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?
Saliem Fakir -
We live in interesting times that promise both peril and opportunity. Things have changed so fast within the span of just a year that it's putting a strain on our ability to adapt.
It took five years from 2002-2007 for the oil price to go up by $60/barrel; but in the last 12 months, the price of oil surged by an additional $70/barrel.
The surge in oil prices is making life for everybody uncomfortable, as its ripple effects are being felt throughout the global and South African economies. It...
Michelle Pressend -
The three day G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan ended with disappointing outcomes on climate change commitments from the most powerful countries in the world.
The G8’s communiqué on environment and climate change released on 8 July 2008 reconfirmed the significance of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and recognised the need for a 50 percent reduction in global emissions by 2050. However this commitment is a far cry from the developing countries consensus in...
Scott Thill -
Whether or not we have fully arrived at peak oil can be left to the nitpickers and bean counters to decide. What we know for sure is that the cost of black gold has exponentially risen in just a few short years, and the global economy it is built upon is currently straddling a razor waiting for the inevitable slice. That final cut may come from Nigeria, where all the major oil companies have done business, dirty and otherwise, for the last five decades, degrading the environment and...
Michelle Pressend -
The rising price of electricity has dominated the media and many public debates in the last month. Indeed, concern about Eskom’s proposed 53 percent tariff increase was at the centre of discussions at the Energy Summit, which took place on 16 May 2008, in Sandton.
The 'price issue' is a critical debate because it has huge implications for people's affordability and access to electricity, particularly the 'energy poor' in this country - 30 percent of South Africans do not have...
Leonardo DiCaprio argues that human addiction to oil has brought us to the brink of destruction. Our burning of oil and other fossil fuels has dumped over seven hundred billion tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere, causing global warming. At the same time, big corporations and politicians have not done enough to save us. They have gained too much money and power off our addiction to oil, making them resistant to change.
Japanese company, Genepax has invented a car that runs on water. The company says that any kind of water, including rain and sea water will do. Once water is poured into the car, an energy generator takes hydrogen from the water releasing electrons that power the car. It takes just a litre of water to keep the car's engine running for about an hour at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. Genepax has plans to mass produce the vehicle.
