Eco Minute 13:30

NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 17 November 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Energy Council of South Africa has issued a warning, predicting a significant drop in the country’s natural gas supply within the next three to four years. The council’s CEO, James Mackay emphasised that the anticipated halt in production by Sasol from its Mozambique fields between 2026 and 2027 poses a serious risk, potentially triggering South Africa’s next economic crisis. With processing plants closing and a decline in gasoline and diesel production, Mackay suggests meeting the needs through imports.

# The South African Weather Service says the increased probability of severe weather events is most likely to be the result of climate change.  But according to Disaster Risk Reduction manager Tshepho Ngobeni, this week’s isolated incidents cannot be directly attributed to climate change. Ngobeni says its sad to see people counting their losses after a thunderstorm ran riot, unleashing a hailstorm in Gauteng and a tornado in the Lekwa Local Municipality in Mpumalanga:

Play sound: ENG NgobeniOnSevereWeather

# And finally: The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is concerned about increasing incidents of harassment of Cape fur seals along the coast. These incidents have included allowing dogs to approach or attack resting seals, throwing stones at them, and enticing seals to chase people for social media footage, including prodding them with sticks. The department’s spokesperson, Peter Mbelengwa, says this type of physical interaction with and feeding of seals is not only dangerous to both humans and seals involved, but is prohibited, and therefore a criminal offence.

Stay tuned for more news………….