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Go to sleep early to save power - S.A. minister
Deon de Lange, Anel Powell and Sapa; IOL
Go to sleep earlier so that you can grow and be cleverer. Boil less water, use the microwave rather than stove, take a shower and not a shallow bath," was Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica's advice to the country at a special joint parliamentary sitting to discuss the power crisis.

She said that perpetual blackouts could be avoided if South Africans used power more responsibly.

Opposition calls for heads to roll - including those of Sonjica, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (former minerals and energy minister), Eskom chairperson Valli Moosa and Eskom management - were rebuffed by ANC MPs, who expressed confidence in the government's ability to manage the crisis.

Sonjica and Erwin again appealed for a national effort to reduce power consumption by 10 percent to avert a total collapse.
(31 January 2008)

New 'Green' Energy from Dirty Sources
Nichola Groom, Reuters via Planet Ark
Wall Street has piled billions into solar panels, wind farms, and other alternatives to oil and gas, but many investors also see big opportunities in making better use of older, dirtier energy sources.

"Very few people will tell you that efficiency is a really green form of energy, but it's the greenest of all," said Kevin Landis, chief investment officer of San Jose, California-based Firsthand Funds, which owns several energy efficiency stocks.

Energy efficiency companies may be top "green" initial public offerings this year due to growing corporate interest in efficiency programs.

Boosting efficiency could be the easiest, quickest way to reduce emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses, starting with the task of installing new metering hardware and usage control systems in every home and building, proponents say.
(31 January 2008)

I've never liked the consumer herd, so self-denial was made for me - if I could just resist the plasma TV
Charlotte Raven, Guardian
Like many people, I continue to feel smug about not buying a plasma TV. While all around are "upgrading", I am sitting tight, telling myself it's better for the planet if I wait until my old one dies. It's also much better for my self-image. An individualist, I am repelled by mass consumer movements. The thought of so many people trading up simultaneously is as unnerving as the sight of their discarded boxes on the street. They don't care what happens to their old faithful. For me, the chunky square box looks fitting in our 70s sitting room. We didn't upgrade the decor when we moved in because I preferred the cracked paint and pine shelves to the less characterful alternative. A made-over room would be less redolent of my nonconformity and refusal to submit to a herd mentality.

The post-sales slump is a good time for the publication of Enough, by John Naish, with its anti-consumerist message, and £16.99 seems a small price to pay for advice that can override the "primitive brain wiring" that spurs us to dissatisfaction. Naish admits that the art of sufficiency is a tricky one to master but necessary - the only way of ensuring our survival. If we don't learn to be content with what we have, and continue seeking more, we will be dumped on the "cosmic ash-heap". I am pleased that he has no truck with the deluded eco consumerist, who thinks saving the planet is simply a matter of switching brands.
(31 January 2008)

'You buy our cheap goods. Don't blame us'
Jonathan Watts, The Guardian,
China is often branded the planet's worst polluter. Jonathan Watts asks some of Beijing's citizens how they are trying to do their bit for the environment - and how they view their 'dirty man' tag
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Song Yankun, 43, teacher

I do what I can for the environment. I take my own cutlery to my work canteen rather than using disposable chopsticks, which uses lots of wood. I recycle plastic bags by using them for rubbish and try to take my own bag when shopping. I'm glad the government brought in its new policy. [China has pledged to ban flimsy plastic bags from June.] When I go shopping, I don't really think about the environment. I am more concerned with food safety.

For me, though, the two biggest environmental worries are water and air pollution. When I was a child we lived in the hutong alleyways and heated our home with coal. I had no idea that it was dirty. But now, we have different standards and more knowledge about the health impact. When I was a child we drank water straight from the tap. Now my children have bottled water only. Exercise is different too. We used to run outside when I was young because people said it was good for our health. But now they say the air is bad so we should exercise indoors.

Personally, I don't think there is much we can do as individuals. We can't stop producing waste water and rubbish every day. We can reduce it, but we can't avoid it completely. I think the government must take the lead.

I recently bought my first car. It's a Mitsubishi Lancer, which has good fuel efficiency. I use it to take my daughter to school and so that we can all get out of the city at the weekend and go somewhere where the environment is a bit better. There is a Chinese expression: if you want to correct others, you should first correct yourself. That applies to the west's criticism of our country's environmental record. Global warming is not a problem for one person, or one country. It is a problem for humanity as a whole. All countries must make a contribution.

It's hard to know what I can do as an individual. If our government takes the initiative and sets new regulations, I will follow them. I guess most people are like that.
(31 January 2008)
Several other interviews with Chinese citizens at the original. -BA