Being Green

Being Green - 15 July 2022

Today on Being Green, we’re talking about a new local waste-to-energy technology that has been developed by the South African National Energy Development Institute, SANEDI. Glynis Crook speaks to its project manager, Dr Neville Smith, who led the design concept alongside NECSA’s Dr Jaco van der Walt.

15 Jul 2022 7 min

Being Green - 08 July 2022

As climate change continues to make its presence felt across the world, one unexpected profession has decided it needs to clean up its act. Launched in the United States, the Clean Creatives campaign is asking individual creatives, agencies and PR firms to pledge to refuse future work with the fossil…

8 Jul 2022 6 min

Being Green - 01 July 2022

Last week on Being Green, Glynis Crook spoke to 13-year-old Quinley Wild about his song - SOS or Save our Soil. He wrote it after his mom got involved in a global movement to address the crisis of soil degradation. To find out more about why taking better care of…

1 Jul 2022 7 min

Being Green - 24 June 2022

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to 13-year-old Quinley Wild about his song SOS (Save our Soil). He wrote it after his mom, Casey, got involved in a global movement to address the crisis of soil degradation. And big local stars like Zolani Mahola, originally from…

24 Jun 2022 8 min

Being Green - 17 June 2022

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to UCT oceanographer and climatologist, Dr Sarah Fawcett, about the vital role played by South Africa’s polar research vessel and icebreaker, the SA Agulhas 2, in the field of climate science.

17 Jun 2022 7 min

Being Green - 10 June 2022

New Zealand has released a draft plan to tax farmers for the methane emissions from their sheep and cattle. The country is home to about 5 million people, and some 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep, and agriculture accounts for about half of its greenhouse gas emissions, mostly in…

10 Jun 2022 7 min

Being Green - 03 June 2022

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to 13-year-old Quinley Wild about his song SOS (Save our Soil). He wrote it after his mom, Casey, got involved in a global movement to address the crisis of soil degradation. And big local stars like Zolani Mahola, originally from…

3 Jun 2022 8 min

Being Green - 27 May 2022

A recent study, published in the journal Nature, found that one-fifth of the world’s reptiles are threatened with extinction. Scientists examined over 10,000 species and found that 21% of them are critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable to extinction as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Reptiles include…

27 May 2022 6 min

Being Green - 20 May 2022

International Tea Day is celebrated on 21 May. But did you know that most tea bags contain up to 25% of plastic. Many brands use a non-biodegradable plastic called polypropylene in the heat-sealing process and to help keep the bag in shape when it’s immersed in hot liquid. A recent…

20 May 2022 6 min

Being Green - 13 May 2022

The ongoing plague of brown locusts in parts of the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape Karoo, believed to be the biggest in 25 years, has been a nightmare for farmers. Experts say that in just one day, a small swarm can eat the same amount of food as…

13 May 2022 7 min

Being Green - 06 May 2022

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY GERLINDE MOSER OF RE/MAX. Being Green – Your window on the environment broadcast every Friday morning at 9.30. Glynis Crook will focus on key issues affecting our lifestyles, science and research outcomes, the quest for sustainable living and a healthier planet.

6 May 2022 6 min

Being Green - 29 Apr 2022

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Alderman Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, about the annual global City Nature Challenge. This year, over 400 cities are expected to take part in a bid to find out…

29 Apr 2022 6 min

Being Green - 22 Apr 2022

It’s the time of the year that the loggerhead sea turtles hatch on the coastline of northern KwaZulu-Natal and are then carried south by the Agulhas current. Unfortunately, as a result of injury, dehydration and hypothermia, some of the little hatchlings wash up on our beaches here in the Western…

22 Apr 2022 6 min

Being Green - 15 Apr 2022

Monday 18 April will mark the one-year anniversary of the devastating fire that destroyed UCT’s Jagger Reading room and damaged other buildings on campus. It also gutted two historic buildings - Mostert’s Mill and the Rhodes Memorial restaurant - and caused damage to other buildings in the area. The blaze…

15 Apr 2022 6 min

Being Green - 08 Apr 2022

The third and final report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 6th assessment cycle was published earlier this week. Part 3 finds that, despite warnings, emissions have continued to rise in the last decade, and that only severe cuts will allow the world to avoid climate extremes…

8 Apr 2022 7 min

Being Green - 01 Apr 2022

In the Western Cape, more than 40% of all waste delivered to landfills is organic, and as it decomposes, it releases the extremely harmful greenhouse gas, methane. With the first phase of the province’s new Organic Landfill Ban in effect from this year, residents need to start thinking about how…

1 Apr 2022 7 min

Being Green - 25 Mar 2022

Construction on tech giant Amazon's new Africa headquarters at the River Club site in Observatory has been halted following an interdict by the Cape High Court against developers, Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust. In her ruling, Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath recognised the land’s importance as the historic dominion of the…

25 Mar 2022 7 min

Being Green - 18 Mar 2022

Almost 200 of Africa’s most spectacular heritage sites, both natural and cultural, are in danger because of rising sea levels. That’s according to a recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change which found that they face a severe risk of flooding and erosion over the next 30 years…

18 Mar 2022 6 min

Being Green - 11 Mar 2022

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Nhlanhla Sibisi, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, which took part in the recent talks in Nairobi, Kenya. At the meeting, 175 nations reached an agreement to start negotiations on an international treaty to tackle plastic pollution. Delegates endorsed a…

11 Mar 2022 6 min

Being Green - 04 Mar 2022

In this week's edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Gina Ziervogel, Associate Professor in Environmental and Geographical Sciences at UCT. She's lead author of the chapter on cities, settlements, and key infrastructure, in a new report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was published…

4 Mar 2022 7 min