Tag: South Africa

As South Africa Clings to Coal, A Struggle for the Right to Breathe

Yale Environment 360 discusses As South Africa Clings to Coal, A Struggle for the Right to Breathe. Close ties between the ruling elite and the coal industry have helped perpetuate South Africa’s dependence on the dirtiest fossil fuel for electricity. But now residents of the nation’s most coal-intensive region are suing to force the government to clean up choking air pollution.

Thomas Mnguni often woke to find the windows and floors of his home covered in a layer of black dust. Living between two coal mines and a landfill in Middelburg, South Africa, he and his family breathed some of the country’s most polluted air.

When Mnguni’s son developed symptoms of asthma, a doctor recommended that the family move to a different part of town. Now living about six miles from the mines, the 14-year-old is doing better. But others in the area aren’t so fortunate. Residents of Middelburg and other communities in an industrialized swath of the Highveld, a plateau in central South Africa, are well acquainted with air pollution and its toll on health. The area — located east of Johannesburg and with a population of 4.7 million — is riddled with coal mines, coal-fired power plants, petrochemical facilities, metal smelters, chemical producers, and other industrial complexes. Mnguni, in his work as a community campaigner for the environmental group groundWork, has met many others dealing with the health consequences of the poor air quality, ranging from asthma to lung cancer.

Yale Climate Connections, January 25, 2020

This week’s stories include:

  1. California rolls back a 1960s-era traffic standard that incentivizes driving
  2. With the En-ROADS climate simulator, you can build your own solutions to global warming
  3. The companies that have contributed most to climate change
  4. Solar and battery systems power up South African shacks
  5. New solar projects will help New Yorkers stay safe during disasters
  6. Cities and towns can’t solve climate change on their own
  7. California’s cap-and-trade program is paying for improvements in disadvantaged communities
  8. How Schaumburg, a Chicago suburb, made solar simple for residents

DeSmogBlog

This iteration of the DeSmogBlog discusses:

  1. Louisiana Sheriff Who Criticized Pipeline Opponents Is Ordered to Release Records on Standing Rock Visit
  2. Energy Transfer Uses Workaround to Open Mariner East 2 Pipeline Amid Hazard Worries, Criminal Investigation
  3. Senators Demand Trump Admin Reveal Marathon Petroleum, Koch Influence on Clean Car Standards Rollback
  4. 2018 Was a Year of Deadly Climate Disasters and an ‘Ear Splitting Wake-Up Call’
  5. 2018: The Year of Day Zero and the Mega-Drought
  6. Pruitt Should Expect the ‘Spanish Inquisition’ From House Oversight Authorities
  7. Shutdown, Drilling and Coal: The Trump Administration’s Holiday Gifts to the World
  8. From the Climate Disinformation Database: Todd Kendall

Study: Ancient Baobab trees in Southern Africa are dying. Scientists blame climate change

This article discusses the fact that ancient Baobab trees in Southern Africa are dying. Scientists blame climate change.

As the oldest seed producing trees in the world, their resilience — some are more than 2,000 years old — have earned them many names in myths, legends and folklore.
The baobab has been called the tree of life, the monkey bread tree and the upside down tree — owing to its fat trunk with roots meandering toward the sky.
But these strange looking giants are dying.
Some of the oldest and biggest baobab trees in southern Africa have died recently, and it may be due to climate change, according to a 2018 study published in the journal Nature Plants.

Fracking and earthquakes: weighing up the dangers in South Africa

The South African government is looking into fracking to reduce the country’s huge reliance on coal for energy. Fracking involves pumping high pressured fluids into rock formations to release reserves of oil and gas.

http://theconversation.com/fracking-and-earthquakes-weighing-up-the-dangers-in-south-africa-87541

Fracking dealt significant blow – Agri SA

Government’s intention to proceed with a shale gas industry through hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking) was dealt a significant blow on Tuesday, 17 October 2017, when the Eastern Cape High Court retrospectively set aside the 2015 decision by the Minister of Mineral Resources to enact Regulations for Petroleum Exploration and Production (commonly known as the Fracking Regulations).  The Fracking Regulations, which have been in place since June 2015, were regarded as a vital statutory requirement for the granting of shale gas exploration and production rights in South Africa.

http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/fracking-dealt-significant-blow–agri-sa

Falcon Oil in ‘strong financial position’

Irish onshore exploration company Falcon Oil and Gas has reported itself debt free and in “a strong financial position” ahead of a ruling on whether or not a ban on the practice of fracking in the area of Australia where one of its major assets lies will be lifted.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/falcon-oil-in-strong-financial-position-457770.html

South Africa: Explainer – Unpacking the Issues Around Fracking in South Africa

South Africa has been considering shale gas development in the Karoo – an arid part of the country that spans more than 400 000 square kilometres – to add to its energy mix. The possibility of “fracking” in the region has provoked heated debate. The Conversation Africa’s Ozayr Patel asked Robert Scholes and Greg Schreiner to unpack the issues.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201707140098.html