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Celebrate Green Day (hint: it’s not about the band)

September 22nd, 2011

If you’re one of South Africa’s eco-warriors you may already be familiar with Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), which styles itself as the country’s first and only social enterprise that focuses primarily on environmental and global warming education and awareness. It was established by Jeunesse Park in 1990 and one of its founding patrons was Dame Helen Suzman. As you might gather from the name, it has an arboreal bent. Initially it was called Trees for Africa, but in 2000 Food was added to recognise that food security was just as important to promoting green living among all communities as planting trees.

In the 21 years of its existence it has amassed a number of awards and accolades and has earned international acclaim for its efforts. Drawing on this clout, FTFA has declared 30 September 2011 Green Day.

The aim is to take environmental awareness to the masses, instead of preaching to the converted – which is how Park refers to many green efforts that take place these days.

To maximise Green Day’s chances of success, FTFA has partnered with Global Carbon Exchange (GCX).

Commenting on Green Day, GCX’s marketing manager, Ingrid Mech, said, “We are hoping to mobilise the nation by showing their support for green issues by wearing green on the day, supporting a green cause in their community such as cleaning up a local park, donating to a green cause – or by changing their Facebook profile pictures to show that they are aware of green issues and support Green Day.”

September has a strong eco-focus with a number of “Days” dedicated to eco-themes, including:

  • Arbour Month.
  • Clean up South Africa Week (12 – 17 September).
  • Clean up the World Weekend (17 – 19 September).
  • Car-free Day (22 September).
  • Heritage Day (24 September).
  • Moving Planet Day (moving away from fossil fuels – 24 September).
  • Day of 1000 Trees (24 September).
  • World Rivers Day (25 September).

Some of FTFA’s accolades include:

  • 1995 Winner of the Department of Environmental Affairs Conserva Award.
  • Laureate of the UN Global 500 Role of Honour.
  • 1996 Winner of the President’s Forestry Award.
  • 2001 Winner of the Mail & Guardian Investing in the Future Awards for Trees for Homes.
  • Jeunesse Park has received the International Chevron Conservation Award.
  • 2009 Winner of the Sangonet Best Use of Social Media and Best Website Award.
  • 2010 Winner of UN SEED Award.

Find out more about Food & Trees for Africa.

 
(Image by Curt Smith from Bellevue, WA, USA (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

 

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Posted in Carbon Emissions, Climate Control, Conservation, Environment, Green Living

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Dairy gets a green makeover

September 2nd, 2011

Dairy farming is no traditionally considered a green pursuit. Cows are not, in fact, considered green animals, not when you consider the stink that has been raise regarding their flatulence and its effect on global warming. The thing is, cows need to be feed, and that requires a lot of land and water and usually chemical treatment. Cows need to be housed, fed, watered and milked. Dairies use a lot of electricity, water and chemicals. Combine the effects of keeping cows with those of maintaining a dairy and the poor bovines’ carbon footprints go through the roof.

But, dairies are getting greener and leading the way is one of South Africa’s very own dairies, albeit one that is still under construction.

Coega Dairy in the Eastern Cape is a project by the Coega Development Corporation and 13 local diary farmers who want to banish the industry’s reputation as environmentally-unfriendly and replace it with shining new reputation for eco-awareness.

The idea for the dairy came about last year (2010) when some farmers decided that they wanted to be greener. Coega came to the party with a R50 million investment in very advanced UHT (ultra-high temperature) processing equipment, which, as far as the CEO of the dairy knows, is only being used by one other diary in the world.

Dr Hennie Kleynhans, the above mentioned CEO, says that the technology, called OneStep, is still very expensive, almost prohibitively so, but that the advantages outweigh the costs, especially in the long term.

As the name implies, several steps are eliminated from the milk processing … process, which makes it considerably quicker, not to mention cheaper to operate. And, Kleynhans is adamant that the quality of the end product, be it milk, butter or custard, is not in the least affected. In fact, it could be just that little bit better.

If we get to some facts, Wilma den Hartigh says that OneStep uses half the energy, water and chemicals as traditional processing units and that it generates half the waste, of which 65% can be recycled and carbon emissions are down 40%. Only 300ml of water is required to produce one litre of milk, compared to three litres of water per one litre of milk at traditional dairies.

Furthermore, traditional equipment needs to be cleaned every day, using lots of water and chemicals. OneStep units only need to be cleaned every 60 hours and requires less water and fewer chemicals.

And, according to Coega Dairy’s marketing director, Marlize Smit, milk will be sourced mainly from pasture fed cows; in other words, organically. The paper cartons will be reclaimed and recycled and, sadly for the rest of the country but happily for the environment, the milk will only be sold locally, so there will be no long distance hauls.

The dairy is expected to be fully operation in October this year and next year the stakeholders plan to install a second plant on the site.

(By the way, if you’re worried about the impact of the construction of the site on the environment, Hartigh reports that several extensive environmental impact assessments were carried out and that vegetation, animals and insects were relocated nearby.)

(Image by jannbr, stock.xchng)

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Posted in Eco-friendly Products, Environment, Responsible Industry

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How does one make toilets sexy?

July 27th, 2011

I have no idea but it’s a problem the eThekwini municipality in Durban has to answer, and soon if it wants to make a success of its urinary diversion (UD) toilets.

Let’s go back before we go forward.

Among the multitude of problems that still plague South Africa there are two that are pertinent to this post:

  1. Sanitation or the lack thereof in rural areas and informal settlements.
  2. Water shortages.

Both of these are addressed by UD toilets or dry toilets as they are also known.

Very basically, UD toilets have two compartments: one for urine and one for faecal waste. By separating the two the nutrient-rich urine can be used to create fertiliser. The solid waste is kept dry and free of disease, which makes it easier and safer to handle.

Research and development is currently being funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gave the municipality a four-year grant for this express purpose. The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) is also providing valuable technical assistance.

It sounds like a very good idea, in theory, but in principle it’s not working out quite as planned. The problems have nothing to do with the technology itself. Instead they have to do with community buy-in.

Some township dwellers think that the solution is more appropriate for rural areas – they would much rather have toilets that flush. As a community leader has said, “Toilets are not about saving water – they’re about the dignity of people living in informal settlements.”

It’s an attitude that is perhaps understandable when you consider that most people living in townships moved there for a better life. Flushing toilets are equated with this better life; anything else is seen as something of an insult.

Other problems include lack of community consultation and maintenance issues. For instance, residents would be responsible for pouring sand over the solid waste to prevent flies, they would have to empty the full compartments and learn how to properly bury the waste and plant vegetables or trees on top. You can start to relate to their dissatisfaction a little now, can’t you?

But, the municipality is looking for entrepreneurs who would make it their business to collect the full waste compartments and deliver them to facilities that would then extract the ingredients that go into making a snorting fertiliser.

Still the battles are many, and mostly uphill.

eThekwini Municipality Water and Sanitation director Neil MacLeod is not about to give up, however. He compares the struggle to make dry toilets sexy to cell phones. I’ll quote him so that it makes more sense:

“The flushing toilet was invented in 1860, for Queen Victoria, and we use practically the same toilets today. If I gave you a cellphone that was made in 1980, you’d say, ‘I don’t want that thing, I want a Blackberry, or a Nokia or a smartphone,’ because the technology has advanced. So I want you to see a flushing toilet like the cellphone of 1980: clumsy, wasteful, not very clever.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has its heart set in revolutionising toilets and Durban, its municipality and its university all have key roles to play.

But without that sexiness, all the time and money spent could be in vain.

 

(Image by Usien (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

 

 

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Posted in Environment, Green Living, Responsible Industry, Sustainable, Water Wise

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Peninsula Paddle makes waves for environmental education

June 20th, 2011

By Megan Diener

A team of 14 intrepid environmental activists and outdoor adventurers set off in the early morning rain from the Zandvlei estuary mouth in Muizenberg, False Bay.

The second annual Peninsula Paddle took place on Sunday June 5 2011 to coincide with World Environment Day.

The event aims to create awareness, as well as environmental, social and political change regarding the conservation of the Cape Peninsula’s freshwater resources.

The convoy of kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddle boards proceeded to navigate through the Peninsula’s inland waterways between False Bay and Table Bay, from Muizenberg to Milnerton.

However, the route through these waterways, comprising vleis, rivers and canals, was precarious owing to the plentiful pollution, shallow water and other obstacles.

Some of the debris encountered en route included a shopping trolley, tyres, condoms, sanitary pads, a dead rat and a dead chicken, an iron, two kettles, CDs, dolls and a surf board.

“Having seen this I can believe that there genuinely is an island of plastic floating in the Pacific”, said a disgusted paddler in a post on Scenic South.

The borrowed Canadian canoe was soon full of litter; plastic bottles, buckets, ice-cream containers and computer casings. The paddlers also took water samples along the route.

From Zandvlei the convoy proceeded through the Marina Da Gama canal before dragging the kayaks through Coniston Park, Steenberg, Lavender Hill and Retreat.

In Retreat the paddlers rescued a stray dog that had fallen into the canal. The kayaks were then taken to Princessvlei.

At Princessvlei the team arrived at the ‘Paddle for Peace’ event, an environmental education programme for a group of about 50 young people.

The team then had to use bicycles to get from Plumstead to Kenilworth.

From the watershed, the team paddled downstream towards the Black River where a thicket of water hyacinth forced them to walk.

They followed Black River until it joined up with the Salt River. At Paarden Eiland they followed the Salt River as it flowed into Table Bay.

The surf at Woodstock Beach soon sent the paddlers towards the final destination at the Milnerton Lagoon.

The team arrived at Milnerton Canoe Club, near Woodridge Island in the Rietvlei Nature Area, finishing at 16:30 after the 10-hour long journey which had begun at 7:00 that morning.

 

(Image by By Kyle (originally posted to Flickr as Boats) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

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Posted in Conservation, Environment

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National Environment Week South Africa

June 9th, 2011

Did you know that this week is National Environment Week? It’s actually World Environment Week, which is an extension of World Environment Day, which was on 5 June this year. Despite the increasing pressure on governments (and everyone) to go green, it’s disappointing that not more has been made of the event. There are campaigns underway; it’s just that they’ve managed to slip beneath the radar.

For instance, Johannesburg municipal staff have embarked on a week long non-paper campaign that is designed to reduce paper wastage in the long-run, as well as highlight some pressing local environmental issues, such as the city’s chronic litter problem. In addition, the department of environmental management is running a competition to test the current level of environmental awareness among staff. Prizes are of a green nature and the prestige of winning is underlined by prize giving ceremonies. The campaign and the competition run until Friday 10 June.

Staff are being encouraged to take the lessons learned at work and apply them at home, as well as share them with friends and family. Tips include:

  • Recycling all paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and cans.
  • Turning off all unnecessary lights.
  • Printing on both sides of the paper.
  • Repairing leaky taps and toilets.
  • Choosing products based on the amount of accompanying packaging.
  • Dressing appropriately for hot and cold days.

Then there is the new MyPlanet Rhino Fund, which is a joint endeavour by the people behind MySchool and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). MySchool started as a fund raising initiative that allowed card holders swiped their cards at certain stores to raise money for their school of their choice. It’s since expanded its range to include animal welfare (my card raises funds for Cape Town SPCA) and environmental organisations.

MyPlanet Rhino Fund cards will raise money specifically to fund anti-poaching (in statistical terms one rhino per day has been killed this year so far) and conservation efforts.

Commenting on the initiative, Pieter Twine, MySchool General Manager, said, “The EWT is currently at the forefront of rhino conservation and we feel very confident in their ability to use the funds generated in the most efficient way. We encourage individuals, communities, organisations and governments to work together towards saving our iconic wildlife and environment.”

Participating stores include Toys R Us, Reggie’s, Woolworths, Waltons, Engen QuickShops and kalahari.net.

WWF South Africa also took advantage of World Environment Day to call on South African citizens to become environmental leaders and examples to the rest of the world before the UN Convention of Climate Change that will be held in Durban at the end of 2011.

Tasneem Essop, Head of Climate Strategy and Advocacy for WWF International, said, “In light of World Environment Day … we are urging government to make the biggest contribution to the wellbeing of our planet that they possibly can by setting a firm example as the COP (Conference of Parties) president.”

There is only one more day of National Environmental Week left this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate greener living practices in your life throughout the rest of the year. Start reusing, recycling and rethinking now.

 

(Image by Ikiwaner Edited by jjron – tilt correction (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons)

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Posted in Conservation, Environment

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