Tuesday, 21 June 2011
CNN recently announced the world’s 15 most bike-friendly cities – and the Mother City was the only African city on the list.
Other cities mentioned in the same article were well-known cycling cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen, as well as Barcelona, San Francisco, Chicago, Berlin, Paris and Perth.
While the article noted that African cities weren’t exactly famous for bike friendliness, it stated that Cape Town was doing its best to change that and was committed to creating cycling lanes, dedicated bike parking and public commuter showers.
Evidence of this was the recent opening of the MyCiTi segregated bike ways along the newly-operational MyCiTi bus system along the R27 highway from Table View to the city centre.
In February this year, hundreds of cyclists joined the launch of the bike lanes by bringing their bicycles and cycling in to town. They were full of praise for the new cycle lanes, saying they were a joy to ride and that they would definitely use them again.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
With the focus on forests during this year’s World Environment Day, it seems like there could not have been a better time to announce the results of a recent survey on the conditions of rain forests by the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), which accounts for 90% of the global timber trade.
The BBC reported that the study found the world’s tropical forests were better managed now than five years ago, with areas under sustainable management having grown by 50%.
Friday, 17 June 2011
Conservationists are celebrating the return of an antelope species, which was believed to have gone extinct in the wild.
The Arabian Oryx, thought to be the inspiration behind the unicorn legend, was hunted into extinction in 1972.
But a successful captive breeding programme and reintroduction into the wild has seen the antelope again wander wild in its original home in the Arabian Peninsula. Its current population stands at about 1 000.
The Guardian reports that the species is no longer classified as “endangered” but is now listed as “vulnerable” – on the latest red list of threatened species.
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
How far would you go to pursue an environmentally-friendly, meat-free diet? All the way to buy a burger with patties made from faeces? Though this sounds like a joke – in rather bad taste – one Japanese scientist is extremely serious about his meat alternative made from human excrement.
Apparently it tastes a bit like beef….. Scientist Mitsyuki Ikeda admits that there is a psychological barrier to the concept, but he hopes it can be overcome and that people will see the benefits. As he explains in the video, his patties made from “sewage mud” are full of protein, contain little fat, and will eventually cost as much as normal meat.
Need more convincing? Watch the video…
(Source: YouTube)
Friday, 10 June 2011
There are probably easier ways to raise awareness about the marine environment – but not many will attract as much attention as the Polli-Boat – a boat built completely from recycled materials.
News24 reports that the trimaran consists of old advertising banners and plastic bottles and as its main flotation system uses plastic bricks, strengthened with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in use today.
[Source: News24]
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