Footnotes

The purchase of all air tickets by staff on campus automatically contributes money to offset carbon emissions by planting indigenous trees.

The campus now has 644 trees and has also increased biodiversity by planting indigenous fynbos areas. The main food provider on campus is now assessed for sustainable practices and given feedback on an annual basis.

New residences on campus are being planned to achieve a 4-star green building rating with features that include use of prefabricated recycled steel frames, heat pumps, grey water and solar photovoltaic alternative energy systems.

The Western Cape Department of Health focuses on emergency medical services and disaster planning as well as reducing electricity and water consumption at identified hospitals.

These targets are formally included in the annual performance plan of the department and so progress is monitored on a quarterly basis and annual reports are tabled in Parliament.

Smart meters have been ordered for many of the facilities to enable better monitoring at a local level. Reducing energy use not only reduces the carbon footprint, but also saves money from the facilities’ budgets that can be used for health services. New clinics and hospitals are planned to be environmentally friendly and good progress has been made in eliminating the use of mercury in medical equipment.

The Department of Health has not only joined the network as a health system, but has also encouraged individual hospitals to join.

Lentegeur Hospital, for example, has helped patients stigmatised by mental health problems to become green ambassadors through tree planting, garden development and fruit production.

Victoria Hospital has been empowering hospital staff members to become advocates for reduced energy usage and cost savings within the hospital. The new Khayelitsha District Hospital has been saving energy consumption by using solar energy and wind turbine energy to reduce carbon footprint and costs.

The hope is to reduce the environmental footprint of the hospitals and promote public environmental health.

Globally we are now in an era of the sustainable development goals, which recognise the need for human development, environmental sustainability and health care to work together for future generations.

ProfessorBobMashisheadoftheDivisionof FamilyMedicineandPrimaryCareattheFaculty ofMedicineandHealthSciencesatStellenbosch University. I live on a fairly busy street and I’m endlessly fascinated by the show that passes my front window. Who needs television?

Over the years I have learned to recognise the sounds too. I think of them as the Simon’s Town Road Symphony. I can even hear the difference between a fit runner and an unfit one. The fit athlete makes hardly any noise at all – swish, swish. The unfit runner goes flap, flap.

Fit cyclists chat as they ride. Unfit riders just gasp and grunt.

The most distinctive noise of all is the sound of a furniture truck delivering a mattress. The large plastic bag makes a fluttery, plopping noise, rather like a wet fart or a Harley-Davidson motorcycle – flobber, flobber. I can always tell when Wakefords has sold another bed.

Last Laugh

A tough-looking gangster type went into a shoe shop and demanded to try on a pair of boots.

The timid assistant laced them up and asked: “Do these hurt?”

“How should I know whether they hurt?” snarled the thug.

“I haven’t kicked anybody yet.”