Funding for transfrontier park:
The Sunday
Times reports that the World Bank's GEF (Global Environment
Facility) will be making a $15.4 million grant to the development
of the Maluti-Drakensberg Transfrotier Park.
The funding
agreement was signed last week by South African Minister Mohammed
Valli Moosa at a special ceremony in Johanesburg together with
his Lesotho counterpart Lebohang Ntsinyi.
According
to the report, the development is scheduled to be completed
in two years.
World Bank
country director Fayez Omar is quoted as saying that this should
be viewed "as a practical example of the type of partnerships
that could be developed between the bank and southern African
countries."
Full
Sunday Times article
Some
alarming Consumption facts!
-
Percent
of junk mail never opened: 11. Source: Direct Marketing Association
-
Percent
of junk mail recycled: 5.2. Source: Advertising Mail Marketing
Association
-
Amount
of trash thrown out by average person annually: 1,500 pounds.
Source: Embracing the Earth, Mark Harris
-
Amount
of trash thrown out by person who composts: 375 pounds. Source:
Embracing the Earth, Mark Harris
-
Amount
of money spent by Americans on lawn care aid annually: $6
billion. Source: Warren Schultz, The Chemical-Free Lawn
-
Increased
likelihood that children who live in homes where chemical
weed and insect killers are used will develop cancer: four
times. Source: American Journal of Public Health, February
1995
-
Number
of miles logged by the average commuter every year: 4,000.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
-
Percentage
more work accomplished by stay-at-home telecommuter versus
in-office commuter: 20. Source: JALA International
-
Percentage
of solar energy absorbed by dark-colored roofing material:
70
-
Percentage
by which cooling bills could be cut if roofing material were
white: 10. Source: EEREC, Cooling Your Home Naturally
-
Percentage
of solar energy a Norway maple can prevent from striking a
house: 75. Source: Energy-Efficient and Environmental Landscaping
-
Gallons
of water flushed down conventional toilets annually by average
family: 29,200. Source: How to Get Water Smart
-
Gallons
of water flushed down low-flow toilets annually by average
family: 8,760. Source: How to Get Water Smart
-
Number
of people per car in United States: 1.8. Source: Statistical
Record of the Environment
-
Number
of people per car in China: 1,074. Source: Statistical Record
of the Environment
