29 September 2020
“One of capitalism’s central attributes is opportunism. Capitalism is not loyal to any person, nation, corporation, or ideology. It doesn’t care about the planet or believe in justice, equality, fairness, liberty, human rights, democracy, world peace or even economic growth and the “free market.” Its overriding obsession is maximizing the return on invested capital. Capitalism will pose as a loyal friend of other beliefs and values, or betray them in an instant, if it advances the drive for profit … that’s why it’s called the bottom line!”
Meet catabolic capitalism: globalization’s gruesome twin
13 May 2020
Naomi Klein writes up a good piece on the importance of knowing what you’re choosing for the future in this time where panic can cloud judgement.
17 July 2019
Great article about what constitutes a healthy meal. I’ve been a huge fan of the idea that the best diet is the one closest to nature. And that includes us being closer to nature and our true nature. We have truly lost the ability to know what is good for us.
Meat is Magnificent: Water, Carbon, Methane & Nutrition
12 July 2019
It seems as if cows (and in particular feedlot livestock) are not the only culprits when it comes to methane. Shame on those who spread false news to promote their own agenda!
Industrial methane emissions are underreported, study finds
17 April 2019
This article provides a good overview of the plastic problem and the history of plastic. Let’s hope the future of plastic is more positive!
Plastic bag bans are spreading. But are they truly effective?
12 April 2019
No more single-use plastic bottles for sale or back stage at Glastonbury Festival from 2019! That’s real rock star behaviour. The festival runs over 5 days and has 200 000 festival-goers. This is a good start. Rock on, Glasto!
How Glastonbury Is Leading the Plastic-Free Festival Revolution
10 April 2019
A win for the small guy against corporate bullying. A television company in France was sued by a large company that violated the human and environmental rights of communities in this Cameroon palm oil plantation community. The corporate lost. Read the story, it’s encouraging to see progress being made, but policy needs to be formalised.
Historic legal win against corporate bullying in Paris
5 April 2019
Technology plays a big role in improving people’s lives. It can be used in so many amazing ways. Warka Water is a company committed to making this world a better place through their innovative designs. Read up about their simple, yet effective, ideas in the link below.
Warka Water is finding innovative solutions to water, energy and housing problems
4 April 2019
Sometimes the developed nations have good intentions, but their execution smacks of ulterior motives. Or is it just ignorance? Whichever way, this sustainable food plan was poorly researched and excludes quite a large part of the global population. Perhaps another go at it, for the rest of the world they excluded, would be a good, educational experience.
First ever global scientific eating plan forgets the world’s poor
21 March 2019
It’s Heritage Day, here are some South African ladies working diligently on our future heritage. I could not be more proud!
World acclaim for South African ‘wonder women’ scientists
18 March 2019
“I’ll have the fish” may soon not be an option on menus or in shops anymore. What will it take for us to wake up?
The World Is Losing Fish to Eat as Oceans Warm, Study Finds
13 March 2019
Government intervention can be good sometimes. See how India’s government is cutting royalties for Monsanto’s seeds.
In fresh blow to Monsanto, India cuts GM cotton seed royalty
11 March 2019
It seems humans can do positive things for the planet. Let’s make this the norm and not the exception! Be wise, consume smartly.
NASA: Humans do help to make the world a greener place
10 March 2019
Sad thing about this is how we all somehow are part of the mess if we buy mass-produced food. Please support your local farmer wherever and whenever you can!
How America’s food giants swallowed the family farms
19 February 2019
One of the items that we discussed in class in the previous two weeks was the SDGs. This article shows once again that not all programmes are perfect, no matter how noble. While the SDG heart is in the right place, the mind still needs to catch up, and pronto.
SDGs ‘failing to create transformational change’
18 February 2019
The only solution is to move away from plastics being created to us reusing non-plastic alternatives. Unfortunately, this requires corporate involvement and individual behaviour change. We all know how that goes. Profits and comfort predominantly win. We live in a sick age.
Can our recycling problem be solved by using plastic for roads?
17 February 2019
A chilling report about the pervasiveness of plastic in our lives. It’s in places it was never meant to go and will never leave.
The secret danger of everyday things
16 February 2019
A ray of hope for a seemingly bleak future. Read to the end, despite other distractions. regenerativeagriculture
How We Can Offer Hope For Our Grandchildren in a Floundering, Leaderless World
4 February 2019
Fascinating article about how e-commerce and technology is boosting organic farm produce sales.
How e-commerce is reshaping organic farming
3 February 2019
If you’re not sure about the basics of climate change, check out this handy article by CNN.
Climate change: Do you know the basics?
24 January 2019
Some good news in the fisheries industry. How bunker (fuelling) tankers are being used to detect possible illegal fishing practices.
Fuel Tankers Help Highlight Illegal Fishing Hotspots
18 January 2019
Yeah, this isn’t great. We all need to do our bit to help out, be it shop less plastic or be full-blown activists. Or else we’ll just suffer even more than we could imagine, and things will just be quite shit.
World on track for 3C of warming under current global climate pledges, warns UN
22 December 2018
Fancy helping in the fight against climate change? Here’s a ranked list of 100 things you can pick from. It’s a pleasure!
100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming
17 December 2018
Great article that explains the benefits of organic farming, especially livestock. “The point is that there is no substitute for diversity; there is no way to quantify all the possible and synergistic interactions among both identifiable and unidentifiable components.”
Pasture Management: Benefits of Biodiverse Forage
2 December 2018
This may be one of the saddest articles I’ve read in a long time. It tells how refugee camps being set up without planning are causing a reduction in the number of elephants in the area.
Endangered elephants trapped by world’s largest refugee camp
1 December 2018
Nori has an interesting approach to reversing climate change – they use blockchain technology for the environment. This is what technology was meant for. I like it.
A Marketplace for Reversing Climate Change
30 November 2018
I just read this article on the effects of climate change by 2030, and found it quite disturbing. It’s not always clear what will happen in the future, but one thing is sure, the future will be tougher than our present. However, I know we can play a positive role. We just have to make small changes and stick to them. Who’s in?
9 effects of climate change that will make your life a living hell
15 November 2018
Be careful what you pay for. You may have fallen for one of these dirty marketing strategies: Loss aversion, Anchoring and Greenwashing.
3 Dirty Marketing Tricks to Get You to Buy More Stuff
6 November 2018
Always be sure to have your facts straight before you start an argument. And check your logic too. There is a huge industry that is spreading false news in all shapes and sizes about many things. They want your money. That’s all. This article goes into a bit of depth about how much water cows it really takes to raise a cow.
1 kg of Beef takes 100’000 Liters of Water! – no it does not!!
30 October 2018
Humans do suck though. We really need to stop destroying nature. In fact we need to understand that we are nature and should stop destroying ourselves. Read this article to learn more about ice-cap melting in the Antarctic and why it’s a bit of a disaster.
29 October 2018
An excellent article on a vegetarian who owns and runs a livestock farm. But ethically and for more reasons than simply selling beef as food.
How does a vegetarian defend beef?
19 October 2018
A well-written article about the pitfalls of trusting the “health food” industry willy nilly. They’re there to make a buck too.
17 October 2018
Two interesting websites you may want to browse through:
A company that makes 100% eco-friendly packaging – it’s edible and dissolves in water.
An online newspaper with a whole different slant and interesting news, not the same old nonsense that bores us to tears every day.
15 October 2018
Well, this is sad news. It certainly isn’t progress, despite what the developers say. a great old step back, I think.
Fracking starts at landmark Lancashire site
9 October 2018
In my Twitter feed this morning, I received an article on more people coming forward to sue Monsanto about Roundup (glyphosate), and an Australian documentary about how the company used secret tactics to protect its product and profits.
‘The world is against them’: new era of cancer lawsuits threaten Monsanto
4 October 2018
This beautiful photo series brings home how global (and local) mining companies destroy communities and nature forever for short-term gains on their side – profit. We all lose, really, even they. They just don’t realise it. This community, however, is having none of it. They are my heroes.
3 October 2018
Even though this is quite a distressing article, it does show very clearly how what we eat affects people on the other side of the planet. Unfortunately, in this case, adversely. For this reason, it is imperative to buy local, to know where your food comes from. Be careful not to make this a vegan/vegetarian/meat-eater issue. Large tracts of biodiverse land are destroyed for mono-cropping for all reasons across the globe.
Connect the dots: Cerrado soy drives inequality to provide EU with chicken
2 October 2018
What a uhm … cool guy! Watch this charming clip about a man who lived alone for 40 years recording snowfall.
He Spent 40 Years Alone in the Woods, and Now Scientists Love Him | Short Film Showcase
30 September 2018
Sadly, I lost many of the stories I had on this page, due to syncing issues between my mobile phone and laptop. I’ll keep on posting new stories though since I can’t remember most of the items I had posted before. Meh for technology!
But here is one I can remember. A good all-rounder about plastic: How it’s made, it’s impact and how to lessen your own plastic footprint while on holiday.
Why ‘BPA Free’ May Not Mean a Plastic Product Is Safe
10 June 2018
More good news from the supermarket sector in South Africa. Looks like some healthy competition is brewing!
Pick n Pay announces plans to ditch wasteful plastics – here’s what is changing
6 June 2018
Good news for those in South Africa who, like me, have questioned Woolworths’ pervasive non-recyclable packaging.
Woolies to dump wasteful plastic packaging
5 June 2018
Why GMO isn’t just about ‘food security’.
Monsanto and Bayer: Agriculture just took a turn for the worse
Sustainable Melanie 