Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 6 May 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Western Cape dam levels have dropped below 60-percent, with the six major dams now at a combined 59.7-percent. This is down from 60.7-percent last week and from 62.1-percent this time last year. The province’s largest dam, Theewaterskloof, is at 60-percent, while Voëlvlei sits at 58.5-percent. This decline comes despite recent cold weather and snowfall. Releasing the latest figures, the City of Cape Town reminded residents of the 2017–2018 ‘Day Zero’ crisis and urged them to keep saving water.

# University of Johannesburg professor, Philiswa Nomngongo, is using nanotechnology to detect and remove water pollutants in South Africa. Nanotech offers tools like sensors and membranes to detect and remove toxins. The Department of Water and Sanitation’s 2023 Blue Drop Audit Report found that 46-percent of the country’s water was polluted. Nomngongo’s research is using nanotechnology to identify the problems in different sources, like wastewater or river water. While costs and scalability remain challenges, the technology offers hope for rural access to clean water.

# And finally: The Global Solar Council is calling for urgent action to fast-track permitting, scale investment in smarter grids and storage, and lower the cost of finance. Since 2015, solar has not only helped avoid over 2.4-billion tonnes of carbon emissions but has also saved more than 200-billion litres of water compared with fossil fuel-based generation. The council says solar will become the single largest source of electricity generation globally, but only if countries act now to overcome systemic barriers.

Stay tuned for more news………….