Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
In the future, we might be heating our houses with dog poop. As San Francisco, Oakland and other Bay Area cities strive to reach self-imposed goals of keeping every bit of trash out of landfills by 2020, even animal waste is being scrutinized to see how it might be reused or recycled. And so San Continue Reading →
The nation’s biggest cotton operation, the giant Cubbie Station in
western Queensland, has made plans to increase the amount of land it
can use for growing cotton by 50 per cent over the next two years – but
has claimed it can manage the increase without using any more water,
reported The Australian (23/2/2006, p.2).
Source: eRisk.net
Sand miner asks SA to install desal plant
South Australia would probably need another desalination plant if Iluka
opted to go ahead with a mineral sands mine at its Jacinth and Ambrosia
deposits in far west SA, the firm said on 21 February, reported The Advertiser (22/2/2006, p. 51).
Pre-feasibility study underway: Managing director Mike Folwell
said the pre-feasibility study for the zircon project would take
several more months. Iluka has about 40 per cent of the world’s market
share of zircon supply, and is currently assessing the viability of
operating a mine at the remote Jacinth and Ambrosia deposits.
In a submission to the Department of Infrastructure, Origin Energy has
outlined the details of plans to use wind generation as a significant
part of electricity generation in the long-term. While the company
described wind-generation as “valid”, the detail of that submission
raises a number of complex issues to do with the variability of wind
generation.
Gas is now worth a fortune, thanks to the incredible economic growth
across Asia and the wasteful use of energy in the United States,
reported The Australian Financial Review (22/2/2006, p.21).
$US14/GJ: Recent record prices of $US14 a gigajoule, up from
around $US3 five years ago, have sent the California economy, in
particular, into a tailspin.
California’s natural gas fleet: Even California governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger has been forced to economise, after converting his fleet
of Hummer motor vehicles to natural gas in deference to the environment.
Water demand in Perth and adjoining areas is expected to double in less
than 50 years. Yet over the past 30 years, Perth and most of South West
WA have experienced a 10 per cent reduction in rainfall, resulting in
greatly reduced runoff into dams in the Darling Range.
Diverging trends: This is the stark supply-demand arithmetic
underpinning a new paper examining WA’s water policy options, published
by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering
(ATSE).
Symposium’s findings: The paper was prepared after a one-day
symposium held in Perth last year and reflects papers presented and
conclusions reached after subsequent discussions among members of the
panel. The symposium was sponsored by ATSE, the Australian Water
Association and Engineers Australia.
No consensus view on long-term outlook: The paper concludes
that WA is experiencing a time of climate uncertainty but says there is
no consensus view among scientists as to whether the recent drying
trend will continue or be reversed. Some scientists have used computer
modelling to suggest that this area will continue to experience low
rainfall in the years ahead. But other scientists do not agree,
doubting the validity of the computer models.
But aquifer move welcome: It says that regardless of this
uncertainty, plans announced by the State Government for the injection
of appropriately treated waste water into shallow aquifers is welcome
and will help to prevent depletion of those aquifers.
Groundwater now dominant source: Because of the reduced runoff
into dams Perth has become increasingly dependent on groundwater, which
now provides about 60 per cent of domestic water needs and 80 per cent
of total needs in Perth and adjoining areas.