Category: Archive

According to Neil James, Executive director of Australia Defence
Association, Federal Labor MP Daryl Melham (“Anti-terrorism measures
call for more opposition”, Opinion, October 31) thoroughly sinks his
own argument in his first sentence, (The Australian Financial Review, 8 November 2005, p. 65).

These are not ‘peacetime’ measures: “While our strategic and
domestic security circumstances are perhaps not ‘wartime’ in the
traditional sense, they are certainly not ‘peacetime’ either. Under
international law, armed conflict is a material fact by its sense only,
irrespective of national interpretations or individual opinions (even
MPs’),” James wrote.

Undisputably under attack from Islamist terrorism: “And don’t
raise the hoary old myth about needing to declare a war. No country has
legally ‘declared war’ since the United Nations Charter came into force
in 1945. Australians are indisputably under attack from Islamist
terrorism. Only the degree, nature and duration of the attack, and our
responses to them, are open to question.

Terrorists have ‘declared’ war: “The terrorists may also be
criminals under Australian and international law but this conflict is
more than just a law and order problem – not least because the other
side considers it a war even if some naive Aussies think otherwise.

As a country, we’re at war: “Finally, our troops are deployed in
at least two war zones overseas (Iraq and Afghanistan). As a country
we, not just them, are at war, even if some Australians choose to
ignore this. To try to discuss national security measures without
acknowledging or understanding such basic facts is simply irresponsible
as well as uninformed. To do so consciously is even worse,” James added.

The Australian Financial Review, 8/11/2005, p. 65

`Real Oil Crisis’ on ABC TV

What would happen if the world were to start running out of oil?
Conventional wisdom says we’ve got 30 years, but there’s a growing fear
amongst petroleum experts it’s happening much sooner than we thought –
that we are hitting the beginning of the end of oil now. So how soon
will the oil run out, and can we stop our economy collapsing when it
does? How prepared are we for the real oil crisis?

Thursday, 24 November 2005

8:00pm

ABC TV

The
European Union Emission Trading Scheme launched earlier this year has
led to the emergence of carbon trading as a truly global commodity
market. Estimated to be worth as much as $10 billion next year the
trading of carbon credits is driven by the Kyoto Protocol. As the US
and Australia have not signed the protocol, they miss out nationally
on this trade but emissions trading is already underway in certain
U.S. states on exchanges such as the Chicago Climate Exchange.

http://www.utilipoint.com/download.asp?File=/rci/wsimages/kwi_emissions_wp_nov05.pdf

ydro Tasmania today commented on a call by the Greens’ Tim Morris for
an independent study into cloud seeding. In a Hydro Tasmania media
release (8 November 2005), Executive General Manager Roger Gill said
cloud seeding was an important measure to assist in the sustainability
of Tasmania’s power system, which relied on water resources to provide
electricity to Tasmanian homes and industry.

Calls for study with council: Mr Gill said Hydro Tasmania had
endeavoured for two years to initiate an independent study into the
impacts of cloud seeding in collaboration with the West Coast Council.
“We have invited Council on several occasions to suggest the scope of
the study,” Mr Gill said. “If the study is to have any credibility, it
must have the full support of both parties.”

Accuracy attested to: Mr Gill said cloud seeding was studied on
an experimental basis for 30 years before being introduced
operationally 10 years ago. The accuracy of Hydro Tasmania’s cloud
seeding program was attested to in a study commissioned by Hydro
Tasmania, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association and the
Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment three years ago
and undertaken by Dr Mike Pook of the Cooperative Research Centre.

Snowy keen on cloud seeding: Other jurisdictions are
enthusiastic about cloud seeding, including Snowy Mountains
Hydro-Electric Authority, which has had a 25 percent increase in
snowfall in its first season of cloud seeding.

20MW extra a year: Hydro Tasmania also rejected the Greens’
suggestion of possible environmental impacts from using silver iodide
in the process. “The cloud seeding program delivers on average 20 MW of
additional energy each year into our power system, which equates to
enough electricity for 12,000 households,” he said.

8 years of below average rainfall: “After eight years of below
average rainfall into our water storages, this is a very valuable
contribution to our capacity to meeting Tasmania’s power demands. We
have targeted our main water storages at Great Lake and Lake Gordon
which are currently at a lower level than the same time last year.” Mr
Gill said the cloud seeding program normally ran from April to
November.

Reference: Hydro Tasmania, 8 November 2005.

Erisk Net, 10/11/2005

There is considerable pressure to increase water recycling to cope
with ongoing drought and increasing demand for water. Water recycling
programs are being developed by all jurisdictions as key elements of
integrated water cycle management. Recycling, particularly substitution
for non-drinking water uses of potable water, is seen as critical to
effectively managing demand and deferring expensive new infrastructure.

Consequently, the Environment Protection and Heritage Council and
the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council initiated the
development of national guidelines for water recycling. The guidelines
comprise a risk management framework and specific guidance on managing
the health risks and the environmental risks associated with the use of
recycled water.

The guidelines initially focus on:

• large-scale treated sewage and grey-water to be used for:

• residential garden watering, car washing, toilet flushing and clothes washing;
• irrigation for urban recreational and open space, and agriculture and horticulture;
• fire protection and fire fighting systems;
• industrial uses, including cooling water; and

• grey-water treated on-site (including in high rise
  apartments and office blocks) for use for garden watering, car washing,
  toilet flushing and clothes washing.

Phase two of guideline development, anticipated to commence in
2006, will focus on stormwater reuse, aquifer storage and recovery as a
method of recycling reclaimed water and potable use of recycled water.

The release of a draft set of guidelines by the Councils gives
organisations and individuals the opportunity to be informed about the
guideline development process and to provide comment that can be taken
into account prior to their finalisation. The purpose of the document
is to provide guidelines for assessing risk (rather than to provide a
‘how to’ manual for water recycling), and a particular focus will be
placed on obtaining feedback from the public consultation process as to
the utility of the guidelines for different types of users.

The National Guidelines for Water Recycling – Managing Health and Environmental Risks and a report National Guidelines for Water Recycling – Managing Health and Environmental Risks – Impact Assessment, which assesses the likely impacts of a move to a national risk management framework, can be downloaded below.

Written submissions on the draft guidelines should be sent to:

Mr Haemish Middleton
Project Officer
NEPC Service Corporation
Level 5, 81 Flinders Street
ADELAIDE SA 5000
Email: hmiddleton@ephc.gov.au

The closing date for submissions is Friday 13 January 2006.

Submissions may be lodged electronically or in hardcopy. All
submissions will be public documents unless clearly marked
‘confidential’ and may be made available to other interested parties.
The release of the guidelines does not signify government endorsement
of every aspect of the document other than as a suitable basis for
wider consultation with the community.

Information on the guideline development process or how to make a
submission can be obtained from the NEPC Service Corporation on (08)
8419 1200 or by emailing exec@ephc.gov.au