Environmental Ponderings-24

Food Gardens – Food for the Body and the Brain DIFFICULT TIMES We are living in difficult times. Money is short, jobs are scarce, and many people are looking for alternative sources of food and income. Some of us are desperately trying to keep to our sustainable living principles. Others, like UK Prime Minister, Rishi

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Environmental Ponderings – 21

Floods and Drought Flood or Drought? The recent floods are still fresh in our minds and we have started receiving messages from the authorities to save water. Many people’s first reaction is to say, “make up your mind, have we got too much water or too little water?” Our Status Sadly, it is not quite

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Environmental Ponderings-20

Theme – Krantzkloof – A Nature Reserve near Durban “…As we distance ourselves further from the natural world, we are increasingly surrounded by and dependent on our own inventions. We become enslaved by the constant demands of technology created to serve us…” David Suzuki David Suzuki is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist

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Environmental Ponderings-19

People and Environmental Problems Environmental problems? Why do we have environmental problems? There is a very glib answer to this question, and that is because of people. However, it is more complicated than that because people are all different. Environmental Worldviews I clarified my thoughts when I was introduced to the concept of differing environmental

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Environmental Ponderings 18 – The “New Normality” – What will you make of it?

We have been pummelled in the Media by the so-called “New Normality” that appears to have emerged from Lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 Pandemic. Has it affected you? Lockdown Analysing the positive practicalities that have been experienced, I identified the following: Homebound The forced “imprisonment” of families in their homes during Lockdown levels 5 and

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Environmental Ponderings-17

Lockdown, COVID-19 and Change By the time you read this column, the pain of Lockdown and COVID-19 will, hopefully, have lessened. We still have to come back to some sense of normality, whatever that is. However, that normality will be different because of the changes that we have all had to make. Human beings abhor

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Environmental Ponderings – 16

Global Footprinting – Do we know what our Impact REALLY is? Where does milk come from? A few years ago, I was working with some children in a school in Hillbrow, Johannesburg and we were discussing environment and conservation and I detected a degree of scepticism from the youngsters. I decided to test this so

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Environmental Ponderings-15

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu Load shedding reared its ugly head again in the first quarter of 2019, the Department of Water and Sanitation is deeply concerned about where the water is coming from to supply the country’s growing

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Ecosystems Services – what are they and why are they so important?

Ecosystems Services – what are they and why are they so important? By Arend Hoogervorst Ecosystem Services? Ecosystem services are services provided by natural capital (“Nature” or “the environment”- see Explanations below) that support life on earth and are essential to the quality of human life and the functioning of the world’s economies. For example,

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Environmental Ponderings – 14: Thoughts on Environmental Books

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” Aldo Leopold Wilderness It is always interesting to be reminded of those events, activities and people that triggered change in views and perspectives on environmental matters. I have always been

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Environmental Ponderings-13

“The Source and Fate of Things”  Have you ever considered what would happen if you were made to take responsibility for the sourcing, content and fate of all the “things” that you acquire?  That means being held accountable for the impacts of mining raw materials, their transport, the manufacture of the goods and their distribution

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Environmental Ponderings No:11

Have you ever said things to yourself like, “It’ll never happen to me”, or “It won’t affect me”, “I can never do that”, or “It doesn’t apply to me”? Do these phrases sometimes come back and bite you? In the environmental business, we get many issues that do just that. I am not just talking

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Picking up the Pieces and Mending the Breaks After the Event

 “…There is no such thing as chance or accident; the words merely signify our ignorance of some real and immediate cause…” Adam Clarke Introduction After incidents and accidents, most organisations go through some form of review or soul-searching to ask themselves if they could have done things better. The problem with this is that often

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Environmental Ponderings No 8: Can I Help You to Save the Environment?

As a professional environmental advisor, I stopped using the opening line, “Can I help you to save the environment?” about 20 years ago.  Why? Mostly because very few people are altruistic enough or rich enough to magnanimously be able to “save the environment”. Even more people counter that request with the question, “What’s in it

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REFLECTIONS ON LIFE – IS THINKING A DYING ART?

 “Thought makes every thing fit for use” – Emerson (1844)  “If a man sits down to think, he is immediately asked if he has a headache” Emerson (1833)  Does anyone think these days? No, I mean really THINK about things…. When facing an important decision, do we still ponder on the options and the pros

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Environmental Ponderings No 7: The Practicalities of “Stuff”

We all collect “stuff”.  Some of us take this to extremes and become hoarders. If you think carefully about your various friends, I am sure that amongst the list, somewhere, there is at least one serial hoarder. That is often one of those people that uses that magic phrase, “I’ll keep it because you never

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Environmental Ponderings – No 2: The Seven Sins of Greenwashing

As an environmental auditor, I have been privileged over the years to see both sides of the proverbial environmental coin: that is, what the industrialists perceive as environmentally friendly products and what the consumer expects as “eco-friendly/environmentally friendly” products. As you might imagine, the two perceptions are often poles apart and at times, incomparable. As

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Environmental Ponderings No. 1: What Can I Do To Make A Difference?

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m only one person, I can never get this done/changed/fixed?” Sometimes, the sheer, seemingly, hopelessness of a situation is overwhelming and results in endeavours and tasks never even getting started. Often, the inspiration of what others can do, or have been able to achieve, can provide the nudge to

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Carbon Offsets Paper Published For Comment

The National Treasury has published a Carbon Offsets Paper for public comment. The paper outlines proposals for a carbon offset scheme that will enable businesses to lower their carbon tax liability and make investments that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This document needs to be read in conjunction with the “Carbon Tax Policy Paper:

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