Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
More than 2.5 million trees will be planted along the River Murray between Morgan and Renmark as part of the South Australian Government’s Budget commitment to the waterway. The Government will spend $5.7 million over the next four years establishing the native forest. It is one of a number of River Murray projects to share Continue Reading →
Climate change is with us. A decade ago, it was conjecture. Now the future is unfolding before our eyes. Canada’s Inuit see it in disappearing Arctic ice and permafrost. The shantytown dwellers of Latin America and Southern Asia see it in lethal storms and floods. Europeans see it in disappearing glaciers, forest fires and fatal heat waves.
Scientists see it in tree rings, ancient coral and bubbles trapped in ice cores. These reveal that the world has not been as warm as it is now for a millennium or more. The three warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998; 19 of the warmest 20 since 1980. And Earth has probably never warmed as fast as in the past 30 years – a period when natural influences on global temperatures, such as solar cycles and volcanoes should have cooled us down. Studies of the thermal inertia of the oceans suggest that there is more warming in the pipeline.
Climatologists reporting for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say we are seeing global warming caused by human activities and there are growing fears of feedbacks that will accelerate this warming.
The Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) and Australian Homeland Security Research Centre (AHSRC) have announced an Energy Security Symposium to be held on 11 October at the AIIA Conference Centre in Canberra.
Big issue: The symposium will explore the implication for Australia’s strategic environment of the drive for energy security by nations around the world. The Symposium will be opened by Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Alexander Downer, and chaired by Professor Michael Wesley, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute.
Themes to be addressed include:
• The impact of energy security on Australia’s international relations;
• Energy trends globally and in Australia;
• The drive for energy security and its impact on international relations of USA, Japan, China and Central Asia;
• Accessing energy resources in the arc of instability;
• The impact that energy security may have on Australia’s international relations; and
• Integrating energy security into Australia’s national security policy.
Speakers include:
• Professor Stuart Harris, Department of International Relations Australian National University;
• Matt Matthews, Economic Counselor, US Embassy;
• Professor Purnendra Jain, University of Adelaide;
• Professor Yi-Chong Xu, Griffith University;
• Barry Naughten, Centre for Arab & Islamic Studies, Australian National University;
• Stephen Brophy, Oil Search Ltd;
• Dr Andrew O’Neil, Senior lecturer in Political and International Studies, Flinders University; and
• Associate Professor Richard Leaver, School of Political and International Studies, Flinders University;
• Anthony Bergin, Director of Research Programs, Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Background: The Australian Institute of International Affairs was established in 1933 as an independent non-political body to promote an interest in and understanding of international affairs. The AIIA operates nationwide with 1,300 members across seven State and Territory Branches. The Australian Homeland Security Research Centre undertakes independent, evidence-based analysis of domestic security issues as well as facilitating a range of security related professional development events. The Centre seeks to be Australia’s leading independent source of strategic and industry research on domestic security and counter-terrorism.
Contact details: For further information and registration, visit: http://www.homelandsecurity,org.au/enercgy/ or contact Janinka Feenstra on (02) 6282 2133 or intern1@aiia.asn.au
Erisk Net, 21/9/2006
Glaciers in Switzerland were covered with white plastic to slow melting, while The Netherlands was building higher dams to prevent flooding, Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger told an environmental conference in Zurich.
Droughts, floods and storms: Reuters reported that Leuenberger mentioned these effects of global warming when advocating an international tax on greenhouse gases to help poor countries cope with droughts, floods and storms caused by global warming.
Proposal to be discuss at UN conference: Leuenberger said a tax on greenhouse gas emissions could provide funds to help developing countries to deal with the impact of climate change. The proposal is expected to be discussed at the November international conference on climate change in Nairobi sponsored by the United Nations.
Adaptation policy the burning issue: "One idea is to have an international carbon dioxide (CO2) tax that would be paid into an international fund," Leuenberger said. "The burning issue at this meeting was the adaptation policy and dealing with the direct effects of damages."
WWF welcomes proposal: Jennifer Morgan, director of global climate change program at the WWF, welcomed the CO2 international tax initiative. "This would be a positive sign that governments had realised the need to raise serious money to deal with climate change," she said.
Focus of Nairobi conference: November’s conference in Nairobi is expected to focus on how to provide aid for developing countries so that they can cope with the consequences of climate change.
CDM projects finance present adaptation fund: An adaptation fund was established in 2001 as part of the Kyoto Protocol to finance adaptation projects and programs in developing countries that are part of Kyoto. The fund is financed by proceeds from clean development mechanism (CDM) project activities.
Few CDM projects in Africa: But Kenya’s Environment Minister, Kivutha Kibwana, said CDM projects had not been implemented evenly and there were very few in Africa. He said the regional distribution of the CDM activities would be addressed in Nairobi.
Reference: Digest of latest news reported on website of Climate Change Secretariat of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 15 September, 2006. Address: PO Box 260 124, D-53153 Bonn. Germany. Phone: : (49-228) 815-1005, Fax: (49-228) 815-1999. Email: press@unfccc.int
http://www.unfccc.int
Erisk Net, 21/9/2006
Eight million hectares had gone up in smoke in the past month and fires are still burning out of control on the island of Borneo, according to officials of Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry,
Farmers blamed, bans unenforced: Government officials point to small farmers who use fires to clear land quickly and cheaply. But environmentalists blame Indonesia’s failure to enforce logging controls and a ban on land-clearing fires.
Risks to air traffic, health: The fires were a recurring problem in Indonesia. As in the past, a thick haze of smoke now threatened to disrupt air traffic in the affected area and was causing health problems for people in nearby Malaysia and Singapore.
Borneo smoke heads for IMF meeting: Windborne smoke in Singapore was also worrying organizers of a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank this week.
Over 100 blazes alight: An official of the Indonesian government body monitoring forest fires by satellite, said more than 100 "hotspots" were burning Monday on Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, with tens of thousands recorded over the last month. The government’s forestry staff was still assessing the causes.
Scorched area 60pc farmland: Indonesian officials said most of the hotspots had appeared in small community farming areas. The country’s forestry minister said 60 per cent of the burned area was farmland, and the rest was forest.
Big companies offend most: Rully Syumanda, an activist with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, said big companies violated the laws more than farmers. According to a recent report by his organization, 80 per cent of forest fires in Indonesia were caused by companies clearing land on big plantations, timber estates and protected areas.
Laws protect the guilty: Syumanda said some of the government’s efforts to prosecute firms were undermined by the country’s criminal code, because police must provide evidence or eyewitnesses to show the fires were set on purpose. While penalties for illegal burning were severe, prosecutors could not make the charges stick.
Nomads treated the same as corporates: He said monitoring had not been thorough enough, and police were not going after the right people. Nomadic farmers who burned fields and big companies converting forest for plantations or industrial uses were being treated the same. Indonesia’s police chief announced Monday that 75 people currently faced charges for illegally starting fires. The suspects’ names have not been released.
Reference: Voice of America, website: http://www.voanews.com
Erisk Net, 19/9/2006
Three new solar power stations built for $7 million in the Northern Terrority supply power to several thousand people in Hermannsburg and Yuendumu, west of Alice Springs, and Lajamanu, south-west of Katherine, reported The Sydney Morning Herald (19/9/2006, p.3).
NT solar stations log high efficiency: A typical rooftop solar panel converted about 12 per cent of the sunlight received into electricity, but the most efficient cells in the new Northern Territory stations converted 30 per cent, said Julia Birch, sustainability manager for Solar Systems.
Huge savings on diesel, emissions: The three stations could generate a total of 720 kilowatts when the sun shone, allowing the communities to switch off their costly diesel generators. "They save 420,000 litres of diesel a year and 1550 tonnes of greenhouse emissions," Ms Birch said.
Community gains $1000 a day: Hermannsburg’s station can churn out 200 kilowatts, providing half the daytime needs of the 600 residents, as well as 300 kilowatts in five communities scattered within 100 kilometres. Hermannsburg’s operations manager, Les Smith, said: "It’s free electricity from the sun. It can save $1000 worth of diesel a day."
Sun power also draws tourists: When the sun set, or demand exceeded supply, the generators kicked in. However, the solar station has also delivered Hermannsburg a new drawcard as tourists come to photograph its eight dishes.
Plants to generate local jobs: Mr Smith said there were plans to train Aborigines to maintain the solar station. "The traditional owners are rapt…" Yuendumu’s solar plant has 10 dishes, and Lajamanu has 12.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 19/9/2006, p.3
Source: Erisk Net