests of the Conservancy and the MRA. “It appears that the slimes dams could be a threat to safety, and blot our landscape forever. A literature search indicates that 30m high dam walls are at the upper safe limit for slimes dams. The planned Fairbreeze slimes dams will be 37m high in places. ”There is also no evidence to support the claim by Exxaro that the soil hydraulically shattered by the process can be ‘reconstituted’ and returned to the highly productive agriculture and forestry that is currently in place.“Exxaro claims that the existing Hillendale mine operation is supposed to provide all the answers with respect to rehabilitation of the mined area and the slimes dams and that lessons learned at Hillendale will be applied at the proposed Fairbreeze mine. “From our perspective, there is nothing to suggest that they have learned how to do anything at Hillendale. From recent visits to Hillendale, Google Earth images, and several aerial surveys there is scant evidence of successful rehabilitation work that has been completed and reported on and/or published in reputable journals.” “If Exxaro doesn’t get this right, we could be left with a wasteland,” says Jim Chedzey who leads the SOS campaign. Not only a wasteland but a town which has lost its allure and with little chance of future investment. According to the municipal valuation roll, the village of Mtunzini represents an investment of R1-billion with an annual rates base of R12-million.

In contrast, Exxaro is expected to make R1,2-billion profit annually in the 12 years that it will mine at Fairbreeze and is expected to pay uMlalazi Municipality only R1,6m in annual rates. Since King Cetshwayo’s white chief, John Dunn, discovered its charms in the 19th Century, Mtunzini has always been an attractive place to live or holiday in one of its many guest houses. Today it is just a hop off the N2 with easy access to Richards Bay, the famous game reserves of Zululand, King Shaka International Airport and Durban. It’s the kind of village where one will meet a zebra at the pedestrian crossing or a Woollynecked Stork at the stop street. It has a history of respecting its environment and sense of place. In the 1940s the local civic authority handed over large portions of the coastal forest to the Natal Parks Board as it was concerned about the high level of poaching taking place. A decade later Ian Garland moved to a neighbouring farm where he pioneered stream rehabilitation and started the first environmental education centre in South Africa. By the millennium, Mtunzini had become the first urban area to be granted conservancy status and it had received many accolades and conservation awards for its work in the clearing of alien invasive plants.

Its residents are fiercely protective of its eco-estate lifestyle and have fought many hard battles to keep it that way but the proposed mining is without a doubt its biggest challenge – taking up many voluntary hours of research, meetings, canvassing and fund-raising to cover legal fees. But for residents the stakes are high. Property owners have been offered naught for their comfort – only the fear that their life savings will drop and devalue as Mtunzini becomes a less than attractive place to live or visit. At present, there are more than 100 houses on the market.

Residents are mostly concerned about the fine dust which will blow from an open-cast mine 100 metres away, as well as the noise levels of a 24-hour a day, seven days a week operation. They are also concerned about their water supply and water quality. The mine will use more water in a day than the town uses in a month. Who can predict how this will affect this already critical resource, 10 years down the road? One of the toxic slimes dams is situated in the catchment of the Siyaya River which flows into the Umlalazi Nature Reserve, another dam falls within the catchment of the Nyezane River which flows into another protected area, the Amatikulu Nature Reserve.

Not to mention, the main drainage lines on the Fairbreeze site which flow directly into the wetlands behind the sand dunes in the Siyaya Coastal Park. The shock troops of this total onslaught on the town, are the residents of Xaxaza Leisure Park – a small community of 65 retired pensioners who will bear the worst brunt of the mining. This quiet, shady warren of narrow lanes lined with modest cabins and a popular caravan park only has a 100-metre barrier of nine-year-old trees between it and one of the dirtiest mining operations seen on the South African coast. “It’s absolutely dreadful,” says Xaxaza co-owner Merle Muller about the prospect of mining right opposite her entrance. “I spoke to the owner of Harbour Lights [a caravan park on the Hillendale site] and he said: ‘Merle, the day they start mining you may as well close your business because no one is going to stay at your caravan park and the permanent residents certainly won’t want to live under those conditions.

“He said it was so dirty and dusty that residents had to wash everything every day if it had been left outside. We all wrote letters to Exxaro and the Minister begging them to move the mine a safe distance away from us. I posted 65 letters but it seems to have been a waste of time because we haven’t received a single reply. Not even an acknowledgement from Exxaro. And what’s it going to do to our health? We’re all pensioners here.” Also of huge concern is the future of the Twinstreams Environmental Education Centre situated just above the confluence of the Siyaya and Amanzimnyama streams. Begun 60 years ago by sugarcane farmer, the late Ian Garland, who foresaw the threat faced by the environment long before the present debate on climate change, Twinstreams is now run jointly by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and Mondi (the present owners of the land to be mined).

Every year, more than 4 000 school children pass through the Centre where they have the chance to explore several pristine, diverse ecosystems, study riverine rehabilitation, the impact of humans on catchments as well as enjoy fun activities such as hiking along the beach and canoeing in the estuary. Because of Ian Garland’s proud legacy, Twinstreams has always been a valuable lesson to all who pass through it that individuals can make a vital difference. But to many, having an environmental education centre on the edge of a mine is a bizarre and abhorrent mental image. In its answer to the concerns raised about the future of Twinstreams Centre, the Addendum Report noted only that Exxaro ‘should financially assist with investigating suitable alternative sites’. In his lifetime, Ian Garland estimated that he had planted over 60 000 indigenous trees – not only on his own farm but along most of the watercourses on the Fairbreeze site and wherever he felt the landscape needed a bit of ‘cheering up’.

Mtunzini’s sense of place owes much to his voluntary tree-planting, enthusiastic guidance, first-hand knowledge and foresight. At his funeral in 2007, all the tributes referred to his life’s work of creating a forest along the Siyaya as his living monument. Who knows how this monument will look in 2020 if the mining goes ahead? ”Many of us learnt some valuable life lessons from Ian Garland and we saw what a lonely battle he fought most of his life to try and save the Siyaya catchment,” says longtime resident and farmer Bruce Hopwood. ”It’s painful for us to be in the Fairbreeze area and ponder the future of his extraordinary legacy. He only wanted to leave the world a better place than he found it and now we’re faced with its plunder by a faceless multi-national company that only sees profits and will never know what we have lost.”

source: mtunzini.co.za

WIN BIG!! Naked…

via Email — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:38:35 +0000

conservationists calendar from Iphithi Nature Reserve

We are nearing the festive season and to raise awareness of the Iphithi Nature Reserve in Gillits, the generous (and semi-nude) conservationists have given us three calendars to give away as prizes. If you would like to win one of them and get it posted to your door (in South Africa), please comment below… We will announce a winner a week! mol-d

Here are the details:

In the spirit of preserving this world for all to enjoy, the Iphithi Nature Reserve Committee has released a 2012 calendar with a difference – showing a bit of skin in a lot of nature. The stunning photographs showcase not only the beauty of the habitats within the reserve, but the exhilaration and beauty of being a part of nature. By making themselves vulnerable, the participants are reflecting the vulnerable state in which our actions have placed our precious planet.

The Committee hopes that the calendar will bring attention to all natural environments struggling to exist in urban landscapes, like Iphithi Reserve, a small wildlife sanctuary situated in Edward Drive, Gillitts, and all proceeds will go towards the upkeep and protection of the reserve. The calendar also showcases a variety of our indigenous plants for your garden, as well as a number of environmental awareness days worth celebrating. So, when you buy a calendar, not only will you have something lovely to look at, you will be contributing to a worthy cause! Calendars cost R110 (exc. postage) and are available at The Corner Café, Brand Rd Glenwood, the gift shop at Giba Gorge, the Iron Fist clothing store in Gateway and from committee members in Gillitts. We will also be selling them at the Shongweni Farmer’s Market from this Saturday, 3rd December for those interested.

Visit the Iphithi Facebook page, or contact Anno Torr, the Chairman of Iphithi Nature Reserve (atorr@telkomsa.net / 0726025610), for more information.

Below are some sample pics of the calendar, get commenting!

COP17: Support women farmers

rike — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:46:31 +0000

“The number of hungry people is set to reach over 1 billion by the end of this year. Rural women are a vital – yet seldom seen – part of the solution to this crisis.

Small scale farmers produce half the world’s food and most of them are women. With access to training, technology, financial services and markets – the number of people going hungry could be cut by 15%. With 7 billion people on the planet this year, their role is more important than ever.

Climate change could put an extra 50 million people at risk of hunger by 2020 and as we have seen with the drought in East Africa recently – the situation is only getting worse. The majority of those affected will be small-scale farmers.

It’s vital that we keep up the pressure on governments to deliver on their promise to halve world hunger by 2015. If you are in the US you can take action by asking Obama to stand with Africa and support women farmers.

We’re continuing to press for increased international support for small-scale women farmers and we’re are launching lots of exciting campaign activities around the world in the lead up to the UN Climate Conference in South Africa happening now.

You can help by using our video at the top of this page to tell your friends and networks about this campaign. Please share it on Facebook and Tweet about it. We’ve also got a whole bunch of multimedia goodies for you to play with and share here. The more noise we can generate about women farmers – the more visible this solution will become!”

See the Action Aid video here.

You can also follow Action Aid’s live coverage.

Fog harvest

via Email — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:17:08 +0000

A study is being done to see if Mpumalanga’s poorest communities can harvest fog as a vital water source. The national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform plans to conduct a pilot project next year with the hope of rolling out fog harvesting to communities along the province’s eastern escarpment. “If the pilot project yields positive results, we will consider a large scale roll-out to feed into local water distribution networks,” said department spokesman Eddie Mohoebi on Monday. It is hoped the project will alleviate water shortages in South Africa, which is one of 30 countries with the worst water scarcity in the world. The country’s average annual rainfall of 450mm is nearly half of the global average of 860mm per year. Communities in Cabazane village near Mount Ayliff in the Eastern Cape and Thohoyandou in Limpopo are already harvesting fog and providing clean water for their basic needs.

Fog is caught by a 40 square metre net made of stainless mesh co-knitted with a poly material attached to six-metre-high wooden poles. Gutters, attached to the bottom of the net, catch the water droplets and lead it down into reservoirs. The pilot project in Mpumalanga aims to produce 5 000 litres to 15 000 litres of water per day through fog harvesting. According to statistics from the South African Weather Service (SAWS), Mpumalanga’s weather stations recorded 225 days of fog in 2010. It is the highest number of fog days for all provinces in South Africa.

SAWS senior scientist Dawn Mahlobo said fog was recorded on 82 days at the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport and 85 days in Ermelo. The department wants the first fog harvesting plant to be erected in either Piet Retief, Donkerhoek, Madadeni, Shibange or Ntunda. “At this point in time, it is difficult to determine where exactly the fog will be harvested. The outcome of the feasibility study will determine the area suitable for fog harvesting technology,” said Mohoebi. The bids for Mpumalanga’s pilot project closed last week Friday. The pilot project will commence a month after a service provider is appointed. The contractor will train community members to operate and maintain the system. The department hopes the project will provide access to clean water and enhance local economic development with job creation in maintenance, installing, repairing fog water harvesting technology and establishment of small gardens for community. No electricity is needed to operate the plant. “Other communities along the escarpment will be considered if thick fog appears for 90 days or more for a few hours at a time and is accompanied by strong wind. The sites should also be at least 1km above sea level,” said Mohoebi

buanews

Africans Dealing with Climate Change: Citizen approach to COP17

via Email — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:40:20 +0000

Imagine Durban invites you to attend a two day seminar titled, “Africans Dealing with Climate Change: Citizens approach to COP17″. We are co-hosting the seminar with IDASA and you are requested to RSVP as shown on the invite. Please download the invitation HERE.

Nuclear Future in the Western Cape? 21 Nov 2011!

via Email — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:31:01 +0000

ARE YOU WILLING TO ACCEPT A NUCLEAR FUTURE FOR THE WESTERN CAPE?

Join us for this important talk!

The South African government plans to spend an estimated R1 trillion on six nuclear reactors on our coast. Two of these are planned for Bantamsklip, 42km from Hermanus. Tenders are to be finalised this year and the bidding process is due to start in early 2012.

There has been strong opposition at Thyspunt close to Jeffreys Bay, so it is very likely that Bantamsklip near Pearly Beach will be the next ‘preferred site’.

What will the cost to South Africa be?
What else might we achieve with R1 trillion?
Could a disaster like Fukushima happen here?
Was the environmental impact properly assessed?
Is there a viable alternative? Can renewable options be used to supply our electricity needs?
Do we have a say?
What can we do?

VENUE:   Overstrand Municipal Auditorium
DATE:   Monday 21 November 2011 TIME:   17:30pm for 18:00pm
SPEAKER:   Peter Becker
www.koebergalert.org
Arranged by: www.savebantamsklip.org
info@savebantamsklip.org

eThekwini Municipality Mayor Commits to Cycling to Work Regularly

via Email — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:52:28 +0000

eThekwini Municipality Mayor, James Nxumalo, has committed himself to cycling regularly using an electric bicycle when going to work.The pledge was made during the launch of the Metro Police Electric Bicycle Pilot Project. Ten electric bicycles were handed over to the Metro Police to use when patrolling in the Durban beach front as part of the pilot.

The project aims to test alternative modes of transportation in the city. Petrol and diesel engines continue to contribute negatively to the overall carbon footprint.”As the eThekwini Municipality we are committed to playing our part in renewable energy and different modes of transportation. I will be cycling regularly from my home in Pinetown to work at the City Hall. I will do my best to do this regularly. I am challenging other Mayors throughout South Africa and internationally to commit themselves as I have,” said Nxumalo.

Before the event started Nxumalo cycled from the City Hall through Dr Pixley KaSeme to the Durban Beachfront Fountain Court where the launch was held. He was accompanied by the ten Metro Police Officers who used the bicycles to patrol. Deputy City Manager Derek Naidoo said President Jacob Zuma had made a call to reduce the carbon emission by 35 %. “We are committed to doing this and the ebikes are a small contribution to reducing the carbon emissions.”

Using the ebike was not the only highlight of the day. Deputy Head in the eThekwini Transport Authority, Carlos Esteves, announced that the Municipality was building cycle lanes in various parts of the city to encourage cycling amongst its citizens. “The cycle lanes are part of the Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network (IRPTN). Cycling is the most efficient mode of transportation. Cycling lanes are busy being constructed and residents will be able to cycle on Archie Gumede Place to the Botanic Gardens.”

He added that his unit was currently widening the Umngeni Bridge to cater for another cycle lane. Mayor Nxumalo said commuters should begin to explore other modes of green transportation especially those living in the inner city.”If this pilot is successful, it could be rolled out to other businesses within the city. We are passionate about protecting the environment making sure we reduce the carbon emissions. Let’s run, let’s walk and let’s bike,” ended Nxumalo.