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  • Irish Greens get taste of power

    Third-term taioseach

    For the past couple of weeks, the politicians involved have looked increasingly weary, as the marathon talks to reach an agreement have stretched on.

    When Ireland voted on 24 May, Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fail party won 78 of the 166 seats in the Dail, the Irish parliament.

    An unexpectedly strong return, but not enough for an outright majority.

    It is the prospect of the Greens in government that is most exciting the political commentators here

    So Mr Ahern, who has been in power since 1997, needs partners as he embarks on his third term as taioseach, or prime minister.

    Popular and affable, he is also a wily and seasoned negotiator. And, like his party, he is pragmatic.

    Over the past decade, he has worked in tandem with the right-of-centre Progressive Democrats.

    The PDs, as they are known, have shrunk to just two members of parliament, but will still be back in government, along with a small group of independents, with whom Mr Ahern has thrashed out attractive deals to keep voters in their constituencies happy.

    High price

    It is the prospect of the Greens in government that is most exciting the political commentators here, however.

    The irony is that gaining seats at the cabinet table will follow what was a pretty disappointing election result for the party.

    They lost one prominent figure and gained another, so retained six seats.

    Irish Green Party leader Trevor Sargent - 12/06/2007

    Mr Sargent resigned rather than go into coalition with Fianna Fail

    Since then, though, senior figures have been in exhausting talks with Fianna Fail.

    An agreement was reached, and after an emotional internal debate at a special convention held in Dublin, Green Party members gave their assent to go into government.

    Signing up has meant the Greens have had to leave some of their key objectives at the front door.

    A commitment was won to introduce a carbon tax and to set targets for the reduction of 3% of greenhouse gas emissions a year.

    There will be a commission to look at the financing of the political system.

    But the US military can still use Shannon airport in the west of Ireland, a controversial motorway plan north of Dublin will go ahead, and a new hospital-building policy opposed by the Greens will still happen.

    For some in the party, this was too high a price to pay for gaining a hand on the reins of power.

    Perhaps strangest of all was the sight of the Green Party leader, Trevor Sargent, hailing the proudest day of his life as the Greens voted to go into government, and then promptly resigning.

    Mr Sargent had pledged before the election that he would step down rather than go into power with Fianna Fail.

    Mr Ahern can head off on his holidays a satisfied man.

    Lauded for his part in the process which returned devolved government to Northern Ireland, he endured a challenging election campaign and defied a few pundits to return to office.

    His friend and partner in the Northern Ireland process, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, is about to leave the stage.

    For his part, Mr Ahern is about to see how the new, greener tinge to Irish politics works out.

     

  • Exxon Shareholders demand climate action

    For instance, ExxonMobil competitors — including BP, ConocoPhillips, and Shell — are all members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of leading corporations and environmental organizations calling on Congress to deliver concrete global warming emissions limits (see www.us-cap.org/).

     
    “The market is moving while management at ExxonMobil is standing still,” Hawkins said. “It’s time for them to take this challenge seriously.”
     

    The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

  • Liberal campaigns against nuclear

    The federal Liberal Member for the south-eastern New South Wales seat of Gilmore, Joanna Gash, has started a petition against her own Government on nuclear power.

    Despite the Federal Government’s commitment to investigate the viability of nuclear energy, Ms Gash has started a petition for people opposed to a nuclear power plant in Jervis Bay.

    Ms Gash says she would be equally open to starting a petition for people in favour of nuclear power in her electorate, but so far nobody is calling for that.

    "If I had people coming to me, like I’ve had people coming for the other side of the fence, then I would consider a petition as well," she said.

    "But at this stage I’ve had nobody approach me, so naturally I’m doing a petition against a nuclear power plant for the electorate of Gilmore because that’s the concern I and many people in the community have."

    © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1950011.htm
    Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm

  • Al Gore back in Australia in September

    ACF Executive Director Don Henry said: “Climate change is the biggest crisis we face. Australians want to find out what they can do and what we as a nation should be doing. This new training session by Al Gore will inform and inspire many more people to take action.”

    One of the Climate Project volunteer presenters and general manager of MECU Limited Rowan Dowland said: “Being a climate change presenter has changed my life. I feel I am part of the solution and not the problem. People are surprised to learn they can help stop dangerous climate change and that those solutions can represent such significant opportunity for business.”

    To date, the 84 presenters from the inaugural The Climate Project – Australia training session have presented 693 presentations to at least 40,000 people.

    Once trained, presenters agree to deliver their version of Al Gore’s now famous slide show presentation 10 times over the period of one year.

    The Climate Project originated in Mr Gore’s home town of Nashville, Tennessee, where he has trained 1,000 presenters. In April, 2007 Mr Gore trained 170 people in the UK to deliver his presentation on global warming.

    The only way to make an application for the September 2007 Melbourne training session of The Climate Project – Australia is online. Apply at www.acfonline.org.au/climateproject . Applications will close 13 July 2007.

    The training session will be carbon neutral.

  • Trees can manage soil salinity

    Pinus radiata better prospect than Cypress: Prospects for establishing cypress on farms were low because of its slow growth rates (80-year rotation). Reasonable growth could be achieved for Pinus radiata, in areas of above 600 mm rainfall.

    Species with desired traits: Other species identified as having rapid establishment and growth, and end product use for a range of soil types and climates, based on many trials and demonstrations (>100 ha) across 10–15 years included: A. mearnsii, A. stenophylla, E. camaldulensis, E. occidentalis, E. sideroxylon and E. viminalis. Other prospective species include E. melliodora and C. cunninghamiana.

    Lots of know-how: Considerable knowledge was available on species and provenance suitability to different soil conditions, including salinity. Local species identified as suitable for timber production in the southern part of the region were E. albens, E. blakelyi, E. conica, E. melliodora, E. microcarpa, E. populnea and E. sideroxylon.

    Limited prospects for northern NSW: Prospects for integrated forestry were greatest in areas of above 600 mm rainfall, but reducing risk and uncertainty was critical to industry development. Market development, infrastructure and incentive payments were prerequisites to extensive adoption. As with northern NSW, current prospects were limited.

    Reference: Report on “Integrated Forestry on Farmland”, by Lisa Robins and Nico Marcar, CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, 2007

    Erisk Net, 2007, p. 36

  • Adventures in the Smart Grid

    Posted by Patrick Mazza at 3:06 PM on 10 Jun 2007

    On August 14, 2003, an overheated transmission line in Ohio sagged into the power grid’s greatest natural enemy, a tree branch. The resulting power failure cascaded from the Midwest to Broadway in seconds. Power grid operators were quickly on the phones trying to grope through the grid equivalent of the fog of war, but it was too late. The biggest blackout in U.S. history was underway, leaving 50 million people without power.

    The event underscores a crucial fact. Of all major infrastructures, the power grid is the least automated by digital technology. Contrast the big box chain which keeps a constant inventory linking checkout stand to warehouse with the utility which must send its linemen into the field to hunt out downed power lines. Or set the control room operator balancing power plants and demands against the internet, constantly rerouting information flows. Modern digital systems rely on real-time data and automated responses, while the grid functions on delayed information and human decisions.

    The immediate implication is declining power reliability as demands on the grid grow. Columbia University grid researcher Roger Anderson notes that "since 1998, the frequency and magnitude of blackouts has increased at an alarming rate … If present trends continue a blackout enveloping half the continent is not out of the question."

    But the more serious long-term implication is that the grid cannot take on the tasks it needs to accomplish to reduce global warming pollution. Look on the grid of today as if it were the old computer network with a mainframe computer at the hub and terminals at the end of the spokes. The "mainframe" of the grid is the central power station. Transmitting power out the spokes to end users is a relatively simple management task compared to a system in which power generators are distributed throughout the network and power flows are many-way. Utility engineers typically resist distributed generation specifically because it makes their management task more complex. Most states have now enacted net metering laws which require utilities to interconnect small-scale distributed generators, but cap the total amount in the system to avoid destabilizing the grid.

    So far solar photovoltaic panels, small-scale wind-power generators, fuel cells, and other localized generators have not penetrated far enough into the market to raise much of a challenge. But consider the moment at which breakthroughs are achieved and distributed generation experiences an explosive takeoff, as a number of observers project for solar PV power. Then power distribution systems will have to be automated. In effect, an information internet backbone will automatically route and manage the complex power flows of the energy internet.

    Cogeneration is prospectively one of the largest distributed energy sources. Building and industrial heat could be recycled to generate electricity on-site. Interconnection to the grid can make the business case for a cogen unit, providing a market for surplus and a grid backup when the unit is down. But utilities discourage these kind of connections, again, because they pose complex management problems. Smart Grid systems will make cogen far more economically feasible.

    In transportation, improvements in battery technology are stirring new interest in electrified options, including plug-in hybrids and pure battery vehicles. Mass-scale electrified transport will require Smart Grid systems. One function will be to match charging times to clean power availability. For example, in many regions wind power tends to be generated at night. A Smart Grid can send real-time signals to plugged-in vehicles alerting them to charge when turbine blades are turning. Another Smart Grid function will be to manage vehicle-to-grid networks in which electrified fleets supply power to the grid as well as receive power from it. Making intermittent renewables into a 24-7 power source requires energy storage, and our cars which generally sit parked 22 hours a day are an ideal match. Smart systems will manage "V2G" networks.

    An energy systems revolution is upon us, and the Smart Grid is at its very center. In future installments I will drill down more into the capabilities and potentials of the Smart Grid, as well as the obstacles and challenges along the road there. Meanwhile, for those who want to read up, check out my paper, "Powering Up the Smart Grid" for one of the most complete overviews of the topic.