The government must not cave to Eskom’s demand that it be exempt from air pollution rules. Furthermore, the power utility needs to stay true to the principles of its own just transition strategy
electricity
Posted inEnvironment
Domestic energy consumers are not given a seat at the table, we are the meal on which others feast
When Eskom is load-shedding, we still pay for the power it was unable to provide to us. Domestic electricity self-generation is the answer
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Posted inEnvironment
Lockdown regulations stoke energy poverty
And people who cannot afford electricity resort to burning biomass for warmth and cooking which has a detrimental effect on health
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, General, News/Politics, Tech
A world without electricity?
The prospect of living in a ‘world without electricity’ in South Africa has become a spectre that looms ever-larger by the day, as a mismanaged, looted-to-the-bone Eskom struggles to keep the ‘lights on’ — a misleading metaphor, insofar as it stands for the entire electricity-based economy of this country. In the era of fake news […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News/Politics
Alternatives to coal-fired electricity exist but there are no alternatives for water
By Penny-Jane Cooke The last quarter of 2015 saw five out of the nine provinces — KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West, including the breadbasket of the country, the Free State — declared as water disaster areas and by extension disaster areas for agriculture. Somehow, the linkages between how the intensive water use for coal-fired […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Hello Eskom my old friend
They tell me you’ll be visiting again soon bringing Load Shedding with you. They don’t know exactly when that will be, but knowing you guys, it’s safe to assume it will be at the most awkward moment possible. In preparation of your visit I went to the trouble jotting down notes to make your stay […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Let’s enjoy freedom from electricity
By Kyle Allan In light (apologies for the ironic use of the word in this context) of the current Eskom shortage, and due to the great impact this is having on our national trauma levels, I have humbly submitted the following succinct guide to surviving, making it through, and even thriving under the current load […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, News/Politics
The terminal nature of poverty
By Gillian Schutte As academics, journalists, social commentators and activists we have a sense that we know the poor. We are outraged by poverty and inequality and advocate for equity and a life of dignity for all. We look for ways to bring the voices of the poor into the public debate and ask questions […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Hurricane Sandy’s generating unexpected debate
“Should we buy a generator?” This question is being posed, of all surprising places, in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. The pattern of losing electricity for days at a time a few times a year is creating a surge in generator purchases. This was the case even before Hurricane Sandy knocked out […]
Posted inBusiness
Eskom’s water accountability
In the article “Eskom, Sasol sound warning over water supply”, published on March 18 2012, it is made clear that a big drought in the Vaal River catchment could jeopardise the region’s agricultural and industrial output. But because Eskom and Sasol are “strategic water users” their use of water would not be curtailed. The same […]
Posted inGeneral
Dragged into a pit by Eskom
by Roger Diamond With Eskom being a spade, the mining industry a shovel, and the government digging surprising harder than it does most tasks, the pit we call our home is getting deeper by the year. Well actually, we’re all to blame for being consumers, but somehow there is something wrong when organisations that have […]