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Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • Arctic plankton will switch from sink to source in warmer oceans

    Arctic plankton will switch from sink to source in warmer oceans

    Mounting evidence confirming the effects of a 5°C increase in the Arctic Ocean temperature has led an international team of researchers to issue a stark warning about the perils the world faces in the near future.

    A research vessel in the Central Arctic during the the summer of 2012. The thin sea ice has many melting pools on its surface and is permeated by open water areas.
    Credit: Stefan Hendricks, Alfred Wegener Institute

    Research results from a series of eight cruises conducted between July 2007 and July 2012 allowed the annual metabolic balance of Arctic plankton communities, which determines their role as CO2 sinks or sources, to be resolved for the first time.

    The international scientific team was led by the Director of The University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute, Professor Carlos M Duarte, who said resolving the role of Arctic plankton as a source or sink for CO2 was of major importance in considering the carbon budget of the planet.

    ‘This research revealed that the two-week spring algal bloom occurring in April as the Arctic emerges from its winter darkness and the sea-ice starts to thin is so productive it can fuel the food web for the entire year and remove significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere on an annual basis,’ he said.

    However, experiments involving temperature manipulations conducted in the Svalbard Islands (about 650 kilometres north of mainland Europe), indicated that the plankton community switches from acting as a sink to acting as a source of CO2 to the atmosphere at seawater temperatures in excess of 5°C. The researchers noted that this temperature will be regularly observed in the European Sector of the Arctic Ocean over the coming decades.

    ‘Warmer temperatures enhance respiration rates by plankton organisms, particularly bacteria, leading to a shift in the size of photosynthetic plankton size, which decompose quickly and result in a major release of CO2 from excess respiration,’ study co-author, UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology Professor Susana Agusti said.

    Recently Professor Duarte’s team reported findings from model analyses of polar food webs indicating that these are particularly vulnerable to disturbances that can trigger a cascade of extinctions in the ecosystem.

    This year Professor Duarte’s team will return to the Arctic for oceanographic cruises in April and July and a coastal experimental campaign in September in Greenland.

    Professor Duarte will attend a workshop at the White House in Washington in late April to contribute to formulating a large research project on the future of the Arctic.

    Source: UWA

    Mounting evidence confirming the effects of a 5°C increase in the Arctic Ocean temperature has led an international team of researchers to issue a stark warning about the perils the world faces in the near future.

    A research vessel in the Central Arctic during the the summer of 2012. The thin sea ice has many melting pools on its surface and is permeated by open water areas.
    Credit: Stefan Hendricks, Alfred Wegener Institute

    Research results from a series of eight cruises conducted between July 2007 and July 2012 allowed the annual metabolic balance of Arctic plankton communities, which determines their role as CO2 sinks or sources, to be resolved for the first time.

    The international scientific team was led by the Director of The University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute, Professor Carlos M Duarte, who said resolving the role of Arctic plankton as a source or sink for CO2 was of major importance in considering the carbon budget of the planet.

    ‘This research revealed that the two-week spring algal bloom occurring in April as the Arctic emerges from its winter darkness and the sea-ice starts to thin is so productive it can fuel the food web for the entire year and remove significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere on an annual basis,’ he said.

    However, experiments involving temperature manipulations conducted in the Svalbard Islands (about 650 kilometres north of mainland Europe), indicated that the plankton community switches from acting as a sink to acting as a source of CO2 to the atmosphere at seawater temperatures in excess of 5°C. The researchers noted that this temperature will be regularly observed in the European Sector of the Arctic Ocean over the coming decades.

    ‘Warmer temperatures enhance respiration rates by plankton organisms, particularly bacteria, leading to a shift in the size of photosynthetic plankton size, which decompose quickly and result in a major release of CO2 from excess respiration,’ study co-author, UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology Professor Susana Agusti said.

    Recently Professor Duarte’s team reported findings from model analyses of polar food webs indicating that these are particularly vulnerable to disturbances that can trigger a cascade of extinctions in the ecosystem.

    This year Professor Duarte’s team will return to the Arctic for oceanographic cruises in April and July and a coastal experimental campaign in September in Greenland.

    Professor Duarte will attend a workshop at the White House in Washington in late April to contribute to formulating a large research project on the future of the Arctic.

    Source: UWA

  • Let’s talk about suicide

    Without a doubt, mental health plays a major role in someone’s decision to suicide, says Annette Yunus.

    However it is important to note that self harm, alcohol and drug abuse are also three of the highest risk factors.

    Generally those who attempt suicide have lost all hope and cannot see a bright future for themselves. Other contributing factors can be the breakdown of the family unit where families are scattered due to employment and lifestyle, leaving some people feeling alone and vulnerable.

    Annette Yunus is a psychologist who has been working with those who have attempted suicide for over 14 years at West End Medical Practice, 38 Russell Street, West End, and has seen many situations exacerbated by drug abuse.

    Annette went on to say that “people who are depressed and suicide tend to have faulty negative thinking patterns such as black and white thinking, where thoughts are processed in absolute with no grey area or magnification, which means allowing minor incidents to snow ball into major catastrophes.

    Other major contributing factors for suicide Annette has experienced have been: failure to achieve; relationship break ups; Domestic violence and the suicide of a partner or friend.

    Annette is a great believer that prevention is better than a cure and feels that people need to learn to recognise the signs of depression and anxiety, before a crisis point is reached.

    It can be hard for someone with depression to identify the issue, which is where family and friends need to be supportive and encourage them to seek professional help. Antidepressants have their place, but it is better for the person to learn strategies to help themselves.

    Are you Stressed, Anxious or Depressed?

    For Westender readers who are concerned about their psychological well-being, Anne recommends the standard DASS21 self-appraisal questionnaire, a copy of which is attached to this article.

    Simply fill out the form and send it to Annette via the email address westend.survey@gmail.com, and Annette will contact you to discuss your scores. There is no charge for this initial contact.

    LINK TO ACYunus dass 21.doc

    Annette is a health provider for Medicare, Allied Health, Bupa, Medibank Private and other health insurers under their Extras tables, and can be contacted at the West End Practice on 07 3846 4888 or her mobile 0406 561 757

  • Boys (and girls) behaving badly

    A comprehensive report analysing the behaviours of thousands of Australian drinkers was released recently by the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund (NDLERF), at the 6th Australasian Drug and Alcohol Strategy Conference in Sydney.

    In one of many findings, Patron Offending and Intoxication in Night-Time Entertainment Districts (POINTED) reveals that across Australia after 1am, almost a third of the 6500 patrons tested had a blood alcohol reading of above 0.1% with the highest averages in Geelong and Perth.

    The massive project saw a research team – led by Associate Professor Peter Miller from Deakin University – interview almost 7000 patrons between November 2011 to June 2012, and conducted almost 900 hours of observation of patrons in pubs and clubs.

    Entertainment precincts surveyed included King Street and Prahran in Melbourne, Geelong in regional Victoria, Northbridge in Perth, Kings Cross and Darling Harbour in Sydney and Wollongong in regional NSW.

    Professor Miller said: “The report provides a detailed insight into the motivations, and drinking behaviours of thousands of mostly young Australians who were out for a night on the town.”

    The surveys were conducted in bars, boutique hotels, beer barns and clubs, with around 6500 patrons agreeing to blood alcohol content (BAC) tests.

    Patrons were interviewed about their night, alcohol choices, whether they pre-drank before leaving home, and whether they’d witnessed or had been involved in aggressive or disorderly behavior. They were also asked about their plans for the rest of night including getting home.

    An average of 65% reported pre-drinking (or pre-loading) before to going out. In Geelong and Perth that level was 81% and 80% respectively. Surveys indicated the main reason to pre-load was to save money. Consuming five or six drinks before going to the pub indicated a higher risk of heavy alcohol consumption and risky behaviour, such as drink driving.

    Likewise the study showed widespread use of high energy drinks- either in an alcohol mix or separate – allowing patrons to drink more, and leading to higher than average blood alcohol readings. Most users averaged 3 high energy drinks by 3 am.

    The surveys also found that around one in four people are believed to have used drugs. This study was the first of its kind to use drug swabs to validate people own reports. It found between 1 and 2 people in every five had used drugs, but that one in four was the most likely average across the country. The main drugs admitted to were cannabis, amphetamines and ecstasy.

    Chair of the NDLERF Board, NSW Police Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke, said that the findings added invaluable information for police and governments in dealing with offenders in night-time entertainment precincts.

    “This survey follows on from the team’s previous work DANTE – Dealing with alcohol related harm and the night-time economy. This study is important as it reflects what patrons are saying and demonstrating and the messages are the same. Alcohol and levels of intoxication remains the significant driver of most harm in the night time economy. The later people drink, the higher are their levels of intoxication. The issue of pre-loading is again borne out as a significant factor in alcohol related harms.”

    “This study also raises a number of concerns about the link between those consuming high energy drinks and levels of harm. Combining high energy drinks and late trading hours are also highlighted by this comprehensive report,” Superintendent Cooke said.

    Some measures the authors recommend for further investigation include:

    * alcohol companies pay for health warning TV advertisements directly after the screening of pro-alcohol ads * ceasing the sales of high energy drinks from 10pm
    * the imposition of tighter trading hour restrictions ceasing the sale of alcohol in venues an hour before closing

    * increasing the price of alcohol through taxation (preferably based on volume and increasing according to beverage strength) to include pre-packaged alcohol used for preloading, to allow for specific expenditure on measures that ameliorate harm,
    * and the banning of two for one, and bulk discount alcohol deals

    Organisations involved in POINTED were: Deakin University, Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Centre Melbourne, the Burnet Institute, National Drug Research Institute Curtin University, University of Western Sydney, and University of Wollongong.

    The report and executive summary are available here: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/

    NDLERF publications are managed by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC).

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  • No clean bill for CSG

    The National Toxics Network (NTN) and the Lock the Gate Alliance are calling on federal and state governments to take urgent action to protect the health of all communities living around coal seam gas (CSG) fields after the release of the Queensland Government’s report into the health of Tara residents.

    Lock the Gate president, Drew Hutton, pointed to the report’s shortcomings.

    “Despite the fact this was not a comprehensive health study it still found children living at Tara were exposed to numerous toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air, some at levels above health criteria,” Mr Hutton said.

    The Queensland Government Health Report acknowledges that while it was ‘..unable to determine whether any of the health effects reported by the community are linked to exposure to Coal Seam Gas activities, it does provide some evidence that might associate some of the residents’ symptoms to exposures to airborne contaminants arising from CSG activities.’

    “The CSG industry testing on which the Queensland Government’s Health report is largely based, is very limited and leaves many questions unanswered,” said Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith, NTN’s CSG Advisor.

    “There was no systematic approach to assessing the chemical pollutants. In most cases only one air sample was collected for each property, yet carcinogens like benzene and the neurotoxin toluene, were found in the air around Tara homes. We know from studies overseas that air monitoring needs to occur over months to ensure a true picture of air pollution from unconventional gas activities,” said Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith.

    “The report repeats the unfounded statements that there were ‘few exceedances for individual chemicals’. There was no attempt to assess those cases where exceedances did occur; they are simply dismissed. There was no consideration or assessment of cumulative or aggregate impacts even when some residences recorded a number of air contaminants and vulnerable children were being exposed, said Dr Lloyd-Smith.

    “The report concludes that there was ‘no evidence of contamination of concern’, yet for many of the chemicals assessed the level of detection used by the laboratories was well above the level set for the protection of health.”

    “Of great concern was the detection of benzene at levels above health criteria. Benzene is a confirmed human carcinogen. Yet these results were dismissed in the report with the claim that ‘benzene was not a compound that is found in CSG and therefore cannot be attributed to CSG activities’” said Dr Lloyd-Smith.

    Queensland’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection website states that “BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) are found naturally in crude oil, coal and gas deposits and therefore they can be naturally present at low concentrations in groundwater near these deposits”.

    “Of the 11 families and over 50 people reporting symptoms like headache, rashes, nausea and nosebleeds, only 15 people were seen in person and another two by telephone,” Drew Hutton said.

    “The Report recognises the limitations of industry sampling for not even testing for toxic metals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium (III and VI), lead, and inorganic mercury; the metals that are of ‘more relevance to public health considerations of soil contamination’.

    “The Health Report and the documents on which it relies do not represent an acceptable investigation of the potential impacts of CSG activities on local residents and should not be used by either government or industry to claim a clean bill of health”.

    “Instead the detection of such a wide range of VOCs in air should prompt an immediate independent, broad-spectrum, high-periodicity, long-term, monitoring program,” they concluded.

    The Queensland Health Department Report can be found at http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2013/5413T2306.pdf

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  • Invasive species: Understanding the threat before it’s too late

    Invasive species: Understanding the threat before it’s too late

    Posted: 22 Mar 2013 09:53 AM PDT

    Catching rides on cargo ships and fishing boats, many invasive species are now covering our shorelines and compromising the existence of our native marine life. Scientists have examined what factors allow some invasive species to survive in their new environments and others to fail.

  • Huge and widespread volcanic eruptions triggered the end-Triassic extinction

    Huge and widespread volcanic eruptions triggered the end-Triassic extinction

    Posted: 22 Mar 2013 02:43 PM PDT

    Some 200 million years ago, an increase in atmospheric CO2 caused acidification of the oceans and global warming that killed off 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species on Earth.