Owls are associated with wisdom in some cultures, think of the wise old owl in the Winnie the Pooh stories. But, sadly, those stories are about as close as some kids are ever likely come to the birds. Not everyone in South Africa would see this as a big loss, though. Owls are feared in [...]

The government wants people to throw less waste into landfills and reuse and recycle more. “We need to move away from being a throw-away society … to one which is much more responsible and cognisant of the need to … minimize waste and dispose as a last resort,” the new(ish) minister of water and environment affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica, said in a speech at the local government indaba on environment this week. But to get more people to start recycling, local municipalities will have to start making it easier to recycle …

The BUDD green home-improvement “rule”:
B = Buy only what you need,
U = Use everything you buy,
D = Donate any leftover materials,
D= Dispose of waste responsibly.

This came in an email from Friends of the Earth UK and is so simple and sensible it just has to be shared.

Resolution Recycling, which has operated a kerbside collection service in Johannesburg for the past few years, has filed for liquidation. Their collections stopped on June 29, the company said in an email to customers today.

In a continent where millions of people have no access to the electricity grid or simply cannot afford to pay for electricity, small-scale energy options can have a huge impact in improving the quality of people’s lives. They also play an important role in combatting climate change. Last week the UK-based Ashden Awards gave prizes to two African energy projects that are inspiring examples of how local sustainable energy can make a difference.

The Vhembe region of Limpopo, which includes the Mapungubwe World Heritage site and the northern part of the Kruger National Park, was declared a Unesco biosphere reserve this week. South Africa now has six biosphere reserves.