Category: Archive

Iceland has just announced that they will give a license to one man to commercially hunt whales. The quota is 30 minke whales and 9 fin whales – which are an endangered species. Sign Greepeace’s petition against this now!

Prime Minister John Howard said Australia had to consider the nuclear power option, given the nation had the largest uranium deposits in the world, and it had to be debated as part of the response to global warming, reported The Australian (17 October 2006, p.1).

Macfarlane weighs in: Industry and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane, who has largely stayed out of the power debate until now, later claimed Australia could start construction on a nuclear power plant within 10 years.

Mood changing: Mr Macfarlane said the mood towards nuclear energy in Australia was likely to change when the community understood its ability to supply affordable electricity while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. "Around the world, uranium is coming in from the cold," he said.

Greenhouse the key driver: The shift was not being driven primarily by the need for energy – there were hundreds of years in coal and gas reserves. Demand was being propelled by communities seeking to balance their economic development and the challenge of curbing greenhouse emissions.

Coastal real estate wanted: While no sites have yet been identified in Australia, the article says cost-effective nuclear power stations would need to be built on a series on coastal sites about 100km from major cities and energy demand.

The hit list: Clarence Hardy, president of the Pacific Nuclear Council, said identifying locations would only be feasible if there was clear public acceptance of the technology and an established regulatory framework. He said possible locations included:

# the coast south and north of Perth;
# the Hunter Valley in NSW or the coast north of Newcastle;
# the Iron Triangle in South Australia;
# north of Brisbane; and
# the coast south of Victoria’s La Trobe Valley.

Switkowski report due in Nov: The Prime Minister’s taskforce reviewing uranium, mining, enrichment and nuclear energy in Australia, headed by former telecommunications executive and nuclear scientist Ziggy Switkowski, is due to table its draft findings next month.

The Australian, 17/10/2006, p. 1

Source: Erisk Net  

A recent survey by the Green Building Council Australia found that the "green star" environmental rating system is becoming the green building standard for the industry and that government initiatives were a catalyst for change.

Manufacturers slow to respond: BCI Australia chief executive officer Matthias Krups said that the results reflected momentum in the industry, but that manufacturers were slow to respond to demand.

Window of opportunity: The results also point to a strategic window of opportunity for manufacturers’ branding and positioning, with ‘specifying green products’ ranking among the most common of green building activities, yet few if any of the architects are able to specifically put their fingers on a ‘green manufacturer’, Dr Krups said.

Other findings of the survey include:

• More than 50 per cent of Australia’s architectural firms and contractors see their sales associated with green building on the rise, yet 65 per cent of architects and contractors see ‘little or no impact’ of green building on their profits.

• The main reasons for getting involved in green building are ‘lowering life-cycle costs’ (71 per cent) and ‘being part of an industry that values the environment’ (75 per cent).

Reference: The Dollars & Sense of Green Buildings http://www.gbcaus.org

Erisk Net, 17/10/2006