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  • [New post] City of Sydney business voting – bill revealed

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    [New post] City of Sydney business voting – bill revealed

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    City of Sydney business voting – bill revealed

    by Ben Raue

    Following on from the announcement earlier this week that the NSW state government will support a bill from the Shooters and Fishers that will radically expand business voting for the City of Sydney, today the bill was introduced in the Legislative Council, after previously not being advertised or being presented for any consultation.

    The legislation confirms that property owners, ratepaying lessees or occupiers are entitled to vote: corporations are entitled to two votes, and otherwise the number of property owners, ratepaying lessees, and occupiers who get to vote are capped at two.

    The other key part of the law will automatically enrol voters for all those who are eligible to vote. This creates the effect of massively expanding the number of non-resident voters in the City of Sydney, possibly threatening Clover Moore’s hold on the position.

    The bill does not limit voting rights to non-residents who actually pay rates, regardless of the absurd ‘taxation without representation’ argument from supporters of business voting. The proposal isn’t about giving voting rights to ratepayers, but giving voting rights to one particular sector that has a history of having a large amount of influence over most councils.

    Outrageously, the law gives the government the power to expand these new rules to any other local council in New South Wales, seemingly on an arbitrary basis. The NSW government has refused to say which other councils could also see massive expansions in business voting, but there have been suggestions that Parramatta, Newcastle and Wollongong could see a similar imposition.

    Some might say that the latest news at ICAC regarding the Lord Mayor of Newcastle suggests that business interests don’t need any more influence over councils, but it hasn’t stopped the NSW government.

    Ben Raue | August 14, 2014 at 9:15 pm | Tags: City of Sydney, Local government | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/ppI95-5r2

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    [New post] City of Sydney business voting – bill revealed

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    The Tally Room <donotreply@wordpress.com>
    9:15 PM (41 minutes ago)
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    New post on The Tally Room

    City of Sydney business voting – bill revealed

    by Ben Raue

    Following on from the announcement earlier this week that the NSW state government will support a bill from the Shooters and Fishers that will radically expand business voting for the City of Sydney, today the bill was introduced in the Legislative Council, after previously not being advertised or being presented for any consultation.

    The legislation confirms that property owners, ratepaying lessees or occupiers are entitled to vote: corporations are entitled to two votes, and otherwise the number of property owners, ratepaying lessees, and occupiers who get to vote are capped at two.

    The other key part of the law will automatically enrol voters for all those who are eligible to vote. This creates the effect of massively expanding the number of non-resident voters in the City of Sydney, possibly threatening Clover Moore’s hold on the position.

    The bill does not limit voting rights to non-residents who actually pay rates, regardless of the absurd ‘taxation without representation’ argument from supporters of business voting. The proposal isn’t about giving voting rights to ratepayers, but giving voting rights to one particular sector that has a history of having a large amount of influence over most councils.

    Outrageously, the law gives the government the power to expand these new rules to any other local council in New South Wales, seemingly on an arbitrary basis. The NSW government has refused to say which other councils could also see massive expansions in business voting, but there have been suggestions that Parramatta, Newcastle and Wollongong could see a similar imposition.

    Some might say that the latest news at ICAC regarding the Lord Mayor of Newcastle suggests that business interests don’t need any more influence over councils, but it hasn’t stopped the NSW government.

    Ben Raue | August 14, 2014 at 9:15 pm | Tags: City of Sydney, Local government | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/ppI95-5r2

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    [New post] City of Sydney business voting – bill revealed

    Inbox
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    The Tally Room <donotreply@wordpress.com>
    9:15 PM (41 minutes ago)
    to me

    New post on The Tally Room

    City of Sydney business voting – bill revealed

    by Ben Raue

    Following on from the announcement earlier this week that the NSW state government will support a bill from the Shooters and Fishers that will radically expand business voting for the City of Sydney, today the bill was introduced in the Legislative Council, after previously not being advertised or being presented for any consultation.

    The legislation confirms that property owners, ratepaying lessees or occupiers are entitled to vote: corporations are entitled to two votes, and otherwise the number of property owners, ratepaying lessees, and occupiers who get to vote are capped at two.

    The other key part of the law will automatically enrol voters for all those who are eligible to vote. This creates the effect of massively expanding the number of non-resident voters in the City of Sydney, possibly threatening Clover Moore’s hold on the position.

    The bill does not limit voting rights to non-residents who actually pay rates, regardless of the absurd ‘taxation without representation’ argument from supporters of business voting. The proposal isn’t about giving voting rights to ratepayers, but giving voting rights to one particular sector that has a history of having a large amount of influence over most councils.

    Outrageously, the law gives the government the power to expand these new rules to any other local council in New South Wales, seemingly on an arbitrary basis. The NSW government has refused to say which other councils could also see massive expansions in business voting, but there have been suggestions that Parramatta, Newcastle and Wollongong could see a similar imposition.

    Some might say that the latest news at ICAC regarding the Lord Mayor of Newcastle suggests that business interests don’t need any more influence over councils, but it hasn’t stopped the NSW government.

    Ben Raue | August 14, 2014 at 9:15 pm | Tags: City of Sydney, Local government | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/ppI95-5r2

  • How much methane came out of that hole in Siberia?

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    How much methane came out of that hole in Siberia?

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    — david @ 13 August 2014

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    Siberia has explosion holes in it that smell like methane, and there are newly found bubbles of methane in the Arctic Ocean. As a result, journalists are contacting me assuming that the Arctic Methane Apocalypse has begun. However, as a climate scientist I remain much more concerned about the fossil fuel industry than I am about Arctic methane. Short answer: It would take about 20,000,000 such eruptions within a few years to generate the standard Arctic Methane Apocalypse that people have been talking about. Here’s where that statement comes from:

    How much methane emission is “a lot”? The yardstick here comes from Natalie Shakhova, an Arctic methane oceanographer and modeler at the University of Fairbanks. She proposed that 50 Gton of methane (a gigaton is 1015 grams) might erupt from the Arctic on a short time scale Shakhova (2010). Let’s call this a “Shakhova” event. There would be significant short-term climate disruption from a Shakhova event, with economic consequences explored by Whitemann et al Whiteman et al (2013). The radiative forcing right after the release would be similar to that from fossil fuel CO2 by the end of the century, but subsiding quickly rather than continuing to grow as business-as-usual CO2 does.

    I and others have been skeptical of the possibility that so much methane could escape from the Arctic so quickly, given the century to millennial time scale of warming the permafrost and ocean sediments, and point out that if the carbon is released slowly, the climate impacts will be small. But now that explosion holes are being found in Siberia, the question is

    How much methane came out of that hole in Siberia? The hole is about 80 meters in diameter and 60-100 meters deep.

    It’s hard to say exactly how much methane did this, because perhaps the crater allowed methane to be released from the surrounding soil. There may be emissions in the future from permafrost melting laterally from the sides of the hole. But for a start let’s assume that the volume of the hole is the same as the volume of the original, now escaped, bubble. Gases are compressible, so we need to know what its pressure was. The deeper in the Earth it was, the higher the pressure, but if we are concerned about gas whose release might be triggered by climate warming, we should look for pockets that come close to the surface. Deep pockets might take thousands of years for surface warming to reach. The mass of a solid cap ten meters thick would increase the pressure underneath it to about four atmospheres, plus there may have been some overpressure. Let’s assume a pressure of ten atmospheres (enough to hold up the atmosphere plus about 30 meters of rock).

    If the bubble was pure methane, it would have contained about … wait for it … 0.000003 Gtons of methane. In other words, building a Shakhova event from these explosions would take approximately 20,000,000 explosions, all within a few years, or else the climate impact of the methane would be muted by the lifetime effect.

    What about the bubbles of methane they just found in the Arctic ocean? There were reports this summer of a new expedition to the Siberian margin, documenting vast plumes of methane bubbles rising from sediments ~500 meters water depth.

    It is certainly believable that warming ocean waters could trigger an increase in methane emissions to the atmosphere, and that the time scale for changing ocean temperatures can be fast due to circulation changes (we are seeing the same thing in the Antarctic). But the time scale for heat to diffuse into the sediment, where methane hydrate can be found, should be slow, like that for permafrost on land or slower. More importantly, the atmospheric methane flux from the Arctic Ocean is really small (extrapolating estimates from Kort et al 2012), even compared with emissions from the Arctic land surface, which is itself only a few percent of global emissions (dominated by human sources and tropical wetlands).

    In conclusion, despite recent explosions suggesting the contrary, I still feel that the future of Earth’s climate in this century and beyond will be determined mostly by the fossil fuel industry, and not by Arctic methane. We should keep our eyes on the ball.

    References

    1. N.E. Shakhova, V.A. Alekseev, and I.P. Semiletov, “Predicted methane emission on the East Siberian shelf”, Dokl. Earth Sc., vol. 430, pp. 190-193, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X10020091
    2. G. Whiteman, C. Hope, and P. Wadhams, “Climate science: Vast costs of Arctic change”, Nature, vol. 499, pp. 401-403, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/499401a
    3. E.A. Kort, S.C. Wofsy, B.C. Daube, M. Diao, J.W. Elkins, R.S. Gao, E.J. Hintsa, D.F. Hurst, R. Jimenez, F.L. Moore, J.R. Spackman, and M.A. Zondlo, “Atmospheric observations of Arctic Ocean methane emissions up to 82° north”, Nature Geosci, vol. 5, pp. 318-321, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1452

    – See more at: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2014/08/how-much-methane-came-out-of-that-hole-in-siberia/#sthash.XGht0wfv.dpuf

  • Daily update: The madness of WA’s multi-billion fossil fuel energy disaster

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    Daily update: The madness of WA’s multi-billion fossil fuel energy disaster

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    The madness of WA’s multi-billion fossil fuel disaster; Economics of residential battery storage in Australia; US charts record growth for solar carports; WA wave technology bought up by uranium mining group; Wind energy runs at near 50% capacity in Aus in July; Mixed Greens; Brazil auctions 26GW of wind, solar power, and Cali takes first step toward creating grid of the future.
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    RenewEconomy Daily News
    The Parkinson Report
    WA concede its electricity market is unsustainable. Its wholesale prices are double the rest of Australia, $1 billion has been spent on un-needed fossil fuel generators, and subsidies are costing taxpayers $600m a year. A 55-page discussion paper looking at how the market can be reformed does not even mention the word solar. Instead, it canvasses importing coal from Indonesia.
    Australian-made battery storage could be competitive in Australia – at peak times – if the number of cycles can be increased significantly.
    Report says US solar carport market set to add 180MW in 2014 in 4th consecutive year of record growth, and could be worth $850m within two years.
    Australian-designed wave energy converter set for commercial rebirth via deal with an ASX-listed uranium mining company.
    Australia’s wind farms operated at capacity factor of nearly 50% in July – more than some coal generators, and double that of gas plants.
    Maurice Newman’s global cooling op-ed; Qld govt approval of Galilee rail project dubbed ‘economic train wreck’; Enphase taps NZ solar market; Dyesol update.
    Project developers in Brazil have offered to sell electricity from a total of 1,034 projects with a cumulative capacity of almost 26,300 MW.
    California utilities and regulators embrace challenge of integrating solar and storage into the grid – and why it can’t wait.

  • Sea Levels to Rise along Coasts of Philippines, Australia Due To Human Activities, Study

    Wednesday, Aug 13 2014 | Updated at 06:04 AM EDT

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    University Herald

    Aug 12, 2014 07:00 AM EDT By , UniversityHerald Reporter

    Sea Levels to Rise along Coasts of Philippines, Australia Due To Human Activities, Study

    Sea Levels to Rise along Coasts of Philippines and Australia Due To Human Activities, Study
    (Photo : Reuters) Sea Levels to Rise along Coasts of Philippines and Australia Due To Human Activities, Study

    Sea levels will continue to rise in the western tropical Pacific Ocean due to human activities, according to a new study by the Old Dominion University and the University of Colorado Boulder.

    Through the study, the researchers wanted to determine the role of naturally-occurring climate phenomenon called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation or PDO in influencing sea rise patterns in the Pacific.

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    For the study, the researchers analysed past sea level data collected from both satellite altimeters (NASA’s Topex-Poseidon and Jason satellite series missions) and traditional tide gauges.

    The team also performed sea level reconstructions, dating back to 1950, by fitting patterns of satellite altimeter data to tide gauge data. They then removed the effects of the PDO to understand its influence on current sea level increases in the Pacific.

    “The conventional wisdom has been that if the Pacific Decadal Oscillation was removed from the equation this sea level rise in parts of the Pacific would disappear,” said Benjamin Hamlington of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., a former CU-Boulder postdoctoral researcher and lead study author, in a statement. “But we found that sea level rise off the coasts of the Philippines and northeastern Australia appear to be anthropogenic and would continue even without this oscillation.”

    The researchers also used NASA climate models to measure sea level rise in the tropical Pacific. Hamlington said that sea level rise near the Philippines and Australia partly occurred as a result of anthropogenic or human-caused warming.

    Currently, the areas of the ocean near the Philippines and northeast Australia are being raised by about 1 centimeter per year due to anthropogenic warming, increasing the intensity of severe weather.

    “When water starts piling up there and typhoon-like storms are traveling over higher sea levels, it can be a bad situation,” said Hamlington.

    The average current global sea level rise is roughly 3 millimeters per year. Some scientists are estimating that global seas may rise by a meter or more by the end of the century as a result of greenhouse warming.

    “When the current PDO switches from its warm phase to its cool phase sea levels on the western coast of North America likely will rise,” said CU-Boulder Research Professor Robert Leben, a study co-author. “I think the PDO has been suppressing sea level there for the past 20 or 30 years.”

    The finding is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

  • Daily update: Citigroup: Outlook for global solar is getting brighter

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    Daily update: Citigroup: Outlook for global solar is getting brighter

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    Leading investment bank has painted an incredibly bright future for solar energy across the globe, arguing that its rapid expansion will be driven by “pure economics” and the growing need for fuel diversity.
    Port Augusta council gives nod to Sundrop Farms’ solar thermal greenhouse project, including 100m solar tower and large solar field.
    Grid parity for Australian-developed battery storage technology may not be far away, says Australian brooking house.
    ARENA boosts support for 1MW pilot plant to test Australian-designed portable solar hybrid technology in regional Queensland.
    Australian geothermal hope fades as Petratherm flags $17m writedown of Paralana project assets after failing to meet terms for government grant.
    The price of coal has fallen 51% since peaking in January 2011. Are we seeing China and India turning away from coal?
    BNEF paints picture of global onshore wind market adding an average of 50-53GW of new energy capacity a year out to 2020.
    In terms of grid reliability, the only nations that rival Germany are Japan (another “green” leader) and Singapore.
    Solar PV capacity in the UK has now reached 5 gigawatts, making it just the sixth country to hit this landmark figure.
    China and India’s GW-scale solar plans Bloomberg News Energy Finance
    China adds 3.3GW of solar in first half 2014 and sets sights on 10GW, India looks to low-cost loans and grants to install 20GW of new capacity.

  • Water Matters Issue 33 – August 2014 2014

    Water Matters Issue 33 – August 2014

    2014

    Groundwater tender in Queensland Central Condamine Alluvium – closes 14 August 2014

    A new tender for groundwater purchases in the Queensland Central Condamine Alluvium opened on 21 July. Groundwater entitlement holders have until 14 August to make an offer.

    Groundwater purchases in the area will contribute towards the Government’s commitment to bridging the gap to meet the Sustainable Diversion Limits as set out in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, and are an important step towards long term sustainability for groundwater irrigators in the region.

    Further information including program guidelines and application forms will be made available at:

    Review of the Water Act 2007

    On 12 May 2014 an independent review of the Water Act 2007 was announced by Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment.

    The independent review is being led by Mr Eamonn Moran PSM QC (Expert Panel Chair) and supported by Mr Peter Anderson, Mr Gavin McMahon and Dr Steve Morton.

    The review will consider whether the Water Act is delivering on its objectives effectively and with the minimum necessary regulatory burden imposed on the water industry, water managers and irrigators.

    The Expert Panel is now considering over 70 submissions received through the public submission process.

    For more information go to:

    10th anniversary of the National Water Initiative

    It’s been 10 years since the Council of Australian Governments first signed the National Water Initiative.

    “The NWI is a landmark agreement that set in train the need to have sustainable limits on the use of our water resources, to improve the way we value the nation’s water resources and provide greater certainty for water users,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment.

    The National Water Commission commemorated the NWI‘s tenth birthday by releasing an e-book which highlights significant benefits that have flowed to individual water users, communities, industries and the environment.

    The e-book is available online at:

    For more information see:

    Video to celebrate Australia’s first Ramsar site

    Magpie Geese are dependant on wetlands in the Cobourg Peninsula. © Brian Furby

    This year marks the 40th anniversary of the designation of the first Ramsar wetland site in the world – Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory.

    In celebration of this occasion, the Department of the Environment, in partnership with the National Film and Sound Archives, has prepared a short video which showcases Cobourg’s rich environmental diversity and cultural significance. The video will join the travelling exhibition on Australia’s Ramsar sites as it continues around the country.

    To view the video see:

    For more information on the 40th Anniversary celebrations see:

    You might also be interested in the August edition of the Wetlands Australia magazine, which highlights the important role of Ramsar wetlands in supporting water birds.

    See:

    Water Recovery Strategy released

    The Water Recovery Strategy for the Murray-Darling Basin was released on 2 June 2014.

    The strategy details how the Australian Government will deliver on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on time and in full, with priority given to water saving infrastructure investments.

    “Over the next four years, we will prioritise water recovery through infrastructure investment over purchases, with over $2.3 billion forecast to be spent on rural water use and infrastructure projects,” said Senator Simon Birmingham,
    Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment.

    For more information see

    New website for the Bioregional Assessment Programme

    The Australian Government recently launched a new website for the Bioregional Assessments Programme to better understand the potential impacts of coal seam gas and large coal mining developments on water resources and water related assets.

    At this time there are five technical products available to the public on this website. These are context statements for the Galilee, Gloucester and Namoi subregions, and the Clarence-Moreton bioregion.

    The Bioregional Assessment programme will continue to roll out over the next two years, with technical products and other information (such as data registers and maps) released on the website as it becomes available.

    The website can be viewed at:

    Grants to support River Murray communities

    Irrigation sprinklers in action. © John Baker

    Irrigators along the South Australian River Murray will receive grants of more than $100 million for up to 100 irrigation and industry projects. Water savings generated will help deliver South Australian targets under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

    The projects range from irrigation infrastructure upgrades and crop conversions, to large commercial ventures.

    The grants are being offered under Round One of the Australian Government’s $240 million South Australian River Murray Sustainability Industry Improvement Program.

    For more information see

    Reducing salinity levels in the Coorong

    Murray River Estuary in the Coorong National Park. © Allen Fox

    A project to reduce salinity levels in the Coorong and Lower Lakes in South Australia will see the wetlands returned to health with the help of $60 million of funding from the Australian and South Australian Governments.

    Under the South East Flows Restoration Project a combination of watercourses and existing drains will be used to redirect freshwater into the Coorong South Lagoon.

    The project will also improve conditions for native aquatic plants and animals through the restoration of habitats, the reintroduction of native fish and the construction of fish passages.

    For more information see:

    Environmental watering for the Hattah Lakes Ramsar site

    The Regent Parrot is one of several species dependent on floodplain habitat at Hattah Lakes. © Brian Furby

    The Hattah Lakes will receive 116 000 mega litres of environmental water over the next six months to support critical black box forest rejuvenation and improve wetland health.

    Spanning an area of 13 000 hectares in north-west Victoria, the Hattah Lakes are home to more than 47 waterbird species and are listed as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

    The wetlands have not seen a natural watering event of this scale for over 20 years. It has been made possible through $32 million of works funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments.

    For more information see:

    Up to 170 million litres of drinking water saved through stormwater harvesting project

    In early June, construction began on a stormwater harvesting project in Murray Bridge, South Australia which could save up to 170 million litres of drinking water each year.

    The project will harvest stormwater from the regional city of Murray Bridge for treatment via a constructed wetland. The treated stormwater will then be used to irrigate parks and sporting fields, improving the aesthetic and recreational facilities within the township.

    The Australian Government has contributed more than $7 million to the project as part of its commitment to help major cities and towns secure water supplies through the $679 million National Urban Water and Desalination Plan.

    For more information see

    Speeches by the Parliamentary Secretary

    Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment regularly delivers speeches about water use in Australia at conferences and events.

    He recently addressed the National Irrigation Conference and had the pleasure of presenting the Consensus GreenTech Awards for 2013/14.

    To view Senator Birmingham’s speeches, including transcripts of media interviews see: