Green Options

The small Australian town of Bundanoon is credited with having started the resistance to bottled water, that has now through an initiative by Thames Water, reached as far as Buckingham Palace.
What’s Driving This?
Ever since

it became clear that the energy input to bottled water could be visualised as a bottle a quarter full of crude oil
it was shown that the energy required to produce bottled water is 2000 times that to produce tap water
Watkiss revealed that England imported 20,000 litres ( 5,500 gallons) of water from Australia but at the same time exported 20,000 litres of British water to Australia
Australia suffered a drought that was so severe than it drove many farmers off the land

there was little doubt that things would start to happen.

This post consists of a few lines and a link to what’s happened since some of my recent posts where there has been significant action. Each item is identified and linked by the date and title of the original post.
July 2009 - Sable Antelope - One Sold for $ 385 000 and Giant Species Rediscovered in Angola.
Three more Giant Sable Antelopes, have been sighted in Angola. This brings to six the number of this rare species, which was feared to have become extinct, that have been sited in the last few weeks.
July 2009 - Mauling of Baboon by “Fighting Dogs”, Reopens the Cape Peninsular Baboon Debate
Two men were attacked by Pit Bulls in Ocean View ,the same Township in Ocean View this week, prompting a warning from welfare group TEARS.

The interior decorator tasked with the redecoration of the Obama’s private quarters in the White House has introduced chandeliers built around waste materials into his proposals. These chandeliers links rural development in South Africa to the White House.
Magpie Art Collective
Magpie, a socially conscious art collective, was founded in 1998 by designer Scott Hart and social entrepreneur Shane Petzer. It produces ornate light fittings, home décor and jewelry crafted from, among other things, recycled glass bottles, yoghurt containers, plastic, dog food cans, mosaic, bits of mirror, toys, charms and copper wire.

With the numerous distressing stories on the plight of so many species, its heartening to hear of a positive development in one of the largest cities in Europe.
A century ago the Seine, which flows from the north of France, through Paris to the English Channel, hosted a large flourishing population of Atlantic salmon. The salmon migrated from the sea to their freshwater birth place to reproduce from December to June every year.

The Greatest Shoal on Earth, less prosaically known at the Sardine Run, has been an annual event along the east coast of South Africa for decades. What was simply a natural resource that provided an easily accessible protein source for local inhabitants and an income for fisherman has become a tourist event, classified with the Serengeti Migration and Iceland Atlantic Puffins as “Must See Nature Sites“.
The Sardines
The sardines, which are more correctly known as the Southern African Pilchard (Sardinops sagaxis), are the most fished species in South African waters, although not the most valuable industry. The pilchards are harvested on the Agulhas Bank, a broad, shallow part of the continental shelf which extends 250 kilometres (160 miles) south of Cape Agulhas, the southern most tip of Africa. The meeting of the warm Indian and cold Atlantic oceans fuels the nutrient cycle for marine life, resulting in one of the best fishing grounds in South Africa.

The scratching chickens that are found in and around many rural households provides cheap food at practically no cost - now its also happening in city and town houses in Europe and more recently the USA.
Bringing production to the household has no economy of scale but inputs including labour and part of the feed are essentially free. The reduction in transport and packaging cost have financial and environmental benefits.
Eggs from the Eglu
The Eglu is based on a plastic, waterproof box, where the hens shelter and lay their eggs. The box is attached to an enclosed run which can be placed on a lawn allowing the chickens to scratch for insects and grass. The run has a door to allow the hens a free range in the garden when its safe.

Yellowwood                                                     Black Wattle

The destruction of 150 trees by a programme that has made real impacts on South Africa’s environment is regrettable but not really serious, until the underlying cause is questioned.

Removing Invasive Alien Plants

Water is a precious resource in short supply in South Africa. One of the activities directed at the problem is the Work for Water Programme, that works to remove alien invasive species which use large quantities of water unproductively.

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are those introduced into countries from elsewhere, that then out-compete the indigenous species. They pose a direct threat to biological diversity, water security, the ecological functioning of natural systems and the productive use of land. They intensify the impact of fires and floods and increase soil erosion. IAPs can divert enormous amounts of water from more productive uses.

Sable Antelope Bull in Kafue, Zambia
The Giant Sable Antelope has been positively sighted for the first time in decades, proving that it is not extinct, while a less threatened species was sold for almost half a million dollars.
The Sable Antelope
The Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope found in the wooded savannah of East and Southern Africa. They stand from 120 to 140 centimetres (4 to 4½ foot) at the shoulder and weighing between 200 and 270 kilograms (440 and 600 pounds). Males are very distinctively black, with white underbelly, cheeks and chin. They have a shaggy mane and ringed horns which arch backward and are up to more than 1½ metres (5 feet). It is a majestic animal mainly as a result of its striking colour and massive  horns.

Chacma Baboon photographed in the Kruger Park, South Africa.
The difficulties stemming from the proximity of the troops of Cape Peninsular baboons and Cape Town suburbs is in the news again, in a really disturbing way.
Previous posts looked at the possibility of residents paying an increased tax to allow the Cape Town municipality to manage baboons, that are causing problems in Cape Peninsular suburbs and at the somewhat lighter story on a baboon that fell through a roof into a bath.
However, the close proximity between the baboons and the community has turned ugly in a way contrary to what one would have expected.
The Latest Problem
(NOTE: a GOOGLE earth clip at the bottom of the post will help with the South African place names)
Two teenaged boys unleashed their dogs on a baboon in Main Road, Ocean View not far from his natal pack in Kommetjie on Tuesday 21 July. He stood little chance, as he was 20 years old, had few teeth and had lost the strength of his youth. He was badly mauled in the attack, and rushed to a veterinary clinic. The dogs were initially reported to be Pit-bull Terriers, but were actually a American Pit-bull and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Both dogs have a predisposition to attack other dogs and are totally fearless and loyal to their owners.

“There is no way out, no loopholes. The Great Barrier Reef will be over within 20 years or so.”, Charlie Veron, former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, told The Times.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system comprising over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching more than 3,000 kilometres (1,600 miles) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 square miles).