Being Green

Being Green - 20 Dec 24_Tips for a sustainable Christmas

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook together with World Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa’s Senior manager, Circular Economy, Lorren de Kock, offer some tips to make your Christmas celebrations more environmentally friendly.

20 Dec 6 min

Being Green - 13 Dec 24_Glynis Crook speaks to writer, photographer, and open water swimmer Serai Dowling

Early morning swimming in the cold water of our tidal pools has become quite a craze here in Cape Town. And with so many of them along our coast, we are spoiled for choice. But these inter-tidal pools are also home to a diverse number of sea creatures. In this…

13 Dec 5 min

Being Green - 06 Dec 24_ Glynis Crook speaks to the Executive Director, Sarah Malm of GOGLA

It’s estimated that about 600 million people across Africa still lack access to electricity which is fundamental for economic development. GOGLA, the global association for the off-grid solar energy industry, believes off-grid solar energy could help provide electricity to over 40 per cent of them. In this week’s edition of…

6 Dec 5 min

Being Green - 29 Nov 24_Glynis Crook speaks to Olivia Rumble, director of Climate Legal and an expert on climate finance

Developing nations have blasted the last-minute finance deal reached at the United Nations COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan. They say the $300 billion in annual climate finance that rich countries have agreed to provide by 2035 is too little and too late. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis…

29 Nov 5 min

Being Green - 22 NOV 24_Birds feature prominently on IUCN’s Red List

There has been worrying news from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its latest Red List shows that birds make up a staggering 12 per cent of the world’s threatened species. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Birdlife South Africa’s Dr Kirsten Day about which…

22 Nov 6 min

Being Green - 15 NOV 24 COP29 urged to find $1 trilllion per year in climate financing

Delegates from almost 200 nations are attending this year’s United Nations climate conference which is widely being described as the "climate finance COP". The main task for countries is to broker a deal that ensures up to trillions of dollars in financing for climate projects in poorer states around the…

15 Nov 6 min

Being Green - 08 NOV 24 Climate activists concerned about Trump victory impact

Climate activists have described Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential elections as a major blow to global climate action. The results were announced just days ahead of the crucial COP29 conference which gets underway in Azerbaijan on 11 November. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook…

8 Nov 6 min

Being Green - 01 NOV 24 _Trump vs Harris: Where they stand on climate change

It is just a few days before the United States elections. With Democrat candidate Kamala Harris pretty much neck-and-neck with the Republican’s Donald Trump, the outcome could go either way. But what impact will it have on the global fight against climate change? Harris describes global warming an “existential threat”…

1 Nov 6 min

Being Green - 25 Oct 24 _ WWF report shows humans continue to push ecosystems to the brink of collapse

The World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF’s) latest Living Planet Index shows that the average size of monitored wildlife populations has declined by 73 per cent in the 50 years from 1970 to 2020. A decline in wildlife populations is like an early warning system for the loss of healthy…

25 Oct 6 min

Being Green - 18 Oct 24 _ Poaching threatening Cape’s rare succulent species

Cape Nature says the illegal trade in succulent plants is the most pervasive wildlife crime in the Western Cape, pushing many unique species to the brink of extinction. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Leon Muller, a conservation manager for Cape Nature in the West…

18 Oct 6 min

Being Green - 11 Oct 24 _ Endangered biodiversity on the Cape Flats

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to freelance botanist and fynbos specialist, Rupert Koopman, about the critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos and efforts to revive it.

11 Oct 5 min

Being Green - 04 Oct 24 _ Wine farm’s original pest controllers

Vergenoegd Löw is one of the oldest farms in the Cape and makes award-winning wines, but it is also a beacon of sustainable agriculture and eco-friendly practices. And it just happens to have a very cute flock of ducks running about the vineyards. They act as chief “pest control officers”,…

4 Oct 6 min

Being Green - 27 Sept 24 _ Conservationists outraged by planned Namibian cull

Conservationists are questioning Namibia’s plan to cull over 700 wild animals, including hippos, impalas, wildebeest, zebras, and 83 elephants. The environment ministry says the plan is to distribute the meat to people struggling to feed their families amid one of the country’s worst droughts in recent history. But critics suggest…

27 Sep 6 min

Being Green - 20 Sept 24 _ Climate change and seasonal allergies

Spring officially arrives this weekend and for many, this time of the year means a reaction to the increased pollen in the air. Some bad news from researchers and doctors is that climate change is not only worsening the symptoms of seasonal allergies, but also making them last longer. In…

20 Sep 6 min

Being Green - 13 Sept 24 _ EU climate agency warns 2024 could be hottest yet

While we spent the past few months shivering in our boots here in Cape Town, the northern hemisphere was experiencing its hottest summer since records began, increasing the likelihood that 2024 will be the Earth’s warmest year yet. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Prof…

13 Sep 6 min

Being Green - 06 Sept 24 _ Circular economy success story

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Tracey Gilmore, CEO of Taking Care of Business. This non-profit social enterprise runs three 2-year programmes training budding entrepreneurs to resell, repair, and remake retail waste items, most of which would otherwise have been sent to landfill. To find…

6 Sep 6 min

Being Green - 30 Aug 24 _ Arbor Week: Preserving Cape Town’s urban forests

Sunday will see the start of the annual National Arbor Week, a time to celebrate trees. Over the seven-day period, people are encouraged to take part in "greening" events to make our communities healthier and more beautiful. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Clare Burgess,…

30 Aug 6 min

Being Green - 23 Aug 24 _ Survival of the Cape’s own leopard

As the Cape Leopard Trust marks its 20th year of working to ensure the survival of this apex predator, Glynis Crook speaks to its CEO, Helen Turnbull, about these highly elusive and resilient animals that survive in the fynbos biome of the Cape Fold Mountains. Find out more at: www.capeleopard.org.za.

23 Aug 6 min

Being Green - 16 Aug 24 _ Countries mark World Elephant Day

Countries around the world marked World Elephant Day on Monday, which aims to bring attention to the plight of the animals in Africa and Asia. On both continents, they are facing increasing threats, including an escalation in poaching, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict. The Worldwide Fund for Nature says there…

16 Aug 6 min

Being Green - 09 Aug 24 _Marion Island: Escalation of house mice attacks on seabirds

South Africa’s Marion Island is being overrun by more than a million house mice. And as the growing population runs out of their normal food, they’re increasingly turning to the island’s seabirds as an alternative source of nourishment. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Dr…

9 Aug 6 min