Category: Archive

Rainwater tanks cut demand for public water

admin /2 August, 2006

Solutions in countries like the UK are likely to come from consumer action, and from giving customers real incentives both to manage demand and to contribute to the solution themselves by collecting rainwater, maintains Andrew Laing writing to New Scientist (29 July 2006 p23) from Williamstown, Victoria Australia.

A 100-square-metre roof combined with 2000 litres of storage will collect enough water to cut a family’s demand from the public water supply significantly. Advice is available on the web, but the incentives are missing and the hardware is difficult to find.

We should not blame the water companies for proposing desalination plants, but we should insist that regulators make it easy for consumers to compete for the opportunity to match supply to demand.

Tanks, pumps and controllers should be easily available, as they are in Australia. Fitting these to new houses should be mandatory.

And a water company proposing new supply capacity should be required to show that the project produces a better return than distributed investment in demand management and rainwater harvesting.

New Scientist, 29/7/2006, p. 23

Source: Erisk Net  

Qld farms deliberately poisoned

admin /2 August, 2006

Three tomato, bean, capsicum and watermelon farms in Bowen are counting their losses after their water supply was deliberately contaminated by a herbicide, reported The Courier Mail (1/8/2006, p.1).

Contamination destroys 40ha of fruit and vegetables: It is believed several hundred litres of glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – was mixed into a water tank used by crop dusters Bowen Airspray. About 40ha of fruit and vegetables were destroyed across the three farms but only one grower had distributed the produce, which had yet to hit supermarket shelves.

Grower to find out fate of veggies: The unidentified grower who initiated a voluntary recall, will be advised today whether his poisoned vegetables can be sold. Queensland Seedlings in Bowen was also poisoned six years ago.

Dying crops alert farmers: It was not known how so many litres of herbicide were put in the tank, but farmers first noticed on Friday that their crops had turned yellow and were dying.

Poison contains only low levels of toxicity: Queensland Health environmental health director, John Piispanen, said the produce affected by the herbicide was still fit for consumption but tests would show today if it was fit for sale under national safety codes. Piispanen said the poison was low in toxicity and the danger to consumers was negligible.

Queensland Health Scientific Services investigate: Queensland Health Scientific Services took crop and water samples at the weekend to identify the chemical and the amount of residue in the produce.

The Courier Mail, 1/8/2006, p. 1

Source: Erisk Net  

US is a Terrorist State – Interview with Noam Chomsky

admin /31 July, 2006

The reason there has not been a political settlement in the Middle East is because the US has unilaterally blocked it for the last 25 years. Listen to Chomsky’s interview with Evan Soloman

Qld Govt buys `fake’ green energy

admin /31 July, 2006

Sparks are flying in several Queensland Government departments over what exactly constitutes green power, reported The Courier-Mail (29/7/2006, p.1).

The controversy follows a deal last year to power state schools and electoral offices with green energy from state-owned Ergon Energy. It all sounded lovely on paper.

Ergon’s Kate Skilleter said it was the largest purchase of green energy in Queensland’s history. She said it would have the same impact on the environment as planting almost half a million trees or taking more than 26,000 cars off the road.

Several groups have now questioned the environmental benefits. The works department also bought suspect green electricity from Country Energy of NSW to power Queensland Parliament.

Under the National Greenpower Accreditation Program rules new green power rights cannot be sold independently of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Works Minister Robert Schwarten conceded sales had taken place without the certificates.

Several definitions available: "Public Works did not buy new green power rights. It bought 100 per cent renewable energy," he said. He said there were different definitions of green power used throughout the industry. "The term fake is not appropriate," he said.

Deal deemed REC exempt: Schwarten said an independent review by accounting firm Deloitte confirmed Ergon complied with renewable energy criteria. Ergon’s James Gillard said the deal didn’t require renewable energy certificates, or RECs.

Renewable sales options: "RECs are not an accurate reflection of renewable energy products’ authenticity," he said. "There are a number of different but equally legitimate ways to validate and sell renewable energy.

Independent verification enough for Mickel: Energy Minister John Mickel agreed: "If there is any solid evidence that renewable energy certificates have not been traded in the correct manner, I would be happy to investigate. I am satisfied so long as the renewable energy is independently verified to ensure that it is indeed renewable. A REC is not the only mechanism to guarantee electricity is renewable."

Consumer confidence at stake: Professor lan Lowe of the Australian Conservation Council said he feared consumers would lose faith in the idea of green energy "if the waters are muddied by the sale of products that aren’t completely green". Emily Firth from the National Greenpower Accreditation Program agreed and said she was aware of complaints.

Unanswered questions persist: However, questions remain, according to The Courier-Mail. Exactly where did Ergon get the power from? Is Parliament House powered by legitimate green energy? Does rival retailer Energex provide legitimate green power? And how does Queensland remain a member of the accreditation committee while flouting its guidelines?

The Courier Mail, 29/7/2006, p. 1

Source: Erisk Net  

French nuclear stations stall in heatwave

admin /31 July, 2006

The European heatwave has sparked concern about the security of France’s energy supplies as cooling problems hit output from the 44 of the nation’s 58 nuclear power reactors sited by rivers, reported Muriel Boselli of Reuters.

These 58 reactors supply about 80 per cent of France’s electricity, which is under the control of the French power monopoly EDF.

Cooling problems have hit output of the 44 nuclear power stations sited near rivers to such an extent that EDF earlier this month had to import 2000 megawatts (MW) of extra power – roughly equivalent to the capacity of a large nuclear station – to meet surging demand and compensate for lower production as these reactors laboured in the heat.

The problem was not as great for the nuclear power stations on the coast because sea water cools faster than river water. Consequently these power stations do not suffer from the rise in water temperature that the 44 riverside reactors experience.

EDF called this month’s heatwave "unprecedented". As a result of a demand surge on the back of increased use of air-conditioning, EDF also postponed its traditional summer maintenance of nuclear reactors located on the coast so that they could help meet supply.

Reference: Digest of latest news reported on website of Climate Change Secretariat of United Nations Framework on Climate Change Control (UNFCCC). 27 July. 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, 28/7/2006

Bring David Hicks home

admin /30 July, 2006

It’s been four and a half years that Hicks has been detained without a trial. Add your name to the growing demand to finally repatriate this Australian citizen.