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  • Ecospecifier greens SA buildings   10 weeks 5 days ago
    Nice
    Truly, the first Internet-bases green building product-verification tool 'Ecospecifer' has the modern concept to design and deliver building, interiors and surrounding using environmentally preferable products. Like said by 'Mattkent' it increases the community involvement. I have this question going through the mind regrading the environmentally preferable product such as . Is it safe to laminate the floor or it will have some effect regrading the environment?
  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   10 weeks 6 days ago
    Still Waiting.............

    In 2008, we did a presentation for the City on LED Streetlights and Active Roadstuds. Our light units ARE Darksky approved. To date, we have yet to have another meeting with anybody in the City. We have sent emails and proposals to the relevant "green" departments, trying to get them to buy-in. All we have received is a "thank you for your email, and it will be forwarded to the Minister". Despite having a one-on-one meeting with the ex-mayor at a roadshow, we still sitting in the dark!

    Personally, many of these fatal accidents in the middle of the night, on those dark roads, could have been less severe with better illumination on those hot-spots.

    The ROI would have been completed by now.

    gary.carr@tiscali.co.za

     

  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   16 weeks 6 days ago
    LED technology in Cape Town

    In reply to darksky

    Well said!

    I was told by somebody from the CoCT "relevant department" that they are not looking at LED technology, despite an article published on the 2010-05-12 saying something to the contrary, because is to expensive!

     

     

     

  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   16 weeks 6 days ago
    Wrong decision?

    When the Kyoto Protocol was signed, LEd technology for street lighting was in its infancy.Today they have achieved a performance that far exceeds MV & HPS lamps & at a fraction of the electrical consumption.

    So... how come the CoCT is replacing the MV for HPS lamps?!

    Many studies have been conducted proving beyond any reasonable doubt, that  the "white light" produced by LEDs is far superior than the "yellow light" from the HPS's; it helps with night traffic & peatonal visibility, improves security & creates a much pleasant lighting environment.

    Very well, the cost of LED lamps still higher than the HPS's, but when calculation include not only energy savings between 50 & 75% & the much lower replacement costs & maintenance over the life expectancy of LEDs (about 50000 hours) the proposition still a very good solution.

    The shortsightedness of such a short term solutions addressing only one element of the equation (electricity consumption) is not worth it of its investment. Africa must stop doing things like this!

    "if you don't have money you must buy the best there is, because you can't afford to buy twice".

  • City to focus on positioning Cape Town as ‘green economy’ for COP17   22 weeks 1 day ago
    Cape Town "Green" Economy

    Surely the most positive "green" element of Cape Town is that virtually all its electricity comes from a nuclear plant that emits no CO2!

  • New Biodiversity Showcase Garden in Green Point Park   22 weeks 2 days ago
    Exercising in the park

    Contact me if you are unsure of how to get the best workout using what is available.

    kellenfitness@yahoo.com

     

  • Keeping E-Waste out of Cape Town's Landfills   22 weeks 3 days ago
    A great idea

    The public e-Waste Collection Drive is a great initative. It would be interesting to hear the experiences from yesterday's event. 

  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   23 weeks 2 days ago
    One of the things that you
    One of the things that you will to do after your home remodeling is complete is to remove all the junk and debris that is lying probably in the drive way or else where. Instead of hiring a truck to remove the junk a dumpster rental service is more efficient and cost effective option. Whether, your house is filled with unwanted furniture items or you want to use roll off dumpsters for the removal of any constructional debris.
  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   23 weeks 3 days ago
    Seems like a pretty good job
    Seems like a pretty good job by the lighting consultant.
  • Encounter Eco Terrorism   24 weeks 21 hours ago
    Nowadays, our society is
    Nowadays, our society is facing a lot of huge problems. These include eco terrorism, rising unemployment rate and terrorism and a lot more. These should be given actions before they worsen. I have heard of a news about terrorism. The war on terror hasn't been very popular, and the CIA's extraordinary rendition program hasn't helped matters. The Guardian reports that it has been great business for a handful of individual United States corporations. A handful of individual U.S. companies were apparently hired by the CIA to transport terror suspects to secret interrogation centers, where alleged torture techniques were used. Resource for this article: CIA extraordinary rendition aid linked to private US companies. It is better that the government will conduct a thorough investigation regarding this case.
  • The City of Cape Town’s Carbon Footprint - why the numbers matter   25 weeks 5 days ago
    I wonder why “Capetonians
    I wonder why “Capetonians emit more greenhouse gases than residents of London, New York or Tokyo”? It sounds like they have an awful carbon footprint. I would hope that the country would be encouraging green living for their population. Cape Town is such a beautiful place with lots of tourism. You would think that they wouldn't want to pollute it. Dylan "Changing my carbon footprint by becoming an air conditioning Indianapolis expert".
  • African Wind Energy Association buys the most green electricity to date   26 weeks 6 days ago
    Resourse
    vx
  • Composting Site   28 weeks 19 hours ago
    Composting is a natural way
    Composting is a natural way of producing rich nutrient content for soil..The waste material like garden waste, kitchen waste & more can be recycled & reused for better nutrient rich soil...thus saving the environment & making an eco friendly green surrounding. Eco Friendly Fabric
  • World Water Day   28 weeks 22 hours ago
    The best way to save water.
    This is one of the best way to save water, but to be harsh and the truth is that no is bother to save water, when i walk thorough the road i still see the taps open and one is bother to close the tap. That is the bad sigh but, some one has to that the step forward and i as a human being its my duty to close the tap. i request all the people who is reading the blog please help to save water. Orissa Information
  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   29 weeks 5 days ago
    i think the lighting
    i think the lighting consultant has done a terrific job. hats off.
  • Cape Town – a Responsible Tourism destination of note   30 weeks 22 hours ago
    Cape town is one of the
    Cape town is one of the famous tourist destination for vacation travel. Now a days the travel and tourism in cape town is growing day by day. Responsible Tourism Policy and Action Plan will really help them to make development in tourism sector and move it on top. Assam in India is also the best travel place in India. They are also making some good plans to get the travel and tourism on top of the hill.
  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   32 weeks 2 days ago
    energy efficient street lighting - ja right!
    Couple of points in this regard. Firstly Alderman Clive Justus, the Kyoto Protocol never ever talks about a 70W high pressure sodium reducing light pollution. The Kyoto protocol does talk about the 37 countries ("Annex I countries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Clim... ") commit themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons) produced by them, and all member countries give general commitments. Oh, and you can read the full Kyoto Protocol here: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html . Secondly, your "warm orange glow" is exactly the stuff people complain about in terms of light pollution. The "warm orange glow" is GLARE, which is a no-no for drivers, especially as they get older. For more information on light pollution and light trespass please go to the International Dark-Sky Association website here: http://www.darksky.org/ . And don't forget to mention that colour recognition goes for a ball of chalk under the nice "warm orange glow". And that the human eye switches to peripheral vision at night, and the colour spectrum of the nice "warm orange glow" is extremely poor when using peripheral vision. Thirdly, and most importantly, a 12% saving in electricity consumption does not in my book seem to be a viable ROI when you also consider the cost of all the new and fancy street light fittings (heads and poles) that was fitted in the same process. Seems to me someone got sold a nice dummy. Especially since LED (yes, there is that name again) street lighting technology is now of such a nature that the saving could have been in the order of 50 - 60%. Yes I know it costs more, but it also lasts a lot longer. And the ROI does work, trust me, I am in the industry. Have a nice "warm orange glow"ing day and evening!
  • Local students designs in Global Industrial Design Poster Competition   32 weeks 2 days ago
    Wow what a show this would
    Wow what a show this would be. When we think of the industrial era and what it has done for modern living, we must marvel at the achievements both good and bad! - http://www.cosaf.co.uk
  • African Wind Energy Association buys the most green electricity to date   32 weeks 4 days ago
    Cape Town and South Africa
    Cape Town and South Africa on the whole are doing some great work associated with sustaining living within the balance of earth and humans. This can only serve to boost morale and improve overall social fabric.
  • Cape Town: the best responsible tourist destination   33 weeks 4 days ago
    Tourism
    Cape Town is not only the most popular international tourist destination in South Africa, but also in complete Africa. It has lot of tourist destinations which attracts tourists. We visited Cape town last year. During coming vacation we are planning for the Tourism in Rajasthan .
  • More energy efficient street lights planned for Cape Town   34 weeks 15 min ago
    Capetown is on the move. This
    Capetown is on the move. This city is doing its up most to contribute to monitoring the effects of climate change by initiating this and many other projects that ensures that they are setting positive standards.
  • Still a chance for Table Mountain to be a New 7 Wonder   34 weeks 2 days ago
    Table Mountain is really a
    Table Mountain is really a magical and mystical, and a important Land mark of Capetown.It is a home to a rich fauna and flora, many species that survive only in some unique ecosystem can be found on mountain..It was sad that not counted in 7 wonders, but I think if there was 8 to find than Table Mountain we ranked as Eight Wonder.. Tourist Places in Rajasthan
  • Encounter Eco Terrorism   34 weeks 6 days ago
    Food for thought

    We went to see 'If a Tree falls' yesterday and it was food for thought. The apparent reaction is that what Earth Liberation Front was doing; setting fire on companies properties to stop them as part of protecting the environment is totally out of line. But, what do you do when you have talked and talked, but no one seems to listen? What motivated the persons in ELF? The documentary interview several involved persons in the Earth Liberation Front, and also the ones chasing them. The film especially portraits Daniel McGowan who was a very central actor in ELF. How hard should you pay for something you did in the past? 

    Personally I don't agree with the approach of ELF, but the documentary is definitely worth a view!

     

  • Encounter Eco Terrorism   34 weeks 6 days ago
    What is a terrorist?

    To be honest I had not done much research on the film beforehand. All I knew was that the story was based on eco-terrorism and the question if the Environmental Liberation Front are environmentalists or eco-terrorists. The movie tells a story that it is difficult not to be affected of, even if you are in to environmentalism or not. Not only the line between an actionist and a terrorist makes the issues of the film interesting, but also the way the American legal system treat and punish their convicted terrorists. Go see the movie Sunday 26th, at 5.45.

  • Ecospecifier greens SA buildings   35 weeks 1 day ago
    This is a fabulous resource
    This is a fabulous resource for buildings, designers, architects and also the home handy man. I am constantly impressed by the amount of devotion towards information and discussion forums in communities that not only improve our greener approach to modern living, but increase community involvement. It is all positive. Matt Hardwood Flooring Spring TX