Green Options

SAB Miller, South African grown, second largest brewer in the world has introduced anaerobic digestion to treat the waste leaving its Alrode Brewery in Gauteng, South Africa. Anaerobic fermentation of organic material produces methane, which is used to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel based energy.

Copper brewhouse in a Trappist brewery

Brewery Waste & Biogas

In the brewery the waste is a collection of unavoidable losses of carbohydrate and protein rich materials, which would otherwise be sold as beer or byproduct and the large quantities of water used to maintain a hygienic operation.

Is Ross Perot Jr. taking legal action over the head of a rhino he shot and wounded during a trophy hunt?

The son of former American Presidential candidate Ross Perot - Henry Ross Perot Jr. - is reportedly engaged in a legal battle involving South African wildlife authorities over the head of rhino he wounded during a trophy hunt earlier this year.

Perot supposedly shot a bull rhino at Mkhuze game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, but the animal escaped. However, Perot believes he’s still entitled to his trophy - the rhino’s head.

Despite the fact that Mount Kilimanjaro is located in one of the world’s warmer climates, like any other mountain with such high altitude, it has snowy peaks and glaciers that add interest to climbers, (although it doesn’t do much for the wildlife on the mountain); however, according to research, as a result of climate change, we can expect that snow atop Mount Kilimanjaro is a fleeting thing.

Tanzania is reportedly preparing to ask CITES to lift the trade ban on elephant ivory, much to the dismay of its EAC neighbors, conservationists, and members of the tourism industry.

In a move that would surely undermine East African conservation efforts, Tanzania has taken up the position that a sanctioned sale of elephant ivory would provide much-needed financial support to the country’s anti-poaching measures.

This comes as a shock to the East African Community (EAC), considering that last year’s sanctioning of a one-off ivory auction is to blame for igniting a scourge of rampant elephant killings throughout Africa - particularly Kenya.

The International Ecotourism Society is offering a Surperb Safari Experience as an auction to raise funds for global environmental awareness. The Safari location is at Ol Seki Mara Camp.

Safari Details: Located in the heart of Eastern Koiyaki, Kenya, Ol Seki Mara Camp offers luxury “Nina” tents with 270 degree panoramic views of the famous Maasai Mara.

Magnificent Wildlife: Eastern Koiyaki, provides an opportunity to enjoy wildlife viewing in a pristine oasis nestled amongst Cordia and Acacia trees attracting an abundance of wildlife and birds.

Your Dream Vacation: Elegant candle lit dinners, romantic dining for honeymooners, a resident masseuse – a delight for all senses!

What are Ol Seki Mara Camp’s specific sustainability Practices?

About 200 rhino have reportedly been killed by poachers in Zimbabwe over the last three years, and wildlife officials warn that international and regional poaching syndicates are benefiting from local cooperation.

Disappointing news: Zimbabwe may have lost a quarter of its rhino population in just three years, due to the increasing strength of organized poaching syndicates and a network of local support.

Eskom, the South African state owned electricity generator, recently announced that it has budgeted a billion dollars over the next ten years for a demonstration and pilot concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. However, moving from budget to implementation is proving more difficult!

Why Concentrated Solar Power

Two of the widely used alternatives for collecting the suns energy are the concentrated solar power (CSP) plant where sunlight is focussed on a receiver in which a circulating working fluid is heated and used as the heating media for a conventional power station and the photo voltaic (PV) plant where sunlight is converted directly into electrical energy.

The South African government and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) have signed an Memorandum Of Understanding to develop a plan, before year end, to establishment a Solar Park in the Northern Cape.

If the black areas above were covered with PV panels, it would provide all the world’s energy needs.

The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) is convinced that the contribution of solar energy to the world’s energy needs is about to boom. It is already developing projects in India, Australia and in the South Western States of the US. Now it is co-operating with the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) to develop a Solar Park in the Northern Cape that would speed up South Africa’s uptake of renewable energy.

Additional field rangers and the military are part of Kruger National Park’s plan to fight commercial poaching - which has led to the death of 94 rhinos in South Africa this year.

KNP Chief Executive Dr. David Mabunda declared war on poachers with the appointment of 57 field rangers and the return of the military to protect the park’s precious wildlife from the onslaught of unprecedented killings.

14 critically endangered black rhino have been released into an undisclosed location as the WWF-EKZNW range expansion project continues.

Thanks to the project partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) to protect and expand black rhino populations, 14 additional black rhino are now in their new home.

Hyenas are not as numerous as you might think: Poison, guns, snares, sport hunting, and habitat loss due to human expansion are taking their toll on the misunderstood hyena.

Hyenas are the subject of perhaps more myths than any other African animal, which has unfortunately led to decades of persecution against these unusual creatures. The rapid expansion of human population into remaining hyena habitat - and the intentional killing of hyenas by humans - will eventually prove to be more than this resilient species can tolerate.

To help raise awareness of hyena conservation, here are 12 surprising things you didn’t know - plus a compilation of beautiful photos. Enjoy!