An urban greening trend that is gaining momentum around the world for its environmental benefits is something called a Miyawaki pocket forest. The concept was developed in the 1970s by Japanese botanist, Dr Akira Miyawaki. Now Aghmad Gamieldien, founder of Mzanzi Organics, has created five of them in Cape Town. He joins Glynis Crook on this week’s …

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Casey Wichman, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and university fellow at Resources for the Future, about the influence of social media on the popularity of national parks. Wichman estimates in a recent study that more exposure of a national park on social media incr…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Prof Peter Ryan, emeritus professor at UCT’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, who co-authored a study which found that colourful plastics degrade to form microplastics faster than those with plain colours.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls sits in on the annual conference of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists to talk with Jill Caviglia-Harris, a professor at Salisbury University, about her work teaching and mentoring early-career scholars in the field of environmental economics. Caviglia-Harris discusses her approach t…

Electronic waste is the fastest-growing solid waste stream in the world. In 2022, a record 62 million tonnes were produced globally, up 82% from 2010. But less than one quarter of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Keith Anderson, CEO o…

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls sits in on the annual conference of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists to talk with Daniel Phaneuf, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, about Phaneuf’s work on estimating the value of outdoor spaces for recreation. Phaneuf discusses methods for estimating the value of…

In this week’s Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Pavs Pillay, behaviour change lead and WWF-SASSI manager, about the initiative’s new report, “The hidden costs of your seafood”, which focuses on the crucial role played by retailers and suppliers of seafood in ensuring responsible and sustainable fishing practices are implemented.…

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes sits in on the annual conference of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists to talk with Sandra Aguilar-Gomez, an assistant professor of economics at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, about Aguilar-Gomez’s work on heat-induced overcrowding in hospitals in Mexico. They discu…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook continues her discussion with Wild Survivors founder, Francesca Mahoney, about elephants in Tanzania, and how their fear of bees is being harnessed to protect farms and help communities along the animal’s migratory corridors. To find out more, go to: www.wildsurvivors.org…

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with economists Maximilian Auffhammer, Paul J. Ferraro, and John Whitehead. All three guests are recent recipients of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Fellows Award. The AERE Fellows Program recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of…

In this week’s Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Francesca Mahoney, founder of Wild Survivors, an organisation that works to create a sustainable solution to the conflict between elephants and humans along the animal’s migratory corridors in northern Tanzania. To find out more, go to: www.wildsurvivors.org…

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Lynne Lewis, currently a professor of economics at Bates College and an incoming professor of agricultural and resource economics at Colorado State University, about brown bears in Katmai National Park in Alaska. Lewis discusses the fan base for the brown bear population in Katmai, which is con…

A study published recently by the British Antarctic Survey raised concerns about the record low levels of sea ice around Antarctica. Scientists found that in 2023 – compared to an average winter – the maximum extent of the Antarctic Sea covered by ice, shrank by over two million square kilometres. It found that these historically low levels were a …

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Stefano De Clara, head of secretariat at the International Carbon Action Partnership, about the continued development of emissions trading systems around the world in 2024. Emissions trading systems (ETSs) are market-based policies that set a cap on total greenhouse gas emissions or on a ratio of…

Plastic waste is poorly managed along coastal zones in West Africa, and Tanzania is no exception. But as the public becomes more aware of the problem, there are an increasing number of initiatives to deal with the problem, and opportunities to recycle. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Alexis Cronin, co-founder of Dunia,…

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Kristin Hayes, senior director for research and policy engagement at Resources for the Future, about her experience at the wheel of an electric vehicle (EV). This episode continues a multipart series on EVs, which covers the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this fourth episod…

The powerful El Nino weather phenomenon, a big contributor to last year’s record-breaking global temperatures, has faded. Its opposite, La Nina, is expected to emerge in the next few months. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook asks Dr Christopher Jack, deputy director of UCT’s Climate System Analysis Group, what impact it is likely …

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Kimathi Boothe, the vice president of energy operations at Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, about infrastructure for charging electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States. This episode continues a multipart series on EVs, which covers the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this …

Wood vinegar, a by-product of charcoal production, has been used in agriculture for over two thousand years, both as a growth booster for plants and a natural pesticide. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Ralf Dedig, the owner of Namibian company, Makarra Wood Vinegar, about the benefits of the product.…

Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant on earth, and products made from this grass are highly eco-friendly. Among its many benefits to the environment is the fact that it absorbs twice as much carbon dioxide as trees and generates an impressive amount of oxygen. Glynis Crook caught up with Go Bamboo, a company that imports bamboo toilet paper, kitchen…

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Micah Ziegler, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, about the science, policy, and economics behind electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This episode continues a multipart series on EVs, which covers some of the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this sec…

Two bird conservation organisations, BirdLife South Africa and Sanccob, are taking the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment to court over what they see as a flawed plan to protect the endangered African Penguin. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook asks Sanccob’s head of conservation, Nicky Stander, what motivated the…

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Sebastian Blanco, editor-in-chief at SAE Media Group and a journalist on the automotive and vehicle-technology beat. This episode jump-starts a multipart series on electric vehicles (EVs), including the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this first episode of the series, Blanc…

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Travis Roach, an associate professor and director of the Central Policy Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma, about how the prevalence of air pollution may increase the incidence of fatal traffic accidents in the United States. Roach discusses the characteristics of airborne particulat…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Nileta Knoetzen, co-founder of Malmesbury-based company, Growing Paper, which not only hand-manufactures paper from paper waste, but also infuses it with seeds so you can “plant” it after use.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Fernando Vidal, a postdoctoral researcher at the Polymat research institute in Spain, about technological and policy options to create a more sustainable plastics economy. Vidal discusses the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the life cycle of plastics, changes to the chemical makeup and …

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to World Travel Market Africa sales manager, Penny Fraser, and marketing manager, Olivia Gradridge, about how seriously the tourism industry is taking the negative impact it makes on the environment.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Brad Harris, the director of government affairs at Resources for the Future, about the increasing demand for electricity in the United States. Harris discusses the main sources of this surge in electricity demand, also known as load growth; the challenges that load growth poses to goals for reduc…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Heather Wares of the Two Oceans Aquarium about the incredible work done by its foundation in the field of ocean research and conservation and the beach clean-up it is holding at Surfers’ Corner, Muizenburg, on Saturday morning. Time: 9h-12h. Bring along gloves and a bucket to collect the…

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Lisa Rennels, a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, about a class of synthetic industrial chemicals used in air-conditioners, refrigerators, and other technologies: hydrofluorocarbons. Rennels discusses the proliferation of these chemicals in recent decades, the cost of hydro…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Honest Chocolate co-owner, Anthony Gird, about their efforts to make their products sustainable and environmentally friendly and how climate change is impacting cocoa bean production. To find out more about their chocolate and workshops, visit their website: honestchocolate.co.za…

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Susan F. Tierney, a senior advisor at Analysis Group and chair of the board of directors at Resources for the Future, about the future of fossil fuels in the United States. Tierney discusses the challenges of meeting climate goals while maintaining energy security, the importance of making energy…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Greenpop’s Zoe Gauld-Angelucci about the organisation’s incredible urban greening and forest restoration projects and the Reforest Fest is it holding in the Overberg on the Easter weekend.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Simon Greenhill (PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley) and Hannah Druckenmiller (university fellow at Resources for the Future and assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology). Along with other coauthors, Greenhill and Druckenmiller recently published an artic…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Victor Sterling, co-owner of Delheim Wine Estate, about the importance of soil quality and the farm’s practice of planting cover crops between the vine rows.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with James Cox, a professor at Duke University, about a rule issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that mandates publicly traded firms to disclose certain greenhouse gas emissions associated with business operations. Cox discusses how the rule standardizes the disclosures of certa…

Reminder to not waste water as dam levels drop below two-thirds About a week ago, the Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation reminded residents of the need to be cautious about the amount of water they use. This as dam levels in the region collectively stood at 65.8 per cent. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to climate scienti…

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Lala Ma, an associate professor of economics at the University of Kentucky and a new university fellow at Resources for the Future, about the effect on housing prices in California of informing homebuyers about the risk of wildfire. Ma discusses how California classifies and discloses the risk …

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Shani Judes, director of the Wavescape Surf and Ocean Festival which takes place from 1-14 March. It features a host of events focusing on ocean conservation, including a beach clean-up, documentaries, and a charity auction of surfboards painted by South African artists. Find out more on…

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Rami talks with Jeffrey Rissman, a senior director at Energy Innovation and the author of “Zero-Carbon Industry,” a new book about decarbonizing the global industrial sector. Rissman discusses the sources of greenhouse gas emissions in major subsectors—iron and steel, chemicals, and cement—and some technologies a…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Christiaan Gildenhuys, a postgraduate student in Stellenbosch University’s Department of Botany and Zoology, who has co-written a paper about the 400-year-old history of oaks in the Cape, and why they are now becoming a problem.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Rami talks with Heather Randell, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, about dams and reservoirs that have been built on Native American reservations in the United States. Reservoirs are built by damming a river and flooding an area of land; in the United States, Native American reservations have…

A major United Nations report on the world’s migratory species, published earlier this week, has found that nearly half of them are in decline and are increasingly in danger of being wiped out. Of the over 1,189 species assessed, researchers found that more than one in five of the already threatened species now face extinction. In this week’s editi…

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Carlos Martín, a project director at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and a university fellow at Resources for the Future, about housing adaptation and resilience amid climate change, using as a primary example New Orleans housing infrastructure after Hurricane Katrina…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Dr Wentzel Coetzer, a conservationist and member of the Greater Kabeljous Partnership, that has launched a campaign to preserve two key sites in the area of Jeffrey’s Bay that are home to several endangered animal and plant species.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Ben Cahill, a senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about the Biden administration’s recent decision to pause approvals on the construction of new facilities that export liquefied natural gas. Cahill discusses the hi…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Nora Thiel, co-owner of Delheim Wine Estate, about conservation efforts at the farm. It is not only a WWF-South Africa Conservation Champion but was also recently named the 2024 Conservation Pioneer for the Cape Winelands region, in the Great Wine Capitals’ “Best of Wine Tourism” awards.…

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Fran Moore, an associate professor at the University of California, Davis, about what it’s like to serve as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Moore discusses the function of the CEA within the executive branch of the federal government, the range of economi…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Hugh Tyrrell, director of Green Edge and a specialist waste management and recycling consultant, about problems with waste collection in townships that seem to have come to a head this week with reports that the mayor tabled a motion to place the executive director of urban waste management on suspen…

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Spencer Banzhaf, a professor at North Carolina State University, about the history of the field of environmental economics. Banzhaf discusses the development of the economic definition of value, the early influence of agricultural economists in government, the origins of Resources for the Future…