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Pollution

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Isinuka healing springs. Image Supplied/Instagram

The microplastics hiding in SA’s sacred waters

A landmark baseline study has discovered microplastic contamination across several sacred freshwater systems in South Africa, including the revered Isinuka Springs near Port St…

The abandoned Imbabala coal mine near Ermelo’s Wesselton township. Numerous community members have been killed by cave-ins, either adults digging for coal or children playing in the mine. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Imbabala mine: abandoned coal site leaves deadly legacy for Ermelo communities

Residents near the abandoned Imbabala coal mine in Ermelo are suffering the deadly consequences of an unrehabilitated site, with drownings, injuries, and widespread…

Between 20% and 40% of the world’s land area is now degraded

Climate, pollution, biodiversity: UN report sounds global alarm

Transforming economies, energy systems and food production could prevent millions of deaths and halt biodiversity loss, the UN’s latest report finds

New social contract due: Mining’s harms are mainly to the environment – water, air, and soil, for example – but these have consequences for mining affected communities’ health and their land. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Mining’s revival must also deal with its legacy

Little has been invested in mining and exploration, and that includes in social compacts

Local government are elected to provide services, but many struggle to do this. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Why a review of the White Paper on Local Government matters

The key assumption that municipalities would raise enough revenue to fund most of their operational expenditure needs to be revisited

One example of the risks of shutting off a water system is causing more leaks. A rapid pressure drop can cause water hammer, a shockwave that can be damaging. Photo: WaterCAN

Consequences be damned

But we suffer even if we did not make the decision – like not having water or electricity for 48 hours

The World Bank’s Mission 300 should focus on renewables as the extraction and burning of gas is expensive would damage the environment and people’s health. Photo: IGUA-SA

Why gas is not the bridge fuel for Africa

The World Bank’s Mission 300 should focus on renewables as the extraction and burning of gas is expensive would damage the environment and people’s health

Committed: Volunteers scrape the invasive weeds and litter, which have been dragged in by members of the rowing and canoeing clubs, onto Wemmer Pan’s banks. Photos: Madison Bannon

Restoring Wemmer Pan’s glory

A diverse community of rowing enthusiasts and local residents who volunteer their time is working tirelessly to clean up the historic pan

A flotilla of hundreds of boats sailed effortlessly on the Vaal River at the weekend, without being hindered by invasive water lettuce and water hyacinth

Invasive weeds cleared from Vaal River through community-government collaboration

This was achieved through a partnership involving the Vaal community, Rand Water, Rhodes University’s Centre for Biological Control, the water and sanitation department and the…

In 2019, the WHO reported that air pollution was responsible for 25 800 premature deaths in South Africa, which has the fourth highest number of deaths linked to particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) in Africa.

SA’s first artificial intelligence air pollution monitoring system rolled out in Johannesburg

The AI_r system will augment existing national air quality monitoring systems

New Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina. (David Harrison/M&G)

State water projects ‘held to ransom’ by construction mafia

New Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina says she will work with municipalities that are in debt, diversify water supply to include desalination and introduce measures to…

File photo: A cemetery sits on melting permafrost tundra at the Yupik Eskimo village of Quinhagak on the Yukon Delta in Alaska. (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

UN report warns of synchronising of global crises

Viruses and microorganisms hidden in thawing permafrost, AI and digital transformation, armed conflict and violence are among key shifts and signals of change

Energy demand: Tanzania’s transition minerals include an estimated 70-million tonnes of graphite ore (above), commonly used in electrodes for batteries and fuel cells. Photo supplied

Clean energy minerals: Tanzania’s dark side to ‘a new dawn’

Tanzania is banking on its natural resources during the global transition to clean energy, but analysts warn there are dangers ahead

When there is mine waste near residential areas, communities in the vicinity are always negatively affected. Photo supplied

The hazardous legacy of Krugersdorp’s abandoned mines

Experts say the government must fund acid mine drainage clean-ups to protect the right of citizens to a healthy environment and clean water

The  polluted, littered Jukskei River in Johannesburg. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Alexandra Water Warriors are reviving Joburg’s Jukskei River

The project will remove alien invasive species and restore riverbanks in the catchment area