Eco-Education
Helping us adapt to a changing world . . .
INKANYISO is a zulu word meaning enlightenment or illumination. Inkanyiso Sustainable Systems hopes to shed light on some of the most critical issues our country faces. Our current infrastructure and our collective energy consumption make South Africa one of the dirtiest energy producers in the world, and yet we are one of the least productive with that energy.
This should raise the alarm of any concerned citizen both in economic and environmental terms, let alone the social implication of continuing our lifestyles unabated to the point of critical mass. We at ISS believe we have a duty to address “the big picture” that factors in a number of seriously challenging issues in a range of areas like carbon emissions, energy and water crises, rising fuel prices, unemployment, oil supply shortages, uncertain exchange rates, infrastructure and development.
When viewing our future as a whole, the picture looks fairly grim. How does anyone go about breaking this news gently. All the indicators of a Malthusian Tragedy are glaringly obvious, yet remains unseen and unchecked by governments, corporations, businesses, and Mr and Mrs Consumer. Next to a secure roof over your family’s heads, food on the table, and a good education for your children, surely the most important thing we can give our children IS A FUTURE! Can we buy them more time. If we act now, then YES, we can buy more time. If we choose not to act now, the plasma screen TV and rad car wont be worth a jot when we wake up only to smell our own trash, and not a rose in sight, or not a drop of water coming out of those perfectly glistening designer taps. Or how about waking up to find that there is no petrol for our brand new SUV’s.
Surly the time has come where the average citizen can see the writing on the wall and absolutely insist on being part of the solution. We can no longer rely on the quick-fix solutions, like buying a generator, or quick river clean-ups, or switching off our geysers from time to time. Tackling our diverse problems on a one-by-one basis will only ever supply us with singular short-term solutions.
South Africa on the whole is still considered a developing 3rd World nation. This means we have the opportunity to forge a New Sustainable Development Strategy, that considers the environment and the people, and not just the bottom line. We can do better than just following in the footsteps of the developed countries, that quite frankly only got there through complete disregard for our environment or the earths’ depleting resources. Developed countries are having to restratorgise and re-invest in a more sustainable infrastructure and environmentally sound production and waste systems. And yet developed countries are still trying to play catch-up, and continue to invest in old technologies and production systems that have already proven to be unsustainable and highly polluting.
ISS challenges us all to set a target to reduce our energy consumption by 25% through any energy saving intervention affordable to them, even if it starts with changing all the light bulbs in your house to long-life.
ISS has a range of slide-shows and presentations for businesses and schools in an effort to enlighten them on the many options available to them, and show that small efforts can result in huge savings. |
