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The Generator news service publishes articles on sustainable development, agriculture and energy as well as observations on current affairs. The news service is used on the weekly radio show, The Generator, as well as by a number of monthly and quarterly magazines. A podcast of the Generator news is also available.
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  • $2billion water fund does nothing for Murray River

    $2 billion Australian water fund untouched; not a single drop of environmental flow has gone back into Murray: Labor questions Govt commitment

    Although the 500 gigalitres of water the Federal Government had committed to putting back into the Murray was only a third of what was needed, even that had not been achieved over the last three years, said Labor’s shadow Treasurer Simon Crean in the Federal Parliament on 14 August 2007.

    Another election promise: "If you simply look at the water initiatives, you see that we have a government presiding over the worst drought in recorded history and it actually cut funding in terms of water," Crean said. "The only time it made a commitment to new funding, short of this latest initiative that we are debating, was just before the introduction of the water fund. This was part of the Prime Minister’s ‘drunken sailor spree’ — $60 billion spent in total by the government to get itself reelected. The problem with the $2 billion Australian water fund is that it has not been spent. So here we have a promise being made just before an election to get themselves into the frame of looking active, yet the funding has not been committed.

    Commitment to spend five-fold increase doubted: "Worse, not a single drop of environmental flow has gone back into the Murray, even though, at the same time as making that $2 billion commitment, they committed to putting 500 gigalitres back into the Murray. We say that the 500 gigalitres was deficient. We argued, and actually proposed, that it be 1,500 gigalitres. That was our policy. The government not only committed to merely going a third of the way; in the three years since, not one drop of water has gone into the Murray as a result of that commitment. Here we are, three years down the track, with another election pending, and we have another commitment. But it is not $2 billion this time; it is $10 billion. It is five times as much — but, as we know, with all the wriggle room in the world by which the government, if it is to be re-elected, can get out of making that spend."

    Reference: Simon Crean, Shadow Treasurer for the Australian Labor Party, Member for Hotham, House of Representatives, Commonwealth, 14 August 2007.

    Erisk Net, 19/8/2007

  • Queensland delivers major water recycling

    Combined project to deliver 232 megalitres: "This milestone is the first step in implementing the largest recycled water scheme in the Southern Hemisphere," Beattie said, "and demonstrates my government’s commitment to ensuring a reliable, climate resistant water supply that will satisfy our needs now and for future generations. When the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project is complete at the end of 2008, it will link all three of the world-class advanced water treatment plants at Luggage Point, Gibson Island and Bundamba with the Wivenhoe Dam. These plants combined will provide up to 232 megalitres of purified recycled water to the power stations and Wivenhoe Dam each day via 200 kilometres of pipeline. This is enough to satisfy more than a third of the region’s current daily water use. To date, more than 1.7 million working hours have been dedicated to ensuring that the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project is completed on time, and I am sure that members join with me … in commending their efforts."

    Reference: Peter Beattie, Premier and Minister for Trade, Member for Brisbane Central ALP, Legislative Assembly, Queensland, 4 September 2007.

    Erisk Net, 22/9/2007

  • Israel asks US to pay aid in Euros

    Secretary of State Rice has acknowledged a communique from Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Levni which requests that all foreign aid payments and loans from the United States be made in Euros rather than in Dollars. Foreign Minister Levni cited the rapidly declining dollar and it’s disfavor as a world currency as reasons for the request.

    "In the spirit of Yom Kippur, the United States will not hold Israel to any agreements obligating them to accept Dollars as payment for their foreigh aid. We will translate our obligations into Euros or whatever currency that best fits Israel’s needs" Secretary RIce said in the Friday, Sept 21 announcement.

    "We need to place our Israeli obligations at the top of our national prioriy list. Israel should not suffer any inconvenience due to currency fluctuations" said Rice before heading off to Camp David.

    A similar request from Egypt was declined last week.

  • Turkey implements wind power

    But in spite of the huge potential of the Turkish wind power sector—the country is surrounded by the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea—so far Turkey has made a slow start in exploiting its wind energy potential.

    In 2006, only 19 MW of wind power capacity were installed, and this year, installed wind capacity increased to a little under 140 MW.

    There are ten wind farms—mainly on land—clustered together in the west of the country and in the Aegean region, including in Çanakkale, close to the site of ancient Troy, Çeþme, Akhisar and on the island of Bozcaada,

    Tanay Sýdký Uyar, Vice President of the World Wind Energy Association and Associate Professor of Renewable Energy at Marmara University, said that Turkey had a huge potential for renewable electricity from wind, solar and geothermal sources. He estimated that Turkey could install a wind capacity of 100,000 MW of electricity.

    Currently, Turkey has a total installed capacity of about 40,000 MW for electricity from all energy sources.

    "Wind power could supply Turkey’s electricity needs twice over within five to ten years if the government had the political will to develop this sector," he told RenewableEnergyAccess.com.

    However, Uyar said that the government was slow to give licences to build new wind parks.

    A backlog of applications to build wind farms with a total operating capacity of 8,000 MW is still waiting for approval from the government. So far the government has issued about 40 licences for wind parks, each with an installed capacity of between 20 and 60 MW.

    The country’s capacity for solar energy is also estimated to be huge, with an average of 7.2 hours of sunshine each day, according to the Research Institute for Electricity Affairs (EIEI) in Ankara.

    Also, Uyar said that geothermal energy has the potential to supply 5 million households with heating.

    In 2005, Turkey passed a new renewable energy law to bring it into line with European Union legislation to support renewable sources, including wind power, by giving a government guarantee to purchase electricity at a set price for a period of 7 years.

    But the tariff of about 5 euro cents per kWh of electricity is much lower than in most other European countries, and economic studies say it discourages investment in the renewable energy sector.

    "We have terrific geographic conditions for solar and wind power in Turkey. Exploiting it is already economically and technically possible, but the problem is that the government favors fossil fuels and nuclear energy," Uyar said.

    Turkey is locked into long-term agreements to purchase natural gas at fixed prices and also nuclear energy technology and these agreements are a financial disincentive to developing renewable energy, Uyar said.

    The government is planning to build 3 nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 4,500 MW by 2012.

    Uyar also said that more needed to be done in Turkey to make energy use more efficient.

    "There is a huge amount of energy waste. Turkey can cut its electricity needs by 50% if it uses more up-to-date energy efficient technology and so help keep down carbon emissions," he said.

    The share of energy that comes from renewable energy sources in Turkey is tiny. In 2006, the country had an installed biomass capacity of 35 MW and 15 MW of geothermal energy.

    In addition, Turkey had an installed capacity of 13,100 MW of hydro power, 38,867 MW of thermal power, 11,850 MW of natural gas, 7,491 MW of lignite, 1,845 MW of hard coal, 2,230 MW of oil.

  • Greens establish food and global warming inquiry


    "It is irresponsible and grossly inadequate to respond to dire crop
    forecasts and the pain caused to rural communities by promising bandaid
    cheques and platitudes about the drought eventually breaking," she said.

    "Our agricultural sector is fast approaching crisis. We need to address
    the issue of the future of agriculture urgently," said Senator Siewert.

    "These poor seasons are no longer 'exceptional' circumstances. What we
    are seeing is not just one of the worst droughts in history but a shift
    in our climate. It is unfair to keep landholders hanging on without
    putting real resources into helping them adapt."

    Senator Siewert and Senator Milne have twice previously attempted to
    establish similar inquiries. 

    "This is not so much a win for the Greens as a win for common sense,"
    she said.
    The motion to refer this issue to the Rural and Regional Affairs and
    Transport Committee and the terms of reference for the inquiry are
    attached overleaf.

    The motion agreed to by the Senate reads, 
    That the Senate:
    1. Notes the dire state of the latest ABARE Crop Report (No. 143,
    released 18th September 2007).
    2. Recognises the severe impact of a series of ongoing poor seasons of
    the livelihoods of Australian farmers and the knock-on effect on the
    well-being of associated rural communities.
    3. Notes the need to ensure the security of Australian food production.
    4. That the following matters be referred to the Rural and Regional
    Affairs and Transport Committee for inquiry and report by 30 June 2008:
    a. The scientific evidence available on the likely future climate of our
    key agricultural production zones, and its implications for current farm
    enterprises and possible future industries
    b. The need for a national strategy to assist Australian agricultural
    industries to adapt to climate change
    c. The adequacy of existing drought assistance and exceptional
    circumstances programs to cope with long-term climactic changes.

  • New lamp saves electricity

    Scientists working for Ceravision, a company based in Milton Keynes, in Britain, have designed a new form of lamp that eliminates the need for electrodes, reported The Economist (8/9/2007, p.4). Their device uses microwaves to transform electricity into light. It consists of a relatively small lump of aluminium oxide into which a hole has been bored, with a gas-capsule, inside. The lot is bombarded with microwaves generated from the same sort of device that powers a microwave oven. As electrons accelerate in the electric field, they gain energy that they pass on to the atoms and molecules of the gas as they collide with them, creating a glowing plasma. The resulting light is bright, and the process is energy-efficient.

    Energy efficiency greater than 50 per cent: Indeed, whereas traditional light bulbs emit just 5 per cent of their energy as light, and fluorescent tubes about 15 per cent, the Ceravision lamp has an energy efficiency greater than 50 per cent. The lamp’s small size makes them compatible to light-emitting diodes but the new lamp generates much brighter light than those semiconductor devices do.

    Cheap, and does not need mercury: A single microwave generator can be used to power several lamps. Another environmental advantage of the new design is that it does not need mercury, a highly toxic metal found in most of the bulbs used today, including energy-saving fluorescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes and high-pressure bulbs used in projectors. And Ceravision also reckons it should be cheap to make. With lighting accounting for some 20 per cent of electricity use worldwide, switching to a more efficient system could both save energy and reduce emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases.

    The Economist, 8/9/2007, p. 4