EcoRadio

Author: admin

  • Deepest tunnels for new North West Rail Link

    With cash strapped governments and the steelmaking industry considering closure, it is difficult to see how major infrastructure can proceed.

    Deepest tunnels for new North West Rail Link

    0
    The People's Plan

    Source: The Daily Telegraph

    IT will be the deepest and longest rail tunnel ever built in Australia – almost six times the length of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel – and it’s not a pipe dream.

    The giant tunnel will be a key feature of the long-awaited North West Rail Link, part of a 15.5km series of underground railway lines to be excavated under Sydney suburbs.

    Details of the biggest transport project in Sydney will be released officially today in the state government’s first environmental impact statement into the rail link.

    The statement will detail the construction work involved, and impact it will have on the local community.

    Transport Minister Gladys Berejikilan is touting the North West Rail Link as the biggest transport infrastructure project in a generation, and said it would use more steel than the Sydney Harbour Bridge in its construction. The line is expected to need up to 70,000 tonnes of steel, 20,000 tonnes more than the Bridge.

    Recommended Coverage

    Sydney

    Have your say Sydney

    The Daily Telegraph presents The People’s Plan for Sydney. Now is your chance to support it and make the State Government do something about it.

    The People’s Plan petition

    THE Daily Telegraph presents The People’s Plan for Sydney. Sign the petition below.
    Australian Electricity

    Power to people through roads, rail

    THE vote on the sale of state’s remaining power stations will be acid test for all parties’ willingness to make the right decision to fix NSW.

    “The economic benefits of the North West Rail Link are immense – the new line will support more than 16,200 jobs during construction and inject about $25 billion into the NSW economy,” Ms Berejiklian said.

    “This project is just as important to the families and businesses of the northwest as the construction of the Harbour Bridge was to the people of the north shore in the 1920s and 1930s.”

    Ms Berejiklian said residents most affected would be able to attend community consultations about how much noise and vibration construction would cause, how much related traffic they could expect, and what sort of construction methods would be used.

    The project is expected to include:

    * 15.5km tunnels between Epping and Bella Vista, the deepest and longest in Australia;

    * 400,000 cubic metres of concrete – the equivalent of 200 Olympic swimming pools;

    * FOUR tunnel boring machines used to build twin tunnels. The boring machines will travel about 120m a week; and

    * MORE than 100 excavators, ranging from five to 70 tonnes.

    The environmental impact statement will be on display until May 21.

    A second statement will be released in the second part of the year, and will be about the design of the stations and operational elements like signalling systems. Construction is expected to begin by 2014.

     

    4 comments on this story

  • Govt decline to fund Rail Link

    Govt decline to fund Rail Link

    Updated: 06:57, Monday May 7, 2012

    The federal government has knocked back a NSW request for it to fund the North West Rail Link, suggesting more buses be put on instead.

    The NSW government had asked Infrastructure Australia to partially fund the $8.5 billion project, linking Sydney’s northwestern suburbs with Epping and the city centre.

    But News Ltd reports Infrastructure NSW’s request for Canberra to put in $2.1 billion has been refused.

    The newspaper said, while Infrastructure Australia has recognised Sydney’s congestion problems, it is downplayed the importance of the North West Rail Link, saying it is not clear the project is the highest priority transport problem for the Sydney network.

    The decision means NSW will have to fund the entire project.

  • Plant diversity is key to maintaining productive vegetation

    ScienceDaily: Earth Science News

    Plant diversity is key to maintaining productive vegetation

    Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT

    Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, a new University of Minnesota study shows. The unprecedented long-term study of plant biodiversity found that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered.
    You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Earth Science News
    To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.    		 Email delivery powe

  • Unhappy bank customers start Bank Reform Party to contest next election

    We wish them luck!!!!

    Unhappy bank customers start Bank Reform Party to contest next election

    • From: AAP
    • May 06, 201212:35PM

    DISGRUNTLED bank customers and former staff have joined forces in a bid to contest the next federal election.

    The Bank Reform Party, founded by members of Unhappy Banking, will seek registration from the Australian Electoral Commission once it has 500 formal members.

    The party will field several senate candidates, who will campaign on a platform of fair competition and better regulation of the banking, supermarket and fuel sectors.

    Former BankWest head of media Adrian Bradley said surveys had consistently showed most Australians wanted banks to be more accountable.

    “We saw the banks’ arrogance again last week when they thumbed their nose at the RBA’s 50 basis point cut,” he said in a statement.

    “The ALP and Coalition are out of step with the Australian community’s expectations on the need to reform our banks.”

    Related Coverage

    Unhappy Banking was started off the back of complaints from 400 angry ex-BankWest customers, who claim the bank had been colluding with property valuers to force commercial borrowers to default on their loans.

    The Perth-based bank is facing two potential class actions over the way it re-valued assets and called in the loans of hundreds of its small to medium-sized business clients after a takeover by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in 2008.

    In a separate case, BankWest and CBA are among eight major banks being sued by a combined 171,000 customers who are seeking to recoup more than $220 million in excessive penalty fees.

    Mr Bradley on Sunday denied the Bank Reform Party would be “bank bashers”.

    “Australian banks are the lifeblood of the Australian economy,” he said.

    “Australia urgently needs strong banks, but we also urgently need banks that are fair.”

  • Are We in the Midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction?

    Alert Name: CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
    May 6, 2012 Compiled: 1:28 AM

    By LISA PREVOST (NYT)

    Connecticut state lawmakers have formed a Shoreline Preservation Task Force to grapple with the effects of climate change and rising sea levels.

    By JACK HITT (NYT)

    Internet-based crowdsourcing has come to determine the course of scientific research.

    By RICHARD PEARSON (NYT)

    Ecosystems of multiple species that interact with one another and their physical environments are essential for human societies.

    About This E-mail

     

    You received this e-mail because you signed up for NYTimes.com’s My Alerts tool. As a member of the TRUSTe privacy program, we are committed to protecting your privacy.

  • Miners’ $1b dig at Barry O’Farrell

    O’Farrell is now the meat in the sandwich!!!!

    Miners’ $1b dig at Barry O’Farrell

    0
    Mining

    The mining powerful lobby wants to challenge O’Farrell’s protection of agricultural land. Source: AFP

    THE state’s multi-billion dollar mining industry is preparing to take on the O’Farrell government over its controversial plans to protect agricultural land.

    The powerful NSW Minerals Council will today release a report detailing the impact the Strategic Regional Land Use Plans will have on the state budget and the economy. The council will allege the loss of revenue from potential mining restrictions under the plans will impact the state government’s ability to deliver on its infrastructure commitments.

    The report, prepared by Monash University and PricewaterhouseCoopers, calculates a $1 billion revenue loss for the state government in declining mining royalties over the next 20 years.

    It also said the plans would cut a full per cent from the state’s economic growth in 2018, resulting in over 8000 fewer jobs.

    The economic modelling was undertaken based on two plans the state government has drafted, which cover the Upper Hunter and New England districts. The plans aim to identify high value agricultural land with anyone proposing a mine or gas extraction within two kilometres of the site being forced to acquire a Gateway Certificate before they can proceed to all the usual state approvals.

    The plans have divided the community with graziers, farmers and green groups joining forces against the mining industry. It also pits treasurer Mike Baird against his former chief-of-staff, Stephen Gallilee, who heads the council.

    Mr Gallilee said the land covered by the two plans accounted for more than 70 per cent of coal production. “Slowing the state’s biggest export industry will have an impact that will be felt right across the economy,” Mr Gallilee said.

    The report predicts a 16 per cent contraction in the gross regional product of Upper Hunter region in 2018 and 5000 fewer mining jobs. The New England area would experience a 5 per cent hit to the gross regional product with 800 fewer jobs over the next decade.

    11 comments on this story