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Archived material from historical editions of The Generator

  • Meat is murder on the environment

    The calculations, which are based on standard industrial methods of meat production in Japan, did not include the impact of managing farm infrastructure and transporting the meat, so the total environmental load is higher than the study suggests.

    Most of the greenhouse gas emissions are in the form of methane released from the animals’ digestive systems, while the acid and fertilising substances come primarily from their waste. Over two-thirds of the energy goes towards producing and transporting the animals’ feed.

    Possible interventions, the authors suggest, include better waste management and shortening the interval between calving by one month. This latter measure could reduce the total environmental load by nearly 6 per cent. A Swedish study in 2003 suggested that organic beef, raised on grass rather than concentrated feed, emits 40 per cent less greenhouse gases and consumes 85 per cent less energy.

    "Methane emissions from beef cattle are declining, thanks to innovations in feeding practices," says Karen Batra of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Centennial, Colorado. "Everybody is trying to come up with different ways to reduce carbon footprints," says Su Taylor of the Vegetarian Society in the UK: "But one of the easiest things you can do is to stop eating meat."

    From issue 2613 of New Scientist magazine, 18 July 2007, page 15


  • Regions looking to retirees influx

    A new report has revealed country health and other services are expected to come under renewed pressure because regional areas are undergoing a population boom.

    The ANZ Bank’s Rural and Regional Report has found rural areas are growing at a faster rate than major cities for the first time in many years.

    But it also shows the growth is in those who are aged over 40, which is likely to put pressure on health and aged services in years to come.

    The bank’s senior economist, Mark Rodriguez, says people are leaving the rat race as they near retirement.

    "The affordability of housing would be a key driver of that trend. We also see that as people get older they are looking for a sea change or a tree change," he said.

  • Wild weather ravages Europe

    Torrential rain has been sweeping parts of Wales and England, causing travel chaos and forcing the evacuation of homes and schools.

    Helicopters have been sent to rescue people from homes in Worcestershire, a hospital has been flooded in West Sussex and a man has died in his home in Cumbria.

    Roads have been badly affected in the Midlands and across southern England, with flights and trains cancelled or late.

    In complete contrast, parts of central and southern Europe have been hit by a heat wave which has claimed a number of lives.

    In Romania, the health ministry has reported two more deaths, bringing the total for the week to seven.

    Bushfires have broken out in neighbouring Bulgaria, while Macedonia has declared a two-week crisis.

  • 3000 Sydney homes blacked out

    Almost 3000 homes across Sydney were plunged into darkness on the night of July 16, reported The Daily Telegraph (17/7/2007, p.12).

    Suburbs in the dark: The blackouts happened because of separate electrical incidents in Paddington, Woollahra, Hunters Hill, Galston, Gladesville, Fairlight, St Leonards, Cammeray, Eastwood, North Sydney, Rockdale and Epping, an EnergyAustralia spokesperson said. North Sydney fared worst with 1600 homes blacked out.

  • Cold snap blows out energy supply

    18 July: Victoria gas blackout; up to 1000 households have gas supplies interrupted after second day of near-record consumption "one-in-20 year demand"

    EnergyAustralia’s losses come as eastern Australia was gripped by a cold snap that led to Sydney’s lowest minimum temperature in 21 years on Tuesday and a record power use that night, surpassing the mark set 24 hours earlier, reported The Australian (19/7/2007, p.5).

    NSW electricity assets for sale? The losses come amid a review of the NSW Government’s electricity resources. A report was expected to be released by the end of August and would recommend the privatisation of the state’s retail electricity assets, which include EnergyAustralia, regional Country Energy and outer-Sydney-focused Integral Energy. These assets could fetch between $3 billion and $4 billion. EnergyAustralia has more than 1.5 million customers and is believed to be bleeding money as wholesale prices of electricity blow out.

    EnergyAustralia in massive losses? To buy a base-load hedge contract for electricity in NSW for 2008 costs $70.95 a megawatt hour. In March, the same contract cost $45, while in January it was less than $40. An EnergyAustralia spokesperson would not comment on the losses: "It is commercial and in confidence. What I can say is the current wholesale market is challenging and EnergyAustralia exceeded its targets for the last financial year." The company sold a 50 per cent stake in a retail operator to its joint-venture partner International Power in May for $147 million. A spokesman for NSW Energy Minister Ian Macdonald would not say if the publicly owned EnergyAustralia was losing money or what the Government intended to do about it.

    Momentum Energy offloads 15,000 customers: Another retailer, Momentum Energy, was forced on 6 July to offload its customer base of 15,000 accounts to Australian Power and Gas. The company said it had to lose the domestic customers because of rising wholesale costs.

    Vic gas interruption as consumption nears record: In Victoria, up to 1000 households had gas supplies interrupted after a second day of near-record consumption. Gas supplies to about 1000 homes were also affected after householders turned up the heat to protect themselves against the cold conditions. "There was something like 12,080 terajoules of gas used," Energy Network Association head Andrew Blyth said yesterday. "This is a one-in-20year demand."

    Snow stops play: Snow covered parts of the Dandenong Ranges and forced the closure of schools across western Victoria. However, conditions improved slightly in Sydney, which recorded its coldest day for 21 years on Tuesday. The coldest temperature in NSW was at Charlotte Pass, with -9C. Ice and snow caused road closures around Orange and Oberon in the central-west.

    NSW need for power: Electricity consumption in NSW remained at near-record levels after the state churned through more than 13,000 megawatts of power yesterday.

    The Australian, 19/7/2007, p. 5

    Source: Erisk Net  

  • Blackout hits Sydney Children’s Hospital

    18 July: power blackout hits services at Children’s Hospital in Westmead, Sydney A Power blackout hit services at the Children’s Hospital in Westmead on the night of 18 July, reported The Australian (19/7/2007, p.11).

    Waiting rooms resort to floodlights: Power was lost in the emergency department, affecting computers, lighting and diagnostic equipment at 8.32pm. The emergency department experienced significant inconvenience as staff could not access patient records. Floodlights were brought in to light the waiting room.

    No worries, staff insist: No wards were affected and hospital staff said the blackout did not compromise patient, care with only one orthopaedic patient waiting for theatre. ‘This was managed without difficulty," a spokesman said.

    Back at 10: Power was restored about 10pm.

    The Australian, 19/7/2007, p. 11

    Source: Erisk Net