Category: Archive

The Whale

admin /31 May, 2006

Yangtse River dying

admin /30 May, 2006

SHANGHAI, China — Pollution is turning China’s key waterway, the Yangtze, into a dead river, unable to sustain marine life or provide drinking water to the booming cities along its course, state media said Tuesday.

The river, China’s longest, cuts through the country’s most heavily populated regions, sweeping along with it 40 percent of all waste water produced, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Of roughly 25 billion tons of waste water a year, less than 20 percent is treated before it flows into the river, Xinhua said.

Drought hits UK

admin /30 May, 2006

Despite being Britain’s wettest May for 23 years predictions of the third hot, dry summer in a row have authorities in crisis mode, preparing for the most critical water shortage the island nation has ever seen. Telegraph story

Nuclear power in Australia financially risky

admin /30 May, 2006

Heavy taxpayer subsidies would be required to get privately owned nuclear power into operation in Australia unless the Government joins the Kyoto Protocol, according to David Uren, economics correspondent of The Australian (29 May 2006, p.2). Building and running subsidies needed: A report prepared for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) finds the Continue Reading →

Possible terrorism pushes cost of nuclear engery up

admin /30 May, 2006

There has been no detailed assessment in Australia of the costs of nuclear generation, notes The Age (29 May 2006, p.B6). Coal not cheap if carbon costs included: Australia benefits from cheap coal, which at present provides a long-run average generation cost of about $40/MWh. Adding carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities would increase that Continue Reading →

NSW Gov forces housing developers to improve energy efficiency

admin /30 May, 2006

While the industry is happy for the house target to be increased, it says lifting the apartments target would push the price of units too high because it costs more to install energy-saving measures in flats, reported The Sydney Morning Herald (30/5/2006, p.3) .

High-rise development emits more greenhouse gases: Their argument is supported by a Department of Planning and EnergyAustralia study that indicates high-rise buildings emit more greenhouse gases than smaller blocks of flats, townhouses or detached homes.

10.4 tonnes CO2 emissions/year: High-rise apartment blocks emit 10.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, compared with 9 tonnes for detached homes and 5.1 tonnes for townhouses.

Currently $15,000 per unit: The council’s state executive director, Ken Morrison, said it already cost about $15,000 a unit to meet the current target, and lifting it higher would make units unaffordable.

Greens say energy saving should take precedence: The director of the Total Environment Centre, Jeff Angel, said developers should spend less on an apartment’s aesthetic rather than scrimp on energy-saving measures.

Cogeneration an option: Angel encouraged the use of cogeneration plants in new apartment blocks, which work by taking the heat created by a power generator and using it for extra energy supply.

Incentives for building industry: The Property Council wants the Government to introduce incentives for builders to meet higher energy targets, such as guaranteed assessment times for development applications.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 30/5/2006, p. 3

Source: Erisk Net