Kigali-Kinshasa gas project to provide 500 megawatts of energy from gas under Lake Kivu. By extracting methane gas that is in danger of exploding if allowed to reach strong concentrations, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda not only defuse a time bomb, but lead by example in producing environmentally-friendly energy.[IOL]

Eat In magazine introduces a new ‘best organic producer’ category in the Eat In RMB Private Bank SA Produce Awards. Vote for your favourite food product, producer and outlet online. The Eat In RMB Private Bank Produce Awards were initiated last year in order to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding SA producers for their contribution to our food culture. It aims to recognise the small independent producers whose integrity, care for the environment, passion and innovation are putting SA on the international food map. [vote online for your choice of best organic producer]

Avaaz online campaign persuades leaders to make tackling climate change a #1 priority. In an update on our earlier Avaaz story campaigners hand delivered 100,000 signatures to the environment ministers of the G8 summit, who have now agreed to make climate change the #1 issue for the summit in June. Avaaz are calling for further votes in order to reach a goal of 150,000 signatures to show their call for action is growing. [avaaz]

Further evidence of ‘we’ll only do it, if they do’ in the global warming arena. A day after the Supreme Court ruled that US federal government has the authority to regulate heat-trapping gases [greening it up], Bush says his government is doing enough, and points a finger at the Chinese in what can only pass for a two year-old’s reasoning power – ‘Unless there is an accord with China, China will produce greenhouse gases that will offset anything we do in a brief period of time.’ [nytimes]

Environmental consultants resign from Pebble Bed project. In what appears to be a highly contentious departure from the second environmental impact assessment (EIA) process for the controversial PBMR, [should we go nuclear] all three environmental consultants have left the project. The EIA is already fraught with problems, including an initial rejection by the department of environment affairs of the scoping report – the problems the department had with the report have since been ‘rectified’ and ‘revised’. Reading between the lines, there is a lot being left unsaid. [IOL]

Bush joins the ranks of the greenies, or does he? Flanked by his science advisors, Bush apparently announced the following yesterday morning: ‘We were wrong, wrong about global warming, and we need to change gears fast. For too long we have ignored this problem.(!) The Bush administration is cutting military funding to support renewable energy, but methinks the date of publication has more to do with the ‘unbelievable fabrication’ than reality – nice try! Wouldn’t it be great?. [the sietch blog]

The lights were out and everyone was home. On Saturday night, Australia’s largest city voluntarily switched off its light for the Earth Hour event, which demonstrated Australia’s resolve to curb global warming – they are the world’s single largest per-capital emitter of CO2. Earth Hour kicks-off a 12-month PR awareness push, the immediate goal of which is to cut the city’s greenhouse emissions by 5%. [lighterfootstep]

SA guilty of over-packaging It’s time we started dealing with the huge environmental issue of over-packaging in South Africa. The government has finally come clean and admitted that not a single bag has yet been recycled – remember our mention of a possible 'plastic-gate' scandal [greening it up] but more importantly we need to address the need of supermarket chains to wrap, coat and seal everything in plastic. [pretoria news]

DharaviMumbai’s green lung stops it choking to death on its own waste Dharavi may be one of the world's largest slums, but it is by far its most prosperous - a thriving business centre propelled by thousands of micro-entrepreneurs who have created an invaluable industry - turning around the discarded waste of Mumbai's 19 million citizens. A new estimate by economists of the output of the slum is as impressive as it seems improbable: £700m a year. [observer]

CO2 isn’t the only culprit It appears that, despite CO2’s tendency to hog the limelight, there are other chemical culprits responsible for global warming. There’s no doubt it’s the most important greenhouse gas, but other gases account for about 40% of the greenhouse gas radiation sent back to Earth. [livescience]

Africa hardest hit by global warming Many parts of Africa, the world's poorest continent and the least to blame for the fossil-fuel pollution that powers global warming, will be the hardest hit under almost any scenario – a massive report to be unveiled next week, reveals. [IOL]

A safari in the heart of the urban jungle? A group of Dutch and South African artists have pioneered a new kind of wild adventure by inviting guests to camp in the heart of Jozi's city centre. Organisers of the experimental "Cascoland" project hope their campsite in one of the city’s roughest areas will curb crime and help smash barriers between rich and poor as well as black and white. [reuters]

Fluoride in our water – only 37% of us say ‘no’ The government controversially plans to dose public drinking water supplies with fluoride, although these plans have now been delayed, pending further research – including the effects on human health and the environment. [IOL] Fluoride has been tied to bone cancer, lower IQs and osteoporosis, so why is it being added to water? [prevention.com] If you drink it, you are running the risk of all kinds of toxic actions – an interview with Dr Arvid Carlsson. [fluoride action network] And an interesting read [vernoncoleman.com]

Pollute the stratosphere with sulphur compounds – a radical end to global warming? James Lovelock spoke at the House of Commons last week about the world having ‘passed the point of no return’ but despite the doom & gloom there was a ray of hope (what’s a little acid rain between countries) - a little depraved or far-fetched? Read for yourselves [times]

Hottest winter since 1880. The world has experienced the warmest December to February period on record, according to the NOAA (US National oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) – 0.72 degrees above the 20th century mean. [newscientist]

”Non-GMO verified” set to become an industry standard in the US. A number of organic farmers, producing organic milk, have found that their feed is ‘contaminated’ by genetically modified organisms, and have begun the process of seeking a new “non-GMO verified” certification. Why? By telling consumers loud and clear which products are GM-free, organic-food producers will give them one more reason to choose organic. [Time]

Environment-friendly school funded by Oprah. The Seven Fountains Primary School in Shayamoya, a remote town in KwaZulu-Natal, was funded by Oprah Winfrey, designed using environmentally responsible principles oprah celebrating at seven fountainsand was built with community participation. The school features some innovative green design ideas. As water supply to the area is irregular there is a rain water harvesting system and a water pump powered by children playing on the see-saw and merry-go-round.

They also use solar power and have a garden supplying vegetables for school meals. The school cost R12m, which is in line with the KZN Education Dept's budget for a school of this size.

"The Seven Fountains School is an example of what schools in SA can become," said Oprah.[M&G]

Green Scorpions' nationwide sting. Inspectors from the environmental police force conducted "enforcement inspections" around the country yesterday and caught a number of offenders red-handed, including six "grossly non-compliant" abattoirs in the Northern Cape. Gross is definitely a choice word to use. You can read more about what they found here.

Opensource architecture now a reality. The Open Architecture Network was olifantsvlei project on OANlaunched just over a week ago by Architects For Humanity and had over 1500 members sign up in four days. AFH co-founder Cameron Sinclair was recently in SA for this year's Design Indaba promoting Open Architecture and "Designing like you give a damn". The OAN is an open source community for designers of all persuasions to collaborate and share their designs and ideas by applying a Creative Commons license to their works. It's really cool to see there are already some South African projects listed! Via [cherryflava]

Tesla Motors will be opening five customer service centres around the US to coincide with the public launch of their electric roadster later this year. Service centres will be located in Chicago, Northern California, Southern California, New York and Florida. Can we expect to see a dealership in SA any time soon, I wonder? More about this industry changing car here, here and here. Via [treehugger]

Sudan red: Sunday Times was right Despite Robertsons claims in national adverts and statement last week that the Sunday Times report was ‘misleading’ and that its product was 100% Sudan free and safe to eat, a third screening by the Sunday Times has proved that it is indeed contaminated with a banned chemical dye. [sunday times] For a list of the six contaminated products [sunday times]

What’s so special about organic food is often asked by those that claim they’ve been eating ‘ordinary’ food for years, and that the demand for organic is nothing but a passing ‘fad’. But research is slowly revealing the effects of small quantities of pesticides over time. [ethical co-op blog]

Green, the main battleground for the next UK general election. Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Miliband and David Cameron are all placing unprecedented emphasis on the environment as they set out their plans to combat global warming in a frantic race for Westminster. [the independent]

Pelindaba nuclear plant workers were exposed to radiation. The issue of compensation for former workers who fell ill, allegedly due to exposure to harmful nuclear waste, is underway. [IOL]

Eskom-free, carbon-free energy right on our doorstep? Jan Human, the Somerset West electrician and inventor, has invented a hybrid battery, which can charge and discharge simultaneously, and which cuts energy use by up to 27%. His invention could revolutionise energy use, cut climate-changing carbon emissions, and save us all from Eskom. [IOL]

EU to switch off energy inefficient lights within 3 years. The European Union has decided that all its states will use energy efficient lighting by 2010. [engadget]

Water restrictions on the cards - South Africa’s dams are at dangerously low levels, and the agricultural sector has warned of massive crop failures due to late rains and isolated drought conditions. [IOL]

Rietvlei a health risk, after scorching temperatures result in ‘an explosion of algal activity’ The glue/green algae that has exploded onto the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve in Cape Town could be toxic. [IOL]

Students choose to eat organic - a Scottish university is the first higher education body in the UK to give fresh and organic produce to its pizza-and-beer guzzling students. [sunday herald]

Guerilla bagging takes world by storm. Over 1 million plastic bags are consumed per minute globally & marine wildlife mistakes plastic bags for food. Now, pods all over the world are sewing bags made out of old duvets and curtains, whilst having fun drinking wine and meeting new people, before giving them for free, guerilla style, outside supermarkets. [morsbags.com]

A new website called SwitchPlanet provides a marketplace for recycled goods to stem our addiction to buying new. [greenoptions] Don’t forget freecycle – your trash is another person’s treasure. There are groups in Bloem, CT, Durbs, Jozi and PE, and it aims to give things away for free to save our planet from landfills. [freecycle.org]

Biofuel that grows like a magic mushroom? We questioned biofuel’s contribution to a greener planet [greening it up]. Now an Israeli scientist may have discovered an alternative to corn and soy – a GM mushroom. To GM or not to GM...[treehugger]

In the face of the departing honey bee.The catastrophe of the loss of honeybee colonies around the world, some say as a direct result of global warming, spells immediate bad news for agriculture, who rely on the bee as a natural pollinator. So what does business do if its key service supplier folds? [greenbiz]

Organic food breaks into the UK top 100 brands A survey in Feb revealed that while the mega-brands of fizzy drinks, chocolate and chips are still at the head of the industry’s ‘top 100’ grocery league table, organic is getting a look in. The brand ‘Innocent’, the real-fruit smoothie, came in at no 63 with sales up 140%. [the guardian]

UN launches a global e-waste initiative to tackle the growing mountain of electrical and electronic waste. The world’s annual volume of ‘e-waste’ is projected to exceed 40m tonnes in the near future, and the decreasing cost of replacing computers, cell phones and other gadgets means more and more on the rubbish dump. [bbc]

But what is SA doing about recycling its e-waste? eWASA met in Greyton, Western Cape to discuss a blueprint for an e-waste management system in the country, late last year. They released e-waste legislation in SA. Also have a look at the eWASA website. Pikitup launched an e-waste recycling initiative in Johannesburg in October last year, offering electronic equipment pickups at garden sites across the city. [joburg.org] And footprints in Cape Town is doing a stirling job at recycling e-waste as well as other recycling. Not sure what Durban is up to?