Switching used to be something you did with a fellow player’s cards when he left the game for a visit to the bathroom. Nowadays this term has technological significance beyond anything the everyday consumer might consider relevant, yet the results thereof touch every life, every day.

The future is green — or that is the plan. All over the globe answers are being sought and many have been found already that will reduce carbon emissions, reduce the use of toxic substances and promote overall environmental safety while meeting the increasing needs of growing populations in the developing world.

Rural areas — in any country — have always presented a challenge to both the inhabitants and local government in terms of infrastructure and services. This makes economic viability of these areas difficult to achieve. But in South Africa no one is ­sitting still when it comes to ­finding alternatives to conventional ­infrastructural delivery — whether in the area of telephony, internet access or power ­generation.

Fresh fruit remains at the centre of most healthy diets. Apples, oranges, apricots, pears, in fact, anything that one can eat fresh has health benefits to the consumer. And fresh fruit exports represent more than 7% of South Africa’s export with its largest trading partner, the European Union. South African fruit is highly sought-after overseas.

Forestry is a topic that doesn’t often make headlines — except when runaway fires destroy thousands of trees, as happened recently across the country on a large scale, in what was described as the worst forest fires in South African history. More than 50 000ha of commercial plantations were destroyed (and another 18 000ha in Swaziland). The cost to timber companies ran into hundreds of millions of rands.

The word fibre immediately conjures up an image of something one should ingest in sufficient quantities to keep the digestive system healthy — and perhaps it brings to mind advertising messages with shrinking images showing the positive effects of getting it right. But fibre — or fibrous materials — are present in every step of a person’s day. From the pillow and bedding on the bed, to curtains and the carpet fibres underfoot.