Good, green news!

Five pieces of green, good news that will make you jump for joy!

1. According to the MD of Energy for Sustainable Development,Stephen Mutimba, Africa’s sugar industry has the potential to produce up to 10 000 GWh of electricity through cogeneration from sugarcane alone, which could create between three and five jobs for each GWh. Read the full article here.

2. South Africa’s first electric car recently went on show. The Joule, will be available towards then end of 2010 in South Africa and will also be sold on the international market. For a sneak preview of the Joule, you can watch the video here

3. Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced that the government is investigating the possibility of imposing a tax on carbon-dioxide (C02)emissions as part of South Africa’s voluntary commitment to addressing the problems of climate-change. For the full article, read on….

4. According to Science Daily, composting will help climate change! New research reveals that adding organic fertilizers, such as those resulting from composting, to agricultural land, increases the amount of carbon stored in these soils and contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

5. The Department of Trade and Industry handed down a ruling for mandatory labelling of genetically modified foods. The decision came after a clause to this effect, which had been removed from the draft Consumer Protection Bill last year, was reinstated. Well done to SAFeAGE, a consumer GMO watchdog that has been lobbying for two years to have this clause reinstated.