“We’ve got so many brilliant environmental documentaries to share with Capetonians, we’ve had to extend the length of the Festival by a day. The Festival will now run from the 27th until the 31st of March, instead of the 30th as initially planned”.
- Dougie Dudgeon.
“We’ve really got something for everyone. Whether you’re interested in fracking or industrial hemp production, genetic engineering or climate change, the fate of the world’s bees or organic food – we’ve got a documentary film for you!”
- Andreas Wilson-Späth
“The Clean Air Congress is shown for what it is – an opportunity for South Africa’s Climate Clowns to sponsor a green-washing circus” said Muna Lakhani of Earthlife Africa Cape Town. “The irony is compounded by the fact that the Mayor of Cape Town and the MEC for the Western Cape (who are featured speakers at the Congress) support this process.”
“The health impacts of air pollution are not ‘perceptions’, they are a fact!” commented Des D’sa of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA). “Our children and other residents suffer from high rates of upper respiratory tract problems due to poor air quality in South Durban.”
"In Cape Town, a collection of green leaders have come together to create a massive event that will celebrate environmental successes while simultaneously demanding change from our leaders.The Cape Town Moving Planet event will feature a huge march/parade with floats, costumes, puppets and more, with thousands of people, young and old, marching to make change. The event will seek to raise awareness of climate-friendly alternatives to damaging practices like driving your car, cutting down trees, and many other harmful actions. As fun and exciting as it will be, the event will also be a petition, demanding change in the policies and programs put forth by our government that damage the environment.
Alongside the march we will also be hosting an exciting bike ride to promote cycling as an active mode of transportation.
The event should be very exciting and seeks to represent all members of the Cape Town community. We would love it if you got involved, as we want this to be the most powerful and exciting event to date. We are still in the early planning stages of this event, so more specific details like the time and location are to come, but we are excited and hope you are too!"
What is IWEX?It's super easy - you register and are immediately able to log in, add your waste materials that you have available, and can look right away at waste materials that other individuals, companies or organizations have available.
IWEX (Integrated Waste Exchange) is a free online system that enables waste generators and users to exchange waste materials. Operating on the principle that ‘one person’s garbage is another person’s gold,' IWEX facilitates the re-use of waste, thereby conserving energy, minimising resource use and reducing the pressure on Cape Town's landfill space. The service is freely available to anyone who generates or uses waste, including companies, individuals, institutions, schools, NGOs and community groups.
The energy story will not go away. This month we are giving the floor to Earthlife to hear their strong convictions against the continuation and development of Nuclear Power. This is topical for South Africa as we approach the finalisation of an Environmental Impact study relating to a proposed new nuclear facility near Cape St. Francis. (The direct cost of the Japanese Nuclear calamity is estimated at $100billion.)
The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster - 25 years after Chernobyl. What do we know about Fukushima and what does it mean for South Africa?
Gray Maguire has been involved in socio-environmental justice causes since 2003 when he was working in Tanzania. He subsequently did a degree in development studies while still working in much of the rest of Southern Africa and later did a six month hitch-hiking expedition through 14 countries investigating community based development strategies. He started an environmental management consultancy called Green Earth Consulting in 2008 as well as a Public Benefit Organisation called the Nomad African Trust. He’s presently in the middle of a post graduate degree in environmental management and while being a freelance sustainability consultant also serves as branch secretary for Earthlife Africa Cape Town.
EarthlifeAfrica is an environmental and social justice NGO that has been active on these kinds of issues since the 80's. We have been standing in opposition to governments nuclear ambitions for most of that time and were successful in our campaign to stop the Pebble-bed modular reactor.
The Nuclear Comeback, a documentary about nuclear power, will be shown at the Labia on Orange cinema in Cape Town on Thursday 21 April at 6:15pm.
Tickets are R20 and can be reserved by calling The Labia at (021) 424 5927. This is a once-off screening and we strongly recommended that you reserve tickets to avoid disappointment.
While You Were Sleeping:
Andreas Späth
084 772 1056
Andreas_Spath@yahoo.com
www.whileyouweresleeping.
