News from the South African water sector March 2004

Abstract

CLIMATE CHANGE Rod Camp Pr Eng from Cape Town writes: I agree with WJR Alexander’s dissertation, however I believe we must not lose sight of the possibility that the increase in gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides and particulate matter such as sulphur can have serious consequences on the health of living organisms and human life. We must therefore continue to strive towards reducing these emissions and expedite the planting of more trees, such as pines, which are efficient carbon recyclers. D r Heather Mackay from Pretoria comments: While I have the greatest respect for Prof Alexander’s work during his long and distinguished career, some statements in this particular article regarding the impacts of global warming are questionable, since they are based on his averaging of hydrological parameters over the whole of South Africa, which is not really meaningful when considering potential regional impacts of global warming. I am also concerned about his sweeping statement that the effects of global warming will be “beneficial to the natural environment”.

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