A great idea from Cape Town - maybe Durban should organise a free market before Christmas?  Comment below if you think this could work and where.

When last have you been to a market where everything is free?   Cape Town’s first ever ‘Really Really Free Market’ is on this weekend.  So, what does ‘really really free’ mean?  Exactly what it sounds like:

The concept is really simple: if you have anything to share – things that you no longer use and that are clogging up your garage, your hair cutting skills or anything else you can think of – then bring them along.

The only restriction: everything has to be 100% free. No swapping, no bartering and no money involved…

• Read the full article on Mother City Living ...

At a two-day China-Africa summit in Egypt Chinese premier Wen Jiabao pledged 10bn in low interest loans to African nations over the next three years. He also said China would build 100 energy projects that cover solar power, biogas and small hydro plants over the same period as part of an effort to help the continent deal with climate change.

Read the full article at the Business Day ...

A recent report by Prof Anthony Forbes and Nicolette Demetriades concluded that most of the river estuaries in Durban are sick or dying.  There is no longer a single river estuary along eThekwini's coastline that can be described as excellent or "near pristine".  Only three can still be described as "good", four are "fair", two are "poor" and five fall into the worst category "highly degraded".  Read more on the report at The Independent on Saturday.

So, what can be done about it?  It is unrealistic to suggest regressing to a pre-industrial economy where the natural balance of the estuaries would be restored but some smart thinking could help the estuaries and the city co-exist.  An article in The Ecologist highlights how scientists in Sydney have recreated the rock pool environment along the harbour wall by installing flower pots at the tide line.  A simple, yet ingenious solution.  Read the full article at The Ecologist and see if you think this approach could be adapted to our estuaries.