Category: News
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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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admin /27 June, 2009
By Samantha Donovan
The Snowy’s annual natural flow sits at 4 per cent below the Jindabyne Dam – 11 per cent below the target. (AAP: Jennifer Chapman)
Campaigners fighting to restore the health of the once mighty Snowy River say the legislation that promised to restore the river’s flow is a sham.
Seven years ago the Snowy River Alliance celebrated the corporatisation of the Snowy Hydro Authority.
The legislation included provisions apparently committing the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victorian governments to restoring the Snowy’s environmental flows.
But jubilation has given way to despair.
admin /27 June, 2009
One hundred years after it first opened its doors, the Science Museum is more relevant than ever
A mischievous deity, determined to confront humanity with an especially vexed challenge, would ensure that the nature of the problem was complex and scientific and that the connection between the underlying personal actions and their consequences was not obvious. The sneaky god would also ensure that convincing evidence for the problem would emerge almost too late for a response, that there would be vested interests motivated to sow doubt and confusion, that there would be no self-correcting market mechanism, and that there would be inadequate or absent instruments and institutions to support effective action.
admin /27 June, 2009
By JOHN M. BRODER
WASHINGTON — Overcoming deep divisions within its Democratic majority, the House passed legislation on Friday intended to address the threat of global warming and transform the way the United States produces and uses energy.
The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill intended to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change, and its provisions could lead to sweeping changes in many sectors of the American economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction. The House vote also establishes a marker for the United States when international negotiations on a new global climate change treaty begin later this year.
admin /26 June, 2009
Success at National Ignition Facility could pave the way for commercial laser fusion power stations and provide a solution to world energy crisis
National Ignition Facility will harness the power of lasers to turn hydrogen pellets into energy. Photograph: National Ignition Facility
A tentative first step towards an era of clean, almost limitless energy will take place today with the opening of a giant facility designed to recreate the power of the stars in an oversized warehouse in California.
The $3.5bn National Ignition Facility (NIF) sits in a 10-storey building covering three football fields and will harness the power of lasers to turn tiny pellets of hydrogen into thermonuclear energy.
If the machine works as planned, it will become the first to generate more energy than it consumes, a feat that could pave the way for commercial laser fusion power stations and an end to the world’s energy security problems.
admin /26 June, 2009
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian negotiators have played down a proposal for major economies to consider setting a goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, saying there were contentious ideas in the draft on the cuts needed.
The proposal is part of a draft document put forward by the United States and Mexico at talks in Mexico this week, without reaching an accord.
A copy of the text was made available to Reuters and is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the 17-member Major Economies Forum (MEF) on the sidelines of a G8 summit in Italy on July 9.
Plans also include doubling of public investments by the major economies in low-carbon technology by 2015 and boosting funding from public and private sources as well as from carbon markets to fight global warming.
But Indian negotiators returning from Mexico said there was no consensus over the draft text and many hurdles remained, especially on the scope of emission cuts for different countries.
admin /26 June, 2009
Recession and oil price main drivers behind fall in consumption as developing world emissions rise above 50% for first time
Smoke flowing from a factory chimney. Photograph: Joel W. Rogers/Corbis
The growth of global carbon dioxide emissions fell by half in 2008, according to data released today. The global recession and high oil prices played a major role in reducing the rate of emissions. But measures to tackle global warming by cutting emissions such as renewable energy were only partly responsible. The data from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (NEAA) also show that, for the first time, CO2 emissions from the developing world account for more than half of the global total.
Analysis from the NEAA draws on fossil fuel consumption figures published last week by BP. It shows that the rise in the world’s emissions from fossil fuel burning and cement production in 2008 was just 1.7%, compared with 3.3% in 2007.
