Category: Archive

Mexico City dropping at “alarming” rate as city authorities pump water from subterranean aquifers

admin /19 March, 2006

Blighted by pollution and crime, Mexico City is facing another problem: it is fast sinking into the ground, reported The Australian (18 March 2006, p.15).

Spiralling population demands water: This megalopolis of 22
million people is dropping at an alarming rate – by as much as 38cm a
year in some areas – and by almost 9m over the past 100 years. The rate
of collapse has accelerated as city authorities pump water from
subterranean aquifers to quench the thirst of the spiralling
population, which attracts a further 1000 migrants from the provinces
each day.

Buildings being torn apart: Despite the efforts of
preservationists, buildings are being torn apart. Inside Mexico City’s
colonial-era cathedral, the tiled floor and vaulted roofs slant in
opposite directions at crazy angles. Some parts have sunk almost 2.4m,
while others remain stable.

Metal band-aids: To hold the place together, metal joists have
been bolted to the vast stone structures, built from material taken
from the demolished pyramids of the Aztecs. “It’s a building in
intensive therapy,” said Javier Cortes Rocha, one of the architects
struggling to save the capital.

Blame Cortez: When Hernando Cortez and his conquistadors first
set eyes on Tenochtitlan – which would later become Mexico City – in
1519, the Aztec city was a maze of islands built on a shallow lake.
Having defeated the Aztecs in battle, the Spaniards destroyed their
pyramids and turned them into huge palaces and cathedrals, draining the
lake for urban expansion.

US public turns against Bush in latest opinion poll

admin /18 March, 2006

The latest Gallup poll indicated that just 36 per cent of Americans
approved of US President George Bush’s job performance while 60 per
cent disapproved, reported The Australian Financial Review (15/3/2006, p.10).

57pc against Iraq invasion: A clear majority of respondents, or
57 per cent, now believed the Iraq War was a mistake. These numbers
were the Gallup poll’s worst of Bush’s presidency.

Bush links Iran to Iraq: Bush’s speech at George Washington
University to the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies coincided
with faltering US efforts at the United Nations to forge a united front
against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. In his speech on 14 March, Bush
accused Iran of being the source of homemade bombs that had contributed
to the sectarian mayhem in Iraq and to American casualties.

Terrorism, nuke bomb argument re-used: “Coalition forces have
seized IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and components that were
clearly produced in Iran,” he said. “Such actions, along with Iran’s
support for terrorism and its pursuit of nuclear weapons, are
increasingly isolating Iran,” added Bush.

President feels threatened: “They’re hoping to shake our resolve and make us retreat,” Bush said in a familiar refrain. “They’re not going to succeed.”

Media shakes public opinion: Bush’s problem is that in spite of
claims the US policy of training up Iraq security forces to take over
is proving successful, Americans get an entirely different impression
on their television screens which are filled nightly with scenes of
mayhem and carnage.

$US6bn per month: Appropriations for the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan are approaching $US400 billion. ($A545.3 billion). Iraq is
costing nearly $US6 billion a month.

Industrial strength wind energy

admin /16 March, 2006

As reported in The Generator in December, a new approach to wind generation harvests more of the available wind energy through the use of a vertical axis turbine. This approach achieves better performance by capturing more energy in the first place and, as a consequence having smaller blades resulting in a lighter turbine, thus wasting Continue Reading →

Burying CO2 necessary evil

admin /16 March, 2006

Australian Conservation Foundation sustainability program manager Erwin Jackson said the urgency of the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions meant the government should not wait for geosequestration technologies to come to market, according to The Australian Financial Review (16/3/2006, p. 5). Geosequestration tech useful: “But if it proves environmentally and technologically viable, then [geosequestration] could Continue Reading →

Let’s give our gas away

admin /16 March, 2006

Australia should be working hard to sell its Natural Gas according to the federal
Resource Minister , Ian MacFarlane. Despite criticism that Australia
should not be buying market share in a seller’s market, he described
increasing our sales as the “underlying priority”. The good news is
that the current strategy emphasises growth in domestic usage, meaning
that we will not miss out completely on the benefits of our natural gas
reserves by selling it too cheap.

US insecure over energy as costs go up 17 and Iran likely to shut oil supplies in case of invasion

admin /15 March, 2006

The US must improve international coordination of energy issues,
especially with China and India, to address concerns about growing
global competition for energy resources, the chair of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee said on 14 March, reported The Australian (15/3/2006, p.35).

Energy the key to US security: In a speech in Washington, Dick
Lugar, the influential Republican senator, warned: “No one who is
honestly assessing the decline of American leverage around the world
due to energy dependence can fail to see that energy is the albatross
of US national security.”

Economic sanctions risky: As debate about Iran’s nuclear
ambitions shifts to the UN Security Council, Lugar highlighted the
dangers of transferring billions of dollars to unaccountable regimes
and warned that economic sanctions against Iran might not work.

Iran accumulates oil cash: “Iran has been anticipating a crisis
by accumulating funds (from high oil prices), so if they shut off oil
supplies it could have savings to draw down for a long period of time.
That is not well recognised and allows Iran and other states a degree
of invulnerability to economic sanctions,” he said.

US energy costs up 17pc: Lugar noted that 77 per cent of the
world’s oil supply was controlled by foreign governments, and that the
US paid 17 per cent more for its energy in 2005 than the year before.

$US320 in oil exports likely: Energy costs now account for a
third of the US trade deficit. He predicted that the US would spend
$US320 billion ($A430 billion) on oil imports this year.

Measures to reduce vulnerability: To reduce US vulnerability he
said he would introduce an Energy Diplomacy and Security Act this week
to expand international cooperation to “enhance preparedness for major
disruptions in oil supplies”. He said a priority was formal
coordination with China and India as they developed strategic petroleum
reserves. He also called for new regional partnerships in the west.

$US35 a barrel price floor suggested: More controversially, he
suggested that there be a $US35 a barrel price floor for oil, to
provide security for companies seeking to invest in alternative fuels.
He admitted that he was still speaking to economists about how this
could be achieved.