greening it up - climate change curriculum, anti-gm prince, sa enviro journalist of the year, worthy rockers and more

Submitted by turbosprout on Fri, 2008-10-10 10:42.

Nic - Feedback, Monica - Mindshift, Prince CharlesNic - Feedback, Monica - Mindshift, Prince Charles
Climate Change Curriculum Western Cape Minister of Environmental Affairs and Development, Pierre Uys, announced on Monday that a special curriculum tool for teachers to educate about climate change has been developed. The pilot programme was launched this week with a training session for a core group of teachers across the province and includes a teacher's resource book. Climate change and environmental issues will form part of the school curriculum from next year. [sustainable home 4 all]

Prince Charles attacks GM Giants The Prince, shaking off a barrage of scientific & political criticism earlier this year, has made his most anti-GM speech yet. He delivered a video speech - the Sir Albert Howard Memorial Lecture - to an Indian pressure group Navdanya, at the invitation of renowned food activist Vandana Shiva.

"The reason I keep sticking my 60-year-old head above an increasingly dangerous parapet is not because it is good for my health," he said " but precisely because I believe fundamentally that unless we work with nature, we will fail to restore the equilibrium we need in order to survive on this planet", the Prince said. He cut to the chase by highlighting the suicides of Indian small farmers many believe were due to a failure by Monsanto GM Cotton Bollguard. [the independent]

For other matters royal, see the Queens windpower record over at Treevolution.

Mindshift Editor is Environmental Journalist of the Year Monica Graaff, editor of ITWeb's Mind Shift magazine, has been named the SAB Environmental Journalist... of the Year in the print and internet category. The judges praised Monica for "penetrating the world of business" with Mind Shift. "Through her journal ...she has presented many challenging articles for the business world examining the politics, as well as the economics and technology, involved in meeting environmental challenges." Congrats Monica![itweb]

Solar power a good investment? Solar power is a long-term investment, which eventually pays off handsomely and, right now, it hardly competes with putting one’s money in the bank. But it does do better, even though just slightly. The author asserts that the falling cost of cells, greater efficiency of cells and higher electricity prices from commercial power utilities will all come together to produce ,in the not-too-distant future, a house which runs nearly totally on power from the sun. [engineering news]

PBMR Nuke contracts awarded The PBMR company has signed the phase II engineering, procurement and construction management contract with a Murray & Roberts joint-venture company to build the demonstration reactor project at Koeberg. This is despite the safety concerns raised by the German Julich report by the company who invented PBMR technology and a potential Nucleargate pending. [engineering news]

Worthy rockers Finally, a South African Rock band that boldly exposes its caring heart. For every CD sold by Feedback, two extremely worthy causes get a donation. The Animal Anti Cruelty League and Save the Dolphins are listed as the two causes that Feedback is giving back to at the end of its fiscal year. If you’re a rock fan (Nickleback anyone?) would like to support a worthy cause and a worthy band, order a copy of their CD now!


Submitted by Candice (not verified) on Fri, 2008-10-10 12:14.

i'd just like to congratulate Monica for winning that award. she tutored me in a journalism course i did as part of a recent Climate Change Conference. i really love MindShift and i am really pleased for her that she has been recognised for her excellent work!