The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
SACSIS is concerned about the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on the lives of the poor. The poor carry a disproportionate burden as result of environmental injustice. SACSIS supports the ethical, balanced and responsible use of land and renewable resources.
Democracy Now -
Editor's Note: To view photographs of this historic meeting, please visit the website of the Maldives Presidency.
Maldives, the lowest-lying nation on earth, could be submerged by rising sea levels due to global warming. As a result, the country's President, Mohamed Nasheed and minister's from his government held an underwater cabinet meeting on Friday (17 October 2009) calling for concerted global action on climate change ahead of the Copenhagen conference. This special cabinet session...
Saliem Fakir -
Book Review
Book: Starved for Science - How Biotechnology Is Being Kept Out of Africa
Author: Robert Paarlberg
Publisher: Harvard University Press
First Published: 2008
ISBN-10: 0674029739
David Edgerton, in his book, The Shock of the Old: Technology and global history since 1900 (2008), made a poignant observation: that often when used-based histories of technology are written, it is inevitable that in the name of progress, the new is always more advanced than the old and that...
Glenn Ashton -
The South African government is quietly disclosing information about a seismic shift in our national climate change policy. The 15th September communiqué from the new Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs reinforces this, in stating that our medium term response to our energy crisis is a continued reliance on coal, with a long-term shift away from fossil fuels. Long term? Have we got the time?
Unchecked climate change holds an unthinkable threat not just to people but also to...
Saliem Fakir -
Eskom released its 2008/2009 financial results last week showing a record loss of R9.7bn – the highest in its history. About R7bn more was spent on coal than the previous year, raising questions about Eskom’s dependence on coal as a source of power.
Eskom is forced to chart stormy waters like a beleaguered ship. Its ‘New Build’ programme won’t come cheap. It already has a funding gap of R80bn for new coal-fired power stations. The only way to resolve this is to...
Saliem Fakir -
A low carbon future is slowly in the making. A lot rests on the way in which the global geopolitical situation resolves itself in the next decade. There are some signposts of where things are likely to go. All of this is happening, in the backdrop of negotiations for a global deal on climate change.
As the demand for energy grows so will the competition for the last remaining reserves of fossil fuels. One will see a distinct Asia-Pacific emphasis, accounting for 87% of growth in...
Michelle Pressend -
Genetically modified (GMO) crops have more unknowns than knowns. Yet the South African government whole-heartily embraces this technology in the production of food crops, particularly maize, a staple food in South Africa.
The South African pro-GMO lobby is very proud of the fact that South Africa is the eighth biggest GMO producer in the world among the 13 largest biotechnology-producing countries. They also make claims that this technology is accepted worldwide, however many African...
