Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
Weapons of Mass Destruction Protected by Bill Quigley BISMARCK, North Dakota – Three men protesting the presence of weapons of mass destruction in North Dakota were sentenced Thursday to federal prison terms of over three years and ordered to pay $17,000 in restitution by a federal judge in Bismarck. The three dressed as clowns Continue Reading →
Who has conquered the Middle East over the course of world events? Pretty much everyone. Egyptians, Turks, Jews, Romans, Arabs, Persians, Europeans … the list goes on. See 5,000 years of history in 90 seconds
In the Honig Winery in the heart of the Napa Valley, vines heavy with grapes stretch all the way to the distant hills. But in their midst stands an odd sight – hundreds of solar panels, installed in August, gently sloping and ringed by a fence, reports The Economist (18/11/2006, p73).
No electricity bill: Already the winery’s electricity bill has dropped to zero, as the system has produced a surplus of power.
No brainer: Putting them in was "a no-brainer", says Tory Benedetti, Honig’s chief financial officer. “Any business that is a high user of electricity, how could you not consider this?"
Dramatic growth in solar installations: So far a few dozen of California’s 1,400 or so wineries have gone solar, but "it’s going to grow pretty dramatically”, predicts Barry Cinnamon of Akeena Solar, an installer.
Incentives: The state has created extraordinary incentives for businesses and homes to adopt the otherwise unaffordable system.
Subsidies and tax credits: The Honig unit, which covers a third of an acre (1,350 square metres), cost $1.2m. About $400,000 was repaid immediately as a rebate from Pacific Gas and Electric, a utility. Another 30% will be written off as a tax credit this year, thanks to the 2005 federal energy bill. Then there is another tax credit from the state.
Eight years to break even: Most wineries break even in seven or eight years on solar power units that should last for decades.
Selling surplus power to grid: This means that the wineries can sell their power to California’s grid at peak summer rates (when airconditioners are pumping), and buy it back from the grid more cheaply later.
Solar panels going up in price due to shortage of silicone: The main hurdle is cost. In just two years, solar panels have gone up in price by over 50%, says Chris Bunas of Solar-Craft, another Californian installer. That is because of a shortage of silicon, the key ingredient. New technologies, such as "thin-film" panels, could cut prices.
Hagemeyer Brands Australia, trading as Hagemeyer Appliances, has offered a court enforceable undertaking to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over "environmentally friendly" claims made about its Dimplex air conditioning products, according to an ACCC statement.
False advertising in three sources: Between September 2005 and June 2006, Hagemeyer Appliances advertised particular models of Dimplex air conditioners through both the Dimplex and Hagemeyer websites and also through a brochure titled Come Home to Cool. Dimplex claimed that the air conditioners were "environmentally friendly" when this was not so.
Green claims despite GHG R407C: The air conditioners contained R407C which is a potent greenhouse gas which will contribute to global warming if released into the atmosphere. While R407C is likely to be less harmful to the environment than certain other hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, such as R22 gas, R407C gas is not "environmentally friendly".
In Breach of TPA: Following complaints, the ACCC advised Hagemeyer Appliances of its concerns that the advertisements contained false and misleading representations in breach of the consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
Hagemeyer concedes its error: Hagemeyer Appliances acknowledged that R407C gas is not appropriately described as "environmentally friendly". Accordingly, Hagemeyer Appliances agreed to cease making this claim about R407C in relation to its air conditioners and also to implement a number of corrective measures to ensure that consumers do not remain under any incorrect impressions about R407C.
Road to reparation: The corrective measures to be undertaken by Hagemeyer Appliances include:
• write to all customers who received a Come Home to Cool brochure to explain the effect of its conduct;
• publish corrective notices in the Appliance Retailer trade magazine; and
• publish a corrective statement on the Hagemeyer and Dimplex websites.
Compliance program to be boosted: The undertaking also provides for a strengthening of Hagemeyer Appliances’ trade practices law compliance program.
Clear message sent: "The ACCC considers misleading environmental claims to be a serious issue, particularly as consumers value environmental benefits when making their purchasing choices", ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today. "This also reminds the air conditioning industry as a whole that misleading environmental claims will not be tolerated.
Businesses must be accountable: "Businesses must take great care that their advertising claims about any environmental benefits must be able to be substantiated. The ACCC acknowledges that Hagemeyer Appliances responded immediately and constructively to addressing the ACCC’s concerns," said Samuels.
The Ipsos Mackay poll, released on November 19, found that 60 per cent of Australians believe climate change will be important in determining their vote at the next federal election, while 27 per cent say the issue is not an important election factor, The Mercury reports (20/11/2006, p.6).
Major parties poll behind Greens: Both major parties polled behind the Greens as the preferred federal political party to manage climate change.
Minister say Aust not "behind the action": Back from Nairobi, where he headed an Australian delegation to the latest United Nations climate change conference, Environment Minister Ian Campbell rejected suggestions Australia was now behind in action on climate change.
Minister claims Aust "highly respected": “We are deeply engaged and we’re highly respected, I might say," he said. “We are part of the main game within the conference of the parties, we’re part of the main game on the debate internationally. It really is only political rhetoric from people who want to score political points."
Labor claims to be in winning position: Labor treasury spokesman Wayne Swan said the Opposition was in a winning position on climate change.
The High Court has criticised the federal government’s use of broad regulation-making powers in its Work Choices legislation, while a legal academic has warned the coalition may live to regret giving a future Labor government a way to bypass parliament, reported The Australian Financial Review (15/11/2006, p.14).
Kirby against "vague" new powers: Dissenting judge Michael Kirby was far more disturbed by the “vague, indeterminate and open-ended regulation-making powers” under Work Choices. He called for the provisions to be scrapped "both to defend the proper constitutional role of the federal to discourage future similar measures.”
Lawyers share concern: Flinders University professor of law Andrew Stewart said many lawyers shared Justice Kirby’s concerns about the increasing use of broad regulatory powers by executive government. He added that regulation-making powers under Work Choices were so broad that regulations could even amend the Workplace Relations Act.
Coalition may rue the day: Professor Stewart said using regulations to amend an act was easier for the federal government, but “the coalition may come to regret having left Labor with that way of changing the Workplace Relations Act”.
Rule by regulation: To pass statutes, the federal government had to win the support of a majority in the Senate, which usually meant ensuring all coalition senators were on board, whereas regulations took effect unless disallowed by the majority of the Senate, he said.
The Australian Financial Review, 15/11/2006, p.14
Source: Erisk Net