A while ago (rather a long while ago) I received the answer to a conundrum that had occupied me for snatches of time until something else side-tracked me: where did all the let-go-of-by-mistake helium balloons go? When I heard about the hole in the ozone layer I knew. Presumably they had been bobbing around up there against the ceiling of world’s roof until they got to the hole, and then out they wafted into space. In fact, I thought, it was probably the pressure from all those balloons up there that had caused the hole in the ozone layer ... any child can work out that the numbers must have been in the gazillions.

Well I’m older now and I have more important things than balloons to think about: things like the sad state of our planet and our part in that. True, back then I worried about the sun exploding and obliterating us. But now it’s not a matter of eons before catastrophe strikes; it’s a mere generation before the change to Earth is irrevocable. Some suggest it already is.

As our politicians love to say at election time: the time is now. It has come. It’s time for all of us to become superheroes and save the world. We must.

But it’s not all doom and smoggy gloom: SAPOA president and CEO of property group JHI, Marna van der Walt believes that the power outages we’ve been experiencing might just provide the push needed for SA businesses to accelerate their green initiatives and be a catalyst for more effective energy management in SA: ‘Many businesses are realising that back-up generators are simply not a sustainable solution in the longer term,’ she said. ‘Apart from the capital outlay, they cost double the Eskom rate to run. We need to find viable, alternative sources of renewable energy – as is being done in Europe and North America – such as solar or wind energy.’ As Bruce Kerswill of the Green Building Council of SA notes, we have an opportunity to become a world leader in energy efficiency. Especially if our demand for it increases. According to the FNB Property Barometer 68 per cent of those interviewed said that load shedding had influenced their property-buying decisions and 19 per cent of those respondents said they’d ‘look for properties that have alternative energy supplies’.

Of course, it’s not just energy we need to conserve: to be so cavalier about the environment we’re blessed with in this land of wonder is sacrilege. Even the government is coming to the party. According to David Warmback, of Shepstone and Wylie Attorneys, the 2008 Budget proposes measures to encourage conservation of South Africa’s rich biodiversity. ‘Tax reforms to encourage biodiversity conservation by private landowners will be considered. Landowners will receive an income tax deduction for preserving habitats and biodiversity on their land. The deduction will cover expenses incurred in developing and implementing an approved conservation management plan under either the National Biodiversity Act (2004) or the Protected Areas Act (2003). The deductions contemplated would be limited to income derived from the land.’

David also notes that steps will be taken to review impediments to ‘tax deductions for property donated to a Public Benefit Organisation [PBO] or parastatal conservation agency where that property is declared a nature reserve or national park under the Protected Areas Act (2003). It [was] announced that a similar review will be conducted for estate duty, transfer duty, or donations tax exemptions for properties bequeathed, sold or donated to a PBO for declaration as a protected area under that Act.’

But we have to get in on the act too. In this, the first Green issue of The Property Magazine, we’ve barely scratched the surface. There is lots of good news and lots more to do but we hope we’ve provided you with food for  thought.

By the way, helium balloons do not go ever upwards and are not environment friendly – they do horrible things to marine life if they end up in the sea. Even the green ones.