The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question: How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question: How do we make democracy work for the poor?
SACSIS is concerned about the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on the lives of the poor. The poor carry a disproportionate burden as result of environmental injustice. SACSIS supports the ethical, balanced and responsible use of land and renewable resources.
Michelle Pressend -
One of the major threats stemming from climate change is increased water scarcity.
The South African government’s National Climate Change Response White Paper released in October this year argues, “Based on current projections, South Africa will exceed the limits of economically viable land-based water resources by 2050.” This projection is extremely worrying considering millions of South Africans do not have access to water and sanitation.
South Africa’s...
Glenn Ashton -
If we had to choose a country to host the COP17 international climate change negotiations and broker a consensus deal to manage the increasingly urgent matter of human induced climate change, we could not do much worse than choose South Africa.
It is not that South Africa won’t be a gracious host. This is a nation renowned for its hospitality and its open, welcoming nature, across all cultures in this multifaceted society.
South Africans are certainly excellent negotiators as well....
Saliem Fakir -
The much-vaunted National Development Plan (NDP) emanating from Minister in the Presidency, Trevor Manuel’s planning commission is an interesting and wide-ranging document that hopes to set the tone for government thinking over the next two decades. Not everybody will agree or is already agreeable to everything it contains.
How the NDP is received is dependent on whether the National Planning Commission is just viewed as a high-level policy think tank embedded in government or if it...
Saliem Fakir -
Environmental debates never escape the proverbial slip of the tongue about the planet having too many people.
This debate may have some relevance, but high carbon emissions and population size tend to be lumped together in simplistic ways, which do not clearly demonstrate the true relationship between population size and carbon emissions.
This past Monday, October 31, a new historical moment was reached: the world population became home to seven billion people. By 2025 it is expected the...
Chip Ward -
What if rising sea levels are yet another measure of inequality? What if the degradation of our planet’s life-support systems -- its atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere -- goes hand in hand with the accumulation of wealth, power, and control by that corrupt and greedy 1% we are hearing about from Zuccotti Park? What if the assault on America’s middle class and the assault on the environment are one and the same?
Money Rules: It’s not hard for me to understand how...
Saliem Fakir -
It could be argued that the climate change issue has become less about climate justice and more about new profits.
In South Africa, the concept of the green economy is abuzz with nervous energy. There have been numerous conferences on the subject in light of the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference (COP 17) to be held in Durban later this year.
But is “green growth” just about new markets and different types of goods that carry the green label? Is it just about greening an...
