Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
Japan has pledged $A122 million to support clean energy projects in Asia, as rapid economic growth brings rising emissions of greenhouse gases.
Finance Minister Koji Omi told the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual meeting that Japan will also offer loans totalling up to $A2.4 billion over five years to promote sustainable development and measures to combat climate change.
Mr Turnbull says the report shows that the Government is heading in the right direction. (AFP) |
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The Federal Environment Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, says the last of the United Nations reports on climate change has confirmed that his Government’s policies are correct.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report found that stabilising emissions would cost around 3 per cent of global GDP at most.
It also found that emissions must peak within 13 years to avoid a temperature increase of more than two degrees centigrade, and called for urgent political action to address the situation.
Mr Turnbull says the report shows that the Government is heading in the right direction:
"There is nothing in there that isn’t consistent with our policy," he said.
But Labor’s environment spokesman Peter Garrett says the report is a clear contradiction of the Government’s position.
A study ordered by the Pentagon warns that the rising cost and dwindling supply of oil – the lifeblood of fighter jets, warships, and tanks – will make the US military’s ability to respond to crises around the world "unsustainable in the long term”. The report says the military is using 16 times more fuel Continue Reading →
PepsiCo announced on April 30 the landmark purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs). Marking the largest REC purchase to date, the purchase matches the purchased electricity used by all PepsiCo US-based manufacturing facilities, headquarters, distribution centers and regional offices.
"Energy is a key focus for PepsiCo within its environmental sustainability agenda," said John Compton, chief executive officer, PepsiCo North America. "The purchase of these RECs is not only in line with our progress to date, but further advances our commitment to sustainability and helps make a positive impact in the communities we serve across the country."
Green power is produced from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. These energy sources are considered cleaner and have a superior environmental profile than conventional sources of electricity. Purchasing RECs helps drive the development of additional renewable energy capacity nationwide.
PepsiCo’s three-year purchase is comprised of more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours annually. Based on national average emissions rates, the U.S. EPA estimates PepsiCo’s purchase is the same amount of electricity needed to power nearly 90,000 average American homes annually.
Labor will provide families with low-interest loans of up to $10,000 to help make their homes more energy efficient by using solar power and saving water, under a $300m package announced by leader Kevin Rudd on 29 April 2007, reported The Canberra Times (30/4/2007, p.1).
200,000 households save up to $800 a year on bills: Rudd eclipsed the debate on climate change policy on the final day of Labor’s national conference with the plan to make loans available to 200,000 households, provided their combined income did not exceed $250,000 a year. He said households could save up to $800 a year on their energy and water bills under the plan.
Loans to reduce emissions by up to 15m tonnes: The loans could be used to fit homes with solar panels, rainwater tanks, roof insulation, grey-water recycling systems and other energy-efficiency measures. Labor said the package had the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 15m tonnes over the scheme’s lifetime from January 2009 until 2012-13.
Incentive for working families to turn green: While many families wanted to do something for the environment, they would be struggling to raise the money. Rudd had been advised that to fit out the average home with solar panels would cost anywhere between $14,000 and $26,000 depending on where you lived. Questioned on whether the $250,000 limit was too high when the average annual wage was about $55,000, Rudd said that many families in Sydney were finding it hard to make ends meet on annual incomes of $200,000. "Our policy includes all working families. "[To] find the extra available funds, to go out there and stump up at commercial interest rates the extra money necessary to whack on the solar panels, it’s a real challenge."
Finances of the scheme: The loans of up to $10,000 would be repaid through the tax system at 2pc of a household’s gross annual income, with a minimum yearly repayment of $300. They would be available to employed or retired home owners and priority would be given to those with older, unrenovated homes.
NATO planners have begun a project to protect harbours, and the US coastguard has been training its divers in James Bond-style underwater fighting techniques, accoring to New Scientist (30/4/2007, p. 34).
Hi-tech water weapons: Weapons designers were also back at work, re-examining old ideas and coming up with a flurry of new ones – from bullets enveloped in air to souped-up water pistols. Dolphins and sea lions were already used as underwater sentries. Now there were plans to deploy new acoustic weapons that could be controlled from the surface, as well as small, autonomous submarines that could patrol harbours, listen for intruders and even shoot at them. These ideas were controversial.
Collateral damage concerns: Weaponry beneath the waves might hurt more than just the combatants it is directed at. What effects could acoustic weapons have on wildlife such as dolphins and whales, for example? And how do you prevent an autonomous sub targeting a sports or salvage diver unlucky enough to stray into range?
Applications to ward off undersea terrorists: Concerns about terrorism has prompted a rethink. Netting off all the undersea pipelines, nuclear power stations, refineries and even tourist resorts that might be a target is impossible. There were, for example, at least 40,000 kilometres of pipeline in US waters alone. So what’s the answer? By far the most advanced solution was to use sound waves like those emitted by sonar.
Sonar as detection & weapon: The latest commercial sonar systems could emit pulses at frequencies between 10 and 300 kilohertz, and were precise enough to spot a diver up to a kilometre away, no matter how murky the water. If these pulses were emitted at high enough intensities they could make an effective weapon too. In 1993 a US navy diver was left temporarily disoriented and numb during sonar tests in the northern Mediterranean, and more recent experiments have shown that divers exposed to sonar can also experience nausea and dizziness.