Category: Fire (Social)

Thanks Urban Sprout for tagging me with a Bloggers for Positive Global Change award. The award meme was initiated by Climate of Our Future, and the rules are simple – basically, when tagged yourself, tag up to 5 other blogs that you believe fulfill the criteria of trying to change the world in a positive… Continue reading Bloggers for positive change

I came across a post entitled Activist’s Misrepresentation of Bt Toxins in Genetically Modified Crops on the pro-GM blog I follow to see what exciting angles the GM industry will come up with next. The article attempts to discredit Jeffrey M. Smith, the acclaimed author of a number of anti-GM books. The author rants about… Continue reading The joys of GM science

This is from Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, written for Earth Day this year. Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former. – Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) Earth Day is almost here. I don’t believe in Earth Day myself. I think it’s a little silly… Continue reading Earth Day Cometh and Earth Day Goeth – And Where have all the Bees Gone?

Thanks to the fantastic efforts of While You Were Sleeping, the Cape Town film collective, I’ve just come back from seeing the documentary The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil at the Labia. I’d entirely forgotten about it, and had gone for some escapism, even though I’d announced it on the Ethical Co-op… Continue reading Peak oil and the Cuban example

No, I’m talking literally, not about various diabolical figures. Thanks to a great new blog called greencars.za.net, I’ve been doing some digging around sulphur levels in diesel fuels. Sulphur’s a particularly nasty chemical, and is especially a problem with diesel fuel for vehicles. Europe of course has been leading the way in legislating its removal.… Continue reading It still smells of sulphur today

I’m looking at getting a new wooden gate installed. One of the suppliers I contacted had a large ad offering meranti gates. I know little about wood, just that meranti is quite sought after, but something rang a bell about meranti. I was interested in where meranti comes from, whether it’s a sustainably harvested, or… Continue reading Meranti wood – a little bit of ancient forest in your house?

Just got back from the Geek Dinner, which, conveniently for me, was a minutes away at the Wild Fig in Observatory. Once again it was highly enjoyable, with interesting new people to meet, and great, short, talks. I spoke, really briefly, on mind games and computers. My pick of the talks was an unscheduled one… Continue reading Cape Town May 2007 Geek dinner – and Ripple

David Bullard’s rant in the Sunday Times caused a storm of protest from bloggers. See, for example: Vincent Maher Nic Haralambous Uno De Waal Marius Bock Paul Jacobson Eric Edelsein Coda Justin Hartman (UPDATE – see the Amatomu and Afrigator results for more) Being a bit otherwise, I have a slightly different take. I’m not… Continue reading David Bullard causes a ‘blog site’ storm

There have been three high-profile elections settled in the last day or so. France now has a new president, Nicolas Sarkozy. The DA has a new leader, Helen Zille. And the UK saw local government as well as Scottish/Welsh assembly elections. I had the misfortune to come across the Sarkozy news on a site called… Continue reading Elections elections elections

For international news, nothing beats online. I’m informed of the story, often with greater in-depth analysis, well-before it makes the newspapers. National weekly newspapers sometimes add important value – the Mail and Guardian’s coverage on Zimbabwe is excellent, and far surpasses most international coverage. With the launch of the Times, a daily national, as well… Continue reading Newspapers, online, the Times, and the missing niche