The simple, but intriguing invitation printed on brown paper leaflets and distributed at organic and health shops around Cape Town suggested this might be an open garden day with a difference.

And although the "earth artists unplugged open garden festival at valley house" in Constantia had some visitors that were obviously part of the mink and manure set I found Jenny Louw, winner of Top Billing Landscaper of 2006, to be refreshingly different.

I identified immediately with her gardening philosophy outlined in her information pamphlet and reiterated by her during the tour of her incredible garden:

"Our approach has been one that combines what we call intelligent, emotional and spiritual gardening... it is about the hundreds of different magical processes, cycles and events that take place around us all the time."

With new stories on climate change appearing everyday, herewith a quick summary of some of the recent interesting ones:

"When you come into the possession of truth that has deep implications to the future, and then you find the courage to express it and make a commitment to becoming involved in an effort to disenthrall our country and the world from this prison of illusions that has paralyzed us and prevented us from taking appropriate action, you will find that the truth will move obstacles from your path."

Thus spake Al Gore, borrowing from Ghandi's "truth force" concept, at a recent American Geophysical Union where he delivered a speech entitled "Climate Change: The Role of Science and the Media in Policy Making." He also committed to becoming a member of the 45 000 scientist strong non-profit organisation. [LiveScience]

Those that attended the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany can sleep better at night knowing the extra carbon dioxide generated because of the event will be offset against investment in emission reducing projects in good ole S of A.

One project is to replace a coal fired boiler used by the SA's largest citrus processor - African Realty Trust.

The second project includes capturing methane emissions from a waste water treatment plant in the Johannesburg area and using the biogas to generate clean electricity.

I thought this showed great leadership by FIFA and as the largest global sporting event they have now set the standard for other sporting bodies to follow. [fifa.co.za]

cool green news from around the world: I’m tired of gloom & doom. There is a lot that’s happening in the news that is positive so today I’m making an effort to bring you what’s cool.

hollywood celebrity picsCameron Diaz intends trying to live off the land for a year – okay, so it’s not ‘cool’, it’s really a bit of a laugh, but the point is that when a star the likes of Cameron heads for the hills you can be sure that generation Y will think it’s hip – just one more, after Liz Hurley (she's started producing organic baby food from her farm), to file under ‘green & famous’? [ecorazzi]

SA set to go green for 2010 –of course the first line should warn you as to the watered-down nature of just how green we’re going – ‘as green as possible’, says Marthinus kortbroek, who wants to reduce the environmental impact of this year’s World Cup held in Germany including a carbon offset campaign – now this would be cool! [M&G]

pic:capeinfoTuning in this morning to SA FM’s Morning Talk, with Xolani Gwala, was something of an eye-opener as the heated debate around Green Point’s stadium and the 2010 World Cup was put to the people.

Up until this morning I was aware that the Green Point common was a bone of contention and that the common’s association is threatening to go to court with their objection to the development of a larger stadium in this green belt.

The Green Point Common Coalition or Association is fighting to keep the common a green belt for environmental reasons – they believe that a city such as Cape Town needs parks and treed recreational open spaces, particularly in the light of intense urbanisation – their main argument seems to be that this area isn't zoned for an 11 storey construction.

pic: kenya.safari.co.zagreen news from around sa & the world today: Lake Victoria has dropped at least six feet in the past three years, and by as much as half an inch a day this year before November rains. The Uganda government suggest that the outflow from two hydroelectric dams at Jinja is a small part of the problem – environmentalists suggest it’s half the problem. Will climate change eclipse other factors? [LiveScience]

Just how did OR Tambo International Airport manage to allow over a million litres of jet fuel to spill out and flow into the Blaauwpan Dam, east of Johannesburg in November? [M&G]

copyright: zerocarbonfootprint.co.ukSince ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ the world is caught up with reducing their carbon footprint – if you haven’t seen Al Gore’s movie, it’s showing at cinema nouveau - and since SA has one of the highest greenhouse gas emissions in Africa [greening it up last thurs] we thought a few green tips would go a long way to helping us reduce them:

1. Stop using your car so much – this is a biggie in a country that seems to need to measure its worth by its car! Last year alone, more than 60 000 new cars were bought in SA [M&G] – this not only translates as more carbon emissions but also a higher death toll on the roads!

green news from around the world & SA today:
photo by flickrThe Reva runs entirely on electricity and is the only electric car to come out of India. The company producing them has just received funding from the Global Environment Fund and Draper Fisher Jurveston, which should position them in the world’s electric car market. [Business techwhack]

Cape government goes green - okay, so it’s nothing radical, but it certainly sets the pace – 48 provincial Western Cape departments are to ‘green’ their offices by reducing energy and water consumption and recycling waste in a programme called ‘2Wise2Waste’. The provincial office in Dorp Street, Cape Town, will also launch an indigenous roof garden – way to go! What about the rest of the country? [IOL]

News from around the world & SA today:

How big is your carbon footprint? Want to find out? Be green, a website educating and inspiring people to find ways to offset carbon emissions, offers you a number of ways to greenify your life. [Be Green]

Global warming could mean lower crop yields, says Washington where a group of farm and food experts gathered for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Researchers (note long and important sounding name) annual meeting. They site that warming could mean drought and shorter growing seasons for some areas of the world while in others increased flooding might result. But, wait! Their solution? The development of hardier ‘climate-ready’ crops that can withstand warmer climates and resist waters and salt. Smacks of thinly disguised GM PR to me! [IOL] Find out more about GM in SA on the SafeAge website.

It's that time of the year again - and I can't quitecopyright:lil-inspirations.com believe how fast it seems to come around – when shopping malls start playing ‘white christmas’ and various renditions of christmas carols (thank goodness they’ve finally shelved Boney M) and, if you’re me, you just want to give the whole thing a miss, really!

But then that funny bug gets hold of you, and you’ve got a couple of nephews and a child to please, and they’re all starting to believe this bosh about Santa, and the looks on their faces when there are presents under the tree… And then there’s all that food and the various diets that manage to find their way to the shelves in their droves come January!

A number of the ‘green’ sites are calling for a ‘green Christmas’ and we've put together a green christmas guide based on the Friends of the Earth environmental campaign group's guide – apparently 3 million tonnes of waste is dumped over Christmas in the UK (we don’t even have those stats for SA!)