Category: Archive

China-India border dispute flares in grab for water

admin /22 November, 2006

Tawang, on the flanks of the Tibetan plateau, and its cultural affinity to Lhasa, are at the root of a decades-old dispute between India and China that has flared up amid indications that China plans to dam a massive river flow before the border.

China claims Indian state: Historically, China says, the region was part of outer Tibet, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald (21/11/2006, p.7). Today it is known as the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh – but China lays claim to it in its entirety.

Repository of old Tibet: Tawang is the repository of perhaps the last vestige of a Tibet submerged by China’s rise. The town is home to Tibetan Buddhism’s biggest monastery after the Potal, a palace in Lhasa. In Tawang’s temple is a 7.6-metre-high golden Buddha. The monks, who live in a group of 65 white-walled buildings with distinctive pagoda-like yellow roofs, keep alive a centuries-old culture and language.

Sustenance for Tibetan exiles: For many it also sustains the dream of returning home for 100,000 Tibetans in exile in India. Under a brilliant white painting of Tsepakmey, the Buddhist god of life, Tengye Rinpoche, the Tibetan abbot of the 17th-century lamasery [monastery], explains that Tawang is special "because the sixth Dalai Lama was born here. It is very close to our hearts".

Hopes of resolution: Expectations had been raised that the border dispute would be resolved during the visit to India that began on 20 November by Chinese President Hu Jintao – only the second visit by that country’s top leader to Delhi. The putative deal would entail a swap: Beijing relinquishing its claim to Arunachal Pradesh and Delhi giving up its demand for 38,850 square kilometres bordering Kashmir.

Dashed by hostile exchange: However, those hopes have been dashed by aggressive claim and counter-claim before the historic meeting. China’s ambassador to India, Sun Yuxi, told Indian television last week: “The whole of what you call the state of Arunachal Pradesh is Chinese territory and Tawang is only one place in it, and we are claiming all of that.”

India holds firm: India’s Foreign Minister tersely responded by reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh was an "integral part of India". Sonia Gandhi, president of India’s ruling Congress party, visited Tawang recently to emphasise India’s grip on the town.

Strategic water goals: Experts say China covets the Tawang region for economic and strategic reasons. China has plans to divert the River Brahmaputra, which begins in Tibet but passes through Arunachal Pradesh, to feed its arid northern and western regions and generate power.

Record low inflows to Murray River system

admin /22 November, 2006

After five consecutive months of record low inflows to the Murray River system, Hume Reservoir is at just 9.7 per cent capacity, reported The Australian (20/11/2006, p.6).

Dry follows major fires: In early 2003, 50 per cent of Hume Reservoir’s catchment was burnt, while 95 per cent of the catchment of Dartmouth Dam – which feeds into the Hume – went up in flames. The chief executive of Victoria’s North East Catchment Management Authority, John Riddiford, said: "Every statistic you look at, it is another record, another unheard-of situation."

Run-off falls with new growth: Riddiford said that in the first couple of years after a bushfire there was a slight increase in run-off. But once the regeneration begins and trees start growing "then the run-off will drop significantly". The amount of water used by the growing forest peaks between 20 and 30 years after the fire.

Other factors interfere: A senior research scientist with CSIRO Land and Water, Albert Van Dijk, said several factors can reduce run-off. “There are things in the Upper Murray catchment that weren’t there 40 years ago. They include farm dams, plantation forests, and native forests that might be recovering after the 2003 fires."

Rainfall shifts amplified: Changes in rainfall are amplified in stream flow, so that a 10 per cent reduction in rainfall can result in a 20 per cent or more reduction in inflow into streams and dams. Riddiford said the 2003 fires burnt out 1.1 million hectares. The area burnt included the catchments of Murray Darling Basin rivers including the Ovens, the Kiewa, the Upper Murray and the Mitta.

High-level nuclear waste no problem until 2050; Switkowski panel

admin /22 November, 2006

Australia would not need deep underground repositories for high level nuclear waste until 2050, according to a report by a panel headed by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski.

Three associated findings: In one of three associated findings on nuclear waste and nuclear power stations safety, the report said disposal of high-level waste including spent nuclear fuel remained an issue in most nuclear power countries.

Facilities being developed: There was a consensus that disposal in appropriately engineered deep (500–1200 metres underground) repositories was the answer and such facilities were under development in many countries.

Australia has suitable areas: Australia had areas suitable for such repositories, which would not be needed until around 2050 should nuclear power be introduced.

12 key findings: Nuclear waste was the subject of two of 12 key findings in the 157-page report on "Uranium mining, processing and nuclear energy – Opportunities for Australia?” commissioned by the Prime Minister in June.

Panel members: Other panel members besides Switkowski are are Professor George Dracoulis and Professor Warwick McKibbin, of the Australian National University; Sylvia Kidzia, chairman of the Radiation Health and Safety Council; Martin Thomas, chairman of Dulhunty Power Limited and a director of EnviroMission Limited; and Dr Arthur Johnston, the Supervising Scientist, a statutory position within Environment Australia, from 1999 until 2005.

Low-level waste: On low-level waste, the report said many countries had implemented straightforward solutions for disposal of low-level radioactive waste. A national repository involving burial of low-level waste from any future nuclear power industry was logical for Australia.

Advances since Chernobyl disaster: On safety of nuclear power, it said that since Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986, the nuclear industry had developed new reactor designs which were safer and more efficient and produced lower volumes of radioactive waste, and had standardised its operating procedures.

Further innovation on cards: The future held the promise of significant further innovation.

Ziggy’s Nuclear Review

admin /21 November, 2006

Chair of the Prime Ministerial Taskforce on Nuclear Energy, Ziggy Switkowski outlined the findings of his report to the Prime Minister at the National Press Club in November, 2006.

The Ebono Institute provides the content of his speech here as part of our ongoing analysis of the nuclear debate, initiated and stage managed by the government to do the bidding of Westinghouse and General Electric. That is, to ridicule renewable energy and to promote nuclear energy as somehow "clean".

You will find plenty of material to debunk the garbage promoted in this speech elsewhere in the site. 

Water for NSW farmers slashed to save towns

admin /20 November, 2006

The NSW government has cut general security allocations for 2006-07 to just 10 per cent of farmers’ entitlements for the Murrumbidgee and reduced high security allocations for orchardists and vineyards from 95pc to 85pc, reported The Land (17/11/2006, p.13).

Successive cuts: Even tougher restrictions apply in the Murray Valley, where general security irrigators already had zero allocations and now high-security allocations have been cut by 32pc to just 48pc.

Town water first: The cuts are intended to protect town water supplies following record low inflows into headwater dams since June. Water sharing plans in both valleys have also been suspended, which means Natural Resources Minister, Ian Macdonald, can make new rules for the rivers, and is not obliged to maintain environmental water flows.

Irrigators eye enviro flows: The changes hit just two weeks after the government cut irrigator access to general security water carried over from 2005-06 by 20pc. Irrigators have already demanded a suspension of environmental flows.

Death for summer crops: Murray Irrigation Ltd chairman Stewart Ellis said the cuts would all but end any plans for summer crops in the Murray Valley and farmers who had already bought water for summer crops or pastures would suffer significant financial losses.

Autumn water also cut: Murrumbidgee Irrigation Ltd (MI) suffered a further blow on Monday when the DNR cut three per cent from allocations intended to be available after next February.

Rice farmers hanging on: Ricegrowers Association of Australia, executive director, Victoria Taylor, said the initial reaction of many growers, when they heard of the new cutbacks, had been to "walk away" from rice crops – but this week some had reconsidered, and were now talking of cutting back the area they would water.

EnergyAustralia customer complaints up 200pc

admin /20 November, 2006

A report released this week revealed consumer complaints had risen by 200 per cent in the past year – further damaging the company’s image. Energy Australia has been ripping off customers and has been forced to pay back $8 million to thousands of businesses and households. Up to 50,000 consumers will receive rebates after an investigation revealed users had been paying too much for electricity. One 80-year old retiree’s bill jumped by $500, leading him to write to the state’s pricing watchdog to investigate.

What the rules say: Under the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) recommendation, a customer’s annual bill should not increase by more than CPI (7.7 per cent) or $35, based on the same volume of electricity use from the previous year.

Clever tariffing: Energy Australia had been forced to admit its two-tiered structure has overcharged some customers and it will now refund the money owed. The company predicts about 50,000 customers will receive a $160 rebate from next month.

Some bills more than double: Bill Paveletich discovered his quarterly electricity bill had jumped from $348 to $837. He was told by Energy Australia the increased charges covered the cost of new power lines and infrastructure. “It’s an unjustifiable increase,” he said yesterday. “You can’t justify an increase in rate by 19 per cent.”

Applies to those on standard contract: The overcharging hit customers who were not on a contract. Instead they are charged under the two-block structure, introduced earlier this year with the aim of reducing usage. Once a customer exceeds 1750kW/h the tariff jumps by 19 per cent – adding hundreds of dollars to annual bills.

IPART orders EA to pay money back: IPART has ordered Energy Australia to repay customers penalised by the price increase. Energy Australia’s retail manager Tim O’Grady admitted the company knew the changes would increase customers’ bills. “Energy Australia has a two-block pricing structure that rewards consumers for lower energy consumption and requires larger consumers to pay more,” O’Grady said.