On request from our Office of Defense Cooperation, U.S. NGO Ecological Defense Group Inc. facilitated a multi-day skills training program with SANPark’s Table Mountain National Park and NCC Environmental Services firefighters. The training is part of a continued partnership between the U.S. New York National Guard Firefighters, South African National Parks, NCC, Edge, SANDF and …
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To commemorate World Wetlands Day, the United States Embassy in Pretoria recently partnered with Friends of Colbyn Valley to not only clean up the Colbyn Valley Nature Area but also learn more about the wetlands system in Pretoria. U.S. Embassy officials and their families worked side-by-side with volunteers from the community and Friends of Colbyn …
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Press Release | May 6, 2019 The United States Embassy held a clean-up at the Colbyn Valley Nature Area on Saturday, May 4. U.S. Embassy officials worked side-by-side with alumni from U.S.-funded exchange programs and residents of Lerato House, a transitional residential facility for young girls at-risk in the Pretoria city center. The clean-up was …
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How often do you get to meet a man who has been in space four times? The United States Mission to South Africa welcomed Major General Charles Bolden to South Africa from November 12-17 and his recent mission to South Africa had students, pupils, space enthusiasts, aerospace professionals on the edge of their seats as he described …
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What is a conservation social scientist and why is she visiting South Africa? Dr. Meredith Gore is one of the world’s leading conservation experts and she recently traveled to South Africa to learn from and share best practices with South African students, community members, and government officials on tackling issues of wildlife poaching, wildlife trafficking, …
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Congratulations, South Africa! We were thrilled to be at today’s signing of renewable energy independent power producer project (REIPPP) agreements, which will result in R55.92 billion in new investments in the energy sector (including foreign direct investment from U.S. companies!), create nearly 60,000 new jobs, and generate 2300 megawatts of energy. Chargé d’Affaires Jessye Lapenn …
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The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce the donation of three forensic trailers to support provincial law enforcement officials to investigate wildlife crime scenes. The trailers were handed over to representatives of the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal authorities at a ceremony co-hosted with the non-governmental organization TRAFFIC on February 20, 2018, at the …
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Where clean energy is concerned, the United States has shown how successful local action can be. In the adoption of renewable energy technologies, states and cities have led the charge.
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Media Advisory July 24, 2017 The U.S. Mission to South Africa hosted Dr. Jenna Jambeck, an expert on plastic waste from the University of Georgia, for meetings with environmental leaders, local government officials, academics and members of the public in three provinces along South Africa’s coastline July 9-18, 2017. She travelled to Port Elizabeth, Plettenberg …
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Oil- and gas-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are sinking significant money into renewable energy, particularly solar.
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Tesla, a U.S. company that produces renewable energy technology, will build a 100-megawatt, grid-scale storage facility in South Australia to help that state stabilize its power grid.
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The vanadium-flow battery — V-flow for short — could lower your electric bill by offering larger energy-storage capacity of higher-powered electricity from renewable energy resources like solar and wind.
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Today new power plants, wind and solar energy farms, transmission line upgrades and smart technologies have created a more secure energy environment, so this time the experts had fewer concerns about keeping electricity flowing in California during a record heat wave.
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It may be a few years out, but one day vehicle owners could pull up to what once was a gas station pump and fill the tank with a solution of charged electrolytes to fuel their trip.
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Investments and loans that specifically fund enterprises that protect the environment and conserve natural resources are green financing tools.
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A crisis caused California to fast-track energy storage, taking a gamble that rows of high-capacity lithium battery packs could ease power disruptions after a massive natural gas leak.
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The technology revolution that moved solar, wind and other renewable energy resources into the mainstream — and introduced sophisticated digital grid-management tools — is shaking up old energy business models.
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Media Advisory | Thursday, May 18, 2017 Power Africa announced the launch of its Southern African Energy Program this week in Cape Town, South Africa. This announcement came as representatives from Power Africa, a U.S. government-led initiative, and the U.S. Mission in South Africa participated in African Utility Week and the Gas to Power World …
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One way that utility companies are boosting their bottom lines is to waste less electricity. How? Through energy efficiency — use less electricity to perform the same tasks.
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Switching to clean energy takes preparation, but the results can bring jobs and other benefits to communities and reduce harmful air pollution.
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All those new energy resources call for new ways of managing the grid. Digital technology has come to the rescue.
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The way we get electricity is changing as more of it is generated from renewable energy resources.
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The more customers know about what it takes to get electricity to their doors, the better they are able to make the right decisions for their budgets. Knowing power industry terminology can help consumers cut costs.
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Companies like the Sacramento Municipal Utility District are forging ahead into the new energy marketplace and making it work.
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Renewable energy resources are changing the way utility companies do business.
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Like most technologies, wind energy has improved with age. Today’s wind turbines are far better and more efficient than ever before.
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!Kheis in South Africa is cooler than ever before with a simple, energy-efficient technology.
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It only took a few years — and good planning — to make big oil producer Texas the leader in U.S. wind energy.
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Not only do they generate electricity, Hopefield’s wind turbines generate jobs.
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Africa has its fair share of entrepreneurs, and some of them want to break into the emerging renewable-energy market. The South African Renewable Energy Business Incubator — SAREBI — wants to help these bright minds achieve their goals.
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Lesson 1 of Expert Advice Series: The Energy of Tomorrow
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Companies may have more clout in promoting environmentally friendly business practices than they thought.
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Around the world, investment in renewable energy is outpacing investment in fossil fuels. One big reason is that wind and solar technologies are becoming cheaper to produce.
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How a Texas town manages business as it transitions to renewable energy
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It’s not science fiction, but it sounds like it. The “smart” power grid and the virtual power plants that are being developed to dispatch and manage the flow of electricity into our communities are the avant-garde of an energy revolution.
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Like many urban centers, Washington has low-income residents, many seeking good jobs. African American–owned WDC Solar is giving all of them a boost by installing solar panels at no cost to residents and training young men and women in solar installation and maintenance skills. Owner Mark Davis says, “WDC Solar is focused on installing solar …
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The coal and oil industries may have fewer jobs than in the past, but the sun is smiling on the renewable energy industry. Solar, wind and other renewable energy companies are staffing up at all levels as demand for workers increases.
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Electric cars such as this Tesla Roadster could soon make up most of the traffic on city streets by 2030. (© AP Images) City streets could sound a lot different in the near future, as the roar of internal combustion engines is replaced with the hum of electric vehicles. Up to two-thirds of all cars …
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This year, Apple applied to sell excess electricity from new renewable energy installations. Google, Amazon and Walmart started similar programs.
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Experts say energy storage is the future — for small energy producers and for utility-scale power grids alike. Efficient energy storage helps save money and delivers quality electricity at the same time.
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Energy storage is getting better all the time. With efficient storage, electricity generated from solar and wind energy is available after the sun sets and the wind calms. It also helps the power grid deliver a smooth, uninterrupted flow of electricity to customers.
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Sub-Saharan Africa has abundant renewable energy resources. The question is how to tap into them and reach the goal of supplying everyone in each of its regions with reliable, clean and affordable electricity. At the 2016 Young African Leaders Initiative summit in Washington, the State Department’s Macon Phillips recorded a podcast with South African Mandela …
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It’s a community effort in Seaview, in Nelson Mandela Bay on South Africa’s Eastern Cape. Mongezi Gobodo, an electrician for Mandela Bay Electrical (MBE), trains local residents to install solar panels in communities that aren’t connected to the power grid. “Now we’ve got the solar panels, and they are working so nice for me,” Pinky, …
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By Max Thabiso Edkins We are living in an exciting time. We know climate change is real; we feel impacts every day. But we also know what we need to do to tackle it. To quote the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon: “We are the first generation that can end poverty, the last that can …
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Global and local experts and leaders within the renewable energy industry believe the time to champion renewable energy is now – as South Africa’s energy mix is currently being decided and debated. There is also an urgency to convert a general awareness and understanding about renewable energy into tangible action. These were some of the …
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Customers who generate their own electricity with solar panels or wind turbines reap benefits when net metering is available. It works like this. An ordinary electric meter keeps track of how much electricity customers use from the power grid. They are billed for it. Net metering uses a meter designed to track the amount of …
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The cat is out of the bag – renewable energy is the future. Thomas, the Energy Cat tells us how all the sun and wind around us can power the planet. Using solar and wind technology to generate electricity is becoming cheaper than coal- and nuclear- generated power. And with new ways to store energy, …
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Workers install panels at a solar photovoltaic park near Lamberts Bay, South Africa. The park connects to the national power grid. (© AP Images) We all know the sun warms us, it gives us light during the day and it makes plants grow. On top of all its natural benefits, it is now an important …
Read More» South Africa and United States Partner to Promote Renewable Energy Awareness Media Release | November 28, 2016 Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2016 – ‘Expensive, inaccessible, complicated and unreliable’ are a few of the misperceptions about renewable energy that persist, despite South Africa’s success in building out its large-scale renewable energy infrastructure. To a large …
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A plane taxis on the George airport runway in South Africa. It’s Africa’s first airport to be powered by solar energy. (© Getty Images) Airports around the world are looking sunward to electrify their facilities — and they find it makes good business sense. George Airport, on the southern coast of South Africa’s Western Cape …
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Wind Energy Facility (State Department) The BioTherm wind energy facility at Klipheuwel-Dassiefontein does much more than generate much-needed electricity cleanly near Caledon in South Africa’s Western Cape province. It also invests in the local community. In the nearby town of Genadendal, BioTherm has trained school principals and provides funding for instructors who teach students critical …
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MicroCare: 12V Informal Settlement Power Supply (State Department) Residents of informal communities in Port Elizabeth in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province need electricity as well as jobs. Solar component manufacturer Microcare makes sure they have both by training and employing local workers, while manufacturing hardware for off-grid and grid-connected solar power. “We made it a mandate …
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Solar Panel close-up in sunlight (State Department) Knowledge Pele is a road to jobs in Touws River, and the jobs are at the Touws River CPV1 solar power plant just a few miles from this small railway town in a rural area of the Western Cape province of South Africa. Touws River became an economically …
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(State Dept./Doug Thompson) Everybody’s seen those tall towers strung with wires that stretch across the landscape. Most people know that those are power transmission lines, but they may not know they are looking at part of the power grid. First you need electricity … The power grid starts in the places where electricity is made. …
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(© Shutterstock) Parity is a state of being equal. In the world of energy, grid parity happens when electricity from a renewable energy source, such as sun or wind, costs the same or less than electricity from traditional fossil fuels. Many people have never heard about it, but grid parity is important in countering climate …
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(© AP Images) Part 4 Countries that are developing or expanding their energy infrastructure are well placed to be the renewable energy leaders of the future. Not only is that a good position, it is a good business strategy. “In many senses, [the developing world] is a clean slate. It can just leapfrog into the …
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A man installs solar panels on a Honolulu rooftop. Hawaii is a U.S. national leader in solar power. (© AP Images) Part 3 Rooftops, great for shelter, can now make the homeowner money too. That’s because of renewable energy technology. People are able to generate their own electricity close to home, and in communities where …
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This solar farm at the University of California Davis supplies 14 percent of power used on campus. There are solar installations on rooftops and parking lots too. (UC Davis) Decarbonizing the economy is an intellectually electrifying and energizing opportunity for California’s universities and students. It is abundantly clear to most people working in the energy field …
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Part Two Necessity — and good business — is ushering in a new energy reality. And that energy is renewable. Large, energy-hungry populations; failures of outdated 20th-century infrastructure; and commitment to preventing global temperature rise are all reasons why cities, states and countries around the world are using renewable energy. So how are they doing …
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(© AP Images) Part One By 2050, the world will get most of its electricity from renewable sources, like the sun and wind, and no longer rely on polluting fossil energy that contributes to climate change. Angelina Galiteva (Courtesy photo) That bold prediction comes from Angelina Galiteva, who knows a lot about energy. She has …
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If you’ve ever seen solar panels on the rooftop of a home or business, you were looking at “distributed generation.” And it’s a safe bet you will be seeing more of it. Distributed generation means generating electricity at or near the location where it is used. It is cheaper than conventional, centralized generation because it …
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Energy storage and solar power are hot. And to speed up adoption of renewable energy technologies, the U.S. Department of Energy is committing funds. As much as $144 million was recently allocated for research and development of innovative renewable tech ideas. The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) set aside $37 million to back 16 projects …
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Myth #1. Solar power doesn’t generate enough electricity. Solar energy is now mainstream. Solar contributes substantially to electricity grids around the world. Globally, solar installations grew by nearly 30 percent last year and the industry is on an upward trend. Texas, Colorado and other U.S. states have successfully integrated solar and other renewables to the …
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An invention by South African scientist Vivian Alberts that replaces expensive silicon used in photovoltaic solar panels promises to make solar energy more affordable than ever. It’s a thin-film photovoltaic coating for glass that uses no silicon at all. Alberts announced his discovery in 2007. Now he is poised to build an industrial-scale factory to …
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Renewable energy comes from natural sources that don’t run out, such as the sun, wind, water or heat within the earth. Fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas — are traditional sources of energy generation that will eventually run out. Solar panels and wind turbines generate electricity from sun and wind. Geothermal plants harness heat …
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What does greater use of green energy mean for workers in more traditional energy sectors? A Colorado initiative may have the answer: put the workers where the jobs are. Consider the findings of Michigan Technological University professor Joshua M. Pearce and associates: There are nearly 209,000 solar workers in the United States, compared to about …
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(Shutterstock) In a bid to create more efficient and longer-lasting batteries for electric vehicles and the power grid, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been testing ideas that could revolutionize the clean energy field. The latest research aims to improve upon rechargeable “lithium-air” batteries, a highly promising technology that can store up to …
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One of the biggest challenges in the solar energy field is how to store electricity from the sun for use when the sun isn’t shining. One solution may be no farther than your salt shaker. SolarReserve, a California company, is pioneering a technology that uses molten salt as a medium for long-term energy storage. Mirrors …
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How can we reduce the greenhouse gases that cause climate change when most developing nations need more energy than ever before? Renewable energy sources emit far less CO2 than traditional fossil fuels. But critics argue renewables like solar and wind are too expensive. No more. Innovation and research have lowered the cost of many renewables to — and sometimes below — …
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The big thing holding us back from wholesale use of renewable energy is a reliable long-term storage mechanism. But scientists are working hard to develop a battery that can make the most of solar- and wind-generated energy. This ClimateWire article describes a few of the promising technologies under consideration for storing electricity collected by solar …
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How is the world going to reach the climate goals of COP21? Not with your grandmother’s wind turbines. “The truth is, if we adapt existing technologies … there’s still going to be a big gap to fill,” said President Obama about the importance of climate innovation. “Cool technologies” need to fill the gap, and fast, says …
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Did you know small changes in your daily routines can make a huge difference to your health, the health of your neighbors and the future of the planet? Choose from among these simple steps and start today. (Adapted from the California Air Resources Board’s “Simple Solutions to Help Reduce Air Pollution”) When you run errands …
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What if every month you got a report on how your electricity use compared to that of your neighbors? And personalized tips on how to save money based on your own usage patterns? New software is making this possible, says David Moore, senior market development manager at Opower . His company has pioneered cloud-based software that …
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In recent years, some communities around the world have pledged to meet all their future power needs with renewable energy. One notable example: Costa Rica used only renewable sources to power itself for the first 75 days of 2015. The Central American country has made great strides in its use of renewable energy — mainly hydropower — which today generates more …
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America is energized. In the last decade, U.S. energy production grew 24 percent, while energy consumption steadily declined. One reason for the shifts is changes made by businesses , college campuses and cities — changes that have helped the environment and reduced costs. Here are details about America’s recent progress and future plans. This graphic shows changes in U.S. energy …
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U.S. Votes “No” on CITES Appendix-I Uplisting of Elephants – Here’s Why Media Statement October 3, 2016 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Today, during the 17th meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the CITES Parties considered a proposal to include all populations of African elephants in Appendix I through …
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Strongest CITES Protections Signal Hopeful Future for African Grey Parrots Press Release October 3, 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Johannesburg, South Africa) – African grey parrots are being loved to death. Their intelligence and longevity make them popular as pets, and overharvest for the pet trade is devastating populations in the wild. Fortunately, nations …
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JOINT STATEMENT 7th SOUTH AFRICA – UNITED STATES ANNUAL BILATERAL FORUM 28 SEPTEMBER 2016 The Department of International Cooperation and Relations hosted the United States Mission in Pretoria for the 7th Annual Bilateral Forum (ABF), on 28 September 2016. The Forum was co-chaired by the Chief Director: North America and Regional Organisations, Ambassador Peter Goosen …
Read More» Acting Assistant Secretary Judith Garber Travels to South Africa Department of State Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC September 26, 2016 Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Judith Garber will travel to Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa, September 26–30, to meet with South …
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Media Note Department of State Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC September 3, 2016 U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Dr. Jonathan Pershing will travel September 4 – 9 to Senegal, Nigeria, and South Africa. His trip is an important opportunity to discuss implementation of the Paris Agreement, and advance climate and clean energy efforts …
Read More» Press Release Embassy of the United States 877 Pretorius Street, Arcadia, Pretoria Monday, June 6, 2016 U.S. Embassy Expands Projects to Address Wildlife Conservation and Trafficking in South Africa Pretoria, June 6, 2016 — To advance …
Read More» For Immediate Release 18 May 2016 NEWS RELEASE USAID Awarded Five Stars for Enviro-friendly Construction The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has approved an environmentally friendly rating of the U.S. Agency for International Development new office building in Pretoria. The final design received the council’s four-star rating, in recognition of best practice, …
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Mail & Guardian Analysis by Patrick Gaspard U.S. Ambassador to South Africa April 22, 2016 This Earth Day, with the signing of the Paris Agreement, is truly a cause for hope, writes the United States ambassador to South Africa. “To my compatriots, I have no hesitation in saying that each one of us is as …
Read More» Fact Sheet Embassy of the United States of America 877 Pretorius Street, Arcadia, Pretoria January 28, 2016 Wildlife Trafficking Cooperation Trafficking in wildlife is an international conservation crisis and a multi-billion dollar illicit business that is pushing many iconic animal populations towards extinction. Wildlife trafficking is one of the most lucrative types of transnational organized …
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added two subspecies of lion under the Endangered Species Act due to these primary factors: Habitat Loss Loss of Prey Retaliatory Killing Due to Increased Human-Lion Conflicts Inadequate Regulatory Mechanisms Weak Management of Protected Areas. Based on newly available scientific information on the genetics and taxonomy of lions, the …
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