We start with South Africa where the blog Urbansprout highlights the suspension Dr. Anthony Turton . Dr Turton is a researcher who was set to deliver a presentation at the conference “Science Real and Relevant” in Pretoria. He was barred from delivering the presentation, and later suspended by The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The blogger includes the presumed reason for his suspension as communicated by the CSIR, but also looks at the content of Dr. Turton's paper[pdf on environment.co.za], noting…

Taking a brief look at Dr Turton's paper, he argues that a lack of investment in science, engineering and technology (SET) since the early 1990's, the termination of important research projects and the shift to a contract driven income model has had a “catastrophic effect” on our national scientific capacity to deal with the technical challenges our water quality is facing.

There is also the question of academic freedom of scientists to present their findings. Urbansprout quotes a science journalist reacting to news of Dr. Turton's suspension.

Science journalist and former Journalism head of department of the University of Stellenbosch, Dr George Claassen asserted that the withdrawal of the presentation by the CSIR was an “absolute disgrace”. “This is a very serious encroachment on academic freedom and the right of scientists to announce their results, no matter how bad those results are for our view of things,” he commented. Claassen noted that academic and research freedom was protected under Section 16 of the constitution, which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.

Urbansprout provides the link for an online petition in support of Dr. Turton and concludes:

Turton's report highlighted that South Africa could be headed for a water supply and water quality crisis that could negatively impact on the economic growth and development of the country, as well as lead to social unrest. The findings conflicted starkly with recent government assurances that South Africa was not facing a water crisis similar to the one prevailing in the electricity-supply sector.

A previous post on Urbansprout gives more information about the water crisis in South Africa, which is characterized by sewage seeping from municipal treatment works to rivers. The water from the rivers feeds into the local tap water system.

A WaterMill is described on the BLDG blog as a device that “uses the electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.” Rory of The Carbon Smart blog links to the BLDG post, and considers ‘micro devices' like the WaterMill, and whether this could be a source of clean drinking water for urban areas. He writes:

Discussion about the WaterMill — a small-scale dehumidifier that collects and cleans water from the air — leads to conjecture not only about how much of our drinking water could come from the air, but also about whether the urban microclimate could be significantly altered by installing thousands of these low-energy devices. Could we do away with a significant number of energy-sapping air conditioners by making our environment more comfortable through a combination of better building design, appropriate clothing, vegetating the landscape and reducing the ambient humidity with thousands of WaterMills?

In East Africa, the Kenyan blog Kenvironews highlights a piece by Namhla Matshanda of the African Security Analysis Programme. The piece looks at the conflict over Migingo island in Lake Victoria, which is claimed by both Uganda and Kenya. The piece warns:

The so-called ‘scramble for fish’ in Lake Victoria is turning out to be a source of conflict between nations bordering the lake and could potentially threaten regional stability. In the past month alone there have been several incidents around the lake that have heightened tensions between Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. It is now apparent that the main source of these incidents is the lack of a clearly delimited and demarcated border between the three countries sharing Lake Victoria.

Since 2003, a number of Kenyan fishermen have been arrested and their boats and equipment confiscated by either Tanzanian or Ugandan authorities for “illegally crossing the common borders.” The latest incident happened when about 400 Kenyan fishermen were kicked out of Migingo island by Ugandan authorities. Migingo is claimed by both Uganda and Kenya. This incident has exacerbated the already strained relations between the two countries. The Kenyan fishermen have appealed to their political leaders to intervene, some even threatening violence.

Omar Basawad of Safari Notes says: Save The Mau Forest! He asks pointed questions about the future, and includes pertinent statistics given in reports from United Nations Environment Programme.

Will the Mau Forest be saved? Kenyan leaders and politicians, in a bid for votes, have always failed in reaching an agreement on the Forest; most have always put their political interests first, than the Forests. And that's what they continue to do now.

They do this, while an environmental disaster lies in waiting. ‘Effort should be made to save the forest because it is the source of lakes and rivers. Scientific reports say Lake Nakuru will be the first to dry,' recently said the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga. Most Kenyan leaders and politicians know the dangers of not protecting the Mau Forest; but fearing in losing votes, they have always failed to act to save the Forest.

He concludes his post by saying

Isn't it about time for real action? It could be already too late; but better late, than wait for the disaster that would be.

The KenyaImagine blog provides an update of the political back and forth between members of parliament regarding the Mau Forest.

This one is heating up again. Over the weekend, a section of Rift Valley MPs endorsed the burning of questionnaires sent in from the Prime Minister's office, a task force that has been set up, and which sent the questionnaires (which questionnaires MPs declared illegal for not bearing the government's coat of arms). Today, the Minister for Culture and Heritage William ole Ntimama was at it, against his Agriculture counterpart and namesake and in support of the Prime Minister. He asked the Eldoret North MP not to think the Kalenjin of greater significance than other Kenyan communities and insisted that there ought to be no compensation for the evictions from the Mau, which evictions he heartily supported.

On the Kenya Environmental and Political news blog, Phil posts an article by Jenny Curtain that looks at forest management (and reclamation as is needed in Mau forest) as an investment opportunity. He writes,

News on Kenya’s forests were recently dominated by the eviction of squatters from the Mau forest. This may change as the country moves towards sustainable forestry. Jenny Curtain analyses the investment potential created by changes in Kenya’s forestry management and developments in the international carbon credit markets.

Part of Jenny Curtain's analysis makes the point that the key to sustainable forestry would be creating linkages between the carbon credit market and forest management. She writes that this can be accomplished by the tendering system of the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), which can take advantage of the carbon trading schemes as provided by the Kyoto protocol

If through the protection of existing forests via the new tender initiatives KFS can corner even a small piece of the voluntary carbon market, the financial and environmental rewards could potentially be enormous. This money would sustain Kenya’s forests into the future. With sensible management, the flow on benefits would be untold for both the protection of the forests and the surrounding communities. Income generated could then be used to upgrade infrastructure, replant degraded areas, fund clean energy schemes within the forests e.g. hydro electric, solar power etc. that in turn would generate more credits. Funds could also be used to resettle illegal forest dwellers within areas such as Kakamega and the Maasai Mau forests and to provide them with sustainable employment on the reforestation and other initiatives.

In another post that is marginally related to the Mau Forest, Kenvironews posts about Balancing Environmental Protection and the Community’s Socio-Economic Needs. The writer Donald Anthony Mwiturubani sees a disconnect between environmental policy makers and local communities. He advocates involving local communities in the decision making process.

Traditionally, policy and legislation formulation have been carried out at the national level without necessarily involving or holding consultations with key stakeholders including the local communities. Policy makers perceive local communities as lacking expertise to make informed decisions. This top-down approach leaves some key stakeholders unrepresented in the development agendas.

He proposes a solution to this disconnect:

There is, therefore, a need to strike a balance between the socio-economic needs of the local people and environmental protective objectives. To achieve this, full and active participation of key environmental related stakeholders, including local people at different levels of decision-making is one of the essential steps. This could be achieved through community awareness and outreach programmes in relation to environmental policies, laws and environmental protection and management in general. Thus, environmental protection and management issues need to be translated into understandable concepts for an ordinary person who often views environmental resources as gifts from God and hence her or she has the “birthright” to use them. Some crimes the local people commit against the environment may be due to lack of awareness.

Picture by Vagawi on flickr

UrbanSprout points to a report in Mail Online article that indicates lower fertility in mice fed on GM (Genetically Modified) maize

Dr Jurgen Zentek, Professor for Veterinary Medicine at the University of Vienna and lead author of the study, said a GM diet effected the fertility of mice.
One of the studies was a reproductive assessment by continuous breeding (RACB) trial, in which the same parent generation gave birth to several litters of baby mice. The parents were fed either with a diet containing 33per cent of GM maize, a hybrid of Monsanto's MON 810 and another variety, and a normal feed mix.
The team found changes that were 'statistically significant' in the third and fourth litters produced by the mice given a GM diet. There were fewer offspring, while the young mice were smaller.

Prof Zentek said there was a direct link between the changes seen and the GM diet.

Regarding Monsanto (a major producer of GMO seed) UrbanSprout deadpans…

Perhaps this is the environmentally friendly benefit of using GM seed that Monsanto has been touting - they're unwittingly helping to reduce population growth!

On Relax with Dax, the blogger contemplates the topic of GM foods as a solution to world hunger. He is very careful to see all sides of the issue. He says:

We all suffer from confirmation bias to some degree, but being aware of it can help us to avoid it at least partly. I actively try to expose myself to both sides of the story, especially topics which I feel strongly about. I feel very strongly that GM foods are a danger to our future, but I try to expose myself to the other point of view. For this reason I attended a presentation at the UCT Graduate School of Business which was pro GM. It was an interesting presentation and those who attended were enthusiastic in their support (except me).

Dax gives more information about the presentation he attended, and directly challenges Prof Chassy's assertions.

Prof. Chassy himself made the point strongly that all people who are against GM foods are just uneducated rabble who have no idea what is going on and those who are pro GM foods are very intelligent scientists. Not only is this an appeal to authority, it is also completely and utterly untrue. There are more scientists than I can count who are anti GM foods. Remember, we are not talking about research into genetic modification, we are talking about allowing GM foods to be released into the environment and eaten.

Prof Chassy spent some consideral time explaining to us that we will in the future be unable to grow enough food to feed the world’s population, a fact I can agree with. However, his proposal that GM foods will allow us to grow enough food, I do not agree with. In fact this is what this post is about. I want to show that contrary to Prof. Chassy’s comment that no scientists are anti GM, it is actually scientists who are saying that GM is not a solution to the impending food crisis and that in fact, organic and sustainable farming methods are a better option.

He lists links to reports by other scientists, and concludes by saying:

If one takes the time to do some research, it becomes evident that there are many scientists which do not see GMOs as the solution to our food problems. Activists are just the people who have taken on the task of informing the public.

UrbanSprout posts an in-depth documentary review of the film ‘World According to Monsanto'

I have watched a lot of documentaries on GM foods and Monsanto and although they each have their own style and there is always some new information, they generally cover a lot of the same material. This recently released documentary is not like that. It takes a very different angle, looking at the history of Monsanto and the way it operates, rather than focusing specifically on GM foods.

The blogger asks some pertinent questions and posts a link for others to watch the film online.

So after seeing all this evidence of Monsanto's lying and test fiddling, one has to ask the question: When they say GM foods are thoroughly tested (which they are not), does that actually mean anything? Even relying on social concience would be dangerous. Surely they wouldn't let GMOs be released if they knew there were harmful effects? Well, if they can watch people dying from exposure to PCBs outside their factory, while they continue to manufacture and pollute, then they are capable of doing anything.

The very interesting thing is this, when it comes out that GM foods are responsible for environmental problems, and human health issues, guess who is going to pay to fix it? The taxpayers, that's who. Monsanto will just carry on making money while we pay to clean up their mess.

How does this make you feel?
Watch online here.

The blogger on Sukuma Kenya started the flickr pool in June, after he noticed that many UN vehicles in Nairobi were SUVs, and felt that the UNEP campaign did not communicate how it was reducing carbon emissions while it was asking individuals to ‘kick the CO2 habit'.

On the 27th of October, the Journalist-blogger Nick Wadhams noticed a yellow Humvee with United Nations vehicle plates. He posted a picture on his blog, noting a recent report about the United Nations procurement scandal.

Is it any surprise that Saturday's Nation newspaper contained this item: “The United Nations office in Nairobi may have lost Sh10 billion in procurement and administrative scandals over the past three years, an internal audit report has revealed.”

Sadly, this kind of thing was a common story when I covered the U.N. Maybe all that money is going to banana yellow Humvees.

Earlier this month, Nick posted an update after confirming that the yellow Humvee did belong to a UN employee.

PS: I was driving on James Gichuru Road the other day, climbing the hill as it approaches Wayaki Way, and what should I see hurtling in the opposite direction? You guessed it, the B.Y.H! I caught only the briefest of glimpses of the driver (was that you, Charles?), and considered turning around and following him. But there were two other passengers in our car, one of whom happened to be an eight-month-old baby who was angry about being 45 minutes late for a one-year birthday party. Next time, Charles! Next time!

PPS: In the spirit of full disclosure, I should note that we drive a 1989 Mitsubishi Pajero, which, to be honest, probably gets worse gas mileage than Charles' Humvee. At the moment, there is a problem with the injector pump and it spews a lot of black smoke. Working on it!

Commenting on the post, the blogger Baba Mzungu makes the point that NGO's often use 4×4s as they travel to remote areas, but he takes issue with the fact that the Humvee is driven by an ‘IT guy' in Nairobi( an urban area that is hardly the beaten path).

As a representitive of an NGO who travels off the beaten track (and let's face it, some of the beaten tracks aren't fantastic), I can see the arguement for using a 4×4. But an IT guy? In Nairobi? Driving the biggest bl00dy tank available?
Don't think so.

The Sukuma blog posts a humorous rhyme about the UNEP campaign and continued sightings of UN 4×4 vehicles. The rhyme was penned by Ed of African Works blog.

“Isn't it a bummer
when you buy yourself a hummer
and some prat puts you down on the net!
Global warming's just for fairies
the science about it undoubtedly varies
and most of its apologists are wet.
So even though I work for UNEP
I am rightly proud of my rep
as an aging but highly sexed eco czar
in a oversized gas guzzling toy of a car”

The sightings of SUVs appear to be continuing, as the blogger on NairobiKoll chimes in on the Sukuma blog with a link to a picture they took recently.

For a copy of the full report on the UN procurement scandal, the blogger Kenyan pundit made the PDF available for download on her blog.

Update Nov 23rd 2008: Nick Wadhams was able to categorically identify the owner of the yellow hummer, and had a chat with him. He posts a conclusion to the BYH saga on his blog.

Picture of Green Roof in the western cape South Africa, by Mark Turner on Flickr.

Rory of the Carbon Smart blog poststop ten reasons why we need green buildings

Buildings have a huge role to play in addressing environmental concerns. They contribute around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and the same proportion of waste; and since South Africa is in the top 20 list of worst offenders, the building industry in this country has a lot to be accountable for.

The Ethical co-op blog posts a video of John Francis - planetwalker.

John Francis walked and sailed around the Americas for 22 years, carrying a message of respect for the Earth. For 17 of those years, he did not speak. He earned an MA in environmental studies and a PhD in land resources during his monumental trek, and challenges us to go beyond our boundaries in this inspiring talk from TED.

The Urban Sprout blog highlights a new law being considered in the South African parliament. The law would allow consumers to sell energy to the public electricity utility company Eskom. Michael asks how would you like eskom to pay you for a change?

If a private members bill being put before parliament very soon is successful, it will provide for the establishment of a feed-in tariff in South Africa.
A feed-in tariff allows people who are producing electricity (of an approved standard) from renewable sources to feed it into the grid and be paid for it. The bill suggests a tariff fixed for 15 to 25 years which may be up to 4 or 5 times the standard tariff.
This policy was adopted in Germany in law in 2003 and if you were to go there you could see the change the policy has made. It is hard to find a roof without a solar panel on it. This is because all of a sudden the economics of purchasing a solar panel change dramatically in its favour because you can guarantee a pay back on the cost of the installation. This means that businesses and private people can easily make a financial case for the installation and can easily get a loan for it.

The urban sprout blog also has an entertaining post with some (blog) self-deprecating humour about literally sprouting seeds and pulses. It includes a details how-to and links to more information about, well…sprouts!