Bruce Kerswill, GBCSABruce Kerswill, Chairman of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) and the person who facilitated the formation of the council, has been elected as the Vice Chairman of the World Green Building Council (World GBC).

Kerswill has been involved with the World GBC Exco for three years through his role as a Director, and also as Secretary. Recognising the need for change in the built environment in SA, he helped form the GBCSA in 2007.

Since then the GBCSA, under Kerswills guidance, has become one of the most active councils globally and is at the forefront of green building in SA.

pic:: Kian EriksenProtest at 18th AFRICA OIL WEEK, Waterfront, Cape Town.
At access roads to the Waterfront:
corner of Portswood & Beach
Time: 7:30-10:00am on Thursday 3 November

A group of concerned Capetonians, in partnership with the NPO Climate Justice Campaign, have called for a protest at the 18th Africa Oil Week taking place at the Waterfront from 31 October to 4 November.

At the Africa Oil Week, various heads of state, multinational oil and gas companies and other interested parties will discuss such topics as 'The Scramble for Africa' and 'Africa's Oil and Gas Future', including shale gas developments.

Sun and wind are good for more than catching a tan or blowing away dandelions. Greenpeace would like them to be used to power South Africa

You can help by signing the petition at www.usememore.co.za to ask government to increase it's ambitions! Renewable energy can do so much more!

Did you know that the amount of solar energy that reaches the planet in one year is double the energy contained in all the Earth's coal, oil, and gas resources combined?

Did you know that wind power already supplies 2.5% of the world's total energy demand?

Now, it makes you wonder

Ratanang Permaculture projectFood insecurity, food-related riots and malnourishment have been on the increase globally in the last number of years, and Africa has been particularly hard hit.

South Africa has an opportunity to create solutions that can be scaled up across the continent, as well as providing its own poor with sustainable livelihoods and dignity. But small farmers often lack the managerial and technical expertise to succeed in the highly competitive farming industry.

A new programme by Food & Trees for Africa’s (FTFAs), Farmer Eco Enterprise Development (FEED), is aiming to address the needs of emerging farmers to enable them to become players in the mainstream agricultural economy.

Aurecon building - the first in South Africa to achieve a 5-star rating
The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has announced the launch of the Pilot Certification Programme of the 4th Green Star SA rating tool – the Green Star SA Public & Education Building PILOT Rating Tool.

Funded by the Construction Industry Development Board, an agency of the Department of Public works (DPW), this latest tool enables the GBCSA to rate public and education buildings such as community centres, libraries, museums, school and university buildings, places of worship, indoor sports centres, entertainment, exhibition and convention centres, public transport terminal buildings and more.

“This is an exciting expansion of the suite of green building rating tools available from the GBCSA,” says Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the Green Building Council of South Africa.

Waverley Hills organic wine and olive farm has been named a 2011 Best of Wine Tourism winner for its sustainable practices by the Great Wine Capitals Global Network.

The Waverley Hills estate is located 150km outside of Cape Town near Wolseley at the foot of the dramatic Witzenberg Mountain Range. The estate’s name comes from its proximity to the original Waverley Wool dye works where some of the original buildings from the late 1800’s still stand.

In 2000 Waverley Hills Wines made the decision to enter the organic wine market and have since planted and cultivated 30Ha of vineyards and olive groves organically. The estate is run

Spot the wind turbine at the aquarium entrance

The Two Oceans Aquarium was recently awarded Platinum status by the Heritage Environmental Management Company in recognition of its efforts towards sustainability and reducing the impact of its operations on the environment.

The Aquarium’s Managing Director, Dr Patrick Garratt, said, “We are thrilled with this achievement especially in light of the fact that we will be hosting approximately 500 of the world’s top aquarium personnel for the 8th International Aquarium Congress in September 2012. One of the themes suggested by our international peers is sustainability. Our Platinum status not only provides us with credibility but also to showcase the Two Oceans Aquarium as a leader within the field of sustainability in aquariums”.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust is delighted to announce that its CEO, Yolan Friedmann, has received the Nick Steele Memorial Award for the Environmentalist of the Year 2011.

Now in its 23rd year, the South African Breweries (SAB) proudly announces winners in its SAB Environmentalist of the Year and Environmental Media Awards each year.

According to Dr Ian Player, Chief Judge for the Awards, the decision amongst the judges was unanimous. Furthermore he says: “We were all delighted that this was the first time that a woman had won the award”.

Following on from last month's march against Eskom, Earthlife Africa Jhb held a demonstration at Sasol's Headquarters in Rosebank (1 Sturdee Avenue) on Wednesday 12th of October. Sasol continues to be on South Africa's official negotiating team for COP17 and we are extremely disappointed in both Sasol and the Department of Environmental Affairs for continuing this blatant conflict of interest.

The vast majority of scientific studies indicate that the globe must peak its carbon emission somewhere between 2015 and 2020. This will require countries across the globe, including South Africa, to make hard decisions; in particular, prohibiting high-carbon industrial practises. For this reason, it is very hard to see how Sasol can be an honest player in negotiating a low-carbon future for us all, especially as it is the number two emitter in the country.

This video speaks for itself, De Beers gets to mine the hell out of the West Coast and the local community is left with the mess.

“Halt the sale of De Beers operations until they fix our area”, says the Cape West Coast community of Hondeklipbaai.

The imminent sale of De Beers’ diamond mining operations on the Cape West Coast must be halted until full disclosure and proper consultation with all affected parties has taken place, says the community.

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is expected to make a decision on the approval of the amended environmental management programme, and the transfer of mining rights to Trans Hex, within weeks. The community launched an awareness campaign this week, to urge DMR to postpone their decision.

Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town, Hondeklipbaai community leader Dawid Markus said the sale