Category: Archive

The Australian, 14/2/2006, p. 10

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net/ picture – AP

Dams, not drought to blame: In recent weeks, the operator of the
two dams, the Uganda Electricity Generating Company, has blamed
disruption of electricity supplies on low lake levels, ostensibly
caused by the 10 to 15 per cent decline in rainfall across the lake’s
catchment area during the past two years. However, it now seems that
the dams themselves are as much to blame as the recent drought. Daniel
Kull, a hydrologist with the UN’s International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction in Nairobi, Kenya, calculates that if the dams had been
operated according to the agreed curve during the past two years, the
drought would have caused only half the water loss actually seen.

Water releases 55pc above allowed limit: Kull estimates that in
the past two years, the Ugandan dams have released water at an average
of almost 1250 cubic metres per second. That is 55 per cent more than
the flow permitted for the relevant water levels. “This dam complex is
pulling the plug on Lake Victoria,” says Frank Muramuzi of Uganda’s
National Association of Professional Environmentalists.

New Scientist, 11/2/2006, p. 12

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

The Daily Telegraph, 14/2/2006, p. 4 and The Sydney Morning Herald, 14/2/06, website

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

Consider this central paradox of U.S. environmentalism: In much of
popular and political culture, the movement is dismissed as the pet
cause of white, well-off Americans — people who can afford to buy
organic arugula, vacation in Lake Tahoe, and worry about the fate of
the Pacific pocket mouse. And yet, the population most affected by
environmental problems is the poor.

 Grist magazine starts a seven week series investigating how
environmental issues impact on America’s poor. The truth is that as the
going gets tough its the poor who are suffering.

Go to Grist for the full story 

Financial savings of 10 per cent: The article said early
indications were that customers with smart meters were saving about 10
per cent on their power bill. The savings were coming from changes in
appliance use such as waiting until the shoulder or off-peak period to
turn on dishwashers, dryers, washing machines or pool pumps. But
high-demand customers could expect an increase in their bills as they
had benefited most from cross-subsidisation under flat power rates.

Cost efficient smart meters: Basic smart meters cost the same as
existing meter equipment and were being installed at no extra charge.
Customers who wanted meters with in-house displays and communications
capability would be charged $300.

The Australian Financial Review, 13/2/2006, p. 5

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

Bad times just a memory: Sugar traded under US4c in 1998; in
early 2004, the spot sugar contract was trading around US5.7c. At the
start of 2005, it fetched a little over US9c, while on January 3 this
year, it closed at US14.18c. Earlier this month, sugar touched US19.65c
a pound on the New York Board of Trade, the highest price for a
contract closest to expiry since April 1981.

US40c/lb possible by 2010: Ethanol demand may drive sugar prices
as high as US40c a pound by 2010, Roland Jansen, who started the 2.5
billion Swiss franc ($A2.6 billion) fund-management arm at
Liechtenstein’s state bank, said on December 9.

The Australian Financial Review, 13/2/2006, p. 23

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net