EcoRadio

Author: admin

  • Manure…A True Story

    Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer’s invention, so large shipments of manure were common.

     
    It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen.
     
    Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM! Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
     
    Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T " , (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.
     
    You probably did not know the true history of this word. Neither did I.I had always thought it was a golf term!

  • Recycle water for Industry – Boffin

    But despite his warning, Professor Collignon says he supports the use of recycled water for industry or to water lawns.

    "Singapore is put up as an example of people who use recycled water and drink [it], but that’s actually not true," he told the ABC’s AM program.

    "They have two different systems for their water where the water that’s recycled from sewage is almost entirely used in industry."

    He says recycled water should be used first for industry or to water lawns and only used to top up drinking supplies when no other water saving measures are available.

    Professor Collignon was speaking before a Senate inquiry into south-east Queensland’s water crisis.

    The use of recycled water is being considered by several states as dam levels reach critical lows.

    Last year a referendum in the south-east Queensland town of Toowoomba rejected a plan to use recycled water in the town’s drinking-water supply.

    © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
    Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm

  • Industry pledges $1b for ‘clean coal’

    Clean coal ... Greens say Australia should be investing in renewable energy sources.

    Clean coal … Greens say Australia should be investing in renewable energy sources. (Reuters)

    Australian coal companies have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in further funding over the next decade into research for combating climate change.

    Australian Coal Association executive director Mark O’Neill says the $300 million COAL21 fund announced last year would now be expanded to $1 billion.

    Queensland Premier Peter Beattie yesterday criticised the coal industry for not committing $300 million to the ZeroGen clean coal project at Stanwell, and threatened to increase the coal royalty.

    But the industry now says it will commit that amount to a clean coal project in Queensland.

    The Queensland Resources Council says the $1 billion commitment to clean coal development has raised the bar for other industries to follow.

    Head of the Resources Council, Michael Roche, says the coal industry does recognise their product generates greenhouse gas emissions.

    "This is the coal producers demonstrating their commitment to being part of the solutions for climate change," he said.

    "What better way then… to extend their existing fund to something which over 10 years is going to raise $1 billion to be pumped into clean coal technology development?"

    But Greens Senator Kerry Nettle says Australia should be investing in renewable energy sources.

    "Clean coal technology is a dangerous pipedream, we should be putting money into renewable energy that we know works and that can work right now," she said.

    "Rather than putting money away for a technology that we don’t know that it works and it won’t be able to, if it does work, help until many decades away."

  • An Inconvenient Truth (dvd)

    Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore’s personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change.

    An Inconvenient TruthA longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way. “Al Gore strips his presentations of politics, laying out the facts for the audience to draw their own conclusions in a charming, funny and engaging style, and by the end has everyone on the edge of their seats, gripped by his haunting message,” said Guggenheim.

    An Inconvenient Truth is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry to protect the one earth we all share. “It is now clear that we face a deepening global climate crisis that requires us to act boldly, quickly, and wisely,” said Gore. Click here to buy the dvd.

  • Who killed the electric car? (dvd)

    With gasoline prices approaching $4/gallon, fossil fuel shortages, unrest in oil producing regions around the globe and mainstream consumer adoption and adoption of the hybrid electric car (more than 140,000 Prius’ sold this year), this story couldn’t be more relevant or important.

    Who killed the electric car?The foremost goal in making this movie is to educate and enlighten audiences with the story of this car, its place in history and in the larger story of our car culture and how it enables our continuing addiction to foreign oil. This is an important film with an important message that not only calls to task the officials who squelched the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, but all of the other accomplices, government, the car companies, Big Oil, even Eco-darling Hydrogen as well as consumers, who turned their backs on the car and embrace embracing instead the SUV.

    This documentary investigates the death and resurrection of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in our country’s future; issues which affect everyone from progressive liberals to the neo-conservative right. Click here to buy the dvd

  • A Hard Rain (dvd)

    Twice Academy award nominee and five times AFI winner David Bradbury’s latest contribution, A Hard Rain, explores the ‘other side’ of the nuclear debate.

    A Hard RainTraversing five countries – China, France, UK, Japan and Australia, and using what Bradbury learnt from his previous three nuclear documentaries (Public Enemy Number One, Jabiluka and Blowin’ in the Wind), A Hard Rain takes a closer look at the global nuclear industry in its entirety – from the mining of uranium through to the nuclear power plant to the radioactive waste and weapons manufacturing. It exposes the hidden agendas behind this latest push for Australia to go nuclear.

    Included are interviews with some of the world’s top scientists and environmentalists on the subject such as Dr Rosalie Bertell from Canada, Dr Chris Busby from the UK, and from Australia, Dr Mark Deisendorf (Ex CSIRO) who heads up the Environmental Institute at the University of NSW, Dr Ian Lowe, President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, and Dr Gavin Mudd from the Monash University Engineering Department.

    Click here to buy the dvd.