As seas rise, saltwater plants offer hope farms will survive
On a sun-scorched wasteland near India’s southern tip, an unlikely garden filled with spiky shrubs and spindly greens is growing, seemingly against all odds. The plants are living on saltwater, coping...
View ArticleClimate change ‘set to fuel global food crisis’
Global food shortages will become three times more likely as a result of climate change according to a report by a joint US-British taskforce, which warned that the international community needs to be...
View ArticleJuly was hottest month recorded worldwide: US scientists
July was the warmest month ever on record worldwide and 2015 has been so far the hottest year, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday, just over three months to go...
View ArticleUN climate talks plagued by twin fears
Negotiators from 195 nations tasked with crafting a universal climate pact are driven by twin fears tugging in opposite directions, which may result in a hollow deal, say analysts. The all-too-real...
View ArticleThree trillion trees, but not for long
Scientists took a crack at counting the world’s trees and found that humans are having an “overwhelming” impact on forests globally. Scientists have already calculated how many species of fish there...
View ArticleDepartments admit to acid water slip-up
Thirty million litres of water laden with heavy metals are being treated each day at a plant on Gauteng’s West Rand. This has stabilised one of the province’s three water basins and gone some way...
View ArticleSolar win in coal country shows cheap way to beat blackouts
Renewable energy is gaining fast in South Africa and may still be the most financially viable way to avoid load-shedding and blackouts. Near a massive iron ore mine in the Northern Cape, almost 320 000...
View ArticleDirty listed companies hide the truth
Research into some of the JSE’s biggest companies finds them in regular breach of environmental legislation and failing to disclose this to investors. Some of South Africa’s biggest listed companies...
View ArticleJozi gets gold in green awards
Joburg is the best green city in the country, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Senzeni Zokwana said at the start of National Arbor Week in Durban. The Arbor City Awards recognise and...
View ArticleBee disease crisis looming in SA
SOUTH Africa’s R7bn a year fruit industry is threatened with potentially massive job and financial losses. It is a looming crisis that calls for urgent and comprehensive action at governmental level...
View Article2016 predicted to be even warmer
The slowdown in global warming is likely to end within two years as the Earth’s climate system undergoes a radical shift that could push temperatures to record highs this year and next, according to...
View ArticleClimate pledges not enough – UN
The UN’s top climate official has said pledges by countries to lower carbon emissions will not be enough to keep temperature increases below 2°C. Christiana Figueres, UN Executive Secretary on the...
View ArticleCSIR: ‘Drastic’ temperature increases for Africa
South Africa’s most important climate research centre has warned that current temperature projections underestimate the scale of warming this century. Africa’s subtropical regions are warming at 1.5...
View ArticleSpy-cam rhinos to take on poachers with devices hidden in their horns
Conservationists claim the combination of GPS tracker, heartbeat monitor and spy camera will be a game changer. The war on wildlife crime is taking a new technology-driven direction. Rhinos are being...
View ArticleNew Zealand to create giant Sth Pacific sanctuary, banning fishing, mining
Waters north of New Zealand are set to become one of the world’s largest ocean sanctuaries, covering an area roughly the size of France, with a full ban on fishing and mining, New Zealand’s Prime...
View ArticleWater rationing on cards
Cape Town residents might have to endure summer water rationing because of lower-than-average rainfall this winter. The city is in a water-scarce area, despite being almost completely surrounded by the...
View ArticleConservationists rally for rhino, elephants
A vehicle carrying a rhino sculpture led anti-poaching marchers in Johannesburg on Saturday. Kenya’s environment minister joined conservationists at a similar rally in Nairobi, the capital. In London,...
View ArticleSolar motorbikes hit the road in Kenya
Motorcycle taxi operators waiting for passengers in this village in western Kenya’s Kisumu County lounge on their various machines – but Alfred Omondi’s plug-in electric scooter stands out from the...
View ArticleSA on track with green goal
South Africa has rapidly become a world player in renewable energy, according to a new report from the Department of Energy (DOE). As a result, SA is well on its way to achieving government’s goal of...
View ArticleSon of the soil has a ‘light house’
Herbalist !Xoma Aob has everything he needs around him in his eco-friendly “light house” perched on the slopes of Hangberg in Hout Bay. From the top storey with its breath-taking views of the bay,...
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