Wind Farm Project Planned for Tsitsikamma

This Engineering News article reports that a 40MW wind power project is planned for development on a farm at Tsitsikamma in the Eastern Cape. Although the project is said to be at a 'very advanced stage' compared to other similar South African projects, the feasibility study, EIA, licensing, grid agreement and other paper work is still underway. The article goes on to say "It was estimated that there were some 5 000 MW of wind power under development in South Africa, while the government had mandated the procurement of 400 MW of wind power by 2013."

Hout Bay Green Faire Feedback

FLOE had a stand at this year's Hout Bay Green Faire which took place on Saturday 28 November 2009. We shared a stand with Joseph Diliza, an amazing artist and entreprenuer who started his own business making products out of recycled material and making paper using recycled paper and alien reeds growing along rivers in and around Khayelitsha and Crossroads. The Faire was a great improvement on last year's faire, there was an impressive turn out and we had loads of fun. We used David's solar panels to make electricity to power a hi fi and LED lights. We also used a homemade cardboard solar oven to make some tea. Our stand also displayed a 'Great Wall of Trash' to get the message across about how much waste we are generating from buying packaged products. There are many buying choices we can make to cut down on this waste. The Great Wall of Trash was also up to show people just how many things one can recycle rather than sending it off to the landfill. We would like to welcome our 60 new members who signed up at the faire and would also like to thank our sponsors for their assistance: Xanita and Grosvenor Printers (Craig,Shaun & Graham) for our two beautiful X-board signs (made from post-consumer recycled paper and sugar cane waste), Jason Lewis for the totally cool signage and logo artwork, Rob & Viv (V&R Television) for loaning us their gazebo and table, Erika Raubenheimer for the use of her recycled coffee bags and Chattels for the empty plastic water bottles, Estelle and Duke for donating the proceeds of all sales made from the recycled hats & bags made by Estelle, Eco-Insulation for their bags (unfortunately we weren't able to use them in the end), and ProudlySA (Dalene) for sponsoring Proudly SA tattoos and balloons. We are proud to confirm that we have raised our first R240 which we will be depositing into FLOE's bank account today! :) Please have a look at our Facebook Group to see more pics.

Tough New Environmental Laws to be Implemented Next Year?

Today's Legalbrief reports that "Polluting industries have been warned the Green Scorpions will be implementing tough new environmental legislation next year, says a Saturday Star report. This is contained in the Environmental National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement 2008/2009 report, which reveals environmental inspectors reported numerous cases of non-compliance at operations, including the ArcelorMittal steel complex in Newcastle, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, as well as Highveld Steel, Sasol in Secunda and Xtrata Wonderkop, in Rustenburg. These ranged from excessive air pollution, illegal waste sites and contravention of environmental impact assessment decisions. But the report notes these facilities often escape harsh penalties with companies being given the opportunity to make representations or respond ‘positively’ to inspectors' verdicts. ‘New legislation regulating both waste and air quality, which should begin in the next financial year, will provide the mechanisms needed to ensure more effective enforcement,’ the report notes." [Subscription needed for full report].

New Biofuel Technology?

This Simply Green article tells of a breakthrough biofuel technology. The company behind it is Joule Biotechnologies. This technology can apparently make biofuel without agricultural land or fresh water, and if it proves successful, could (from what I understand) completely replace our reliance on liquid fossil fuels. The recipe?:- A secret type of micro-organism, the sun, and carbon dioxide in air! Joule plans on opening a pilot plant in 2011, so shall we wait and see? Let us know your thoughts.

Is Replacing Fossil Fuel-based Plastics with Bio-based Plastics Sustainable?

Read this interesting Simply Green article regarding bio-based plastics (those derived from biological sources other than fossil fuels). Read more about 'bio plastics' here. Also see the first comment posted after the article in which it informs us that bioplastics are "made from two major commodity crops - corn (maize) and soy. Both of these are genetically modified and more to the point are grown using industrial agricultural methods, using fossil fuel based fertilisers, pesticides and chemicals. These plantations are spreading across the Amazon basin and other endangered places like the Cerrado and Pampas in S. America, using slavery (yes its still happening folks) and of course creating green monoculture deserts." Please send us your views on this.

News Snippets

KENYA'S GEOTHERMAL EXPANSION PLANS
This Engineering News article reveals that Kenya plans to boost geothermal power generation to 4000MW by 2030. It goes on to say "The government estimates east Africa's largest economy has the potential to produce 7 000 MW of electricity from geothermal energy. It currently generates 167 MW from the source."

CLIMATE ACTION TRACKER
Have a look at this Climate Action Tracker developed to provide detailed information on individual country pledges for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions. It provides a checklist which "defines the actions required to avoid catastrophic climate change, while sustaining the global economy and adapting to the climate change we can't avoid". It also lists the various participating countries rating them according to the commitments they are prepared to make.

NORWAY PAYS US A VISIT
This Engineering News article quotes our President as saying "South Africa and Norway are committed to strengthening cooperation in the fields of trade, energy and the reduction of carbon emissions". Our President also thanked Norway for its assistance in making the upcoming World Cup Soccer more eco-friendly. In another Engineering News article, we are informed about the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Sasol and a Norwegian Oil & Gas Company "enabling Sasol to explore the possibility of becoming a participant in the carbon dioxide (CO2) Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM)". This Norwegian facility "is currently under construction..." and "would be a leading research centre for carbon capture and storage (CCS). The test facilities are planned to capture 100 000 t/y of CO2, and operations are expected to start in 2011."

Green Technology Innovations Awarded at this year's Tech Awards (CA, USA)

This Greentech Media article highlights some 'green' inventions aimed at assisting the poor. Some of the innovations awarded included: a drip irrigation system designed "for small farms that is cheap to make, easy to maintain and use water efficiently"; a solar lighting (& recharge) & mobile (boat) library; Zinc-air fuel cells (South African inventor) - "Alternative Energy Development Corp., makes zinc-air fuel cells, and recycles the byproduct, zinc oxide, for fertilizer. AEDC developed the fuel cell pack to serve low-income residents..."; and the 'Solar Ear' which is an 'inexpensive' hearing aid powered by solar power.

Solar - SA Update

THIN-FILM SOLAR PV PANEL TECHNOLOGY
This Engineering News article updates us on how SA's thin film solar PV panel technology (developed by Dr V Alberts) is coming along. The article reports that the "'development phase' for a commercial-scale project should begin in Germany in December, opening the way for a South African production facility that could become operational within "two-and-a-half" years." The production facility is to be built in Paarl in the Western Cape.

PLANS FOR ROLLING OUT SA'S TARGET OF 1M SWH INSTALLATIONS BY 2014
This Engineering News article outlines the framework for how government plans to reach it's target of rolling out 1 million solar water heater installations by 2014. The plans include the establishment of a 'National Solar Water Heater (SWH) Entity'. It states the key aims of this entity to be: "national entity are to ensure affordability by procuring low-cost, best-quality systems through bulk buying and large contracts with quality assurance; to obtain and manage funding streams; to rigorously manage the supply chain; to ensure large-scale project management and disciplined deployment of numerous subcontractors; to protect consumer rights and interests in terms of events such as flooding or repairs; and to be accountable to government, funding bodies and consumers."

Times Magazine's Best Inventions of 2009

Have a look at Times list of 'best inventions of 2009' where you will find a fair amount of inventions that directly relate to the world's eco-conscious efforts, although some of these may be viewed as rather contraversial and perhaps should not be classified as 'best'[?] Let us know what you think.

Parliamentary Climate Change Hearings - Some Food for Thought

As you may be aware, we attended the Climate Change hearings that took place in Parliament last week on 17 and 18 November. Here is a summary written by FLOE's chairman following the events of the two days:-

"Dear all

Disclaimer: please note that the ideas and solutions presented below are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Free Life On Earth.

After two days in Parliament and feeling very tired, I feel the need to write a summary of what transpired - in summarised form as I have 20 pages of A5 format notes - and a huge number of handouts as well as mailings from various presenters - and lots of ideas about what can be done. (I see that this summary is 3 pages long, so I have put especially important bits in bold.)

There were about 30 presentations in total. We have been told that they might be available on the government web site at some point. I'll let you know. There were about 100 people in the Old Assembly Chamber each day and about 20 of them were MP's besides the portfolio committee chairpersons.

You can see me in action on our Free Life On Earth BLOG, here.

I came away feeling happy that these events took place inside parliament considering that FLOE has attended these type of conferences before (for example the Energy Caucus Conference). These conferences have happened outside parliament and there was a suggestion at the June Energy Caucus conference that we present in Parliament and this has now happened.

The main points in FLOE's presentation were:
•we need to consider internalising the externalised costs, eg costs to the environment, water resources, air pollution, etc;
•we need to think about decentralising centralised electricity production and allowing private citizens and business to make their own electricity and easily supply the grid;
•we need to separate Eskom into a Generating Division and a separate Transmission and Distribution Division. We called the latter division the National Grid Company. Read our full presentation here.

Many of the chairpersons of the parliamentary portfolio committees were there, for example, Finance, Agriculture, Environment, Energy, etc. One of the presenters said that it was the first time in three years of presenting to parliament that there was such a great cross-section of representatives from the different portfolio committees who each have a serious concern about Climate Change.

My first learning point from this conference was that whether climate change is happening or not, environmental degradation and destruction is happening at a faster and faster rate. Many scientists believe that man is not responsible for climate change, but what is a fact is that the following IS happening:
•forests are disappearing;
•fisheries are dwindling;
•agricultural land is disappearing;
•although crop yields are up in some regions due to changed weather patterns, quality in terms of minerals and vitamins in the crops are down;
•crop production and cattle production especially by formerly disadvantaged communities is down in many places. One presenter, who lives in a "location" next to Sasolburg said that cows are now routinely sold for R4500 each whereas before they were sold for R6000 each. And this isn't because of the recession. It's because the cows are thinner;
•health risks, especially in terms of deficiencies, respiratory and mental health problems are increasing;
•pollution is increasing, not just air pollution, but also other environmental pollution;
•pollution of water is scary, especially pollution from open cast mining, for example coal mines. 60% of rain water is trapped underground and under normal conditions runs off into river systems and dams slowly. Mines can be as close as 100 metres to river systems. If the underground or above ground water gets into the mine on the way to the river, it causes Acid Mine Drainage as the water becomes acidic. Not only this, but the water is contaminated in many other ways;
•Our country's security is under threat as more and more people leave drought stricken parts of Africa and make their way to South Africa. I'm not xenophobic. But if we are to support these people, we need to protect our water resources. Foreign companies and governments are also becoming more and more desperate to grab hold of African resources.

Whats the point of having a coal mine operational for 20 years and then have water problems for 100's of years afterwards? One presenter said that environmental cost to repair our water resources in the mining areas is R14 billion per annum for the next 100 years!! Eskom pays R18 billion per annum for its coal. Eskom's external costs of water and air pollution are R16.5 billion. So Eskom are telling us that they need to triple our costs in the next three years just to pay for their new build. After that they will need to double our costs to pay for their pollution. Our electricity bills, if left up to Eskom, could go up 6 times in the next 5 to 10 years. How can we afford that? Why should we?

Now you might say that the external costs are ok, but the EC (European Community) and other areas are putting bills through their parliaments which will help them decide where they buy their goods from and they might not buy from high polluters! What happens then?

40 New Coal Mines by 2020? A presenter showed that many of the new coal mines will be in the major water sources of the Orange River system which feeds millions of people downstream including in Gauteng? What's more important? Electricity or clean water? What is truly more precious? Water or Electricity? Especially if we can make electricity using wind, sun, ocean currents and tides, rivers, geothermal, etc? How long can we survive without electricity? How long can we survive without clean water? And why are the farmers up in arms?

We have a Feed In Tariff implemented in March 2009, but no process to allow Power Producers to connect to the grid legally. NERSA's document says that Standardised Direct Agreements and Connection Agreements will only be available in March 2010. Presenters from Deloitte and Touche and Nedbank said they have clients with 100s of millions of Rands to invest in projects, but the government is dragging its feet and not allowing these developments to go ahead! Why not? Maybe Eskom doesn't want competition. Maybe they are scared that there really are cheaper forms of electricity than coal and nuclear. Maybe? Also see this Engineering News article, "SA Could Have Most Expensive Power".

We heard about "state of the art clean coal" from one of the ministers. Simply put, Eskom finds ways of trapping the green house gasses and other noxious by products of coal burning and therefore the coal burn is clean; ie the air is clean. Even if 100% of the dirty stuff is trapped, where will the dirty stuff (sulphur and other waste products) be stored? And what of the coal mines and the acid mine drainage?

One presenter said that Eskom should pay for the roll out of solar water heaters instead of paying for a power station. I have done some calculations: 100 Billion Rand for a power station equates to 10 million solar water heaters at R10,000 each. That's at least one solar water heater for every house in South Africa. And after this there are hardly any running costs and no raw material costs. And many many jobs will be created. And there will be less need for coal mines and less acid mine drainage. It takes 8 years to build a big R100 Billion power station. Imagine if 5,000 solar water heaters were installed per day all over South Africa. How many jobs would this make? How many solar water manufacturers would pop up?

We are told that the power stations take 8,000 people each to build. And 1,000 people to run a power station. Consider that the equivalent is 5,000 solar water heaters manufactured and installed per day!! For 8 years! According to ITS Solar, a water heater saves the equivalent of 2,900 kwh per annum. At 8 kwh per day and assuming the heater is on for 4 hours using 2 kw to run, we are looking at a power station replacement of 2 000 W * 10 million which is 20 GW. So if we roll out 10 million solar water heaters we get 20 GW of energy for the same "price" as 5 GW of coal energy. We are talking about vastly different "prices" here. One for a sustainable clean reliable generator of heat. The other for a dirty, inefficient, wasteful, unsustainable, continuously increasing in price, source of electricity to make heat. We have the heater. It's called the sun. It's much more efficient to use it directly to create heat than to create electricity to create heat.

If my calculations are correct, we would need to spend R400 Billion to heat the same amount of water using electricity as R100 Billion will heat if we use the sun. Which is cheaper, more reliable, and efficient?

So to get back to the hearings.

A presenter said that if the taxi fleet was retrofitted with catalytic converters, we would have an instant "forest" as the emissions using catalytic converters are hydrogen, oxygen and water. I haven't checked what it will cost to convert my car, but I intend finding out. And this creates jobs for the catalytic converter industry in South Africa, which unfortunately uses Platinum, but I think a good cost benefit (including external costs) could be done especially as one doesn't need more Platinum once the converter is fitted.

So what do we need to be concerned about?

1) Eskom is owned by the government of South Africa which is elected by the people of South Africa. It is therefore owned by the people of South Africa. The people of South Africa therefore have a say in how we get our Energy. With more jobs or with more money to a few already incredible rich people? We need to start taking responsibility for our own lives and speak up about these issues and not leave everything in the hands of the government. As taxpayers, we are paying for whatever the government decides to do - even if their decisions are not good for our country and its people.
2) One of the chairmen said that "South Africa has the most cohesive policy with regard to climate change in the world. See the National Climate Change Report of 2004." Well if that's the case, then why aren't we rolling out massive solar water heater , photovoltaic , CSP and wind projects as is happening in Germany, Spain, China, and other countries? Where is the problem?
3) Whether Climate Change is happening or not, Environmental Degradation and Destruction IS happening. What are we doing to prevent it?

Lastly I wish to concern myself with a question that kept popping up at the conference: "Who Pays?"

The answer is that whether we pay now or we pay later, we all pay. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone pays. At the moment the environment is paying, but the environment is getting cross and the environment is getting sick. And we are getting more stressed and we are getting sicker. We are popping more short term fix pills and hoping that one day we will find a "pill" that will solve our environmental problems.

So what to do:

1) Keep canvassing;
2) Keep lobbying;
3) Understand what is happening;
4) Reduce your consumption of unnecessary junk where possible. These items will not bring you happiness. Reduce your meat consumption by half. 18% of greenhouse gasses come from cattle. 13% from transport!
5) Buy local and practice awareness when you buy - ask yourself where does the product come from and what goes into making it. Don't buy any more plastic toys for your children. (There are lots of other types of toys, eg township children make their own toys) Try to avoid buying plastic and unnecessary packaging where ever possible. Recycle everything you can. This will send a message to the manufacturers that we are fed up and sick and tired of supporting industries that aren't kind to the environment;
6) Remember that the customer is truly king. What we buy or we don't buy depends on us. The suppliers want us to buy with lots of advertising. We are the ones with the power to change things around.

So how to truly change:

Change your mind set. Consider a paradigm shift. "Successful people are environmentally neutral or carbon negative" instead of "Successful people have bigger cars or bigger houses or holiday houses or golf clubs or whatever." I have huge satisfaction in knowing that my spending behaviour change has contributed to the sustainability industry instead of the car industry. One could say that my new car is on my roof, making electricity and saving coal on a daily basis. Helping to really make the world a better place in my own small way.

Join the revolution today. Are you concerned that if changing your habits will mean job losses? If so, you are wrong. More people will be employed. Car manufacturers will become solar panel manufacturers. Fewer machines. More job satisfaction. More people working from home. More fed people. More sane people. More money in the local communities. More happiness."

e.tv Big Debates on Education and Energy

The following debates will take place in Johannesburg on this Saturday, 21 November 2009 and will be hosted by Redi Direko and will be screened on e.tv. and the eNews Channel.

DEBATE ONE: 9AM - 11.00AM: IS EDUCATION SAFE IN GOVERNMENT’S HANDS?

Panelists:
Angie Motshekga, Minister of Education
Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Dinokeng Scenarios
Graeme Bloch, Development Bank of South Africa
Salim Vally, University of Johannesburg
Ronald Nyathi SADTU
Roger Millson, Governing Body Federation
Anthea Cereseto, Headmistress Parktown Girls

DEBATE TWO: 12NOON - 2.00PM: CAN WE GENERATE AFFORDABLE ENERGY, WITHOUT DESTROYING THE PLANET?

Panelists:
Bonang Mohale, Chairman of Shell South Africa
Tom Boardman, CEO of NedbankMandy Rambharos, ESKOM
Ompi Aphane, Department of Energy
Salim Fakir, WWF
Bobby Peek, Groundwork (environmental NGO)
Cormac Cullinan, Environmental Lawyer

Waste-to-Energy: Some Considerations for South Africa

Read more here, on Engineering News. Let us know your views on this topic.

More on Eskom

This Engineering News article confirms Eskom's plans to continue down the coal and nuclear path. More specifically, it states "that the immediate options to increase the base-load would not include nuclear, as this option was too time consuming to roll out.", however goes on to say: "The power producer would also look at what role nuclear energy could play in its future power mix." It also says: "Poulton said that Eskom would focus on coal-fired power stations, clean coal technologies, and energy efficiencies. These base-load options would also, to a smaller extent, be supplemented with renewable energy options." One begs to ask what clean coal technologies are available for immediate implementation?

Also see: "Eskom makes top appointments as leadership crisis abates" Engineering News

and

"SA seeks Options to Reduce Eskom Tariff Bid" Engineering News

Is enough being done about Energy Efficiency in Industry/Commerce? We'd have to agree that about the only good thing about a tariff hike is that it forces individuals and business to become more energy efficient, however, what about the people who live below the breadline and who hardly consume any electricity? What about if the tariff hikes are being put in place by a utility that seems to be in the shambles? Let us know what you think.

FLOE Speaks Up in Parliament

Earlier today, our Chairman and Co-Founder of Free Life on Earth (FLOE), David Lipschitz, delivered a speech to members of Parliament and the public who were in attendance at the Parliamentary Climate Change Hearings taking place today and tomorrow. Thank you, David, for doing a great job! This is just one example of how we wish to raise awareness about how human actions are causing harm to our natural environment and that we need to change our ways. The primary focus of this presentation was South Africa's energy situation. To read a copy of the presentation, click here. Members of FLOE, we hope to receive your further comments, feedback and ideas. We would like to address any additional concerns or suggestions you may have when the opportunity next presents itself.[David delivering FLOE's presentation in Parliament - apologies for the poor quality of the picture, it was taken on my cellphone]

New Environmental Magazine Launched by Conservation Organisations

History was made (13 November 2009) when seven non-governmental conservation organisations launched a new magazine at a function in Sandton. Called ENVIRONMENT – People and Conservation in Africa the new publication replaces African Wildlife (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa – WESSA) and Vision (Endangered Wildlife Trust – EWT) and provides a new medium for five other conservation NGOs to spread the word about their work. The magazine is managed by an Editorial Board with representation from the seven NGOs namely: The Cape Leopard Trust, Game Rangers Association of Africa, SANCCOB, the Wildlands Conservation Trust,the Wilderness Foundation of South Africa, WESSA and the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

The publication will introduce environmental issues at leadership level, both in government and the private sector. The publication will be a vehicle for carrying scientifically sound information about the environment to the public in general and to leaders in particular. Above all, the new magazine will be independent and critical when important issues need to be raised, and when government or industry does things that may harm the environment. The partners in this new publication intend the magazine to become the authoritative, unofficial voice for conservation in the region.

You can obtain a copy of this new magazine by joining one of the founding organisations.

Cape Town: Documentary Showing on 22 to 24 November - Not to be Missed

I don't know about you, but I have already booked my tickets to go and watch this documentary called Buried in Earthskin which is about nuclear waste in South Africa. To find out more or to book your seats, click here.

News in a Flash (SA)

CITY OF CAPE TOWN - SEA LEVEL RISE REPORT
Following the 11th Hour Talk at which the City of Cape Town's Greg Oelofse made a presentation regarding a report done by the City titled "Coastal Climate Change and Adaptation - A Sea-Level Rise Risk Assessment for Cape Town", this report and other papers on the topic are now available for download on the City's website here. On the same topic, we found this Real Estate Web article article regarding insurance and coastal properties in the context of climate change and rising sea levels.

SA CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY
This Engineering News article informs us that SA's plans to release a 'draft(zero?) climate change policy will be put on hold until after Copenhagen (will possibly released for public comment in March 2010). It went on to say "The end-goal was still to have a White Paper on climate change drawn up by the end of 2010, Yawitch stated. This document would translate into a legislative, regulatory and fiscal package by 2012." In yet another Engineering News article titled 'Hopes for Ambitious Climate Agreement at Copenhagen Fade', SA's Environmental Affairs express their concern about what will be accomplished at Copenhagen. In this Engineering News article, our MInister of Energy confirms that SA will not be raising its renewable energy target of 10 000 GWh by 2013 and went on to indicate that funding will be used to help "South Africa move closer to its vision of generating four percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2013, improving energy efficiency by 12% by 2015, and providing one-million households with solar water heating over the next five years."

LATEST ENGINEERING NEWS UPDATE ON ESKOM SAGA
Here is the latest report on the Eskom Saga which also include an outline of how events have unfolded up to now.

WATER
Some 'water' for thought from Manual: "What course should we Africans pursue - Water for profit or as a right?"..."..we need also to remind ourselves that we're living on earth in 2009 with the same amount of water that was available in 1900, while in the meantime the global population has quadrupled..." Source: Engineering News. In this Engineering News article we are informed that the AFrican Development Bank has developed a 'business plan' for climate change in Africa pointing out that two key focus areas are: agricultural water development and water storage enhancement. With that thought, we look at another interesting article on Reuters.com which again highlights the tremendous interest big foreign companies have in African soil - is it all in aid of Africa and its inhabitants?

Update from Samantha - 350.org (South Africa)

Here follows an update from Samantha Bailey who is the Africa Field Coordinator for the International 350.org campaign (following the 350 events that took place on International Day of Climate Action which took place on 24 October 2009).

"...Yesterday I attended a meeting with South Africa's climate negotiators (who've been traipsing around the world to all the preparatory meetings before Copenhagen and who just got back from one in Barcelona, Spain). One of the loveliest moments yesterday was being told by one of the negotiators and one of the observers how in the final session at Barcelona, 350 was PLASTERED all over the hall. (If you haven't yet viewed this video of the team in Barcelona, please do - very encouraging: )

Now, a quick update on the handing over of the albums of photos of all your beautiful actions:

- The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica, was given the album by 3 lovely young women from the Underberg region of KZN on Tuesday, 3rd November - with the wonderful support of Bishop Geoff Davies from SAFCEI. A photo of the delivery team is attached (the young women's "chaperone" is on the right), and their lovely letter which they read to the Minister before handing her the album. The Minister received this very graciously.

- On Thursday, 5th November, a small group of us handed over an album to the Speaker of Parliament, Max Sisulu. Thabo Lusithi (CEJ coordinator), Mpume Mhlalisi (of Climate Justice Now network), Liz McDaid (of SAFCEI) and myself met with the Speaker in his fancy boardroom and we had about 20 minutes to speak with him about climate issues. We also gave him a Spekboom seedling in one of the lovely decorated cans (from the Imhoff Waldorf School's climate action).

- Yesterday I handed an album over to the South African team of climate negotiators who will be at Copenhagen. They were very pleased to receive some 'uplifting' pictures and were VERY encouraging of our efforts, asking us to please continue piling on the pressure. They had all just come from the Barcelona climate talks and they had both good and bad news. The bad news is that the EU has joined the "obstinate gang" (which consists of US, Australia, Japan and a few others) who are really trying to de-rail the negotiations and stubbornly refuse to accept responsibility for their historical emissions. The EU had been pretty progressive and constructive previously, but are now digging in their heels. And the obstinate gang seemed to cause a fair amount of damage and divisiveness last week, so things are not looking good for Copenhagen. At the same time, the good news is that Africa led a call for a much stronger push on industrialised countries to set real emissions targets, and the Africa group became the solid core around which the G77 & China group rallied.

...the other good news is that the momentum is building towards Copenhagen in a really positive way - far more people around the world are now aware of Copenhagen and the importance of that conference, and far more people are aware of 350 and the call for a just treaty!

In regards to handing albums to Zuma and Manuel (and I requested a brief meeting with Vavi of Cosatu as well), I am still awaiting responses. We may have to be more creative here - I'll keep you posted, but if any of you have a great idea, please share.

Then, I've attached a really cute photo of a kid at a Hawaiian 350 action, with a very poignant and simple message. And finally, a reminder about the Facebook group for 350 supporters/organisers.

--
Samantha Bailey ~ Africa Field Coordinator ~ 350.org ~"

Feedback from Southern Africa Energy Efficiency Conference [12/13 Nov - JHB]

We've heard from G-Tech Energy who are attending the SAEEC at Emperors Palace today and tomorrow.

Here are some notes about some of the proceedings thusfar:

"I am currently attending the South African Energy Efficiency Conference, and the minister of energy, Dipuo Peters, just spoke. Here are my notes from her talk:

·There was acabinet discussion yesterday on the National Integrated Resource Plan
oPresident asked – “Are there the necessary skills and resources?”
oMinister, after seeing the audience today, would reply: “Yes – they need to be deployed appropriately”
·Energy Sector = Critical for growth, criticial for poor South Africans
·Minerals gave form to industrialisation
·Cheap Energy has not promoted Energy Efficiency – they have been opposed to each other
oThis is an unsustainable paradigm, supply orientated only
oEnergy / GDP very high
·Energy = 80% of emissions
·Must do more RE & EE
·2005 EE target - 12% against projected national energy usage by 2015
·Mines can do 15% with no cost / low cost technologies + good housekeeping
·Biofuels into mix for road freight
·Alternative ways for heating in low-cost housing
·Integrated Energy Centres for communities
·Technologies on the road map: Nuclear, wind, solar, CCS
·Have we done what is required? Do we live our lives according to what we preach? We all should be living energy efficiently
·Need more Energy Efficiency activists"

AND ALSO:

"Just had the privilege of hearing Andrew Etzinger, MD of ESKOM, talk on EE & DSM. Some notes:

·Price increase will be 45% for 3 years, then 5%, then 9%.
·EE budget is 34 billion for 5.5 GW / 19423 GWh/year

I posed the question to him about why ESKOM is driving both DSM (Demand Side Management) and EE (Energy Efficiency), since DSM is about managing the demand so you can sell more electricity, and EE is about reducing the amount of electricity sold? He replied that at the moment they are the only body with the capacity to do EE, and would like, in time, see that role go to some other body.

I say, will the NEEA (National Energy Efficiency Agency) please stand up, please stand up, and ask that the R34 billion rather go to them – I guarantee you that they can do significantly more with it!"

Source: Frank Spencer - G-Tech Energy
Also see this Engineering News article for more on this topic.

21st SAB Environmentalist and Environmental Journalists of the Year Awards - 9th November 2009

The 21st SAB Environmentalist and Environmental Journalists of the Year Awards held on Monday the 9th of November 2009 saw this year's Environmentalist of the Year award going to Bishop Geoff Davies of SAFCEI.

To find out about other winners in the different categories, read more here, at Bizcommunity.com.

The Bizcommunity article informs us that "This year saw a record number of entries for the awards, which are reputed to have become South Africa's most prestigious accolade for journalists producing crucial environmental coverage."

Environmental Education in SA Talk - 10 November 2009

Last night I attended the aforementioned talk. Here is a brief run down of the line up:

Liz McDaid of The Green Connection gave a presentation which included a short educational video on how our actions are negatively impacting the Earth also demonstrating how this can be turned around. Liz then showed us a presentation explaining how Green Connection provides environmental education resources especially to rural communities. Liz stressed the importance of providing environmental education which will help us adapt to the effects of climate change in light of the fact that initially it will be the inhabitants of third world countries who will suffer most from the negative impacts of climate change.

Peter Becker gave a presentation and analysis of how certain unsuitable material can reach teachers and school children under the guise of it being 'educational material' giving a specific example of an 'energy comparison' wall chart of which approximately 3900 copies have been distributed by the City of Cape Town to schools in Cape Town. Read more about this in our earlier post here. Many concerned individuals/organisations (including FLOE) are taking the matter further. We will keep you posted on developments in this regard.

Bishop Geoff Davies and Kate Davies of the South African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI) told us about the work that SAFCEI is doing in faith communities. As quoted from their website: "We are an institute of people of many faiths, united in our diversity through our common commitment to earthkeeping. Our aim is to support faith communities in fulfilling their environmental & socio-economic responsibility." Kate Davies also gave us examples of the educational resources that SAFCEI offer in their aim to help church congregations and faith communities become 'eco-congregations'. Although they face many challenges in producing resources to cater for such a broad audience with different faith and cultural backgrounds, they have already successfully produced a variety of material covering a range of environmental topics.

National Grid Company Needed for SA

FLOE's chairman David Lipschitz has recently written a paper suggesting that what South Africa needs is for ownership of Eskom's (South Africa's) electricity grid to be transferred to a national (electricity) grid company which can be utilised by various independant power producers to feed electricity through. The national grid company will not be allowed to become an IPP and the IPPs will not be allowed to own shares in the grid company. The paper is our submission to the Parliamentary 'Climate Change' hearings scheduled to take place on 17 and 18 November 2009. To view the paper, click here. We welcome any comments or further suggestions you may have regarding this idea.

Revision of SA Energy White Paper

Following on from one of our older posts on this, Engineering News reports here that "The Renewable Energy Market Transformation (REMT) unit at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), again, on Friday, called on eligible consultancy firms to indicate their interest in providing a consulting service for the revision of the Renewable Energy White Paper Policy and Target, as part of the REMT." Consultants have until November 13th to submit their expression of interest.

SA Energy - Eskom Management Saga

In case you are interested in the recent strange and secretive unfolding of events at Eskom, here are a few articles worth the read:

The Latest from Engineering News - "Godsell calls it quits, Maroga stands firm, Makwana named acting chair" and "Eskom Developments a Complete Disaster"

The Best of EE Publishers - "The Eskom saga: Power struggle, or power supply?"

and also have a look at this media statement from Archbishop Thabo Cecil Makgoba: Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

Two things that spring to mind:

1. We, the public, are owed the truth about what is actually going on at this state owned utility.
2. The winds of change are in the air.

Worldwide Growth of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Market - Some Interesting Stats

This Renewable Energy Focus article informs us about a report's findings that:-

1. Spain & the USA lead in terms of installed capacity and market share;
2. 88% of new construction projects are in Spain (which shows the effectiveness of introducing feed-in tariffs);
3. Current installed CSP capacity worldwide: 679MW;
4. Current CSP capacity under construction: 2000MW;
5. Out of the different type of CSP designs, "Parabolic Trough technology accounts for 88% of operating plants and 97.5% of the projects under construction";
6. Further growth is expected especially in the Middle East and North Africa;
7. The report indicates that the CSP market can reach 24GW by 2020.

It is interesting to note that "...our [South Africa's]worst solar irradiation is BETTER than the best in Spain." [Thanks, for the info Frank - Renewed Energy].

This alone, shows the potential for the growth of this market in South Africa.

SA: 1000 000 Solar Water Heaters To Be Installed Over the Next Five Years

Find out more, here on the Renewed Energy blog.

Climate Change Negotiations Update - No Raw Deal for Africa

This Engineering News article tells how "African negotiators in Barcelona on Thursday told journalists in Johannesburg, that they would “boycott” discussions regarding the Kyoto Protocol at the Barcelona negotiations until developed (Annex-1) countries made real commitments on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions." The article also informs us that African nations believe that the Kyoto Protocol should be changed, rather than scrapped because it would take too long to establish an entirely new protocol.

Quick News Overview

FUEL CELLS
This Engineering News article speaks of how Angloplat launched a demonstration fuel cell plant in South Africa's Limpopo province to produce 200 kilowatts of electricity by converting coal-bed methane (CBM) gas into hydrogen. The article quotes Angloplat as saying "Fuel cells are a unique opportunity for Africa ... they are modular in nature, you can put them in a remote area, they can run on or off grid, they can run on (various) feed sources," [some feed sources mentioned are methane and natural gas].

SOLAR
OPPORTUNITY FOR SA MANUFACTURE OF IMPROVED DESIGN CSP PLANT COMPONENT
Read more here at Engineering News.

RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR SOLAR ENERGY
This Engineering News article tells us about SOLTRAIN, an initiative sponsored by the Austrian Development Agency "aimed at transforming energy systems from fossil based to more sustainable solar energies, specifically targeting solar thermal applications in South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe."

COPENHAGEN TALKS UPDATE
This Engineering News article outlines some more of the talks taking place leading up to Copenhagen. While a deadlock has hampered the possibility of nations agreeing on a unified approach, there have also been rumours about the deal being delayed. While protesters outside of the hearings literally "lined up hundreds of ringing alarm clocks" representing the running out of time, the Danish Climate & Energy Minister was quoted as stating "... The world can wait no longer. I know that striking a deal is not easy now. But do any of you believe it's going to be easier next spring, next year or the year after?"

SA GOVERNMENT & ESKOM

[We know the rest of this post sounds very bleak, but REMEMBER, you have your chance to speak up and tell Parliament about your idea(s) and concerns! Find out more here - deadline for written submissions is this Friday, so please SPEAK UP so that they will LISTEN!]

ESKOM - DA calls for Maroga's resignation following the exposure of more alleged mismanagement. Read more here on Mail&Guardian.

MANAGEMENT OF WASTE
DA brings attention to the alleged "dangerous lack of oversight and control" in the management of hazardous waste in South Africa". Read more here on IOL.

THE FUTURE OF COAL
This Engineering News article points out how Eskom "expected to invest up to 110 billion rand in coal mining by 2020 and dig at least 40 new mines in that time to meet growing demand."

WATER
Our Water & Environmental Affairs Minister admits that "an estimated four-million South African citizens were still without access to potable water and that the threat of climate change could serve to worsen matters in future." Read more here.

Renewable Energy Legislation of Nations Available at a Click of a Mouse

The EU's comprehensive database on RE Legislation is now complete. Read more here, at Renewable Energy Focus.

Wave & Tidal Energy Update (UK)

In this Renewable Energy Focus article, we are informed that "An £8 million project that will produce tools capable of accurately estimating the energy yield of major wave and tidal stream energy has been approved by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI)". The article goes on to state: "There is currently no software package or validated method of estimating the average annual energy production of a wave or tidal stream energy farm, according to the ETI." A more recent Renewable Energy Focus article highlights a new wave/tidal power technology which uses an underwater kite that can harness tidal power.

Update on Thin Film Solar Panel Factory Planned for Western Cape

Urban Sprout has recently reported on how Sasol holds a 45% interest in the public private partnership which will see the building of a pv solar panel manufacturing plant in Paarl (we reported on this SA-developed thin film pv solar panel technology in an earlier post). The technology boasts substantially greater efficiency and lower production costs than crystalline PV panels while the only negative trait is that the panels contain a thin layer of cadmuim. It is hoped that an alternative material will be found to substitute the cadmium layer. It was reported that the plant should be operational by 2012.

Environmental Education in SA

Following on from our earlier post called "What are Your Children Being Taught About Alternative Energy?", we've just heard that Peter Becker is holding a talk titled Environmental Education in South Africa at Josephine Mill in Cape Town on Tuesday, 10th November 2009. Click here to find out more about the speakers and what will be discussed. The event is open to the public and we encourage you to attend (please rsvp).