Articles for Neil Thomas Stacey

How climate change threatens South Africa’s wine industry

Higher temperatures pose a raft of challenges for vineyards and the jobs that depend on them

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Science | 30 September 2024

Get rid of leaf blowers: they pollute and their purpose is dubious

Many use two-stroke engines which are an environmental hazard

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Science | 14 December 2023

Microplastics are a danger to our health. Here’s how to reduce our exposure to them

Some well-intentioned initiatives make the situation worse

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Science | 24 October 2023

South Africa must fix its academic incentives, or other universities may meet the same fate as UNISA

Paying the same amount for every published article encourages low-quality paper-mills

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Opinion | 29 August 2023

Is our food becoming less nutritious? Probably

But solutions are not at all simple

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Science | 21 April 2023

Will a State of Disaster fix the electricity crisis? An engineer weighs in

There are good reasons to be sceptical

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Analysis | 10 February 2023

Understanding Eskom’s high failure rate

Researchers have identified the underlying causes

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Analysis | 8 December 2022

Much ado about magic mushrooms

Careful examination reveals there is not enough data

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Science | 12 October 2022

South Africa does need some gas in the energy mix – just not the kind Gwede Mantashe wants

Biodigestion is a cheap, low-tech way for communities to produce some of their power

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Science | 6 September 2022

Plastic pollution: We’re getting it wrong. Here’s what needs to happen

The focus on single-use plastics is diverting attention from a much more serious problem. It’s also causing bad practices.

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Science | 19 August 2022

Hydrogen as fuel: we should be selective about how we make and use it

Hydrogen is a useful substitute for fossil fuels, but new research shows leakages can be very damaging to the environment

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Science | 3 August 2022

South African engineers are trying to solve the global water crisis

But better politics as much as good engineering may be key

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Science | 11 July 2022

Waste plastic could beat coal as an energy source

We can eliminate this toxic pollutant - and make it profitable

Neil Stacey, James Fox, Klaus Moller, Diane Hildebrandt, David Glasser, and Celestin Sempuga

Science | 10 May 2022

Anglo’s new hydrogen vehicle: bad engineering, good marketing

An astonishingly expensive process for turning electricity into less electricity

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Science | 9 May 2022

Electric cars are not yet a solution for South Africa

Evaluating the environmental footprint of electric cars

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Science | 3 May 2022

An optimal vaccine strategy for middle-income countries

A mixture of Chinese-manufactured vaccines and mRNA booster may be the way to go

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Analysis | 13 December 2021