Ed's letter - South Africa

GLOBAL ISSUESGLOBAL ISSUESThe changingclimateStory and images By Annah TsekoOn 16th December 2010, theresidents of Orlando, Sowetoexperienced devastating floodswhich destroyed homes and belongings...Due to climate change, South Africa isfaced with unusual temperatures andweather conditions. Gauteng Provincehas experienced unusually high temperaturesand heavy rainfall.The increase in temperature is caused bygreenhouse gas emissions. In South Africa,our emissions are due – in part – to ourreliance on coal for electricity. Also, as thecountry becomes over-populated, thereis more demand for electricity and otherresources – resulting in more coal beingused to generate electricity. This contribution(among others) to the environmenthas caused global warming and extremeevents such as these Soweto floods.In Orlando – and also other parts ofSoweto such as Klipspruit – rivers’ anddams’ capacities became exceeded dueto the heavy and prolonged rainfall. Thewater rose and was soon running in thestreets, damaging houses and infrastructure.In some places the water was a metrehigh!and are now afraid to leave their childrenat home as their fear is that it will happenagain.“This festive season does not favour us,”said a resident who wished to remainanonymous, “We have a lot of work to doto restore our homes and belongings.”It is important to realise that these physicalphenomena will result in habitat loss,life loss and infrastructure destruction.Many South African children do not knowhow to swim and this will exacerbate thedanger.It was reported that a taxi sank in theOrlando Dam and another car had to bedragged out of the same dam by the municipality!“My car was parked in my yardand does not move anymore as the waterreached halfway up it!” said the anonymousresident.The residents are disappointed with thegovernment’s contribution to this area.There are insufficient stormwater drainsto handle the rainwater and many peoplehave built their informal homes on floodplains. These issues need to be addressedimmediately.Along with heavy rainfall, we are seeingincreased lightning. Research has shownthat over 200 people are killed by lightningeach year in South Africa!Tornadoes are another danger of this climatechange. A tornado is simply an extraordinarilystrong whirlwind; it has theappearance of a dark, funnel-shaped cloudhanging beneath a cumulonimbus cloud. Itdevelops during the day when the earth’ssurface is heated and is more commonduring the transition between dry andwet seasons.If a tornado moves over a closed building,the building can explode and the windowsand doors are thrown outwards asequalisation of the atmospheric pressureinside the building and outer air takesplace. Tornadoes are the most violentwindstorms. They occur on all the largecontinents where hot conditions prevail.The most famous tornado in South Africanhistory occurred in Roodepoort(Gauteng) on 26th November 1948 whenfour people were killed and over 70 wereseriously injured!The world needs to take climate changemore seriously. We have to stop removingtrees and other natural vegetation.We also need to start using renewableenergy resources. Solar thermal powerplants could cover everyone’s electricityneeds in a carbon-free manner. Ourgovernment should take on mitigationcommitments made at Copenhagen toreduce greenhouse gas emissions andplay their part in saving this planet!Why is it that in a country like ours –where we have more than 300 days ofsunshine per year – we are not usingmore solar power?We should make an effort to use morerenewable energy resources like solar,wind, waves, and biofuels which substitutefor fossil fuels and greatly reduceor even eliminate carbon dioxide emissions.Government also needs to considersequestration of carbon dioxide as anintermediate solution. This is the longtermtrapping of the gas before it entersthe atmosphere by pumping it undergroundor into the ocean. It can also besequestered by plants.We need to get out of the mind setwhich says that one person cannot makea difference. Every effort does make adifference and a combined effort canstop global warming in its tracks!The Orlando residents are worried thatthis heavy summer rainfall is going to happenagain and even get worse. This floodingdestroyed people’s electrical appliancesand other valuable, essential householditems as the water reached half the heightof their houses. Residents were in shockResearch shows that the eastern side ofthe country is becoming wetter and afterprolonged rainfall, the land can no longerabsorb the water. Removal of vegetationfurther aggravates this by contributing tothe surface run-off.10 11