The Storm and the Tech god
The Western Cape has been hit by the 100 year storm, except that this happens every ten years or so now. I live in a small village in the Overberg region and when the storm was raging like the fury…
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The Western Cape has been hit by the 100 year storm, except that this happens every ten years or so now. I live in a small village in the Overberg region and when the storm was raging like the fury…
Continue readingI had a bad month. Many jokes were tossed my way regarding questions as to whether I had been in a bad mood. The hurricane in Jamaica made them think of me. It’s my name. Melissa. Anyway I was wondering…
Continue readingI asked Claude – the AI bot to answer this questions: Is AI trying to take over humanity by replacing its function rather than aiding humanity’s healing? This was its answer: “That’s a profound question that touches on one of…
Continue readingDespite changing the venue at the last minute, around 300 people made it to the Shell public meeting at Kelvin Grove in Cape Town regarding their fracking prospectus for the greater Karoo. Shell’s representatives and an independent facilitator were on…
Continue readingBy: Melissa Baird I met the Japanese author and researcher; a natural “scientist” Dr Maseru Emoto in 2008, the same year I launched Life in Balance , South Africa’s first conscious-consumer, lifestyle publication. His research in to the power of…
Continue readingFormer senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Anthony Turton talks to Radio New Zealand about Cape Town’s current water crisis. Dr Turton, who was suspended from the CSIR in 2008 on the grounds that…
Continue readingWorld Water Day World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The international day of awareness began in 1993…
Continue readingComfort food means something different for each individual but what is commonly shared are the quality of the memories a meal cooked and served with love evokes. They are never to be forgotten and continually abundant. Mine is my…
Continue readingJanuary has flown past and what a month for weather, for work, for life and for love. No category proved to offer what was at first promised and overall the one word I can use to sum up the…
Continue readingI was visiting a good friend the other day and he was in an upset state about what he believed was the ‘loss of heart’ in worldly matters. What a big concept ‘worldly matters’ is but it got me thinking…
Continue readingIt was a typical Cape Town winter’s morning, dark with some rain and Dr Miaow – the intrepid cat who lives with me – had been on his early morning (pre-dawn) jaunt. I heard him call and knew the sound…
Continue readingRecycling By: Mel Walking along the seashore today I observed flocks of sea birds, some of whom I recognise and a few others I don’t. The wind was blowing and they were facing the direction of the wind, head on,…
Continue readingBy: Mel I’ve been out and about this week meeting interesting people from the world of “Sustainability”. Generally a very pro-active collection of thought leaders and scientists, engineers, consumer activists and the heads of brands who hold the keys to…
Continue readingWater By: Mel Who would have thought a simple domestic chore could turn into the cauldron of contention? I remember once asking a friend (we took turns washing up) whether they would mind rinsing them afterwards as I noticed that…
Continue readingPlastic pollution By: Mel I had lunch with the head of the Plastics Federation last week and listened to him discuss innovations in plastics that will revolutionise the health industry. For better and worse we live in a world where…
Continue readingClimate crisis By: Mel News from the upcoming Climate Change Talks due to be held in Cancun at the end of the year is that there is a lacklustre response from the 179 nations invited and key players- think China…
Continue readingBy: Mel I think all builders should be charged a noise pollution and botheration tax and the money be shared amongst the residents of the neighbourhood, who have had their peace and calm utterly shattered. I chose my flat because…
Continue readingBy: Mel I went to a press briefing about the soon to be released documentary feature film called The End of The Line. There were a number of sceptical journalists present at the breakfast but after the half hour of…
Continue readingBy: Mel News in the world of pet remedies is the creation of a product that helps induce a sense of wellbeing and calm in domestic cats. Stress and strain affect our animals, be it in the form of loud…
Continue readingBy: Mel A whole lot of chemicals and surfectants have been used and in almost as big a quantity as the ‘spill’ it was used to treat. Certain underground environmental activists were already highlighting the dangers of these chemicals when…
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