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  • Farmers call for protection in Canberra

    ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has called on the ACT Government to change its antagonistic attitude to residents in Canberra's surviving rural cottages.

    "The historic caretaker's cottage on Cotter Road is a case in point" Dr Foskey said today.

    "The residents, Jenni and Peter Farrell, face eviction tomorrow, even though, as their home for many years, they have maintained and improved it, and it's expected to be heritage listed and thus preserved."

    "I understand the ACT Government, if it can't demolish the building, will not allow the Farrells to return home, but put in a ranger."

    "That seems to be the attitude of the ACT Government towards any people who happen to live on or near land it wants to develop."

    "The Farrells have lived in the cottage for years. They have helped it survive storms and fires, and have invested a lot of time and effort in maintaining and improving the building and garden."

    "There is no reason for the ACT Government to push these people out, except - it seems - that it has the view that if it can't give the appearance of letting them 'get away with' anything."

    "That is a facile and unconstructive approach which fails to take advantage of the goodwill at hand to preserve our community and rural heritage." 

    "This bare ground approach to urban development ignores opportunities to maintain a sense of history within our built environment."

    "I wrote early this week to ask the Minister for Planning to ensure that the cottage is preserved and the residents are offered a lease to enable them to remain in their home and continue to maintain the building."

    "The newspaper story today appears to be his reply" Dr Foskey said.

  • Sacramento proposes solar steam train

    Thermal solar energy collectors will be erected over portions of the site having deed restrictions for industrial use only, thus converting a toxic problem into a renewable energy production facility. This energy will be used to charge and recharge the fireless locomotive,which then has a very short distance to service on the popular tourist train.

    As part of a District Energy System , the PG&E steam plant on Jibboom Street can be re-used to support not only the Solar Train – it will also provide energy security for development of the River-front & Rail-yards area.

    We are approaching owners and stakeholders with this proposal. Upon approval from these, second round funding will be raised to purchase at least one fireless locomotive and for preparation of support facilities including construction of the Solar Steam Plant. With restoration of historic locomotive shops we will also be recycling a facility too long underused that at one time employed 7000 area residents and supported transportation to the entire region.

     

  • Aussie sharks particularly sensitive

    From World Wildlife Foundation 

    Healthy but isolated shark populations and other marine species in Australia’s Coral Sea are particularly vulnerable and could be wiped out by future fishing operations unless the area receives adequate protection, two new pieces of research released today have warned.

    On World Biodiversity Day, and with governments meeting in Bonn to discuss the protection of vulnerable species and areas where they are abundant, WWF-Australia has reiterated its call to the Federal Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett, to declare the entire Coral Sea a Marine Protected Area.

    The Coral Sea Biodiversity Review: Sharks and Fish, compiled by Queensland marine biologist Andy Dunstan for WWF-Australia, and early research findings on the Coral Sea’s shark populations by shark expert Richard Fitzpatrick reveal that marine species in the area are isolated and extremely vulnerable to over-fishing.

    “The Coral Sea is one of the last marine wilderness areas left on the planet. It is one of the few places in the tropics where you can see healthy populations of whitetip and grey reef sharks, nautilus, maori wrasse and other unique fish species – which have been decimated in similar habitats around the world,” said Dr Gilly Llewellyn, WWF’s Oceans Program Leader.

    “For this reason alone, we are renewing our calls to the Federal Government to declare the entire Coral Sea a Marine Protected Area. Without protection, these species are highly vulnerable to human impacts which could easily and quickly wipe them out,” Dr Llewellyn said.

    According to marine biologist and report author Andy Dunstan, the vulnerability of these populations is exacerbated by the fact that many Coral Sea shark, mollusc and fish species are real homebodies, living in close association with individual reefs, with minimal home range and little or no movement to surrounding reefs.

    “The restricted movement of these animals makes their populations highly susceptible to human impacts. If a population of a species is overfished in a specific area and reduced below a critical level, regeneration of that species will not occur,” he said.

    A recent satellite tagging and listening array research expedition to the Coral Sea, led by leading Australian marine biologist and shark researcher Richard Fitzpatrick, also revealed that the home range of endangered local whitetip, silvertip and grey reef sharks was restricted to between one and three kilometres around Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.

    Thirty-two listening array devices and three tagging stations were deployed in different areas of the Coral Sea, targeting 21 whitetip and 20 grey reef sharks.

    “In its untouched state, the Coral Sea provides us with a research haven for producing baseline data for the marine world’s apex predators. Whitetip, silvertip and grey reef sharks are Kings of the Ocean in the Coral Sea, yet are remarkably endangered – even listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,” said Mr Fitzpatrick.

    “Australia has a unique opportunity and global responsibility to ensure oceanic reefs and inhabiting marine life within its jurisdiction are given the protection they deserve.

    “This may also give these unique and vulnerable species at least one last stronghold for viable populations.”

    Full copy of Coral Sea Biodiversity Review: Sharks and Fish, PDF (500kb)

  • Energy executives tell Wong she’s wrong

    By Matthew Warren in The Australian 

    TENSIONS are emerging between major greenhouse emitters and Climate Minister Penny Wong after a number of hostile meetings before the release of the Government’s green paper on emissions trading in July.

    Senator Wong has told small groups of chief executives from major power and other energy-intensive companies that the Rudd Government’s election promise of a renewable energy target was “not negotiable”.

    One of these meetings in Melbourne last Tuesday completely broke down, with Senator Wong reportedly furious at the way she was being treated by the eight business leaders present, telling them “you wouldn’t treat (former Treasurer) Peter Costello the way you are treating me”.

    Those present at the meetings, described by a spokesman for Senator Wong as “frank and robust,” included Rio Tinto Australia managing director Stephen Creese, International Power executive director Tony Concannon, Alumina Limited chief executive John Marlay and senior executives from Exxon Mobil, CSR and BHP Billiton.

    Big business and economists are growing concerned about the Government’s refusal to budge on its 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020 on top of an emissions trading scheme.

    The target was announced by Labor during the election campaign last year but has been widely criticised by economists and industry, claiming it will only drive in 10,000 new wind turbines at the expense of cheaper gas-fired power but not reduce greenhouse emissions any further.

    Labor’s promise was political but uncosted: the only estimates have come from the renewables industry, which said it would cut power costs by 5 per cent, and the gas industry, which says it will cost $1.8 billion by 2020.

    The Productivity Commission last week launched a scathing attack on the proposed targets in its submission to the Government’s Garnaut review on climate change policy.

    When flagging their concerns about the renewable energy target at the recent meetings, some industry representatives were told it was government policy and therefore not part of the negotiations about the design of an emissions trading scheme.

    The value of the renewable energy certificates produced by renewable energy generators has more than doubled since the election. This suggests hoarding by some traders who believe their value will increase in the future caused by a shortage of new renewable energy generators to meet the increased target.

    Members of the solar panel installation industry yesterday met Environment Minister Peter Garrett to raise their concerns over the introduction in the budget of a means test on the $8000 rebate.

    Senator Wong is also understood to have signalled the Government’s reluctance to compensate owners of coal-fired power stations for the multi-billion-dollar losses in asset values they face with the introduction of an emissions trading scheme in 2010.

    Sources from the meetings have reported disquiet from industry over the lack of transparency in the assumptions used by Treasury to model different trading scheme models and greenhouse gas abatement trajectories.

    Treasury is due to report in August on the results of its economic modelling being conducted for both the Rudd Government and the climate change review led by professor Ross Garnaut. It is understood some of the frustration at these meetings arose after Senator Wong asked unprepared chief executives for more detailed data on their business costs.

    The Rudd Government is pushing ahead with its aggressive program to have a green paper ready by July and draft legislation finalised by the end of the year.

  • Ohio bets on corn based ethanol

    Jill Dewert in the Times Bulletin

    There’s no doubt that many Americans are looking for alternative energy sources in response to the rising cost of fuel. What isn’t clear – at least across the board – is what that answer is.

    “I think there’s a lot of discussion about using bio energy – whether that’s ethanol, biodiesel, etcetera,” said Van Wert County OSU Extension Agent Andy Kleinschmidt. “The upside is that we have the ability to use existing resources and we don’t have to import – we can grow it in our backyard.”

    Kleinschmidt added the other side of the debate is that products like ethanol are somehow raising the cost of food.

    “Some people say that ethanol is causing it, others say ethanol has little or nothing to do with it and the cost of oil is causing it. The sides go back and forth,” said Kleinschmidt.

    Mark Bateman and Nancy Kukay of Van Wert Energy, the company seeking to build an ethanol plant in Van Wert County, are campaigning to educate area citizens about ethanol and the value of agriculture to the community.

    “We want to start with agricultural statistics and work into some ethanol statistics and let everybody decide in their minds, in the next six to eight months when I go before the board of zoning, if they want us here or not,” said Bateman, who added that the company is currently in an offering with the Ohio SECC, which prohibits discussion of specific details regarding the proposed plant in Van Wert County at this time.

    In January of this year, Gov. Ted Strickland signed Executive Order 2007-02 that established an energy adviser to the governor to coordinate the state’s efforts to create jobs through becoming a leader in the production of next generation energy. In a press release at that time, Strickland said, “One of the core principles of my Turnaround Ohio plan is to invest in Ohio’s strengths. Clearly, energy production is one of those strengths. I am convinced that we can create thousands of good-paying jobs by encouraging next-generation energy production in Ohio including ethanol, clean coal, wind and solar.”

    Ohio is behind the rest of the states currently producing ethanol, but new plants are popping up, with one being as close as Lima. Bateman contended that a competitor, specifically E85 fuel, is the only thing that will hold down the price of the barrel of oil.

    “The price of corn is going up and it’s raised the price of food by four percent, but the cost of food has doubled,” said Bateman. “It’s total energy that’s the culprit. A barrel of oil has gone from $60 dollars to $135. That reflects through everything out there.”

    Kukay added, “In the broader sense, we’re all wrestling with how to address the energy needs.”

    Although Ohio isn’t the top producer of corn in the nation, it does rank sixth in grain production. Gas stations already use 10 percent ethanol in the gas blends, according to Bateman. That 10 percent alone has to come from somewhere. An ethanol plant in the county would provide a local market for corn.

    Although Kleinschmidt could not vouch for every side of the argument, good or bad, he did said a local market is a boon for local agriculture.

    “I think any industry that is using an agricultural product – an ethanol plant or new livestock operation, or something else – anything that is using that output of corn and soybeans is good for the agriculture economy by providing an agricultural market,” said Kleinschmidt.

    Agriculture alone does not provide a vast amount of jobs and ethanol plants historically do not provide as many jobs as some manufacturing facilities. However, Kukay said the benefits of both cannot be ignored. Farmers must buy expensive equipment, fuel, seed, homes and pay taxes.

    “We’ve tended, in Ohio and the country at large, to equate large numbers of jobs with prosperity and growth. The Honda plant would be a good example of bringing in 1,500 jobs. Because no one farm employees that many people, they don’t see that as having an economic benefit, but it sure does,” said Kukay. “Agriculture is manufacturing in a different sense and still bringing lots of money for the community. It just takes a different way of looking at things.”

    Kleinschmidt agreed that there is a “tremendous” amount of money wrapped up in agriculture. Looking at gross sales, there is around an $80 million dollar industry in Van Wert County alone. Not all of that goes back into Van Wert County, but a significant portion does.

    “When you have strength in agriculture, that tends to attract other agricultural-related businesses,” said Kukay. “It makes the farm implement stores, grain elevators and the local retail places prosperous. In Ohio, when we’re having so many economic problems, you have to be able to capitalize on what your strengths is. In Van Wert County, that strength is agriculture right now.”

  • Bats dying in wind turbines across US

    Dead bats are turning up beneath wind turbines all over the world. Bat fatalities have now been documented at nearly every wind facility in North America where adequate surveys for bats have been conducted, and several of these sites are estimated to cause the deaths of thousands of bats per year. This unanticipated and unprecedented problem for bats has moved to the forefront of conservation and management efforts directed toward this poorly understood group of mammals. The mystery of why bats die at turbine sites remains unsolved. Is it a simple case of flying in the wrong place at the wrong time? Are bats attracted to the spinning turbine blades? Why are so many bats colliding with turbines compared to their infrequent crashes with other tall, human-made structures?

    Although these questions remain unanswered, potential clues can be found in the patterns of fatalities. Foremost, the majority of bats killed by wind turbines are species that rely on trees as roosts throughout the year and migrate long distances; we call these species “migratory tree bats.” Currently, migratory tree bats compose more than three quarters of the bat fatalities observed at wind energy sites. The other striking pattern is that the vast majority of bat fatalities at wind turbines occur during late summer and autumn. This seasonal peak in fatalities coincides with periods of both autumn migration and mating behavior of tree bats. Seasonal involvement of species with shared behaviors indicates that behavior plays a key role in the susceptibility of bats to wind turbines, and that migratory tree bats might actually be attracted to wind turbines.

    Despite patterns indicating that bat fatalities at turbines are somehow associated with migration and mating behavior, and that attraction may occur, these hypotheses have not been tested. At present, it is unclear whether bats killed by turbines are local residents, migrants moving through the area, bats actively mating, or some combination of these things. Further complicating matters is the fact that some of the species that die in smaller numbers at wind turbines are not known to migrate, although migratory habits of many bat populations are unknown and some of these species may actually do so. Addressing these important topics is crucial to future efforts aimed at mitigating the impact of wind turbines on bat populations. Knowing whether most of the bats killed by wind turbines are actively migrating, mating, or attracted to turbines will make it easier to direct effective mitigation efforts and assess risk before turbines are built.