Berni Crewe-Brown

Embracing each moment of life in awareness of the impact I can make through my attitude and actions.

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

We have not been able to turn on a heater due to the lack of service from Eskom.

[Eskom Hld SOC Ltd @Eskom_SA]

Winter is here, and with it comes the necessity of staying warm! Before you switch on that heater, let’s take a look at the common errors people often make in their pursuit of comfort. Learn how to remain safe and snug during this chilly season.

#PublicSafety

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

Thank is untrue. There are thousands of customers in the Overberg district- Overstrand who have had no power and intermittent power (which is more detrimental as these communities have lost appliances and tons of food)

[Eskom Hld SOC Ltd @Eskom_SA]

#PowerSystemUpdate

Eskom maintains strong system performance as unplanned outages decline by more than 5 GW year-on-year. ⚡

Key Performance Highlights (1 April to 21 May 2026)
✅ No interruptions in the current financial year to date.
🔧 Planned maintenance averaged 6 957MW.
⛽ OCGT usage is down 87.69%, with costs reduced by 79.43%.
📉 The load factor is at 1.51%, well below the 3% target.

The grid remains stable despite higher winter demand, with improved resilience and reduced reliance on diesel generation.

#PowerSystem #EnergySecurity

🔗to the full statement https://t.co/qkFAS4hXvB

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

@VaticanIHD This is excellent thank you

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

So wonderful to V have this incredible resource

[PetrAnto @petranto]

@VaticanNews great move from Pope Leo.
AI needs humanity

https://t.co/C80bq1qbq1

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

Indeed and an awakening needed by many country leaders

[Rich Raho @RichRaho]

While encyclical launch by Pope personally this morning was epic on its own, at same address, Leo spoke of his time as missionary in Peru: “There I learned that rebuilding does not mean simply replacing what has been destroyed. It means repairing bonds, restoring trust, and reawakening hope in the future. Moreover, no one rebuilds alone.” https://t.co/NrLVCFNVn8

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

@Eskom_SA Some houses have had no power for a period of 16 days solid. And now the whole area is out again

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

@Eskom_SA The areas affected are in the Kogelberg biosphere Rooiels, Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

@Eskom_SA Around 10 000 properties have had intermittent to no power on and off for nearly a month. Due to damage to Eskom infrastructure caused by Storms: lightening strikes, and gale force winds.

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

@Eskom_SA Eskom does not receive income from customers who are not using power. Upscale restoration strategies to make Eskom more profitable, reliable and effective.

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

@CapeTalk @KienoKammies @StephenGrootes @Eskom_SA @OverstrandMuni @OverbergDM @stephengrootes gave Eskom a well done pat on the back. Power was out for some communities for over 16 days. Today again power is out in our area band we do not even hear a whisper from @Eskom

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

@CapeTalk @KienoKammies A week or so ago @StephenGrootes interviewed @Eskom_SA spokesperson congratulating Eskom on their no outages for such an extended period. I sent on a msg telling them that some parts of the @OverstrandMuni @OverbergDM had had no power for 10 days….my message was ignored.

[Economics and Agriculture @Agrieconom]

The banana plant is not a tree — it is a giant herbaceous plant. What looks like a trunk is the pseudostem, formed by the tightly overlapping bases of its leaf sheaths. 🌿
Understanding its anatomy helps make sense of how it grows, even in temperate gardens.

Flag leaf: the last leaf produced before flowering. Its appearance signals that the bunch is already forming inside the pseudostem — the plant is committed to fruiting.

Adult leaf: powers the photosynthesis that fills the fruit. Every leaf lost to wind damage or disease directly reduces the final weight of the bunch.

Leaf blade (lamina): the wide flat part of the leaf, crossed by a prominent midrib, with an upper surface (adaxial) and a lower surface (abaxial).

Pseudopetiole: the section connecting the leaf blade to the pseudostem.

Pseudostem: the false trunk, built entirely from tightly rolled leaf bases wrapped around each other. It can reach between 6 and 25 feet depending on variety, but contains no woody tissue whatsoever.

Bunch (bunch of hands): the complete fruit structure. Each row of bananas is a hand, and each individual banana is a finger. A bunch carries between 6 and 14 hands depending on variety and growing conditions.

Female flower hands: these develop into the hands of fruit. The female flowers open first and are the ones that set fruit.

Flower heart (male inflorescence): the pendant bud at the end of the bunch, containing the male flowers. In tropical cuisines it is cooked as a vegetable.

Sucker (pup): the lateral shoot emerging from the rhizome. This is the primary method of propagation — the parent plant dies after fruiting and the sucker takes over.

Rhizome: the true underground stem of the plant, from which both the roots and the suckers originate.

Roots: fibrous and shallow, concentrated in the top 12 inches of soil — which is why bananas need consistent surface moisture and do not compete well with deep-rooted plants.

In the US, banana plants can be grown in the ground year-round in zones 8 to 11. In zones 5 to 7, Musa basjoo — the Japanese fiber banana — is the most cold-hardy ornamental variety, surviving to around -10F with heavy mulching over the rhizome. Ensete ventricosum and Musa sikkimensis are other cold-tolerant options for northern gardens grown as summer tropicals in containers.

🌿 Not a tree. Not a palm. A giant herb that fruits once and hands the garden to its children.

#fyp #gameday #comunityevent #darkhumor Sammayorgreenfild

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

Spekboom is endemic to the Eastern Cape, so this is wonderful news. Not only the social angle, but also to balance their ecosystems, services and rebuild rich biodiversity.

[UN Environment Programme @UNEP]

In South Africa’s Eastern Cape, people and nature are flourishing, thanks to #GenerationRestoration efforts driven by spekboom—a shrub that retains water, withstands drought, and supplies fodder for livestock and wildlife when other vegetation fails.

Explore more: https://t.co/RNIUeGUqFU: https://t.co/RNIUeGUqFU

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

Wonderful to see our expert on the world’s stage

[Martin Sokol @martinsokol]

Inspirational keynote by Mark Swilling at the International #Sustainability Transitions #IST2023 conference ⁦@UUCopernicus⁩ Utrecht, the Netherlands 👏👏👏

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

Wow this is magnificent

[Mike Hudema @MikeHudema]

Forest = For Rest.

The dance of the forest. Nature is amazing. Protect it. #ActOnClimate

#climate #deforestation #amazingnature

[Rich Raho @RichRaho]

Vatican releases message for the Feast of Ramadan: “Indeed, we — Christians and Muslims, together with all people of good will — are called to imagine and to open new paths by which life may be renewed.” https://t.co/qZSAsg9VSM

[UN Biodiversity @UNBiodiversity]

Delivering on biodiversity commitments takes a whole-of-government and whole-of-society effort.

Both governments and non-government actors can contribute to the Global Review, informing the global stocktake at #COP17.

🗓7th national reports due 28 Feb: https://t.co/QN2EaPJwSs

[Berni Crewe-Brown @bernicb]

find out all about the free certified course that equips you with a knowledge of the present ecological status of the world today and practical ways to actively fix them.