Friday
INSIDE
www.grocotts.co.za
SA’s Oldest Independent Newspaper
9 N ovember 2012
The darker side of SA’s debt culture
Page 8
TB doctor surfs to recovery
The perks of loving pets – pics Page 10
“No nukes is good nukes” say J-Bay surfers
Kuyasa’s hoop stars to play for SA Page 11
R5.00
Page 24
Tarryn Ross On the 19th July, the same time as the annual Billabong Pro takes place in Jeffrey’s Bay, over 2000 people protested the government’s proposal to build a nuclear power plant in Thyspunt, just 16km outside of Jeffrey’s Bay. The Supertubes Foundation, an environmental organisation, arranged the protest on the beach while around 20 chokka fishing boats came as close to the shore as possible to show their concern about the power plant. The Foundation, which represents the interests of environmentalists, surfers and the local fishing industry is highly
concerned that the plant will completely change the ecology of Jeffrey’s Bay. Supertubes has raised concerns about the 6.3 million tons of sand that will be dumped in the ocean as well as the raised ocean temperatures as a result of sea water being used to cool the reactors. The environmental organisation came out saying that Eskom’s public participation is flawed and that they “had been ignored during the current Draft Environmental impact Assessment public participation process”. Local surfers have also expressed their concerns about the construction of the plant changing the wave in the bay. If built
LEARNING GAMES TO TRY AT HOME Look out for the Ukufunda word- and number-games page on Tuesday.
the plant will see an extra 15cm of sand being added to the reef’s surface, which could change the breaking point of the wave. This could be a disaster to a town that thrives on its excellent surfing conditions. Surf legend and local, Bruce Gold attended the protest and feels highly upset by proposed plant. He described the wave in Jeffrey’s Bay as being special, stating that: “The waves have the almost perfect angle…a wave can break for 2.1km’s. One surfer, Terry Fitzgerald once had a three minute ride on one wave”. Bruce, like many other surfers in the area has voiced his disapproval of the plans fearing that the plant will
not only ruin the surf but will also flood the town with more inhabitants than it can handle. The final Environmental Impact Assessment draft is estimated to be released in early 2013. The government will review this, along with the concerns of the public and proceed with a decision on whether to build the plant or not. If the decision to build the plant is undertaken it will take 7 to 9 of construction time. The government announced early last year that that 22% of new energy generating capacity by 2030 will be nuclear.
Ripping it up: A surfer tackles a wave at a surfing competition at Point Break, one of Jeffrey’s Bay’s famous surf spots. Jeffrey’s Bay is considered to have one of the best waves in the world. If the government gets the go ahead to build a nuclear power plant the entire wave line up at the bay could change completely. Many surfers have protested the construction of the site for reasons that it will ruin the waves as well as the ecology of the area.