| Enviro-Chat - September 2008 |
| Posted by Enviroadmin |
| Monday, 24 May 2010 19:49 |
|
Welcome to the latest Enviro-Chat for September. Environmental News from South Africa Notice of EIA: NECSA (Early Warning System & Effluent) - Every concerned citizen is urged to register as an “Interested and Affected Party” (I&AP) on this new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) announced by the Nuclear Energy Corporation of SA (NECSA). By law, irrespective of where you live, all citizens have the right to participate in the EIA process – it is not for experts only ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2112> . Heavy seas, wind and snow batter East Cape - GIANT waves battered the Eastern and Southern Cape coast yesterday, closing roads, threatening homes and businesses, and forcing people to evacuate. Heavy seas churned up by gale- force winds and spring tides at the weekend are only expected to subside on Thursday ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2144> . Powerlines Plotted for Picturesque Village - The province's environment department has approved an 8,6km high-voltage powerline, with cables strung between 23m-high pylons, which will have a long-term visual impact on the historic and highly scenic overberg villages of Greyton and Genadendal. And the province's officials gave the nod to the project without visiting the site ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2130> . Storm in Western Cape Results in 9-Meter Waves - The South African Weather Service has recorded nine-meter high waves along the Western Cape coast, as gale force winds continue to batter the area. Forecaster at the weather service, Evert Scholtz on Monday said the winds, coupled with the spring tide, caused waves to swell to about three stories high .. read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2134> . The Toxic August Winds - Mine dump dust contains a variety of toxic compounds, such as aluminium, arsenic, copper, iron, manganese, lead, zinc, uranium and cyanide, during the windy season from July to September, strong winds carry this toxic inhaleable dust very great distances and high enough to enter the jet stream, see photos <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2147> of such dust pollution. ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2147> . Green Fury Over U.S. Nuke Ship - US NUCLEAR ship the USS Theodore Roosevelt will be making its way to SA next month and the South African Navy has approached the National Nuclear Reactor (NNR) for a nuclear vessel licence, according to a newspaper notice at the weekend ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2129> . Pollution threatens Cradle of Humankind - A respected cave expert has called on the government to urgently address the acidic mine water pollution in the Witwatersrand region that threatens the world-famous Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site. In a recent open letter, Mike Buchanan, an ecologist, describes how over a century of gold mining has destroyed the Witwatersrand's unique groundwater system and habitat, leading to the "world's greatest karst disaster" ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2124> . At least 20 die in raging veld fires - DOZENS of fires fanned by gale-force winds left at least 20 people dead at the weekend and destroyed thousands of hectares of veld, officials said yesterday. Working on Fire (WoF), a government-supported veld fire-fighting and prevention project, said yesterday that about 150 veld fires had been raging since the weekend ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2146> . R4 million for Govt Nuclear "Brainwashing" - The department of public enterprises is spending R4-million on its bid to give the image of nuclear power in South Africa a makeover. The price tag was revealed in a reply by Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin to a parliamentary question by Independent Democrats energy spokesman Lance Greyling. "This research is not intended to be a public consultation process on nuclear policy," he said ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2128> . Graphite feedstock for PBMR demo plant to start - Minister Alec Erwin's aggressive move towards lavish nuclear energy projects for South Africa has, since the onset, given the indication (prior to any approvals) that "it's a DONE DEAL". Not one of Eskom's EIA processes is even near to completion, and the PBMR EIA process has been delayed due to "unforeseen" circumstances with no reasons whatsoever given to interested parties. Why then is the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) already giving the go-ahead on part of the process for manufacturing the Uranium pebbles for the PBMR project? Is this a fait accompli? What happened to democracy and public consultation? In another article <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2128> you will see how R4-million of taxpayers' money has been allocated towards "correcting" (brainwashing) the general public's perception of nuclear energy. Why is this industry still so shrouded in secrecy if they have "nothing" to hide? ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2125> . Protecting Biodiversity Dependant On Communities - The protection of biodiversity hotspots depends on the involvement of local communities, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Speaking at the People and Parks Conference on Monday, deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said: "Our success in achieving sustainable protection of these hotspots, species and ecosystems will largely depend on the extent to which we involve local people whose livelihoods depend on these resources." ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2132> . Fears raised over pebble beds - A new foreign report casts a further shadow over SA’s troubled nuclear project, but a local research company says there’s no need for alarm. Bobby Jordan reports. The safety concerns are contained in a report released by the world-renowned state-owned German Jülich Nuclear Research Centre ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2113> . Reserves Line Up for Island Animals - Animal welfare organisations, farm, guest lodge and animal sanctuary owners from many parts of the Western and Eastern Cape are coming forward to offer accommodation to Robben Island's animals in the hope they can prevent them from being killed ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2133> . 'Massive budget' for reactor queried - The government must explain its plans to build the controversial Pebble Bed Modular Reactor demonstration plant at Koeberg, and particularly why its massive budget will not be better spent on other energy sources, says the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Its president Dr Gerald Wolman said the project had come in for severe criticism because it was 10 years behind schedule, and 10 times over budget. "One of our concerns is that the reactor seems to have doubled in size," he pointed out ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2121> . Kosi Bay - Southern Africa's Last True Wilderness - Situated in the far north-east corner of Kwazulu Natal lies Kosi Bay which is part of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park now called the Isimangaliso Wetlands which is the FIRST natural World Heritage Site in South Africa to be awarded such worldwide UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE recognition ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2123> . Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Fruit And Wine - In an effort to stay competitive in a global market where increasing demands are made by consumers for 'green' products, South African fruit and wine farmers have launched an initiative to determine the environmental impact of their industries ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2108> . Environmental News from around the World Italy next solar hot spot - Italy could be Europe's next big solar power market after Spain, which will slash generous subsidies later this month, a leading solar industy figure told Reuters on Tuesday. Ernesto Macias, managing director of Spain's biggest solar panel maker Isofoton, was hopeful that the solar market in Italy could expand to reach 1,200 MW next year, the cap on solar power output entitled to subsidies under existing regulations ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2139> . Hurricane Gustav Spares New Orleans - Weaker than feared, the center of Hurricane Gustav made landfall as a Category 2 storm near the small town of Cocodrie in Terrebonne parish on the Louisiana coast 72 miles southwest of New Orleans ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2136> . German Coalition Sues Bayer Over Pesticide Honey Bee Deaths - The German organization Coalition against Bayer Dangers today brought legal action against Werner Wenning, chairman of the Bayer AG Board of Management, by filing a charge against him with the public prosecutor in Freiburg. The group accuses Bayer CropScience of "marketing dangerous pesticides and thereby accepting the mass death of bees all over the world." ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2120> . Green marketing — Are your claims sustainable? - Brands making green claims about their products need clarity on what they can and cannot say. The recent surge in green marketing has left many brands searching for the right words to sell the environmental benefits of products. But many advertisers still slip up by using vague terms that leave themselves open to charges of greenwash, as oil firm Shell has found to its cost ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2137> . Sea level rises could far exceed IPCC estimates - Could our coastlines disappear underwater much sooner than we think? The controversial view that sea levels could rise at a rate of more than 1 metre per century has found support from a new study of a long-melted ice sheet ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2142> . Northern Hemisphere Sets 1300 Year Climate Warming Record - Surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were warmer over the last 10 years than any time during the last 1300 years, according to researchers at Penn State's Earth System Science Center and three other U.S. universities ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2135> . Half of All Food Produced Worldwide is Wasted - Tremendous quantities of food are wasted after production - discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and kitchens - and this wasted food is also wasted water, finds a policy brief released at World Water Week in Stockholm .... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2100> . Solar Sunroof Recharges Car Battery - Sunroofs are no longer just an easy route to windblown hair and a sunburn with Sunrise Solar’s introduction of the solar sunroof. The technology replaces the traditional glass sunroof with solar technology that generates electricity to recharge a car’s batteries while either cooling or warming the parked car depending on the weather ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2118> . Drought in Australia food bowl worsens - Drought in Australia's main food growing region of the Murray-Darling river system has worsened, with water inflows over the past two years at an all-time low, the government's top water official said on Tuesday ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2140> . Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California - Companies will build two solar power plants in California that together will put out more than 12 times as much electricity as the largest such plant today, the latest indication that solar energy is starting to achieve significant scale ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2117> . Solar plant yields water and crops from the desert - Vast greenhouses that use sea water for crop cultivation could be combined with solar power plants to provide food, fresh water and clean energy in deserts, under an ambitious proposal from a team of architects and engineers ... read more <http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2143> . |
