At first glance, Wildevoëlvlei may not look like one of the most important places in the water system. It is not a grand dam or a towering treatment plant. It is a wetland, a shallow expanse of water that has been quietly doing its job for generations, filtering, storing, and carrying water through a landscape that has changed around it. Yet for the people of the communities that depend on this area, and for the birds, plants, and marine life along the nearby coast, Wildevoëlvlei is a vital link in a fragile chain. The City of Cape Town’s Scientific Services…

There is an old saying that you can learn a lot about people by watching what they refuse to believe. In 2026, the American electorate has turned that idea into a national pastime. We now measure our civic health not by whether elections are legitimate, but by whether the outcome happens to match our vote. The familiar cliché of a functioning democracy is that citizens trust the process even when they lose. But a new survey of more than 2,000 American adults suggests that in the run-up to the 2026 midterms, trust is no longer a baseline civic assumption. It…