tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70848956321113014862024-03-13T03:39:35.514+02:00SAFCEIThe blog of the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment InstituteSteve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-53265111348540343272011-07-16T10:47:00.003+02:002011-07-16T10:50:18.887+02:00New SAFCEI website and blogSAFCEI (the Southern African Faith Communities' Environmental Institute) now has a <a href="http://safcei.org/">new web site and blog</a>.<br /><br />This blog is therefore redundant and will no longer be updated.Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-82660219121411191142011-07-02T10:08:00.000+02:002011-07-02T10:09:45.249+02:00SAFCEI AGM 2011<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-ZA">AGM of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-ZA">Tuesday, 19 July 2011, 7 pm</span><span style="font-size:19.0pt" lang="EN-ZA"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Diakonia Centre , 20 Diakonia Avenue, Durban. <span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Wingdings">(</span><span style="font-size:17.0pt">: </span>031 310 3500<span style="font-size:21.0pt" lang="EN-ZA"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-ZA">Theme: <b>Global climate talks 2011 (COP17) in Durban – so what?</b></span><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">(Speaker to be confirmed)</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">All interested people of any faith are most welcome to come along and hear what the faith communities are doing – and should be doing – at congregational, regional, national and international levels as we seek eco-justice: economic and environmental justice.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-ZA"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-ZA">Please join us before the meeting for a light finger supper at 18h00.<br />RSVP for catering purposes to: <a href="mailto:secretary@safcei.org.za" target="_blank">secretary@safcei.org.za</a> or </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Wingdings" lang="EN-ZA">(</span><span lang="EN-ZA">: 021-701</span><span style="font-size:1.0pt" lang="EN-ZA"> </span><span lang="EN-ZA">8145</span></p><span lang="EN-ZA"></span>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-19754780431989155322011-03-29T08:36:00.003+02:002011-03-29T08:45:17.528+02:00Havana’s lessons in green livingThough Havana is a filthy city, the author finds many lessons in green living.<br /><br /><a href="http://matadornetwork.com/change/havanas-lessons-in-green-living">Havana’s lessons in green living</a>: <blockquote>3. Almost everything can be repurposed.<br /><br />During my first Cuba trip, I watched my mother-in-law wash and reuse disposable grocery bags until the “nylons,” as she calls them, were worn out. I returned home with an obsession: everything could be repurposed. A rubber band, a plastic shopping bag, the newspaper: nothing should be wasted.<br /><br />Though I’ve controlled the obsession (partly by becoming conscious of what I consume in the first place), each subsequent trip to Havana has made me realize just how much we could upcycle if we really wanted to try our hand at repurposing objects that have outlived their original use.</blockquote><br /><br />Among the things that have been repurposed here as flowerpots is a construction helmet, and various other objects<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_WivO3Xlpg1bBTKhzAfsZFowbZn-PZ4_bThkVYs9RYZDtqPN9C56pg4cLRuqg58fO3cIVLtbUl2IG2bkXpVvCWM3vwH4SpfTPTVJx-JzyIARLps-GSsqXyhaeGX6iWlTUJfqbLrgak0w/s1600/GreenHavana.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_WivO3Xlpg1bBTKhzAfsZFowbZn-PZ4_bThkVYs9RYZDtqPN9C56pg4cLRuqg58fO3cIVLtbUl2IG2bkXpVvCWM3vwH4SpfTPTVJx-JzyIARLps-GSsqXyhaeGX6iWlTUJfqbLrgak0w/s400/GreenHavana.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589388140924864290" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hat-tip to <a href="http://adelaidegreenporridgecafe.blogspot.com/2011/03/havanas-lessons-in-green-living.html">Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe: Havana’s lessons in green living</a>.Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-37967465709688090512011-03-21T05:17:00.002+02:002011-03-21T05:19:13.476+02:00Mapping Human Vulnerability to Climate Change � GIS and Science<a href="http://gisandscience.com/2011/03/07/mapping-human-vulnerability-to-climate-change/">Mapping Human Vulnerability to Climate Change | GIS and Science</a>: "First global map suggests climate change will have greatest impact on the populations least responsible for causing the problem<br /><br />Researchers already study how various species of plants and animals migrate in response to climate change. Now, Jason Samson, a PhD candidate in McGill University’s Department of Natural Resource Sciences, has taken the innovative step of using the same analytic tools to measure the impact of climate change on human populations. Samson and fellow researchers combined climate change data with censuses covering close to 97 per-cent of the world’s population in order to forecast potential changes in local populations for 2050."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-1167004816126497682011-03-19T03:52:00.002+02:002011-03-19T03:54:42.015+02:00Wanted: Operations Manager: SAFCEI<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Wanted: Operations Manager: SAFCEI</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">SAFCEI is looking for an Operations Manager to join its head office team at Westlake, Cape Town. The Operations Manager will report to the Executive Director. Please download the <a href="http://db.tt/TS8s9lg" target="_blank">job description</a> for an outline of the roles and responsibilities of this new post.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The main purpose of this position is to build and run SAFCEI as an organisation that provides maximum support to its programmatic work and achieves its objectives.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Key performance areas include financial management, HR, logistics and operations, administration, fundraising, membership, and monitoring and evaluation. </p><p class="MsoNormal">A broad range of competencies is required, including:</p><p style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>knowledge and experience of people management, administration, resource management, managing an organisation’s finances, budgeting and strategic planning;</p><p style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>knowledge of relevant legislation and HR processes; </p><p style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>people skills, report-writing and communication skills and basic OD skills; </p><p style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>ability to grow people and support their development. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Experience of fundraising and M&E will be advantageous. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The person appointed to this post should have a university degree, a post-matric financial qualification, and 5 years’ middle-senior management experience. S/he will need to be a strategic thinker, innovative, a team player and willing to do whatever needs to be done!</p><p class="MsoNormal">SAFCEI is a multi-faith organisation and operates from the perspective of faith and the principles upheld by all faiths. It would therefore be appropriate if the applicant is a person of faith.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> The salary is negotiable depending on experience and qualifications.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> To apply, please send an up-to-date CV with a letter of motivation and the names and contact details of three referees to <a href="mailto:coordinator@safcei.org.za" target="_blank">coordinator@safcei.org.za</a> by the end of Sunday 27 March. (No copies of certificates etc are needed at this stage.) </p>We will acknowledge receipt of all applications, but please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted beyond that.Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-6361951538625327932011-03-10T05:23:00.001+02:002011-03-10T05:23:59.615+02:00SAFCEI news<span style="padding: 4px; font-family: Georgia;"><p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">A major focus of SAFCEI's work in 2010 will be raising awareness and understanding of the <a href="http://www.cop17durban.com/" target="_blank">UN Climate Change Conference</a> to be held in Durban in December.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">We should not think that these conferences, left to themselves, will save us from deadly global warming. In Cancun, Mexico, in December, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/dec/21/bolivia-oppose-cancun-climate-agreement" target="_blank">the world's representatives applauded a deal</a> that in fact leaves <a href="http://climateprogress.org/2010/11/29/royal-society-special-issue-4-degrees-world/" target="_blank">Southern Africa on track for lethal warming within the next 50 years</a>.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">So it is vital that we in Southern Africa work to get our own house in order, by absolutely rejecting further expansion of coal power, and ensuring that South Africa's new national electricity plan (the IRP 2010) is truly progressive. Warning signs are accelerating:<a href="http://www.solidarity.net.au/highlights/queensland-floods-why-will-nobody-talk-about-climate-change/" target="_blank">unprecedented floods in Queensland</a>, Australia as this is written; also last year, 16% of hard corals around the world were destroyed by ocean acidification, caused by the increased amounts of carbon dioxide absorbed by sea water.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">SAFCEI working with South African civil society, is planning two conferences of African faith leaders and a possible end-of-year summit of world faith leaders. Our aim is to mobilise faith leaders and communities across Africa to increase the pressure on our governments to act decisively.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">What do we do locally? Our latest Eco-Congregations News, hot off the press, is available <a href="http://www.safcei.org.za/content/newsletter/Eco-Congregation_Newsletter_January_2011.pdf" target="_blank">on the SAFCEI website</a> (pdf).</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">We should not fall into the trap of thinking that the picture is entirely bleak (articles from <a href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/asteiner10/English" target="_blank">UNEP's Achim Steiner</a> and <a href="http://www.350resources.org.uk/2010/12/13/cancun-analysis-dawn-breaks-on-low-carbon-world-by-fred-pearce/" target="_blank">New Scientist</a> give hope). Around the world, people are beginning to make extraordinary efforts to reverse climate change and other ecological catastrophes. On our own continent, Ethiopia is planning to be carbon neutral by 2025.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">But technology alone will not save us. We need to find the compassion and courage to take responsibility for the suffering that is already being visited on people far away from us, often poor and indigenous people, as a consequence of our all too often wasteful and excessive consumption.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">Urgent action is needed: please <a href="http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2010-12/disobedience" target="_blank">read 350.org's Bill McKibben</a>, who makes a call for civil disobedience on climate change, here:</p> <p style="padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">"Having been given this earth to keep and protect—dominion over a living planet—we're on the verge of wiping away much of creation. In the process we're already making life impossible for millions of our poorest brothers and sisters. This is ... a kind of blasphemy. Global warming shouldn't be a moral question, but because of our inaction it's become the greatest moral challenge of our time."</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102);"><b>Theological reflection</b></span></span></p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify"><i>From Daisaku Ikeda, leader of the international lay Buddhist organisation, Soka Gakkai International:</i></p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">If we pay careful attention to the particular characteristics present in even a tiny patch of land, observing and analyzing them within the processes of living there, we can develop the ability to grasp the characteristics of the entire country or even the world.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">[The 1930s Japanese lay Buddhist leader Tsunesaburo] Makiguchi introduces the following story about the early Edo-period politician Doi Toshikatsu (1573-1644) to illustrate how the extension and expansion of our awareness can lead from and be based on concrete examples. One day, Doi picked up a discarded scrap of Chinese silk and handed it to one of his samurai retainers. Many laughed at this seemingly insignificant gesture. Several years later, when Doi asked the samurai about the piece of silk, he produced it, having carefully stored it. Doi praised the samurai and increased his annual stipend by 300 koku (the standard unit of wealth in Japan at the time). Doi then explained his actions:</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">"This fabric was produced by Chinese farmers who plucked mulberry leaves to raise silkworms and spin thread. It came into the hands of Chinese traders, crossed over the great distance of sea to reach Japan, passed through the hands of the people of Nagasaki, was purchased by merchants in Kyoto or Osaka, and finally reached Edo [present-day Tokyo]. One cannot but be struck by the enormous human effort by which it reached us, and thus to discard it as a worthless scrap is a fearful thing inviting the rebuke of heaven.""</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">To empathetically connect, through a scrap of fabric, with the lives of farmers working in mulberry fields in distant China – this is precisely what I am referring to as inner universality.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">In other words, rather than making the great leap to the vast and complex phenomena of life, we should start from the concrete realities of the tiny patch of land where we are now. It is only by paying relentless attention to those realities that we can freely direct our thoughts and associations to the larger dimension. If we develop such fresh and vital imagination, a keen sensitivity to daily life and to life itself, we will be able to experience not only close friends but even the inhabitants of distant lands whom we have never met – and even the cultures and products of those lands – as neighbors.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">For a person who has developed these capacities, war, which ravages the land and lays waste to life, is something only to be abhorred.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify"><i>We will offer reflections from different faith traditions on environmental responsibility in all future newsletters. Your suggestions are welcome.</i></p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102);"><strong> Other news</strong></span></span></p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">Our latest Eco-congregations News, hot off the press, is available <a href="http://www.safcei.org.za/content/newsletter/Eco-Congregation_Newsletter_January_2011.pdf" target="_blank">on the SAFCEI website</a> (pdf).</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">• For Capetonians: We invite you to see the movie <a href="http://whileyouweresleeping.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/carbon-nation-a-climate-change-solutions-movie/" target="_blank">Carbon Nation</a>, a documentary about climate change solutions, that will be screened at the Labia on Orange cinema on Saturday 15 January (6:15 pm), on Sunday 16 January (6:15 pm), and on Monday 17 January (8:30 pm). “Even if you doubt the severity of the impact of climate change or just don’t buy it at all, this is a compelling and relevant film that illustrates how solutions to climate change also address other social, economic and security issues.”</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">We urge SAFCEI members and supporters to organise screenings of this film in other regions.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">• An <span class="il">Avaaz</span> petition that is currently doing the rounds – and which we are supporting – is against insecticides that appear to be (partly) responsible for the dwindling of bee populations globally. Please <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?cl=901455005&v=8137" target="_blank">consider joining</a> us and adding your voice!</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102);"><strong>SAFCEI people</strong></span></span></p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">A bit of news related to our Management Committee (Manco) is that the Orthodox Archbishop of Johannesburg and Pretoria, Metropolitan Seraphim Kykkotis – a member of our Manco – has been appointed as ecumenical representative of the Patriarchate of Alexandria on various bodies, including the World Council of Churches (WCC), All-Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the European Union (EU) and the United Nations. Because these duties will require him to travel a great deal, he has been transferred to the smaller Archdiocese of Zimbabwe. We congratulate Archbishop Seraphim on this appointment and are pleased that he is able nevertheless to continue serving on Manco.</p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 102);"><strong> </strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Membership renewals</strong></span></span></p> <p style="padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; text-align: justify;" align="justify">Our members may have noticed that we have not been sending out membership renewal reminders these past few months. We are changing our system so that memberships will be linked to the calendar year rather than to the anniversary of your joining. This is a much simpler and more manageable system. We will therefore be sending out membership/renewal notices to everyone soon for 2011.</p></span>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-90229106705560423732011-03-03T18:59:00.005+02:002011-03-03T19:04:40.380+02:00SA a major global polluter - Environment - IOL<a href="http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/environment/sa-a-major-global-polluter-1.1033347">SA a major global polluter - Environment - IOL</a>: "South Africa is the world’s 13th biggest emitter of greenhouse gases that are causing human-induced global climate change, Parliament’s portfolio committee on water and environmental affairs has heard.<br /><br />Dr Peter Johnston, of UCT’s Climate Analysis Group, told the committee this week that China had recently overtaken the US as the world leader in greenhouse gas emissions.<br /><br />But on a per capita basis, which was more meaningful at the level of political decision-making, South Africa was in 10th place – well ahead of China, which came in 16th, and behind Australia at No 1 and the US second."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-35148605700683830772010-12-17T07:37:00.001+02:002010-12-17T07:38:52.193+02:00Fox Climate Coverage Irony Alert! | Mother Jones<a href="http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/12/fox-climate-coverage-irony-alert">Fox Climate Coverage Irony Alert! | Mother Jones</a>: "The Fox News memo on how to 'report' on global warming (i.e., suggest the science behind it is fatally flawed) got a lot of attention on Wednesday. Not that anyone was particularly surprised—you can turn on Fox most days and see that policy in action.<br /><br />But while management at Fox is still banking on sowing doubt about climate change, the big-wigs at parent company News Corp. aren't. Earlier this year I reported at length about News Corp.'s effort to go carbon neutral. Rupert Murdoch has argued that dealing with global warming is not only the right thing to do, it's good for the corporation's bottom line. Yeah, all that stuff about how global warming is just Al Gore's pipe dream? The boss man doesn't think that."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-2636206544537845122010-11-04T06:22:00.001+02:002010-11-04T06:23:38.525+02:00Worldwide Groundwater Depletion Raises Sea Level - NYTimes.com<a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/rising-seas-and-the-groundwater-equation/">Worldwide Groundwater Depletion Raises Sea Level - NYTimes.com</a>: "Worldwide overpumping of groundwater, particularly in northern India, Iran, Mexico, northeastern China and the American West, more than doubled from 1960 to 2000 and is responsible for about 25 percent of the rise in sea level, according to estimates in a new study by a team of Dutch researchers published in Geophysical Review Letters.<br /><br />The general idea that groundwater used for irrigation is running off into ocean-bound rivers or evaporating into the clouds, only to end up raining into the ocean, has been around for two decades or so; it was a focus of a 2005 paper in The Journal of Hydrogeology. But Peter H. Gleick, a leading expert on water issues, said the new paper offers a fresh way of quantifying the phenomenon."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-31491936761795347872010-10-08T01:42:00.001+02:002010-10-08T01:43:11.486+02:00Meetings on climate changeOn Sunday, October 10 -- that's 10/10/10, a date to remember -- we will gather in <b>climate "work parties" around the globe</b> to demonstrate our determination and trumpet a call to our governments: "We're getting to work... what about you?"<br /><br /> <b>The more of us take part, the more unmistakable our message of determination</b> to defeat climate change. And these parties won't just be vitally important; they'll be fun, too. <b>Click below to find an event near you and RSVP</b> (or register an event of your own) -- it's time to roll up our sleeves and take action:<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_work_party/?cl=780250157&v=7326" target="_blank">http://www.avaaz.org/en/<wbr>global_work_party/?vl</a><br /><br />The timing is critical: in the weeks and months to come, governments will make important decisions about whether to keep striving for a global climate treaty. All year, they've been reeling from last December's Copenhagen summit, where leaders failed to reach a legally binding agreement -- or even commit to developing one. Today, if politicians think that the public outcry for climate action has ended, they will succumb to the whispers of the fossil fuel lobby -- and simply give up on reaching a real deal.<br /><br /> But even as governments dither, the climate crisis itself is accelerating. <b>2010 is the hottest year on record</b>. Climate-linked natural disasters, like the floods in Pakistan, have claimed thousands of lives. And scientists say the the picture is only getting worse. <b>Our movement must race ahead more quickly than the crisis itself -- and pull the politicians along with us</b>.<br /><br />By demonstrating our willingness to take action, the Global Work Party issues a challenge to our leaders. Local events include tree plantings in rural Tanzania, solar installation in China, and an international bike-ride from Jordan to Israel -- along with much simpler events organized by small groups of friends. Wherever we are and however we get involved, we're making a point: if we're driving solutions to climate change within our own communities, <b>our political leaders have no excuse</b> not to get to work nationally and globally.<br /><br /> The more of us join, the more powerful our message. <b>10/10/10 is just days away, and it's easy to get involved</b> -- click to sign up:<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_work_party/?cl=780250157&v=7326" target="_blank">http://www.avaaz.org/en/<wbr>global_work_party/?vl</a><br /><br />Although time is short to confront climate change, the climate movement itself -- from the perspective of history -- is young. Abolishing the trans-Atlantic slave trade and ending apartheid took decades. But climate change, because of its unique threat to everyone everywhere, has a special power to unite people across all lines and boundaries -- if we let ourselves believe that progress is possible.<br /><br />Last year saw an extraordinary wave of activity, with successive global days of action (21 September, 24 October, and 12/12) that drove heads of government from around the world to personally attend the Copenhagen summit. It was breathtaking, but it wasn't enough. This weekend, <b>let's renew our commitment to the fight of six billion lifetimes</b> -- and show that we're not going anywhere as long as we've got a planet to save.Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-67402486426050798212010-10-06T04:16:00.001+02:002010-10-06T04:19:59.078+02:00Blog action day: blog about water<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600"><tbody><tr></tr><tr> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); padding: 9px;"><table width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238);"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td><a href="http://email.change.org/wf/click?c=df9C1fUnYONotNeAKCpryKl0ai2ipQBQrZGUY2NSDTv9xwUEPDKHUaiG8zQ%2BUbya&rp=i7NZedqAsWf%2BmSio1Eb8XdW%2FFoIq9h0CN1cEjwxVg4nhfMy0cpgtpCFhdpDL0hVa&up=zQpINuWNeaG7P2wsf9Vlj78iric7GFRduFrf97hf%2B2k%3D&u=JwuzDw-cRM-03sb1_qQ66A%2Fh0" target="_blank"><img src="" alt="Blog Action Day 2010, powered by Change.org" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0pt 0pt 5px;" width="572" height="60" /></a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding: 5px 0pt 0pt 5px;"> <p style="margin: 6px 0pt 12px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hey Blog Action Day bloggers,</p> <p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 12px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> Since our announcement last week, more than 1600 bloggers from 100 countries have registered to participate in Blog Action Day 2010, focused on the issue of water. If you haven't signed up yet, you can <a href="http://email.change.org/wf/click?c=df9C1fUnYONotNeAKCpryKl0ai2ipQBQrZGUY2NSDTu2mybGIGDJGvQA5rXdXZJa&rp=i7NZedqAsWf%2BmSio1Eb8XdW%2FFoIq9h0CN1cEjwxVg4nhfMy0cpgtpCFhdpDL0hVa&up=zQpINuWNeaG7P2wsf9Vlj78iric7GFRduFrf97hf%2B2k%3D&u=JwuzDw-cRM-03sb1_qQ66A%2Fh1" target="_blank">register here</a>. </p> <p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 12px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> Many of you have asked us how you can get more involved. Here are three ways you can help make Blog Action Day 2010 a success, and be part of the effort to save the 3800 children who die each day from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation facilities: </p> <ol style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><li style="margin: 0pt 0pt 12px;"> <a href="http://email.change.org/wf/click?c=df9C1fUnYONotNeAKCpryKl0ai2ipQBQrZGUY2NSDTtQlHoa%2BtOs0VNYlRh%2FRJla&rp=i7NZedqAsWf%2BmSio1Eb8XdW%2FFoIq9h0CN1cEjwxVg4nhfMy0cpgtpCFhdpDL0hVa&up=zQpINuWNeaG7P2wsf9Vlj78iric7GFRduFrf97hf%2B2k%3D&u=JwuzDw-cRM-03sb1_qQ66A%2Fh2" target="_blank">Embed an action widget</a>: Together with US Fund for UNICEF, we're helping to build a movement of people across the world calling on UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon to accelerate the UN's work to supply clean, safe drinking water to the world's poorest populations. You can help this movement by grabbing our interactive action widget and embedding it on your blog, empowering your readers to join the cause. </li><li style="margin: 0pt 0pt 12px;"> <a href="http://email.change.org/wf/click?c=df9C1fUnYONotNeAKCpryKl0ai2ipQBQrZGUY2NSDTui%2Bw5HfRK21u42bfJ7tU7V&rp=i7NZedqAsWf%2BmSio1Eb8XdW%2FFoIq9h0CN1cEjwxVg4nhfMy0cpgtpCFhdpDL0hVa&up=zQpINuWNeaG7P2wsf9Vlj78iric7GFRduFrf97hf%2B2k%3D&u=JwuzDw-cRM-03sb1_qQ66A%2Fh3" target="_blank">Raise funds for water</a>: We've partnered with leading organizations to enable you to raise money to provide clean drinking water to those in need. Among these is charity: water, which allows you to create a fundraising page to raise money to build wells in Africa. You can also directly donate through Water.org, an organization co-founded by Matt Damon. Just $25 provides clean water for a lifetime for one person. </li><li style="margin: 0pt 0pt 12px;"> <a href="http://email.change.org/wf/click?c=1mmeex%2FjZn%2FwcNsRwSa6VT2YFdcA0n2c1ETf3YJVbJgiI1sBqRO1cDYjNgMv%2FyV3xmXAsa%2Bf0yfeIXjlLnv0Zn%2BAUqpGtg2q6IGG%2B2s1dmY%3D&rp=i7NZedqAsWf%2BmSio1Eb8XdW%2FFoIq9h0CN1cEjwxVg4nhfMy0cpgtpCFhdpDL0hVa&up=zQpINuWNeaG7P2wsf9Vlj78iric7GFRduFrf97hf%2B2k%3D&u=JwuzDw-cRM-03sb1_qQ66A%2Fh4" target="_blank">Spread the Word</a>: We need your help to spread the word about Blog Action Day 2010 across the web. Take a moment to tell your friends to sign up via email, Facebook and Twitter. The more voices we have involved in the conversation, the greater our collective impact. </li></ol> <p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 12px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> Blog Action Day 2010 is shaping up to be the biggest online day of action around water to date. But we need your help to make it even more successful. By registering your blog, embedding an action widget, fundraising for clean water and spreading the word, you're helping shed light on an often over-looked, yet incredibly important issue. </p> <p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 12px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> We'll keep you updated with any Blog Action Day developments as we get closer to the 15th, but in the meantime don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. </p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-36309845813331582972010-09-01T08:29:00.002+02:002010-09-01T08:33:44.791+02:00Notes from underground: Happy Spring Day! Happy New Year!For Orthodox Christians, today is the beginning of the new church year, and also a day of prayer for thwe creation and the environment. If you are interested, you can read more here: <a href="http://methodius.blogspot.com/2010/09/happy-spring-day-happy-new-year.html">Notes from underground: Happy Spring Day! Happy New Year!</a>:<BLOCKQUOTE>Today, we are told, is officially the start of Spring, and it is also New Year's Day -- welcome to the year 7519 (I think).</blockquote>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-80843418679113383542010-08-05T19:15:00.001+02:002010-08-05T19:26:14.641+02:00Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe: Air conditioning: Fossil fuels used for AC in the US is same as all power used in Africa<a href="http://adelaidegreenporridgecafe.blogspot.com/2010/08/air-conditioning-fossil-fuels-used-for.html">Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe: Air conditioning: Fossil fuels used for AC in the US is same as all power used in Africa</a>: "Air conditioning guzzles 15 per cent of total American energy consumption, higher than any other country, using the same amount of fossil fuel as the whole of Africa employs for all its energy needs. Global air-conditioning demands cannot be quantified, but this summer's high temperatures have prompted a surge in air con sales in China, for example. While British air conditioning is less of a societal 'must-have', according to the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), its use is set to swell here by 50 per cent over the next 20 years."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-30308872709984236012010-07-28T07:09:00.003+02:002010-07-28T07:13:08.817+02:00A tsunami of pesticidesThe Asian tsunami of 2004 is said to have killed over 200 000 people, but as many people are killed <em>every year</em> through pesticides, according to this article.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zcommunications.org/the-killing-fields-of-multi-national-corporations-by-vandana-shiva">ZCommunications | The Killing Fields Of Multi-National Corporations by Vandana Shiva | ZSpace</a>:<blockquote>The Bhopal gas tragedy was the worst industrial disaster in human history. Twenty-five thousand people died, 500,000 were injured, and the injustice done to the victims of Bhopal over the past 25 years will go down as the worst case of jurisprudence ever.<br /><br /><br /><br />The gas leak in Bhopal in December 1984 was from the Union Carbide pesticide plant which manufactured 'carabaryl' (trade name 'sevin') - a pesticide used mostly in cotton plants. It was, in fact, because of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the tragedy of extremist violence in Punjab that I woke up to the fact that agriculture had become a war zone. Pesticides are war chemicals that kill - every year 220,000 people are killed by pesticides worldwide.</blockquote>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-23348678872412814782010-07-26T19:59:00.002+02:002010-07-26T20:05:04.645+02:00SAFCEI AGM 10 August 2010NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: 10 August 2010<br /><br />Notice is hereby given of the fourth Annual General Meeting of the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute, which will be held at St Francis of Assisi Anglican Church, 44 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview, Johannesburg on Tuesday 10 August 2010. (For directions, if needed, ?: 011 646 2660.)<br /><br />The gathering will start with a finger supper at 17h30 for 18h00, with the meeting itself beginning at 19h00. RSVP for catering purposes by 6 August.<br /><br />Thank you.<br /><br />We also hereby give formal notice of our intention to change SAFCEI's financial year to coincide with the calendar year as from 1 January 2011.<br /><br />This will be discussed at the AGM.<br /><br />Bishop Geoff Davies<br />Executive Director<br />~~~~~~~~<br /><br />For catering purposes, please respond by Friday 6 August 2010 and include the following info:<br /><br />Name(s):<br />Faith community/organisation you represent:<br />Phone number:<br />Email:<br />Any dietary requirements.<br /><br />RSVP by 6 August 2010: email: <a href="mailto:secretary@safcei.org.za">secretary@safcei.org.za</a> /Tel: 021 701 8145 (am<br />only) / fax: 086 696 9666 / mail to SAFCEI, Box 106, Kalk Bay, 7990.Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-89456531714412047412010-07-05T05:14:00.001+02:002010-07-05T05:17:53.312+02:00Green Prophet Flies To: Mazen Abboud’s Environment Blog in Lebanon | Green Prophet<a href="http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/07/04/23653/mazen-abboud-blog-lebanon/">Green Prophet Flies To: Mazen Abboud’s Environment Blog in Lebanon | Green Prophet</a>:<BLOCKQUOTE>The growing awareness of environmental issues throughout the Middle East is manifested in the Internet, which includes an ever growing number of websites, forums and blogs focusing on the environment. Some of the blogs are written in Arabic, others are written in Arabic and include translation into English, and, yet, others are written only in English.<br /><br />In this weekly review “Green Prophet Flies To…”, we’ll look at a blog from a different country in the Middle East. We aim to give clues to the current environmental issues that each country is dealing with, as well as talk about the identity of the bloggers and the environmental agendas they pursue in their own countries and in the region at large. Here you will find valuable data, opinions and news on environmental topics and exploits which are not discussed anywhere else.<br /><br />This week we fly to Lebanon and look at Mazen Abboud’s Blog, active from April 2009. In his blog Mazen Abboud writes that he is “an environmentalist, a freelance journalist and a businessman.”</blockquote>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-71911024568883796342010-06-29T06:28:00.003+02:002010-06-29T06:32:35.448+02:00Will humans go extinct within 100 years?Homo sapiens is an endangered species, according to an Australian scientist.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37902504/ns/technology_and_science-science/">Will humans go extinct within 100 years? - Technology & science - Science - msnbc.com</a>:<blockquote>Is the clock of doom ticking for mankind? Yes, says an eminent 95-year-old scientist from Australia. Professor Frank Fenner — the same scientist who brought the myxomatosis virus to rabbits to control their numbers in the 1950's — is acutely aware of the impact of overpopulation and shortage of resources.<br /><br />In 1980, Fenner announced to the World Health Assembly that smallpox had been eradicated, an achievement that is widely regarded as the World Health Organization's finest hour.<br /><br />Now, in an interview with The Australian, the well-respected microbiologist expressed his pessimism for our future. 'We're going to become extinct,' he said. 'Whatever we do now is too late.'</blockquote>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-87922911959838127962010-06-23T05:58:00.001+02:002010-06-23T06:12:12.932+02:00Southern Baptists speak out on the Gulf oil spill | OrthoCubanHere's an Orthodox Christian view of the changing US Southern Baptist view of the environment, prompted by the oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.orthocuban.com/2010/06/southern-baptists-speak-out-on-the-gulf-oil-spill/">Southern Baptists speak out on the Gulf oil spill | OrthoCuban</a>:<blockquote>I find it startling that the first Scripture actually quoted is the Scripture that was chosen as the theme for this year in the Antiochian Orthodox Church, “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” And, it was chosen last year, long before the oil spill. To me, it is a small sign that God was aware of what was coming.<br /><br />But, more than that, catch a phrase that Southern Baptists have not been known to use before, “to promote future energy policies based on prudence, conservation, accountability, and safety.” This is a vigorous statement of an ecological viewpoint, one that had often been derided before as the purview of “liberals.” Notice also that the previous phrases call for an involvement by government that is a partial repudiation of the stance that many conservatives had taken previously, which was that the government should stay out of private business as much as possible.</blockquote>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-52968529514253612502010-06-16T10:23:00.000+02:002010-06-16T10:23:17.944+02:00Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it | Environment | The Observer<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell">Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it | Environment | The Observer</a>: "Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it<br /><br />The Deepwater Horizon disaster caused headlines around the world, yet the people who live in the Niger delta have had to live with environmental catastrophes for decades"Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-14229621510042696372010-06-14T06:00:00.002+02:002010-06-14T06:04:05.358+02:00Patriotic flags increase carbon dioxide emissions<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/5038310.stm">BBC NEWS | Flag drag will boost fuel costs</a>: "Patriotic drivers showing their support for England with window flags during the World Cup will pay more in fuel costs, an academic has claimed.<br /><br />An average car with two flags attached burns an extra litre of fuel per hour at an average of 70mph, said Manchester University's Dr Antonio Filippone.<br /><br />He also calculated that 500,000 drivers all doing the same will create 2.8m kg of carbon dioxide emissions.<br /><br />The extra fuel consumption is caused by the flags creating drag."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-39863908506583638542010-06-12T08:46:00.001+02:002010-06-12T08:49:43.617+02:00Toxic Corexit dispersant chemicals remained secret as feds colluded with Big Business<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/028974_Corexit_dispersants.html">Toxic Corexit dispersant chemicals remained secret as feds colluded with Big Business</a>: "After weeks of silence on the issue, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally decided to go public with the list of ingredients used to manufacture Corexit, the chemical dispersant used by BP in the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. There are two things about this announcement that deserve our attention: First, the ingredients that have been disclosed are extremely toxic, and second, why did the EPA protect the oil industry's 'trade secrets' for so long by refusing to disclose these ingredients until now?<br /><br />As reported in the New York Times, Brian Turnbaugh, a policy analyst at OMB Watch said, 'EPA had the authority to act all along; its decision to now disclose the ingredients demonstrates this. Yet it took a public outcry and weeks of complaints for the agency to act and place the public's interest ahead of corporate interests.'"Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-11975905971977814682010-05-25T22:03:00.002+02:002010-05-25T22:12:25.309+02:00Hubris<table style="border: 4px solid rgb(229, 229, 229); margin: 12px 0px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-family: arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; width: 100%; clear: left;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><!-- BEGIN_CLIP_CONTENT ID:609AA994-623D-4406-AD8A-1A9C0A813471:0 CLIPMARKS.COM --><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size: 10px;"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="clipmarks' clip-to-blog"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_icon/bc2b41f3-9242-4886-8638-1dcf781655cb/609AA994-623D-4406-AD8A-1A9C0A813471/" alt="" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0px 4px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; float: none;" border="0" height="19" width="19" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100521/sc_ynews/ynews_sc2191" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100521/sc_ynews/ynews_sc2191" style="font-size: 11px;">news.yahoo.com</a></div><blockquote style="border: medium none ; margin: 4px 0px 8px; padding: 0px 8px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-align: left; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" cite="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100521/sc_ynews/ynews_sc2191"><div class="byline"><br /> <abbr class="timedate" title="2010-05-21T14:20:28-0700">Fri May 21, 5:20 pm ET</abbr></div></blockquote><div style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(245, 245, 245); margin: 2px 4px; background: rgb(220, 220, 220) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; height: 2px; font-size: 2px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"></div><blockquote style="border: medium none ; margin: 4px 0px 8px; padding: 0px 8px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-align: left; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" cite="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100521/sc_ynews/ynews_sc2191"><p>According to <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/sc_ynews/storytext/ynews_sc2191/36251711/SIG=131hsl6n3/*http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/20/survivor-deepwater-horizon-gulf-oil-explosion"><span id="lw_1274477568_0" class="yshortcuts">two surviving</span></a> <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/sc_ynews/storytext/ynews_sc2191/36251711/SIG=120judeem/*http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126667241"><span id="lw_1274477568_1" class="yshortcuts">crew members</span></a> of the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7084895632111301486&postID=1197590597197781468#" class="kLink" target="undefined" id="KonaLink0"><span style="color:#366388;"><span class="kLink">Deepwater </span><span class="kLink">Horizon</span></span></a>, oil workers from the rig were held in seclusion on the open water for up to two days after the April 20 explosion, while attorneys attempted to convince them to sign legal documents stating that they were unharmed by the incident. The men claim that they were forbidden from having any contact with <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7084895632111301486&postID=1197590597197781468#" class="kLink" target="undefined" id="KonaLink1"><span style="color:#366388;"><span class="kLink">concerned </span><span class="kLink">loved </span><span class="kLink">ones</span></span></a> during that time, and were told they would not be able to go home until they signed the documents they were presented with.</p> <p><br /><span id="lw_1274477568_2" class="yshortcuts">Stephen Davis</span>, a seven-year veteran of drilling-rig work from <span id="lw_1274477568_3" class="yshortcuts">San Antonio</span>, <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/sc_ynews/storytext/ynews_sc2191/36251711/SIG=131hsl6n3/*http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/20/survivor-deepwater-horizon-gulf-oil-explosion"><span id="lw_1274477568_4" class="yshortcuts">told The Guardian's Suzanne Goldenberg today</span></a> that he was held on a boat for 36 to 40 hours after diving into the Gulf from the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7084895632111301486&postID=1197590597197781468#" class="kLink" target="undefined" id="KonaLink2"><span style="color:#366388;"><span class="kLink">burning </span><span class="kLink">rig</span></span></a> and swimming to safety. Once on a crew boat, Davis said, he and the others were denied access to satellite phones or radio to get in touch with their families, many of whom were frantic to find out whether or not they were OK.</p></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="padding: 0px; font-size: 11px; border-spacing: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> </td><td style="border-width: 0px; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; width: 107px;" align="right" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/609AA994-623D-4406-AD8A-1A9C0A813471/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" alt="blog it" style="border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" border="0" height="17" width="107" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div> Hat-tip to <a href="http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/2010/05/horizon-survivors-allegedly-kept-in.html">Wounded Bird: HORIZON SURVIVORS ALLEGEDLY KEPT IN SECLUSION AFTER EXPLOSION</a> for this link. And like Wounded Bird, I have few words, and let the story speak for itself.<br /><br />But I have one observation. Perhaps our grandchildren's generation may develop the technology to exploit that oil without wasting it or damaging the environment. It seems that BP were out of their depth, figuratively as well as literally. That is our grandchildren's oil that is being wasted by this generations hubris. </div>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-49801699737992969422010-05-17T17:57:00.001+02:002010-05-17T17:58:58.951+02:00Transocean cites 1851 law to limit spill liability - U.S. business- msnbc.com<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37128693/ns/business-us_business/">Transocean cites 1851 law to limit spill liability - U.S. business- msnbc.com</a>: "The company that owns the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig said Thursday it will petition a federal court in Houston to cap its overall liability from the incident at less than $27 million.<br /><br />If successful, Transocean Ltd. would be left with as much as $533 million in insurance money from the failed venture. That's almost enough to cover the revenue the company was expecting from a three-year contract with BP PLC. However, it has also estimated additional expenses from insurance deductibles, higher insurance premiums and legal fees at about $200 million.<br /><br />The move comes as lawsuits pile up against Transocean and BP, which leased the rig and is trying to shut off a well that's spewing 210,000 gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico each day. In addition, hearings by congressional and administration panels this week have raised questions about safety procedures and equipment employed at the drill site."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-7865986556943828262010-05-07T08:32:00.001+02:002010-05-07T08:33:44.848+02:00Mother of all gushers could kill Earth's oceans<a href="http://pesn.com/2010/05/02/9501643_Mother_of_all_gushers_could_kill_Earths_oceans/">Mother of all gushers could kill Earth's oceans</a>: "Imagine a pipe 5 feet wide (potentially) spewing crude oil like a fire hose from what could be the planets' largest, high-pressure oil and gas reserve. With the best technology available to man, the Deepwater Horizon rig popped a hole into that reserve and was overwhelmed. If this isn't contained, it could poison all the oceans of the world."Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084895632111301486.post-23658622066785801112010-05-06T10:03:00.001+02:002010-05-06T10:05:58.734+02:00Wild Coast: mining and toll road<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">TO ALL CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WILD COAST</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">The Wild Coast continues to be under threat from both the application to undertake sand dune mining and the N2 toll highway. The record of decision (ROD) for the N2 toll road was released on 19 April. It is stated that objections need to be made before 19<sup>th</sup> May. We are asking for an extension to this deadline but we are also told that DEAT is requiring a notice of intention to appeal. We attach this notice. We write now to ask that if you are registered as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) and wish to appeal, that you send in this form. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC) will shortly issue a brief outline regarding our concerns. We believe it best if comments come from a denomination or a congregation or a faith community, though an individual may also object. If you are not registered as an I&AP but wish to object, please do it through SAFCEI. We will include your appeal with ours. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">I do emphasize that we in both SAFCEI and SWC believe that the development of roads in the Eastern Cape is important. Our concern is about the route of this proposed toll road and the fact that it is to be a toll road which will place an extremely heavy burden not only on the people of the Eastern Cape but also on the residents of Durban. As long ago as 2003, we asked SANRAL to upgrade the existing roads. This would not have required an extensive EIA and the work could have been completed by now. Their refusal has been extremely costly in terms of failed development and human lives lost as a result of the poor condition of the present roads. I continue to recall that one of the best priests of the Anglican Diocese of Umzimvubu, the Revd Madoda Hlwatika, lost his life on 6<sup>th</sup> January in 2004 on one of the very road we have asked to be upgraded. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">The greenfields route between Lusikisiki and Port Edward is not of concern only because of the threat it poses to the Pondoland Centre of Endemism but it will also isolate the present economic centres of the region, notably Mt Frere, Flagstaff and Bizana and it will have an impact on Kokstad. Certainly the residents of Umtata and Lusikisiki will benefit but the EIA does not include the matter of tolling. This is to be a separate application. We believe this is dishonest as residents of that area have not been informed that toll fees could be in excess of R75 to get to Durban. It is also absurd not to include the toll fees at the outset as the road cannot be built unless it is a toll road. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">This highlights the fact that the road is for the benefit of through traffic. The road will isolate communities and provide them with extremely limited access. We believe strongly that the people of the Eastern Cape deserve the development of a road system which does not punish them with excessively high toll fees. It would seem that it is the engineering companies that are driving this proposal. This application has emanated from the Department of Transport but is an unsolicited bid. We were told by the Department of Transport that it was not integral to their development plan. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">I think it would be fair to say that the people of Pondoland are divided on their opinion about this road. But there is unanimity in their desire for improved roads in the region. Those who will be directly affected by the toll road are extremely concerned not least because of the lack of consultation.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">We hope to send you further information shortly. <wbr> <wbr> <wbr> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">With good wishes</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA">Bishop Geoff Davies.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;color:#00b050;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="EN-ZA"></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 176, 80);" lang="EN-ZA">Kate Davies</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;color:#00b050;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 176, 80);" lang="EN-ZA">Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute (SAFCEI)</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;color:#00b050;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 176, 80);" lang="EN-ZA"><a href="mailto:kated@safcei.org.za" target="_blank">kated@safcei.org.za</a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;color:#00b050;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 176, 80);" lang="EN-ZA">083-468-1798</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;color:#00b050;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 176, 80);" lang="EN-ZA">+27-(0)21-788-6591</span></span></p>Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.com2