I have always tried to keep this column free from personal gripes and bickering. However, the last post I wrote (Meaningless mutterings about the University of Stellenbosch) drew the attention of people at the university’s Gericke library who opened up access to resources for me. I sincerely hope that they will not get into trouble. […]
Lifestyle
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Meaningless Mutterings About the University of Stellenbosch
I have been spending my days at the University of Stellenbosch’s main library where I work on job applications — a full-time occupation — and do research. I get a free ride from Athlone to Stellenbosch and back every day and try to make the most of it. The campus is a pleasant and seemingly […]
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Flesh eaters
Nothing I could tell you about meat production will shock you. The factory farms and the routine, unrelenting torture of animals; the environmental cost of producing the amount of meat we eat; the amount of antibiotics and hormones relentlessly pumped into the animals because of how they are raised — and what those antibiotics mean […]
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‘Land grabs’ in agriculture: Who benefits?
The trend of international land grabbing — when governments and private firms invest in or purchase large tracts of land in other countries for the purpose of agricultural production and export — can have serious environmental and social consequences, according to researchers at the Worldwatch Institute. Deals that focus solely on financial profit can leave […]
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Don’t take breathing for granted
As I type this on my phone, I’m using a borrowed nebuliser, waiting for the Ventolin to take effect. The steam is fogging up my glasses, making it hard to see what I’m doing. Autocorrect is having a field day: when I make a typo, leaving out the l in “bronchodilator”, it offers “neon Jedi […]
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Five trees helping to end hunger
We know that trees can help mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere. But what is less widely understood is how many of these trees can also help to bring an end to hunger and poverty. Today, Nourishing the Planet takes a look at five varieties of tree that you have […]
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The horror of chav brands
I was mortified. Utterly mortified. I’d gone along to the excruciatingly charming wedding venue in Oxfordshire – not far from where Rebekah Brooks and David Cameron live – to see how my brother was doing with preparations for the reception the following day, and the moment he spots my shoes, he bursts out laughing. They […]
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Targeting gaps in the food supply chain
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet. Agricultural production is only the first step in moving the world’s food from farm to fork, according to Nourishing the Planet, a project of the Worldwatch Institute. The other links in the food chain – harvesting, packaging, storing, transporting, marketing, and selling – ensure that food actually […]
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Why I like movies about losers
I like movies about losers. Not depressing movies about social issues, you understand – not movies that make you want to slit your wrists because my God the world is a miserable place with precious little opportunity for redemption. No, I mean wry, funny movies about lovable losers whose failures point to the fundamental unfairness […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
A great American dies
To hear a South African you’d swear that we won liberation from apartheid oppression all by ourselves. It was us who suffered. We who conquered. And when it comes to today’s failures, then there are a host of ‘them’ and ‘they’ and ‘others’ we can blame. Triumph is a cloak we all wear; failure is […]
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Walmart and South Africa’s misplaced inadequacy
I think South Africa has a small touch of an inferiority complex. An amazing country, with so much potential, but you just don’t always know it. At least I’m assuming this to be the reason why business leaders, government and excited shoppers have rolled over and prepared for a “corrective” rape from one of the […]
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World population day: Agriculture offers huge opportunities for a planet of 7-billion
As the global population increases, so does the number of mouths to feed. The good news is that in addition to providing food, innovations in sustainable agriculture can provide a solution to many of the challenges that a growing population presents. Agriculture is emerging as a solution to mitigating climate change, reducing public health […]