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2 Wednesday, October 23 2019 | THE MERCURY
WHAT do you do with emotional pain?
u If, in the midst of emotional pain, I tell myself that “all people have pain” or “it’s normal to have pain” or “my pain is not as bad as the pain others have to endure”, I know I’m not really dealing with it.
u It’s not serving its useful exposing or healing purpose.
u This form of self-talk retains the experience in my head and blocks its necessary journey to my heart, my inner being.
u This can go on for years, running around my head, forming
a pathway, a deepening, inescapable ditch.
u If I admit that pain is a useful messenger and that some of it is a result of poor choices, the result of misguided self-importance, unique to me; and I give myself some time and space to mourn the lack of
connection I am experiencing, then the pain makes its rejuvenating transition to my heart.
u I escape the ditch, the circular thinking, and strongly experience my frailties, my vulnerabilities.
u Once the inner-journey is made, from head to heart, I find I am able to treasure the growth rather than endlessly self-punish for things I did when I knew better but lacked the wisdom to behave [email protected]
ROD SMITH
Find the purpose of emotional pain – growth
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L E T T E R S
Email [email protected] (no attachments). All letters must contain the writer’s full name, physical address and telephone number. No pen names.
THE question of whether eThekwini Municipality has plans in place to ensure a sustained electricity supply to its 740 000 electricity customers to ensure they are able to go about their daily lives while businesses continue to thrive has been raised.
And the answer, after much discus-sion and a detailed analysis, is that the city is ready to put forward the Durban Strategic Roadmap Report for Renew-able Energy 2019-2030 that places emphasis on renewable energy as an alternative, cleaner and cheaper source of energy. The plan is underpinned by a commitment to create more job opportunities in the green economy.
The city’s bold and ambitious plan is ready to go out to stakeholder con-sultation and then public participation and has been designed to ensure that residents and businesses are not left, literally, in the dark.
It’s a strategic vision the city is fully invested in, because as a member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Durban has com-mitted to the Paris Agreement 1.5ºC Climate Action Plan to become car-bon neutral by 2050. The city is also a signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Declaration.
The municipality has set a target of a 40% renewable energy supply by 2030 and a 100% renewable energy by 2050 from renewable energy technol-ogies such as solar, wind, small scale hydropower, biomass and waste to energy options.
The renewable energy plan, once
given the green light after the par-ticipatory processes, will be absorbed into the city’s Integrated Resource Plan and will then be taken to the national Department of Energy as a case for the city to procure energy from its own renewable sources. It will in effect challenge national legislation that at present only allows local municipali-ties to procure electricity from Eskom.
Should the city be given the go-ahead from national government, it could set a precedent nationally in which other local municipalities may proceed with securing their own alternative energies using renewable sources in the best interests of their residents and local economies.
In an assessment of studies and research, approximately 254 mega-watts of renewable energy, roughly 5% of the city’s current demand, has been identified for immediate deploy-ment through a mix of solar, wind, hydropower and waste-to-energy projects. If solar photovoltaic were
explored, approximately 1.8 gigawatts of solar would need to be installed across eThekwini in order to accelerate deployment and achieve the remain-der of the city’s 40% target.
The case for solar is strong in eThekwini as there are an average of 2 343 hours of sunlight a year, with an average of 6.4 hours of sunlight a day.
Wind and solar energy sources are the most likely mechanisms to achieve the 40% target.
However, the most attractive route for the city is to purchase renewable energy from independent power pro-ducers, with the primary benefit being that the city would not be responsible for any upfront capital costs.
In the report it is noted that the business model for renewables is economically viable as it generates a long-term cumulated saving for the municipality with payback seen in less than seven years.
Furthermore, residents will have access to affordable electricity, as at
present the latest studies show that poor households are burdened with high energy costs, often in excess of 10% of their income compared with wealthier households.
The city will not be able to meet all its targets alone, necessitating the need for the private sector to become invested in this vision, with poverty alleviation and job creation at the centre of all projects.
According to the report, while there is a pressing need to go carbon neutral, the city is faced with socio-economic challenges that leave some residents without access to services. The city’s commitment is that while ensuring there is a move towards a just energy transition, poverty alleviation and job creation targets should be applied to each renewable energy project.
The plan and its goal are achievable as the municipality has already tested systems in pilot projects across the region.
Several solar projects have already
been initiated in Durban and are located at uShaka Marine Theme Park, the Moses Mabhida Stadium Sky Car, Peoples Park restaurant and the metro police headquarters and eThek-wini Water and Sanitation Customer Service buildings.
The pilot installations are expected to save the city 426.75 megawatt-hours a year, translating to R337 396 in the first year. The municipality has also conducted feasibility studies on install-ing floating solar panels at 52 of its water reservoir sites, with the total potential generation sitting at 9.8 meg-awatt peak.
While new plans are being investi-gated to ensure the provision of elec-tricity, the municipality continues its projects to educate consumers about becoming energy efficient through the Energy Office, which was established in 2009.
The Energy Office has a three-pronged approach regarding energy which is to create awareness on energy efficiency, diversify the electricity sup-ply using renewable energies and to ensure the stability of the service and climate change mitigation branch. The city has already led campaigns to ret-rofit street and traffic lights with light emitting diodes (LEDs), with plans to further roll out the campaign to residential areas.
We are proud of the progress that we have made thus far in finding initi-atives to mitigate the effects of climate change. We appeal to our residents to join us on this journey to play a role in using energy efficiently, as we are faced with climate change and energy stability challenges. The city is committed to a greener future.
Ntshalintshali is the renewable energy manager in eThekwini Municipality.
City moving towards renewable energyeThekwini Municipality is ready to put forward the Durban Strategic Roadmap Report for Renewable Energy 2019-2030 that places emphasis on renewable energies as cleaner and cheaper sources of power
S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
THE Democrats, the fake news media and other schmucks have kyboshed President Donald Trump’s plan to host next year’s G7 summit at his Doral Golf Club resort in Florida.
Withdrawing the offer, he told them all off in a tweet: “I thought I was doing something very good for our Country by using Trump National Doral, in Miami, for hosting the G-7 Leaders. It is big, grand, on hundreds of acres, next to MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, has tremendous ballrooms & meeting rooms, and each delegation would have its own 50 to 70 unit building.
“I announced that I would be willing to do it at NO PROFIT or, if legally permissible, at ZERO COST to the USA. But, as usual, the Hostile Media & their Democrat Partners went CRAZY!”
However, all is not lost, according to the New Yorker. Trump has offered recently escaped Isis fighters a group rate at the Trump National Doral Miami.
“I am giving Isis a group rate that
entitles them to the full run of the golf course, the spa, you name it. This is going to make the Isis people very, very happy.”
The fighters can qualify for the group rate by presenting proof of Isis membership and their recently freed status, Trump said. He declined to say whether he would extend the same group rate to Kurdish fighters in Syria.
“I’m not a fan of the Kurds,” he said. “Where were the Kurds in 1776
when George Washington took con-trol of the British airports?”
Yes, this is satirist Andy Borowitz again. I think he might be having us on.
Brexit traditionA MESSAGE from the future: “The year is 2192. The British prime minis-ter visits Brussels to ask for an exten-sion to the Brexit deadline. No one remembers where the tradition origi-nated but every year it attracts many tourists from all over the world.”
Top jobREADER Linda Nel says she met up with an old university classmate and asked what he was doing.
He said he was working on “aqua-thermal treatment of ceram-ics, aluminium and steel under a constrained environment”.
“I was impressed. But it turned out he was washing dishes with hot water under his wife’s supervision.”
Linda, I’m afraid that’s the fate of so many of our brilliant scientists.
Black and whiteSTRIPED cows could be the future in dairy operations. Zebra-like black and white stripes on cows have reduced insect bites by 50%, according to the Huffington Post.
Cows painted like zebras were kept alongside black ones in an experiment in Japan.
Scientists believe that biting flies are discouraged from landing on black and white zebras – or any black and white surface – because of a polarisation of light that affects them. Painting cows with zebra stripes could cut down enormously on expensive pesticides.
Hmmm. We’re getting into mozzie season here in Durban. How long before some entrepreneur sets up shop, painting people with black and white stripes to drive off the mozzies? (If the paint doesn’t come off easily, no worries. If it lasts into rugby season, black and white is the right combination for Kings Park.)
TailpieceAVIATION tip. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. (Unless you keep pulling the stick back – then they get bigger again).
Last wordIF there is anything the nonconform-ist hates worse than a conformist, it’s another nonconformist who doesn’t conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity. | BILL VAUGHAN
The schmucks kybosh great offer
Pray for safe return of snatched journalistJOURNALIST Shiraaz Mohamed was abducted in Syria on January 10, 2017. Palpable grief and anger followed the news that cameraman Shiraaz Mohamed was kidnapped in war-ravaged Syria. He symbolises dig-nity, integrity, selflessness and com-mitment to the truth that constitutes the essence of journalism.
The cowardice and brutality neces-sary to abduct or to take an innocent human life, should not be left unpun-ished. The family and friends of Shi-raaz can be content in knowing what a profound impact his unique brand of journalistic life has on friends and strangers alike. It takes an exceptional spirit to leave an imprint on so many lives and to unite so many hearts, and Shiraaz embodies that very doctrine.
War journalism can be a hazardous profession. More than 1 000 journal-ists sacrificed their lives in the line of duty over the past decade. Measuring danger by mortality is, however, only one way, albeit the most visible, of assessing the toll war takes on report-
ers, photographers and cameramen. What can follow in danger’s wake is often more difficult to discern and quantify for it lies within the realm of the abstract.
Have we wondered how the news travels from conflict zones to news-papers and browsers in minutes? It is because of journalists who are willing to put their lives on the line. The news always comes out safe, but, sometimes, the journalists do not.
Every drop of blood shed by them is giving life to the news industry. They are bringing truth to the outside world. They are heroes of the free press, the very right that lets you disregard their sacrifice without consequences. These men and women run into carnage of their own free will, they pay with their lives so that people who could never experience, never really under-stand the terror of war, can make an informed judgement on it. To see and understand the situation they are sac-rificing their sons and daughters.
Journalists go into battlefields where not even a squad of soldiers or convoy of vehicles would dare go. They go to places the military would never enter without a heavily-armed
escort. Yet they are armed only with their cameras. They are tellers of a truth to which there’s precious little access. Without them, you would not see the “real” face of war.
Those who kidnapped Shiraaz are guilty of violating international law. We condemn this heinous crime and call upon the Syrian regime to conduct an effective and prompt investigation to identify the circumstances of the crime, prosecute the perpetrators, and publish the investigations results. We pray for his safe return. It’s been two years of hell for his family.FAROUK ARAIE | Joburg
Terrorism motivated by misguided beliefsLAST week, an explosion rocked a mosque in eastern Afghanistan as hundreds of worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, causing the roof to collapse, killing 62 worshippers and wounding 36 people.
The violence came a day after a UN report stated that Afghan civilians were dying in record numbers in
the country’s increasingly brutal war waged by Islamic militants.
The UN report said 2 563 civilians were killed and 5 67 wounded by militants in the first nine months of this year.
Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and are still being attacked by extremists in terrorist assaults.
It’s difficult to understand why such acts of terrorism are perpetrated.
There’s no moral or ethical justifi-cation for these repetitive acts – only vengeance and a misguided belief system.CLINTON GOVENDER | Mayville
Disingenuous critic of the Proteas teamTHE Proteas are certainly struggling against a very strong Indian side in Indian conditions, but to state that this is the “most boring series ever played” is unfair.
Ken Kritchlow, in his letter, Octo-ber 21, The Mercury, makes statements
consistent with someone who does not fully understand the complexities nor the evolution of international Test cricket in recent times.
His assessment of the general pat-tern of the test series just concluded in India sounds like a complaint from a bitter schoolboy who is struggling to come to grips with how to be a gracious loser and so goes on a juve-nile rant as an excuse for his poor performance.
You embarrass supporters of the Proteas with incorrect statistics regard-ing the state of the pitches as well as the number of spinners selected by the home side. I suspect you might be employing the use of sarcasm to make your point, but I am utterly shocked at how you have not been able to see just how much this Indian team has improved both home and away, and that the Proteas have a young, inexpe-rienced side that is a work in progress, and who will improve in time.
Perhaps you and the “nearly every-one” you know would give the modern game a chance - it’s a heck of a lot more exciting than the many dreary draws of “Timeless Tests” gone by!PRABHA PADAYACHEE | Shallcross
Mashaba must take back decision to quitHERMAN Mashaba was too quick to resign.
In politics, there will always be dif-ferences but the Joburg mayor’s hasty decision is shocking.
He should have taken a firm stand on his political policies.
His contribution included uplift-ing Joburg’s inner city development, fighting corruption and doing his best in order to improve the quality of his metro. The move will certainly disappoint the many who admired his contribution.
He made a very big mistake in resigning and should reconsider his termination.
An honest man’s contribution and dedication is valuable.FAROUK SALOOJEE | Rustenburg
DA LEADER Mmusi Maimane and Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba on Monday at a press conference where Mashaba resigned.
SBU NTSHALINTSHALI
SEVERAL solar projects have already been initiated in Durban, including the Moses Mabhida Stadium Sky Car.
WEATHERKWAZULU-NATAL
DURBAN 16 | 29
TODAY’S FORECASTSunny
DURBAN 5-DAY FORECASTThursday Sunny 17 | 24Friday Partly cloudy with storms 18 | 32Saturday Partly cloudy 19 | 27Sunday Partly cloudy 18 | 27Monday Cloudy with rain 17 | 24
DURBAN TODAYHigh tide 12:12 | 00:39 Low tide 05:35 | 18:35 Sunrise 05:10 Sunset 18:11Humidity 45% Wind: Gentle – SSE
New moon October 28 First quarter November 4Full moon November 12Last quarter Today
Moonrise 02:03 | Moonset 13:01
Coming phases of the moon
INTERNATIONAL TEMPERATURESHarare 18 | 34Lagos 26 31Cairo 21 | 29Jerusalem 14 | 22Rome 17 | 27Madrid 10 | 14Paris 12 | 19London 11 | 15Berlin 11 | 18
Toronto 8 | 10New York 13 | 16Brasilia 19 | 24Moscow 9 | 15New Delhi 30 | 39Beijing 16 | 24Tokyo 18 | 24Sydney 16 | 22Auckland 13 | 16
More forecasts, weatherSA.co.za
REGIONAL TEMPERATURES Min | MaxPietermaritzburg 12 | 31Mooi River 9 | 29Greytown 10 | 31Ladysmith 12 | 31Newcastle 13 | 31Richards Bay 18 | 31Ulundi 14 | 33Underberg 6 | 29Margate 15 | 28Kokstad 6 | 28Port St Johns 13 | 26East London 11 | 22
