It is beginning, and it will make its way into the human mind; our conscious and our conscience. It is changing the way we eat, act, live. It’s changing the market that (if you are new to Rhodes you will soon learn) is running our everyday lives. And if, finally out of school and fresh on the scene, you thought you were the decision maker in your life, take it from me (so as to ease the shock when you hear it from a certain history lecturer later): you are not. But you can be. Yes, it is upon us in a greater way than it has ever been before. Welcome...to the Green Revolution.
We are privileged to live in this time; the near maxing out of our dear planet Earth. If it’s not dolphin and whale slaughter off the Asian coastline or the last reserves of global oil, then it’s the low water levels and failed crop, perhaps even the Grahamstown weather pattern. Actually, no, let’s leave Gtown out of this. But the privilege I preach before you all is that of opportunity. We are fortunate enough to be the youth of this infected world; the upcoming revolutionaries at the forefront of the green movement - and what a project to undertake.
So welcome to Rhodes 2010, where your ‘identity’, ‘culture’ and/or belief in global warming (if in anything at all) may well be scrutinised, where dreadlocked and barefooted individuals might try to sell you vegetables; or where proud activists will tape your mouth shut and tie you to a tree. A place where the rain could just as easily be right around the corner, filling the dams and rivers, and watering those veggies with the hope of a sustainable future in the making. Welcome to a team of young and passionate, liberal purple people who, together, can see things change for the good.
Now put your conscience to rest and jump the hell on board the environmental train, the green revolution (and I don’t just mean backing the Boks!). Even if it’s just by reading this section today, or smelling the incoming rains tomorrow; otherwise find yourself left behind to rot along with what you thought was sustainable living. It’s up to us –let’s do the decision making now.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Water it down some
“There is an acute water shortage. Please use water sparingly”, are the words that have been pasted up around campus for quite some time now. If ‘Warning’, ‘Waarskuwing’, and ‘Isaziso’ have not caught your eye recently, then you have some catching up do to. Signs such as this one often go ignored by busy students who, when they get home, have forgotten about the long day and just need some chill time before their next encounter with the campus signage.
So, for those of you who are either rushing to avoid the long Kaif queue, or if you’re deleting those ‘studentnews’ emails that would have told you…let’s briefly look at why we should ‘please use water sparingly.’
Grahamstown draws its water from Settlers Dam and the surrounding catchment. When the volume of water stored in the system is less than 40% the total consumption of Makana Municipality for the last year, the Council has to impose water restrictions.
Some of these restrictions include the use of garden hoses and irrigation, and washing cars with water from the municipal system. Applications for watering sports fields and nurseries must be obtained under these circumstances; otherwise R200 rand fines are up for grabs.
But water conservation is not about money and these signs should be heeded. It is in our best interests to adopt wise water practices as matter of habit if we are to have sustainable supplies in the future.
And to those environmental keen-beans with veggie patches, or Oppies devoted to the age-old tradition of car washing - good on you, but please respect the tough times and turn off your taps.
So, for those of you who are either rushing to avoid the long Kaif queue, or if you’re deleting those ‘studentnews’ emails that would have told you…let’s briefly look at why we should ‘please use water sparingly.’
Grahamstown draws its water from Settlers Dam and the surrounding catchment. When the volume of water stored in the system is less than 40% the total consumption of Makana Municipality for the last year, the Council has to impose water restrictions.
Some of these restrictions include the use of garden hoses and irrigation, and washing cars with water from the municipal system. Applications for watering sports fields and nurseries must be obtained under these circumstances; otherwise R200 rand fines are up for grabs.
But water conservation is not about money and these signs should be heeded. It is in our best interests to adopt wise water practices as matter of habit if we are to have sustainable supplies in the future.
And to those environmental keen-beans with veggie patches, or Oppies devoted to the age-old tradition of car washing - good on you, but please respect the tough times and turn off your taps.
Let us Prey...
A white rhino has fallen victim to poachers just thirty minutes down the road at Kariega Game Reserve. This is the fourth case of the sort in the last year - the first in which the poachers managed to hack off the horn.
It seems there has been a major increase in poaching rhinos nationally with the slaughter of almost 50 in recent months. It is feared that poaching syndicates, who are getting high prices on the black market, may have turned their attention to the Eastern Cape.
This is the first poaching incident Kariega has ever experienced, according to Mark Rushmere, whose family owns the reserve. Shamwari Game Reserve lost a prize rhino to poacher activity in December last year, while Kwantu Game Reserve lost one in January. The latter was shot four times before running hundreds of metres and collapsing dead. Lalibela has also fallen victim to the surge.
In August a man was arrested in East London for trying to sell two rhino horns valued at R200 000. He was sentenced to R10 000 fine or four years jail. The incident at Kariega is a financial one too, as the average price of an animal is around R250 000.
Chief Executive of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Yolan Friedmann, said recently in a Guardian article that the average number of rhinos killed has gone from 10 to 100 a year. “There’s a lot more money going into poaching and it’s becoming more hi-tech. These guys are using helicopters and AK-47 rifles. South Africa is facing a crisis. We’ve done extremely well in rhino conservation, but something has changed in the past 18 months; there’s an insatiable appetite for rhino horn in the Far East.” So far this year 84 rhino have been killed in South Africa. In 2007 the number was 13.
The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica, recently met her provincial MEC's, calling for an integrated anti-poaching approach for dealing with this rising problem.
In South Africa the penalty for anyone caught poaching rhino is R100 000 fine or 10 years in prison, or both.
So why Rhino horn and where does it go?
The horn is made up of a mass of fibres attached to the skin of the rhino. These fibres consist of a protein called keratin, which also forms the basis of human hair and fingernails, as well as the hooves of horses.
Rhino horn is highly valued in certain parts of the world for medicinal and cultural reasons. In the Far East, from Malaysia and South Korea to India and China, people believe the powdered-down or shaved horn, dissolved in boiling water, can cure fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders. There is also the myth that it serves as an aphrodisiac. In Yemen young boys are given a ‘Jambiya’, a dagger with a handle made from the horn, when they turn 12, as a sign of manhood and devotion to the Muslim religion. This, in a country where the ownership and trading of rhino horn is legal. People are prepared to pay up to US$ 1200 for antique rhino horn for these daggers.
Some argue that the trade in rhino horn should be made legal. They maintain that this would encourage people to protect, or breed rhino and sell the horn. By increasing the supply of rhino horn, the price would most likely drop, and incentive for poaching would be removed. Also legal trade would be easier to control than black market trading.
What do you think – absolutely outrageous or good business venture? Comment at www.theoppidanpress.com
It seems there has been a major increase in poaching rhinos nationally with the slaughter of almost 50 in recent months. It is feared that poaching syndicates, who are getting high prices on the black market, may have turned their attention to the Eastern Cape.
This is the first poaching incident Kariega has ever experienced, according to Mark Rushmere, whose family owns the reserve. Shamwari Game Reserve lost a prize rhino to poacher activity in December last year, while Kwantu Game Reserve lost one in January. The latter was shot four times before running hundreds of metres and collapsing dead. Lalibela has also fallen victim to the surge.
In August a man was arrested in East London for trying to sell two rhino horns valued at R200 000. He was sentenced to R10 000 fine or four years jail. The incident at Kariega is a financial one too, as the average price of an animal is around R250 000.
Chief Executive of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Yolan Friedmann, said recently in a Guardian article that the average number of rhinos killed has gone from 10 to 100 a year. “There’s a lot more money going into poaching and it’s becoming more hi-tech. These guys are using helicopters and AK-47 rifles. South Africa is facing a crisis. We’ve done extremely well in rhino conservation, but something has changed in the past 18 months; there’s an insatiable appetite for rhino horn in the Far East.” So far this year 84 rhino have been killed in South Africa. In 2007 the number was 13.
The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica, recently met her provincial MEC's, calling for an integrated anti-poaching approach for dealing with this rising problem.
In South Africa the penalty for anyone caught poaching rhino is R100 000 fine or 10 years in prison, or both.
So why Rhino horn and where does it go?
The horn is made up of a mass of fibres attached to the skin of the rhino. These fibres consist of a protein called keratin, which also forms the basis of human hair and fingernails, as well as the hooves of horses.
Rhino horn is highly valued in certain parts of the world for medicinal and cultural reasons. In the Far East, from Malaysia and South Korea to India and China, people believe the powdered-down or shaved horn, dissolved in boiling water, can cure fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders. There is also the myth that it serves as an aphrodisiac. In Yemen young boys are given a ‘Jambiya’, a dagger with a handle made from the horn, when they turn 12, as a sign of manhood and devotion to the Muslim religion. This, in a country where the ownership and trading of rhino horn is legal. People are prepared to pay up to US$ 1200 for antique rhino horn for these daggers.
Some argue that the trade in rhino horn should be made legal. They maintain that this would encourage people to protect, or breed rhino and sell the horn. By increasing the supply of rhino horn, the price would most likely drop, and incentive for poaching would be removed. Also legal trade would be easier to control than black market trading.
What do you think – absolutely outrageous or good business venture? Comment at www.theoppidanpress.com
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