Author: admin

Sudden 30m decline in Helheim glacier: The new evidence from Greenland, to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters,
showed a sudden decline in the giant Helheim glacier, a river of ice
that grinds down from the inland ice cap to the sea through a narrow
rift in the mountain range on the east coast. Professor Slawek
Tulaczyk, of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of
California, Santa Cruz, said that the glacier, where it meets the sea,
had dropped 30m this northern summer.

Front of glacier retreats 7km in four years: Over the past four
years, the front of the glacier – which had remained in the same place
since records began – retreated about 7km. As it has retreated and
thinned, the effects have spread inland “very fast indeed”, Tulaczyk
said.

Jakobshavn moves faster than usual: The research echoed
disturbing results from studies on the opposite side of Greenland: the
giant Jakobshavn glacier (Greenland’s biggest at 6.5km wide and 300m
thick) was now moving towards the sea about 40m a year; the normal
annual speed of a glacier is about 30cm. The studies found that water
from melted ice on the surface was percolating down holes in the
glacier until it formed a layer between it and the rock below, slightly
lifting it and moving it to the sea, as if on a conveyor belt.

Gulf Stream could fail this century: This glacier is believed to
be responsible for 3 per cent of the annual rise of global sea levels.
Scientists had already shortened the odds to evens on the Gulf Stream
failing this century. When it failed before, 12,700 years ago, Britain
was covered in permafrost for 1300 years.

The Canberra Times, 26/11/2005, p. B9

New framework without binding targets: Senator Campbell also
plans to convince Kyoto Protocol countries attending the United Nations
climate conference in Montreal to abandon plans to find “the son of
Kyoto”, and instead focus on a new framework without binding targets.

Study into Australia’s nuclear power industry: Science Minister
Brendan Nelson this week announced that he and Industry Minister Ian
Macfarlane had asked Prime Minister John Howard to establish a $1
million study into Australia’s nuclear power industry. He said given
Australia was a major uranium exporter, it needed to investigate
nuclear power to meet rising energy needs.

Nuclear power incredibly politically sensitive: Senator Campbell
said it would be difficult to expand Australia’s nuclear power industry
in light of public opposition. “I think nuclear power is incredibly
politically sensitive in the Australian electorate,” he said. But
Senator Campbell said Australia needed a 60 per cent reduction by 2050
and ratifying Kyoto would not achieve this.

The Age, 1/12/2005, p. 11

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

Call for open debate on water crisis: The coalition of councils
requested an urgent meeting with the Minister for Utilities, Carl
Scully, before Parliament finished for the year on Thursday 8 December.
The Sydney Coastal Council Group executive officer, Geoff Withycombe,
said the coalition wanted an open debate on Sydney’s water crisis and a
chance to discuss the environmental impact of desalination compared
with recycling. “We really want the government to make a commitment to
look for further options for the community of Sydney,” he said.

Iemma already has 26-month timetable: The Premier, Morris Iemma,
has set a 26-month timetable to build a $1.3 billion desalination plant
at Kurnell, despite continued local protests from nearby residents. The
government’s own expert water panel opposed desalination in favour of
demand management and improved stormwater harvesting.

Members of the coalition: Coalition councils are: Auburn,
Bankstown, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Botany,
Fairfield, Hawkesbury Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Ku-ring-gal, Lane
Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Mosman, North Sydney, Parramatta,
Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Sutherland, City of
Sydney, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby and Woollahra.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 30/11/2005, p. 7

Lead up to cold snap: The cold snap followed:

• Sydney’s weekend drenching and predictions of more rain;

• sea rescues after storms and heavy winds lashed the coast; and

• disaster relief being offered to farmers in the state’s Central West
after a hail storm the previous week wrecked 17 homes and destroyed
crops.

The Daily Telegraph, 29/11/2005, p. 16

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net 

500bn litres released into forest: Many of Barmah’s old red gums
are now soaking their thirsty roots in a metre of water. The two state
Governments have planned to release 500 billion litres into the forest,
sustaining a five-month-long flood.

Spectacular flooding results: The flooding began in October and
the results already are spectacular – a relief to governments and
freshwater scientists who were keen to demonstrate the benefits of
giving the environment more water. In Kakadu-style, the Barmah wetland
is alive and teeming with lush growth, birds, frogs, huge dragonflies,
black snakes, turtles and fish.

A boost to local ecosystem: The great egret is breeding on the
Victorian side of the Barmah for the first time in 30 years. Pelicans
swirl around in groups. In the red gums, ibis are building nesting
platforms over the water. The massive roots of old red gums are
surrounded by flood water, while up in the canopy, koalas are feasting
on the new green growth.

Hit and miss flood timing: Water managers are getting better at
timing the floods to get the best outcome. Floods need to be the right
length, depth and frequency. If the waters subside too quickly,
waterbirds abandon their nests. All three factors have been hit and
miss as the Murray’s dams and water extraction reduce natural flows.

The Age, 26/11/2005, p. 7

$2m in sales to date: New Water opened its doors about 15 months
ago, and has so far sold about 1000 of the units. Company turnover is
already about $2 million, and there are 15 staff at the head office in
Ringwood in Melbourne’s east, and a salesman in Sydney.

Growing: “The business is growing, but the challenge is we are
still relatively unknown,” said CEO Andrew Pearce, who was formerly
managing director of TeleTech Asia Pacific, a leader in the call centre
outsourcing sector. “That’s the perennial challenge of small business,
I guess.”

Grey water treatment system next: The company is now in the
process of launching a household grey water treatment system, the Aqua
Reviva, a more sophisticated and expensive product than the Rain
Reviva. This will reuse water from washing machines, showers and hand
basins. Grey water makes up 35 per cent of household water.

Range of sizes: New Water has five shareholders, including the
inventor of the two products, Mal Gordon, a commercial plumber. The
Rain Reviva comes in different sizes. The largest holds 5700 litres of
water and is six metres long and 1.9 metres high. The smallest holds
2000 litres and is four metres long and 1.1 metres high. Widths vary
from 1.1 metres to 1.9 metres.

Out of sight: Mr Pearce said one of the advantages of the Rain
Reviva was that it was out of sight. “There are no tanks in place that
hide windows,” he said. Also, the bladder fills very quickly because it
is connected to the house’s rainwater spouts at several points. Being
small, it can fit into confined spaces. New Water also installs a range
of conventional water tanks.

The Age, 25/11/2005, p. 2

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net