The Phoenix Sun

A solar hot water heater for every house.

While accompanying a group of American secondary school teachers through South Africa a couple of months ago (on the Toyota International Teacher Program), I had a great surprise. We were on a bus north of Durban, traveling to a reforestation project when I realized that nearly every house we passed had a solar hot water heater on the roof. This went on for at least a couple of miles. As you can see from the picture, the houses didn’t fit the stereotype of yuppie green homes. This was a none-too-wealthy rural area with small cement block houses.

CO2 emissions of selected countries.

South Africa is the second largest emitter of CO2 per capita on the African continent (after Libya) and much of that is associated with electrical generation. In South Africa, as in the U.S., coal-fired power plants produce most of the electricity, so using solar hot water heaters rather than electric ones makes a lot of sense, both from a carbon standpoint and from an economic one.

I had hoped to get off the bus to take more pictures and talk with residents, but our schedule was already overbooked and the chance to stop at the “solar neighborhood” never happened. Still, it was exciting to see — especially since the solar homes just happened to be on the route to another climate change initiative, where “tree-preneurs” raise indigenous trees for a large-scale reforestation project. But that’s another story.

Simply, one of the most beautiful and important botanical gardens in the world. Maintained by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Nearly half of all plant species found in the southern half of Africa exist on one tiny sliver of land surrounding Cape Town. The Cape Floral Kingdom is home to an astonishing 6,200 species of plants found nowhere else on earth, many of them are found in Kirstenbosch. (You can see the photo in a larger format and read about the technical details, here.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, South Africa, 2011

I arrived back in the States yesterday after a 17-hour flight from Johannesburg to learn that the Kirstenbosch Project didn’t raise enough money to qualify for funding. Disappointing? Of course, but not really surprising given the amount still needed when I was last able to get Internet access with just 30 hours left.

First, a large collective shout-out to all 24 donors whose pledges ranged from $5 to $1,250. (Big round of applause). You guys rock.

You should know that the project isn’t over. Later, when my body has had a chance to regroup after the flight and time-zone changes, I’ll begin thinking about alternate ways to reach the goal – producing a catalog of prints from Kirstenbosch. The Gardens remain vitally important centers of plant biodiversity. Outside of South Africans, most of us don’t realize their ecological significance and their beauty. The need to spread the word about Kirstenbosch remains, and I intend to do what I can to achieve that end.

Once again, thank you, all, for pledging your support. And thanks to Kickstarter for the opportunity to get arts projects funded. It didn’t happen this time, but so many wonderful projects have become realities because of Kickstarter. I plan on continuing to support Kickstarter ventures and I urge you to do the same.