Author: admin

02/11/2005 13:52  – (SA)  

Australia – A single lightning strike killed 68 dairy cows on an Australian farm, a farmer said on Wednesday.

The farmer, Warwick Marks, 57, said the lightning strike on
Monday killed half his herd of 150 Jersey cows at his dairy farm
outside Dorrigo in northern New South Wales state.

Marks said the herd had gathered around a tall tree to shelter during a thunderstorm when lightning struck the tree.

“The bolt came through the roots where they were standing; 68
were killed outright and another three looked like they were gone as
well but they were just stunned and came good a bit later,” said Marks,
who arrived on the grisly scene minutes after hearing the thunder clap.

“I was expecting it would be bad, but not this bad,” he added.

Neighbour Julie Moore said she saw the lightning bolt and heard
the thunder clap that rattled her windows a kilometre away. She was
among the first neighbours to see the carcasses.

“I don’t know how to describe it; devastation is all you can say – all these dead stud Jersey cows,” Moore said.

Marks used an excavator on Tuesday to bury the carcasses of the cows
which he said were worth A$70 000 (about R345 109).

The Basslink interconnector, now being rushed into service, may be of
only limited value to Victoria in its looming summer generation
capacity challenge, suggested The Age (28 October 2005).

Worrisome time ahead: Victoria is facing a shortfall in reserve
generation capacity of 500MW this summer, leaving only 30MW of plant
available to cover mechanical failure when the system is operating at
full capacity.

Tas hydro resources depleted: BassLink was initially feared by
Victorian generators, who felt it would depress Victorian power prices.
But seven years of drought in Tasmania have left Hydro Tasmania’s dams
at only 38 per cent capacity.

Flow is likely to be largely south: As a result, BassLink will
only bring power to Victoria at moments of high demand and Victorian
generators are expected to sell large amounts of power into Tasmania
until the state’s water resources are replenished. Hydro Tasmania
reported a net profit of $44.4 million for the June year, up $9 million
on the previous year despite the dry conditions.

The Age, 28/10/2005

What is Opal? It is a very low aromatic gasoline, with no sulphur and
no lead. The key feature is its low level of aromatics, which we hope
will lead to some reduction in abuse.
However, I say this cautiously, because we realize there are many
facets to this issue. Opal is only one step in the overall fight to
address the issue.
We in BP believe a corporation should make a contribution not just to a
nation’s economy but also socially and environmentally where it can.
And this instance was one where we felt we could make such a social
contribution.
We wanted to do it for this reason.
And we are not seeking to be sole supplier of Opal. We are making Opal
available to other companies. And it is fine by us if other companies
make similar purpose fuels. This is not about attaining a commercial
benefit. This is about solving a serious problem.
I think the sincerity of our approach is demonstrated by several of our
staff spending several weeks camping with communities in Central
Australia learning about the problem first hand and coming back
determined to play a part.
And it goes further. We acknowledge that more needs to be done, and BP
has also established a return to school program in conjunction with
Yirara College in Alice Springs and Teen Challenge. This program has
resulted in a total of 12 remote students who previously sniffed petrol
resuming their studies during 2004.
I especially wish to thank the Minister and to the Australian
Government for their support, firstly through the Comgas scheme, and
secondly to our Opal proposal. The cost of these fuels is much higher
than ordinary unleaded petrol, and Opal would not be able to be
delivered to the communities at a similar price to unleaded if it were
not for the financial support of the Australian Government. The program
depends upon the Government’s support through the Department of Health
and Ageing, and this is a true industry/government/community
partnership.
The full text of the speech is available on BP’s website.

Have an emergency kit with a torch and battery-operated radio on hand. Unplug or switch off appliances in case of power surges, but leave one light turned on so you can see when the power comes on. Look at your neighbours’ houses to see if the blackout is limited to your property or more widespread.

If the blackout seems to be only affecting your property, check that your circuit breaker or safety switch has not operated. If any of these have caused the outage, you may need to call your electrician for advice. If the blackout is widespread the best way to get an update on the situation is to call 13 22 96 and check Ergon Energy’s automated system. Our recorded response will advise you if we know about the outage and when we expect to have it fixed.

If you have information to report about the outage that may help us fix it sooner, you can choose to speak to an operator. When your power is restored, turn your appliances back on one by one. Don’t forget to replace the items in your emergency kit, including the batteries. Want to know more? Ergon Energy has a free information guide available to help you in case of power interruptions. Call 13 10 46 for your free copy.

This advice is from Ergon’s website

Following last year’s successful Peat’s Ridge
Festival, the UNSW Ecoliving Centre is aiming to make this year’s
Festival ecologically better than ever! The 2004 Audit showed the
Festival was overall a sustainable success, but there is always more
work to be done.

Taking
an advisory role, the Ecoliving Centre is aiming for the 2005
Festival to have a 0% waste rate. All waste is dealt with on-site,
including the compacting of aluminum cans for off-site recycling.
Bands playing throughout the Festival will use only ecologically
sustainable forms of energy, primarily through solar power sources.
It is the Solid Waste Management System implemented by the Ecoliving
Centre which is the most impressive.

Seven
individual supervisors will ensure the volunteers and visitors adhere
to the recycling process. With each individual estimated at producing
three litres of waste per day, and the festival running for three
days straight, it is crucial that every individual contributes to the
management system. Four individual bins will separate the waste
on-site, ensuring the efficient management of all waste. Clear
signage and volunteer instructions will ensure visitors place the
relevant waste in the corresponding bin. The four bins will be:

• Recyclables
  – cans, plastics 1 and 2, soft drink bottles and beer cans

• Paper,
  cardboard, and newsprint products

• Compost
  Products – food waste, utensils

• Other
  Garbage.

All
containers will be collected and taken off-site for the recycling
process. Composting however will occur on-site after the completion
of the Festival.

John
Blair from UNSW Faculty of the Built Environment will be overseeing
the implementation of the Solid Waste Management System, in
conjunction with the Ecoliving Centre.

The
Environmental Management System offers a continuous improvement cycle
for future Peat’s Ridge Festivals to come. Hopefully other
festivals around Australia and the world can use this successful
model to make the face of festivals the most ecologically responsible
and sustainable they can be.

For
further information please contact Cameron Little (02) 9398
8838

http://www.ecoliving.unsw.edu.au

In the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma, Miami Florida is still
struggling to return to normal, primarily due to interruptions to the
electricity supply. While most of the trendy restaraunts and hotels are
functioning as usual, according to CBS News, up to 40% of people have
no power and gas stations are only operating intermittently.

Energy officials warned it may take another three weeks to get the power supply fully operational. 

The CBS News story is available on their website .