Category: Archive

US researcher looks to capture greenhouse gases in charcoal for transformation into super fertiliser

admin /15 March, 2006

Eprida, a US-based developer of clean technology, believes that
greenhouse gases from burning coal and fossil fuels can be captured and
injected into charcoal, which is then combined with ammonia to create a
powerful fertiliser.

Amazon indians the inspiration: Eprida president Danny Day
stumbled upon research stating that charcoal had been used thousands of
years ago by farmers in the Brazilian Amazon to create rich, dark soil
known as Terra Preta de Indio.

Greenhouse gases absorbed: Along with researchers at the US
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Eprida is developing
technology based on the carbon-rich Terra Preta concept that uses
charcoal to absorb greenhouse gases at facilities that burn fossil
fuels. The charcoal is then mixed with other nutrients to create a
super fertiliser, according to Day.

Nutrient-depleted soils might be restored: Day said that to
create the charcoal that could be used as fertilizer, the biomass must
be burned at temperatures somewhat lower than usual (say, 250 to 300
degrees Celsius). The charcoal fertiliser could be used to restore the
nutrients in areas around the globe where soil has been depleted.

Large scale biomass processing plant now needed: He believes
charcoal-enhanced soil could increase crop yields by 200 to 300 per
cent. Eprida has performed a demonstration of the scrubbing process,
and Day said the next step was to develop a biomass processing plant
adjacent to a coal power plant to test the technology on a large scale.

CO2 in atmosphere sets new record high

admin /15 March, 2006

CO2 in atmosphere sets new record high
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at a record high after another significant rise, The Advertiser (15 March 2006, p.38) reported.

It said new data from the
United States shows that CO2 levels are now at 381 parts per million
(ppm) – 100ppm above the pre-industrial average, according to the BBC.

The U.S. National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration analysis of air samples from around the
world also shows that 2005 saw a rise of 2.6ppm, one of the largest
increases on record.

Pirate fishing is destroying our oceans

admin /14 March, 2006

Pirate fishing is destroying our oceans Greenpeace and the Environmental Justice Foundation are working together to expose the pirate fishing fleets that operate without sanction across the globe. Together the international environment and human rights organisations are demanding that governments close ports to ban pirates, deny them access to markets and prosecute companies supporting them. Continue Reading →

Australia’s 5 star efficiency rating system falls short of US and UK standards

admin /14 March, 2006

A leaked Federal Government report showed that Australia’s housing
lagged well behind its United States and United Kingdom counterparts
when it comes to energy efficiency standards, reported The Australian Financial Review (14/3/2006, p.53).

Battle for five star rating: The findings were contentious
because housing lobby groups have bitterly contested the move to go to
five stars. The Australian Building Codes Board’s (ABCB) decision to do
so was met with an announcement by the Federal Government that there
would be an independent study of the cost benefits of tighter energy
standards.

Report commissioned by AGO: The report, International Camparison
of Building Energy Performance Standards, was commissioned by the
Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) as a lead-up to the controversial
decision by the ABCB to raise minimum energy standards in housing from
three to five stars.

Not up to international standards: It shows that even at five
stars, Australia would be between 1.8 stars and 2.5 stars behind houses
in similar climate zones in the US and the UK.

Questionable media statement: A media statement from the AGO
said the report was only a draft and that this was “made available to
the ABCB in early November”. But the report’s front page is marked
“Final Report September 2005”. The Australian Financial Review could not confirm that the board had seen the report.

Below average performance: The report by Centre for Design at
RMIT University in Melbourne in association with staff from the RMIT
school of property construction and management and SBE Architects,
showed the median rating of 7.5 stars and overall mean rating of 6.8
stars. “Therefore across the 51 overseas ratings undertaken, the
proposed five-star standard is 1.8 to 2.5 stars below comparable
average international levels of performance.”

Three years later and nothing positive to show for Iraq invasion

admin /14 March, 2006

Three years after the Iraq invasion commenced, the flow of oil remains
as unreliable as Baghdad’s water and electricity supplies. Oil revenues
have shown little improvement from the years of sanctions and Saddam,
according to Phillip Adams in The Australian (14/3/2006, p.12).

Poor state of reconstruction: “Even fuel supplies for locals
remain elusive and, apart from Halliburton, few fortunes are being made
from reconstruction,” Adams wrote. “With the hospitals still in parlous
state, and more overcrowded than the morgues, this is no place for
injury or illness.

No chance for stable government: “But let’s not forget the joys
of democracy. Iraq’s new MPs still can’t form a government, their
constitution remains an intractable mess, and if Iraq isn’t having a
civil war then that term is meaningless.

Faulty intelligence blame game: “And don’t blame the faulty
intelligence of US intelligence agencies. Blame the even faultier
intelligence of the President, urged on by the likes of Paul Wolfowitz
and our own John Howard, who should have known better. For a glimpse of
our PM’s pivotal role in revving-up George W. to invade, read Bob
Woodward’s insider account of the A-team and their pre-invasion
planning.

A certain kind of democracy: “Bush’s idea of democracy depends
on people casting the right vote: following the Republican ticket,
which means not voting for Democrats in domestic elections, not for
Hamas in Israel and most emphatically not for a pro-Iranian, Islamist
government in Baghdad. Shame about that, George,” Adams added.

After 30 years of stagnation the nuclear industry is on a roll

admin /14 March, 2006

New nuclear generators may increase uranium consumption by 2.5 per cent
a year for each of the next five years, straining supplies, according
to Glyn Lawcock, head of resources research at the Australian equities
unit of Zurich-based UBS AC, Europe’s biggest bank by assets.

$US40/lb next year? He told The Age (14 March 2006, p.2) that prices might average $US40 a pound in 2007, up from $US28 last year.

How about $US50? Uranium was poised to climb 27 per cent to
$US50 a pound in the next six months because “there’s not a lot of
uranium available”, said Jean-Francois Tardif, who put 8.4 per cent of
his $C300 million ($A353.5 million) Sprott Opportunities Hedge Fund
into uranium. The Toronto-based fund jumped 39 per cent in 2005 when
its peers, on average, returned 9.3 per cent.

Anglicans clean up: Last year, the Anglican Church in Sydney
took uranium off a list of unethical investments and its funds
benefited from a 23 per cent gain in BHP Billiton , the No. 4 uranium
miner.

$US200b invested in new nuclear plant: The uranium price last
year gained 76 per cent, beating all but one of the 19 commodities in
the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index. Only sugar jumped more. After three
decades of stagnation, the nuclear industry may receive more than
$US200 billion ($A273.5 billion) of investment by 2030, according to
the International Energy Agency in Paris.

65 new reactors being built or planned: As well as the 24
reactors now being built, another 41, with a capacity of almost
43,000MW, have been ordered or are planned, according to the World
Nuclear Association in London.