Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
Residents of high-rise apartment blocks in Sydney’s east consume more
water than those living in low-rise houses in the west, a new study has
found, reported The Sydney Morning Herald (1/4/2006, p.9). The research revealed Sydney’s
biggest water users per capita were the affluent residents of the
northern and eastern suburbs, not the inhabitants of large homes in the
western suburbs.
A proposal submitted last Friday by a global investment company to
build a massive $220 million wind farm near Bungendore has drawn fierce
opposition from residents and scientists, reported The Canberra Times (30/3/2006, p.1).
Residents fear “visual scar”: Residents claim the wind farm,
with turbines close to the shores of Lake George, will create an
intrusive “visual scar”, undermining the beauty and historic cultural
value of Lake George. Residents have 28 days to lodge objectives to the
wind farm, details of which are listed in the NSW Department of
Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources website.
Council and local power provider sceptical: Palerang council
general manager Peter Bascomb said: “Green energy is a good thing but
we’re not convinced wind turbines are the best way to provide it.
They’re difficult to manage and can’t handle peak loads.” Country
Energy, the region’s main electricity provider, has confirmed it would
be unlikely to purchase power from the wind farm. Country Energy’s
south-east regional director, David Bellew, said: “We’ve already filled
our quota for purchasing green power, and wind is not the best option
because it’s unreliable.”
Project could be state’s biggest: Plans for the giant
development, called Capital Wind Farm, would be the state’s largest
wind facility, with the following features:
• 63 turbines in three clusters stretching from the eastern shores of
Lake George and up onto lower ridges of the Great Dividing Range to
within about 12km of Bungendore.
• Each turbine would be capable of producing 2 megawatts.
• The turbines would be located on private farmland and crown reserves, and would take eight months to install.
• Each turbine would be about 80m high, with three 44m rotating blades weighing about 10 tonnes.
• The top of the blade sweep would be about 124m above the ground.
The Generator ran a story about a new, lightweight, more
efficient turbine a couple of weeks ago. Go to Industrial Strength Wind Energy for the story and wonder, as we do at The Generator, why a global investment company haven’t heard of this.
The NSW Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) on 30 March
released Australia’s first guide to help councils weigh up the costs
and benefits of using compost in their public parks and gardens,
according to a statement from the department.
Guide details costs, benefits: Launching “The Cost/Benefit of
Using Recycled Organics in Council Parks and Gardens Operations in NSW”
at the Waste 2006 conference in Coffs Harbour, DEC Executive Director
Tim Rogers said the guide would help councils identity which parks and
gardens could benefit most from compost and how much money this might
save them.
$25,000 a year saving: “In a nutshell, the guide shows councils
how to save thousands of dollars, while helping the environment,”
Rogers said. “For a typical Western Sydney council, it has been
estimated that savings of over $25,000 per year can be achieved by
using compost top dressings across eight sporting grounds and five
parks.
30pc of water saved: “The guide also shows that by applying a
good quality compost top dressing on sporting grounds, councils could
save up to 30 per cent of normal water and fertiliser needs.
Financial benefits revealed: “Until recently, the sustainability
and financial benefits of using compost made from household garden
trimmings across Sydney as a top dressing on sporting grounds, or as
mulch in public landscaped areas, were not fully understood,” Rogers
said.
Use of existing services: “But this guide shows that the garden
trimmings that many councils collect from their residents can be
recycled into quality landscaping products that can offer significant
environmental benefit to their local areas. Over 80 per cent of
councils in the Sydney metropolitan, Hunter and Illawarra areas provide
a garden waste collection service to householders,” Rogers added.
The man handpicked by Prime Minister John Howard to kickstart the River
Murray’s rescue is without an agenda for the ailing waterway more than
two months into his posting, according to The Advertiser (31/3/2006, p.1).
Turnbull fails to make plans: Parliamentary secretary Malcolm
Turnbull on 30 March said he had no “grand master plan”, after Howard
last month said the lack of progress on restoring the river was at the
top of his agenda and that he wanted to “put a bomb under the process”.
No new promises: He gave the former business highflyer
responsibility for water as part of that plan. But Turnbull was unable
to say how his approach will differ from previous pledges to fix the
river. “I don’t know that I can provide you in one minute with a grand
master plan for the Murray,” he told The Advertiser.
The ABC ran a story on Friday March 31 touting a major breakthrough in
electricity production.
http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1605734.htm
The technology actually involves adding energy to natural gas by using
the concentrated solar energy to separate the hydrogen from the carbon
in the natural gas. The scientists claim an increase in the potential
energy of the gas of 26%.
A Queensland Vietnam veteran who believed his prostate cancer was caused by drinking water contaminated by cancer-causing dioxins on ships he served on during the Vietnam War, is challenging a time limit placed on claims by the Department of Veterans Affairs, reported The Australian, (27/3/2006, p.5).
11 RAN ships took on estuarine water: The problems occurred on 11 RAN ships that took on estuarine water for desalination in Vietnam’s Vung Tau harbour between 1965 and 1972, principally HMAS Sydney and her escorts. A report from the National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology in 2002 found that the distillation process actually concentrated dioxins in the drinking water.
Repatriation Medical Authority findings: Late last year, the Repatriation Medical Authority released the first findings it made in light of the report, saying that the drinking water was linked to prostate cancer, throat cancer and lymphatic cancer. A host of other cancers were investigated but most veterans were limited in their ability to make a claim, because of a requirement they had spent 30 days in the affected harbour.
Aircraft carrier contaminated with dioxins: Former radio operator Robert Turner, 57, is recovering from prostate cancer that he believes was caused by drinking water while serving on HMAS Yarra and HMAS Duchess, two of the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney’s escort ships. Mr Turner, who served 20 years in the navy, spent only two days in Vung Tau harbour where desalination plants on his and 10 other ships became contaminated with dioxins.