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admin /16 May, 2009
NASA has joined the gold rush to farm algae as a potential energy source, food supply and means of drawing down atmospheric carbon dioxide. In August 2006 Spanish company, BioFuel systems announced that it could meet the world’s liquid fuel demands with an algae farm in the open ocean 250 kilometers square. Since then, a number of companies, including Australian innovator Aquadam, have announced plans to harvest the microscopic organisms. NASA research scientist, Jonathan Trent said, “sea-based nurseries leave land free for food production and the process should take out more carbon from the atmosphere than what it puts in.”
Related stories on The Generator
Algae man’s next best friend – 2006
Algae top of biofuel pops
admin /16 May, 2009
China exposes Rudd’s 25% climate fig leaf
Prime Minister Rudd’s attempt to green-wash his Carbon Pollution
Reduction Scheme with a 25% conditional target has been exposed as
disingenuous by China’s top negotiator, Su Wei, Australian Greens Deputy
Leader Christine Milne said today.
When Prime Minster Rudd announced his climate back-down to the coal
industry earlier this month with a delay in the start date by one year,
a $1.1b increase in compensation for big polluters, and a fixed $10
carbon price in the first year, he tried to cover it with a highly
conditional promise of a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas below 2000
levels by 2020.
admin /16 May, 2009
Date: Sat, May 16, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: [HWG] Transparency of acq and Cost per house RE: NSW government plans to buy 1, 000 homes
To: Housing Working Group <hwg@lists.nsw.greens.org.au>
1) As a series of guesstimates, I estimate NSW might receive $2bn of the $6bn, based on a pro rata allocation across the states by popn and local cost to purchase. (The grant amount for each state should be checkable with FAHCSIA?)
So that would be an estimated $3bn to purchase 9,000 places, making each place $333K each on average, including dwelling and land. This could be a fair appraisal for new build if they are fitted out with bottom of the market fittings and fixtures. A typical 1960s/70s 2 br unit at Marrickville would go for this sort of money, I guess. They are factoring in 1.89 people per dwelling, meaning the majority will be 1 and 2 bedroom places, not 3 or more bedrooms.
This provides an opportunity for ‘investors’ to sell at the top of the market to govt, although there is reasonably strong private demand for properties like this right now due to the FHOB — hence state govts will be competing with the Fed govt FHOB to try to get a ‘fair market price’, at a time when vendors are putting their prices up due to low interest rates and the FHOB.
admin /15 May, 2009
Australia commits $2m to ‘Amazon of the Seas’
Posted Fri May 15, 2009 6:13pm AEST
Updated Fri May 15, 2009 8:25pm AEST
Australia has promised $2 million in aid to a new regional partnership charged with protecting marine life in the waters of the coral triangle.
The coral triangle is an area of ocean to Australia’s north that is regarded as one of the richest marine environments in the world.
Seven countries have signed an agreement to work together to protect the area from the effects of overfishing, pollution and climate change.
admin /15 May, 2009
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| Life’s a beach … the chicken-sized maleo now lives exclusively on Sulawesi island. Photograph: Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society/AP |
A hard headed bird that incubates its eggs in hot sand and flies immediately on hatching has been granted a private beach on an Indonesian Island.
The Conservation Society of America bought the beach on an insland near Sulewesi for $US12,500 to protect the rare Maleos bird which relies on volcanic sands or sun soaked tropical beaches to hatch its eggs.
admin /15 May, 2009
By announcing it will re-introduce its ‘Alcopops’ tax after June 18, the Rudd government has ramped up prospects of an early double dissolution election.
The government is re-introducing the bill not because it wants an early election, but because it wants the legislation passed. But re-introducing it in a manner that permits the legislation to become a double dissolution trigger ramps up the pressure on the Opposition and the Senate cross-benchers to pass the legislation or potentially face the electoral consequences.
If the Senate again blocks the ‘Alcopops’ legislation after June 18, the Government will have a trigger to call a double dissolution at any time between July this year and October 2010. That will provide a useful stick for the government to use against the Senate as the Government attempts to pass its Budget measures, as well as its legislation to introduce a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).
