Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
A great tide of water has rushed past Nathan Keogh’s parched Kalamurina station for 14 days, coursing inexorably towards Lake Eyre 100km to the west, says The Australian (9/3/07, p. 7). Faster than last flood: It surged into the lake’s main inlet, the Warburton Groove, last Tuesday, branching into shallow creeks from the main river Continue Reading →
The head of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s dilapidated, and poorly guarded, nuclear reactor plant has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling enriched uranium, reported The Sydney Morning Herald (10/3/07, p.19).
Unspecified uranium quantities disappear: The commissioner general for atomic energy, Fortunat Lumu and an aide, were detained on 6 March. Congo’s state prosecutor, Tshimangs Mukeba, said Lumu was being questioned about the disappearance of unspecified quantities of uranium in recent years. Mukeba said Lumu was suspected of "orchestrating illicit contracts to produce and sell uranium but he did not name the alleged buyers".
Enriched but not weapons grade: The newspaper Le Phare reported that about 100 bars of uranium had disappeared from the small experimental reactor, the oldest nuclear facility in Africa. The uranium produced by the reactor in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, is enriched but not to weapons grade, although it could be used in a "dirty bomb" to spread radiation. Two uranium rods disappeared in the late 1970s, one of which is believed to have been found in 1998 on its way to the Middle East via the Mafia. The other was never recovered.
Undermines nuclear lobby: This comes as a blow for the nuclear energy lobby as it illustrates how vulunerable security of uranium is.
Provided uranium for Japanese atom bombs: The nuclear plant was founded in 1958 with help from the US, because the then Belgian Congo provided the uranium used in the atom bombs dropped on Japan. The plant currently also handles uranium mined in the south of the count for export.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 10/3/2007, p. 19
Source: Erisk Net
Natural disasters has increased fivefold in the thirty years between 1960 and 1990, Sudip Mitra, National Institute of Disaster Management, India told The second international workshop on community-based adaptation to climate change. The event was held at the Radisson Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 24-28 February 2007, organized by the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS).
Fivefold disaster increase in 30 years: Noting an almost five-fold rise in disasters between 1960 and 1990, mostly of hydro-meteorological origin, Sudip Mitra, National Institute of Disaster Management, India, spoke about integrating adaptation to climate change into disaster management. He emphasized the similarities between community-based adaptation and community-based disaster management, and said that a systematic approach to reducing risks is to shift the focus from hazards to risk management.
Small-scale disasters also on the rise: Dinanath Bhandari, Practical Action, Nepal, reported on work done with flood-prone communities in Nepal. He explained that small-scale disasters have increased in recent years, and noted the difficulty of distinguishing between impacts due to climate change and those resulting from inefficient natural resource management.
Small, local action worthwhile: He stressed that adaptation measures are context-specific, that adaptation is careful development taking into account future climatic conditions, and that small actions on the ground can have a significant impact.
Reference: International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), A Summary of the Second International Workshop on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change, Volume 135, No. 1, 4 March 2007, p. 1-4.
This document is available at www.iisd.ca/download/pdf/sd/ymbvol135num1e.pdf
Erisk Net, 5/3/2007
The University of New South Wales presents a free public lecture on solar energy on Monday 26th March at 6pm. The lecture will be delivered by the eminent Professor Helmut Tributsch, who has worked on campaigns which successfully Continue Reading →
WATER-GUZZLING power stations are draining Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam to boost by a third supplies of cheap electricity to NSW as the 2.5 million residents of southeast Queensland brace for level-five water restrictions, reported Greg Roberts in The Australian , March 07, 2007 The Tarong North power generator used 1280 megalitres of Wivenhoe water in January Continue Reading →
According to The Australian (10/03/2007, p.5), Brisbane was set to become the first capital city with level-5 restrictions when forced to join the rest of the state’s southeast next month in further slashing water consumption in the face of what Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman described as a "terrible situation". Water prices set to rise: Continue Reading →