Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
By RAYMOND BONNER and MUKTITA SUHARTONO Published: October 6, 2006 KEDUNGBENDO, Indonesia, Oct. 5 — It started as a natural gas well. It has become geysers of mud and water, and in a country plagued by earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis another calamity in the making, though this one is largely man-made. Sigit Pamungkas/Reuters Houses Continue Reading →
It was a dark hour indeed last Thursday when the United States Senate voted to end the constitutional republic and transform the country into a "Leader-State," giving the president and his agents the power to capture, torture and imprison forever anyone – American citizens included – whom they arbitrarily decide is an "enemy combatant." This Continue Reading →
By LYDIA POLGREEN and MARLISE SIMONS Published: October 2, 2006 ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Sept. 28 — It was his infant son’s cries, gasping and insistent, that first woke Salif Oudrawogol one night last month. The smell hit him moments later, wafting into the family’s hut, a noxious mélange reminiscent of rotten eggs, garlic and petroleum. Continue Reading →
Greenpeace has won a victory after its three day blockade of the toxic tanker Probo Koala, forcing the Estonia Government to open an investigation and detaine the ship. the toxic waste is responsible for the deaths of 8 and illnesses of thousands.
The world experienced its first oil shock during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 when the oil price in today’s price terms rose to $US40 a barrel, according to The Australian Financial Review (10/8/2006, p.26).
Second oil shock in 1979: The second oil shock occurred after the US-backed Shah of Iran was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. This in turn triggered the Iraqi invasion of Iran and an eight-year war. Oil prices in 1980 reached $US90 in real price terms.
Gulf War oil shock: A third oil shock came during the Gulf War in 1990-91 that pushed prices to $US35 a barrel.
Alaskan BP operation shutdown looms: The market cannot tolerate any supply disruption. That is why the 400,000 barrels a day that will be lost when BP closes its Alaskan operation for maintenance has already had such a disproportionate effect on the market.
4m barrels of excess capacity lost in 4yrs: There is just over a million barrels a day of spare global production capacity, down from more than 5 million barrels of excess capacity four years ago.
Oil nears $US100 a barrel: More than a year ago Goldman Sachs’s analysts were criticised for forecasting that the price could pass $US100 a barrel. It moved to within $US22 of this last month.
Iran output warning threatens new oil shock: And the environment is ripe for another shock. Iran on 7 August declined to rule out cutting its oil output, which was nearly 4 million barrels a day last year, if it is subjected to UN sanctions over refusal to suspend its nuclear program. If so global markets will be rocked.
What factors cause US recessions? After all, the majority of the US recessions over the past 50 years have things in common: each one has been preceded by a large increase in the oil price as well as a tightening in monetary policy by the Fed, said Michael Lewis, of Deutsche Bank.
The Australian Financial Review, 10/8/2006, p.26
Source: Erisk Net
Our climate has been been getting hotter and drier, with Perth’s rainfall declining by 21 per cent in the past half century. To secure water supplies, cities need to weigh a range of relatively expensive options, according to Malcolm Turnbull, Federal parliamentary secretary responsible for water, in The Australian (2/10/2006, p.14).
Climate-proof solution a plus: Generally, there were five main options for our big cities, Turnbull said. "First, recycling, either for indirect potable reuse, although this is contentious to say the least, or for substitution for potable water, as is proposed in Brisbane where recycled water would be used in power stations. Second, desalination, which is expensive but like recycling, has the great advantage of not being climate-dependent."
Political price to be paid: The third option — buying water from irrigators — often raised intense political and social questions, although it was proceeding in Adelaide and Perth, he said. The fourth and fifth options were harvesting more surface water by building new dams and piping it to the city, and accessing groundwater, which was really available on a large scale only in Perth.
New dams not the answer: "Brisbane is the only significant city planning to build new dams and they are contentious on both ecological and hydrological grounds. New dams are not a likely option in any of our other big cities and it must be said that in a hotter, drier climate there is much in favour of augmenting our water supplies from sources that are not climate dependent," Turnbull said.
Biggest storage matched by shortage: "Brisbane already has the largest storage capacity relative to demand of any Australian city and yet its water shortage is the most severe.
Distance may be key decider: "In every case, a key factor is the distance of the new water source from the city concerned. Recycling is a more feasible option in a city such as Adelaide where the treatment plants are close to horticultural areas that want to use the water produced. If the treatment plants are on the coast and the potential users are on the outskirts of the city, the transportation costs are a big factor.
Desal location bears on cost: "Desalination produces a highly saline brine stream that poses environmental problems, especially if it is disposed of in an estuary or bay. So for a city such as Melbourne, built on a bay, there would be a strong argument to site a desalination plant on the ocean that would result in added costs to connect with the main water supply network.
All possible for a price: "The bottom line for our cities is this: we can have as much water as we are prepared to pay for."
The Australian, 2/10/2006, p. 14
Source: Erisk Net