Some time ago John wrote about the environmental benefits and risks of a rise in tilapia farming. While their adaptability and relatively low position on the food chain suggested an advantage over other types of fish, there was also concern about tilapia as an invasive species. Anyone reading the New York times on Monday will […]
Tag Archives | water pollution
Call to ban shale gas exploration in the Karoo
Groups opposing shale gas mining bids by Shell and other explorers in the Karoo yesterday asked the government to immediately end these plans and ban any future exploration. As an alternative, the Karoo Action Group asked President Jacob Zuma to impose a moratorium, pending studies into water impacts, alternative land uses, and a decision on […]
FRACKING: Drink the Water at Your Own Risk
Fracking is currently used in 90 percent of the U.S.’s natural gas and oil wells. The practice makes drilling possible in areas that 10 to 20 years ago would not have been profitable. Fracking involves injecting water, sand, and a cocktail of chemicals at high pressure into rock formations thousands of feet below the surface. […]
South African professor slams climate change as ‘world’s biggest distraction’
Climate change is probably the world’s biggest distraction and not its biggest and most immediate challenge, which belongs to clean water, says Professor Grant Cawthorn. Cawthorn, Wits University’s School of Geosciences Platinum Industry Igneous Petrology professor, contends that the lack of fresh water will have a much greater global impact than a “one or two […]
Kenyan Villagers Turn Invasive Water Hyacinth into Moneymaker
The rapid growth of invasive water hyacinths has taken a serious toll on Kenya’s Lake Victoria, creating inhospitable conditions for the fish local people depend on, while sheltering other unwelcome guests: disease-carrying snails and deadly snakes. But with a little help from a U.S.-based organization, villagers living near the lake are turning this environmental crisis […]
World waters menaced by fertilizers and plastics
Global marine environment is seriously threatened by pollution from massive amounts of phosphorus, a fertiliser widely used in agriculture, as well as billions of pieces of plastic, according to a recent UN report. Phosphorus pollution, along with other uncontrolled discharges, such as nitrogen and sewage, are linked with a rise in algal blooms, which harm water […]
China: Minister warns pollution, waste imperil growth
China faces acute environmental and resource strains that threaten to choke growth unless the world’s second-biggest economy cleans up, the nation’s environment minister said in an unusually blunt warning. In an essay published on Monday, Zhou Shengxian also said his agency wants to make assessing projected greenhouse gas emissions a part of evaluating proposed development […]
South Africa plans urgent clean-up of toxic mine liquid
South Africa plans to set up a chain of pumping stations and treatment plants to prevent toxic liquids building up in defunct gold mines beneath Johannesburg from reaching dangerous levels. Immediate action is needed because acidic mine water is expected to reach environmentally critical levels under Johannesburg by June 2012, government officials and scientists told […]
Karoo Fracking: Sign the Petition!
What is it going to take to stop the plans to threaten our sensitive Karoo region from being destroyed by Fracking in search of natural gas?
