When things go pear-shaped and certain critical sectors of our economy are likely to implode, the critical intervention of wise leadership is required. The role of government, even in countries like the US, which subscribe to laissez-faire policies, is to intervene when the market fails and when national interest is at risk. Thus in 2008 […]
Environment
Posted inEnvironment, Equality
South African women should fight for 100% renewable energy
By Yvette Abrahams South African women should be fighting for a 100% renewable energy future for our country. A completely renewable energy future will be good for everyone, but it could be particularly good for women. At the recent South African International Renewable Energy Conference in Cape Town, it was striking that one of the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Tech
There are indeed proven solutions to our water and electricity problems
Scientists and entrepreneurs have developed solutions to South Africa’s most pressing problems that have been aggravated by the drought conditions prevailing all over our country. Israel, for example, has for years had to deal with scarce water and its innovations are readily and cheaply available to South Africa. Of course, these solutions need to be […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, News/Politics
Forget ‘developing’ poor countries. It’s time to ‘de-develop’ rich countries
Heads of state recently gathered in New York to sign the UN’s new sustainable development goals (SDGs). The main objective is to eradicate poverty by 2030. Beyoncé, One Direction and Malala are on board. It’s set to be a monumental international celebration. Given all the fanfare, one might think the SDGs are about to offer […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, Lifestyle
Negotiating my identity as an introvert in an extroverted society
By Magnolia Bahle Ngcobo-Sithole When someone asks me “Who are you?” I often respond by giving my name and surname. If we keep the conversation going long enough I start talking about the work that I do. I may also mention some of my hobbies. The conversation stays superficial and safe. I never talk about […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, News/Politics
Our diverse cultural heritage defies the stereotype, let’s keep it that way
By Busani Ngcaweni It was January 2000. Heavy rains in the north-eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal were causing mayhem for rural communities and across the border in neighbouring Mozambique where search-and-rescue teams from the South African National Defence Force were in full force. Apart from the environmental and livelihoods impact of these heavy rains in this […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, General, Health, Lifestyle
Give your car a hug
So here we are, little more than a century later, and the car is as welcome in every home as the chamber pot was before inside toilets arrived. It wasn’t always so, though. When the first adventurers took to the roads in steam and electric and clockwork and petrol-engined cars in the 1890s only the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Cecil, the dentist and a mass extinction event
By Darius Guppy Hunting is a passion of mine – and there is no greater place to hunt than Africa – so I understand what motivated an American dentist to pursue a magnificent lion in search of a trophy. Contrary to hysterical and politically correct pronouncements on the part of those who know little of […]
Posted inEnvironment, General
The consequences of a total ban of trophy hunting
By Professor Peet van der Merwe This is a response to the call on a total ban on trophy hunting as a result of the hunt of Cecil the lion. When people and organisations make such a call to ban hunting, it is important to understand the consequences thereof to countries that market themselves as […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, General
The humanities and the advent of the ‘posthuman’
One of the most promising and exciting developments in recent thought has been the emergence of the “posthuman” as a distinct field within, and simultaneously transcending, the humanities. It comes from within this disciplinary field insofar as thinkers working in humanities disciplines such as philosophy and literary departments have contributed to what can perhaps be […]
Posted inEnvironment, General
What the trees and their friends try to tell us…
The sound of leaves in a wind is my earliest memory. When I was strolled in a pram, the branches above, bursting with leaves, were my first gift: consciousness. I emerged from this moment, long before recognising my mother or sister’s touch or my father’s voice. The moment was electric, a drawn-out hiss as gunpowder […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, Gender violence, Health, News/Politics, Tech
‘It’s time to talk about what’s next’
By Monica Davies If you’ve followed the fight against climate change, in the last year especially, you’ll have noticed voices starting to be raised about things outside climate change — “without racial [or gender or food or economic] justice, there is no climate justice” is the most common one, and it’s entirely true. The problems […]