Reply #4: It's making it less severe than it would otherwise have been ... [View All]

[Nihil]

... while they try to get their "migration to the future" into the real world.

> The government was also considering emergency measures to compel South
> African mines to supply the state utility Eskom with more and better
> coal rather than exporting it.
> "If they don't give us the coal, they don't get the electricity,"

That will be the exports to newly non-nuclear Germany that has made a
big hit in the South African energy budget. The good news for SA is that
the shortage has reduced the amount of CO2 generated by South Africa in
no uncertain way. The bad news for the world is that the same amount of
CO2 will be generated, just in a different place.

Still, the good news (for everyone) is ...
> Traffic lights would be switched to solar power. Cape Town has pioneered
> a successful experiment, helping to minimize traffic snarlups now being
> caused by signal failure.

... and the hope for the future is ...
> Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said South Africa,
> which has until now relied heavily on its cheap and abundant coal
> for electricity, would put more effort into developing renewable energy.
...
> Sonjica also said the government hoped that a million solar water heaters
> would be installed in the next three years and that measures were being
> considered to oblige hotels, hospitals and other institutions to use solar
> power for water heating.

... so it's not all doom & gloom (or rather, it wont be after the "next
three years" as long as the governments "hope" comes true).

Bit of a mixed bag really isn't it?
:hi: