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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.
As well as Giovanni’s articles it picks up the most pertinent articles from a range of other news services. You can publish the news feed on your website using RSS, free of charge.
 

  • Rivercity Steel Band plays state school on Saturday 6th

    Carribean party posterA celebration of Independence Day to Trinidad and Tobago will be held on the evening of Saturday 6th September at the West End State School with headline act, the River City Steel Band.

    Kicking off at 6:00pm the evening will feature Conga lines, soca line dancing, a pan shoot out and limbo dancing. There will be lashings of Caribbean food, a cash bar featuring authentic Caribbean Rum Punch and a coffee cart.

    Children are free, adult entry is $10.

    The Rivercity Steel Band is a community steel band playing Caribbean style music. The origin of steel bands lies in Trinidad where the discovery that oil drums could be hammered and tuned to make musical instruments was made. The basic instrument is the steel pan, or drum, which is made in a range of different sizes to match the range of notes of the instruments of an orchestra. Formerly associated with poverty, the steel pan is now officially recognised as the National Instrument of Trinidad and Tobago and has millions of players and followers throughout the world.

    Steel pan music was introduced to Australia in the 1970s when Amral Khan’s Cavaliers Steel Bands toured the world and made several visits to Australia. A number of its members decided to stay, including Alvin Rostant, who later teamed up with Paul Santiago and formed the Australian Academy of Steel Drums. www.steeldrums.org The Rivercity Steel Band evolved from one of the Academy’s workshops and was formed in 2008. Alvin is the band leader and music director and brings a wealth of experience to the band. Alvin is an well known professional musician who performs solo, with his band, Jahbutu, and provides a range of workshops including the Banana Joe schools program. More info on www.caribbeanartscompany.com.au

  • Daily update: Abbott is blindsiding mainstream media on green energy

    AdDr Green – Solar Power – www.drgreen.com.au/MonthlySpecial – 5kW System only $4490 + Free Meter or $48/wk. Hurry, ends 29th August!

    Daily update: Abbott is blindsiding mainstream media on green energy

    Inbox
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    Renew Economy editor@reneweconomy.com.au via mail9.atl111.rsgsv.net
    2:54 PM (13 minutes ago)
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    Abbott is blindsiding mainstream media on green energy; Renewables hits 2020 target in SA; RET cut will leave renewables ‘as good as dead’; Fossil fuel divestment a $5tn challenge; Oz top solar electorates also most conservative; China eyes $16bn EV charging fun; Water security another good reason to shift to renewables; Why tariff design is critical for utilities; Verizon to be largest solar producing communication company; Coal found guilty in case of energy generation vs birds; and Stopgap carbon policies not perfect but better than nothing.
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    RenewEconomy Daily News
    The Parkinson Report
    Fairfax’s media flagship has called on Tony Abbott to protect the Renewable Energy Target, and then recommended a raft of policies to do exactly the opposite. It’s another example of why the Abbott government’s destruction of a $20 billion industry is and will not be questioned in mainstream media.
    Solar now in nearly 1/4 homes in South Australia, as official data shows renewables hit state’s ambitious 2020 target, and emissions fall sharply.
    Pacific Hydro CEO Lane Crockett warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ of Abbott government’s plans to dump or wind back the Renewable Energy Target.
    Bloomberg New Energy Finance report says global fossil fuel divestment challenge will mean finding a viable destination for $5trn worth of investor funds.
    Report finds 6 of top 10 solar electorates in Australia held by Coalition MPs, who were pushing to dump RET and make it harder for households to go solar.
    Reports emerge that the Chinese government is considering putting $US16bn towards electric-vehicle charging facilities, to spur demand for EVs.
    US report details the enormous water usage reduction that greater global reliance on renewable energy sources like solar  and wind would enable.
    There is a looming disconnect between the rapidly evolving new world of distributed energy technologies and the old world of electricity pricing.
    Verizon set to install 10.2 MW of new solar power systems across eight of the network facilities.
    U.S. News has investigated just how many birds are killed by different energy sources each year, and the figures do not look good for coal utilities.
    Stopgap carbon policies; far from perfect, but better than nothing Michael Rupert, Kenneth Baldwin & Michael Smith
    What might Australia’s climate policy end up looking like, and could Palmer’s ETS – even with a zero initial price on emissions – act as a stopgap?

  • The Largest Star In The Universe

    A red Hypergiant, one of the largest stars believed to exist in the Universe. Image credit: NASA
    A red Hypergiant, one of the largest stars believed to exist in the Universe. Image credit: NASA

    Astronomers have spotted what they believe is the largest known star in the Universe. It’s a red ‘Hypergiant’ located about 5,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus the swan. Astronomers recently calculated its upper size at more than 2,000 times the size of the Sun. That is around 1.2 billion kilometres wide!

    Placed in our Solar System, its surface would extend out to the orbit of Saturn. Light takes more than 4 hours just to cross its circumference!

    That’s the biggest star that we know of, but what’s the biggest probable star in the Universe? Obviously, it’s difficult for us to actually find it, the Universe is a big place, but some astronomers believe one day we’ll find a cool ‘Supergiant’ 2,600 times the size of the Sun. That, astronomers believe, is the largest possible star. Now that’s big!

    Talking about the Universe, it’s time to scan the skies again. Stars come up nicely through a telescope and as you know I always use binoculars because you see a wider field of view. The image is right side up and the larger field of view makes it easy to find what you point at. They’re so simple to use, the ideal starter instrument to go star spotting with.

    The Lord Of The Rings

    Saturn is nearby and shines in the western sky at nightfall and stays out until late evening in late August. Saturn is the planet with the WOW factor. There is no more dazzling sight in the solar system than that of the ringed planet, even city lights can’t diminish the beauty of this tiny but picturesque crowd pleaser!

    Stories abound about first timers who catch their first glimpse of Saturn through a telescope, only to check the front of the scope in disbelief to see if there isn’t a picture of the ringed planet dangling there.

    How could an object so far away in space appear so perfectly clear and sharp? Such is the utter coolness of Saturn. Every time I show people Saturn through a telescope they turn and say, “Wow, it really is there!” Such is the magic of the ‘Lord of the Rings.’ At the moment Saturn and Mars are close together in the constellation Libra low in the western evening sky.

    A Messy Place

    Hey, have a guess how much space junk is floating around up there? That’s right, too much to count and we put it all there, over the past 40 years by launching more than 10,000 satellites, the majority of which are still in orbit. We’re only now beginning to reap the bounty we’ve sown, so to speak.

    Rocket booster casings, dead satellites – you name it and it’s there posing a problem for astronauts and space tourists for the next 30 years. Scientists believe there are more than 300,000 pieces of debris in space, made up of everything from tiny screws and bolts to large parts of rockets, mostly moving in low orbits around Earth at tremendous speed.

    Are you starting to get reminders of what you saw depicted in the 2013 Hollywood movie Gravity and wondering…what if? Stunning movie though!

    David Reneke is one of Australia’s most well known and respected astronomers and lecturers with links to some of the world’s leading astronomical institutions. David is the editor for Australia’s Astro-Space News Magazine and a writer/publicist for Australasian Science magazine. www.davidreneke.com

  • Kurilpa Riverfront plan may kill the goose that lays the golden egg

    The New City Plan
    Two windows will have views of Mount Cootha.

    Greens candidate for South Brisbane, Jonathon Sri has expressed serious concerns about the drafting process of the new masterplan.

    “Inviting consultation after the draft has been finalised is patronising and tokenistic,” he said. “It goes without saying that local residents and small businesses should have been consulted before it was released.”
    He said that the plan contains some positive elements, “it’s nice that some of the existing public spaces will be made more accessible – but at the end of the day, the new plan seems to be a bit of a missed opportunity.
    “We’ll be cramming thousands of people into an area that may not have sufficient infrastructure to accommodate them.”
    He also expressed concern about the lack of  new schools and public health services to cater for the 11 000 new residents, and commented that “the new parks that the government’s been banging on about are quite small.”
    He said, “The best aspects of the project, like the new public ampitheatre, are described as aspirational ideas that require further investigation, whereas the worst aspects, like the fact that much of the ‘open space’ appears to be private gardens, are already locked in.
    “The proposed redesign of key arterial streets also fails to provide safe cycling routes through the peninsula. Narrow bike lanes will be wedged between car lanes and streetside parking, despite local and international research telling us that this is unsafe and suboptimal.
    “The redevelopment of Kurilpa Peninsula represents a great opportunity for Brissie, but if done poorly, it’ll simply replicate the mistakes of the past.”
    Mr Sri said that these issues reflect a “socially unsustainable approach to development throughout inner-city Brisbane.”
    “In trying to commodify and profit from urban culture, developers may well be killing it off altogether.”

  • Creswalk in Orleigh Park raises funds for Gaza

    CresWalk posterThe recent conflict in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of over 1,900 Palestinians and almost 10,000 people being injured, many of whom are women and children.

    Hospitals, schools, and homes have been targeted and destoyed causing thousands of families to be displaced.

    The people of Gaza are experiencing power outages, shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.

    And the question we are all asking ourselves is, “what can we do to help those affected?”

    This year Crescents of Brisbane is giving you the opportunity to make a difference for the people of Gaza at CresWalk 2014 – Race for Gaza.

    You can now make your very own fundraising page and get people to sponsor you to Race!

    In just minutes you can build and customise your page, then start sharing the link with your friends, family and colleagues and asking them to make a donation.

    Every donation is then recorded on your fundraising page along with a message of support from your donors.

    About CresWalk

    CresWalk is one of the most popular events in the local community.

    Over 700 men, women, and children of all shape, sizes and physical abilities take part each year.

    CresWalk is now in its 11th year and is growing in support every year and this year.

    • When: 7th September 2014

    • Where: Orleigh Park, West End

    • Start Time: 8.30am (prompt)

    • Distances: 2.5km and 5km (all age categories catered for)

  • Grace Barbé lights up BEMAC

    Grace Barbe
    Sounds of the Seychelles and Africa at BEMAC

    “Led by Grace Barbé, a charming, beautiful islander woman from the Seychelles, the band puts on an intricate, fun and engaging performance full of island reggae, creole rhythms, and complex, intense vocals in French, Creole and English – an amazing, uplifting experience.” – Gordon Taylor of musichord.com

    Seychelles islander Grace Barbé is the real deal, a genuinely exotic world music star for the 21st century, with the talent, looks and voice to match. Grace’s soulful music reflects and celebrates the diverse cultural influences of her Indian Ocean heritage. The new album Welele! represents definitive manifesto of Grace’s “Afro-Kreol” style – a colourful and energetic fusion of tropical island rhythms with African percussion, reggae, pop, rock and Latin flavours.

    In performance, Grace lights up the stage with a vibrant and engaging presence that compels the audience to get up and dance. Her voice is a remarkably powerful instrument, and as a songwriter she has a rare and natural gift for rhythm and melody. Playing guitar and bass, Grace sings in English, Kreol and French.

    Grace’s band has been awarded “Best World Act” an incredible five years running in her current home state of Western Australia. Following the release of her debut album “Kreol Daughter” in 2009, Grace has performed at major festivals all over the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, La Reunion and Seychelles), as well as at many of Australia’s leading music festivals, including Womadelaide, WOMAD New Zealand, Byron Bay Bluesfest and Woodford Folk Festival.