A $50 MILLION wind farm will be built about 12 KM from the Twelve Apostles, one of Victoria’s top coastal attractions.  This wind farm will include 15 turbines that are 110m tall.  It was approved by the state planning tribunal with strict environmental guidelines.  Oh dear!  We have “visual pollution!”

I was on the Development Planning Advisory Committee that held the public hearing into wind farms in South Australia.  It was a fascinating experience listing to a stream of people who stated that while they supported wind farms in principle they couldn’t have them anywhere near where they lived.  I agree that they should not be placed adjacent to housing because of the noise and possible flicker effect but in the right place they are a wonderful energy benefit and I think they look very elegant.

I personally cannot see a problem with them being 12km from a visual attraction.  In my view they look much better than roads, vegetation clearing, houses, farm sheds and many other things that are acceptable.

Newfield resident Philip van Rijthoven has a cattle farm bordering the wind farm, one of 69 properties within 3km.   He said people in Victoria’s west were nervous about being overrun by wind farms.  I am not sure that a cattle farm is so visually natural or what he is doing to manage or counter the methane his cattle produce.  What is pollution in this case?

Monash University energy expert Patrick Moriarty said building wind farms in environmentally sensitive areas should be avoided but a change might be forced in the future.  “If we have to move to 100 per cent renewable energy, it’s not going to be easy,” Dr Moriarty said.

Technorati Tags: pollution, wind farm, turbines, environmental guidelines, Development Planning Advisory Committee, renewable energy

It is the “Pizzle” from Scottish highland deer.  More than 100,000 deer out of an estimated 750,000 in Scotland are culled each year to prevent the herd and other animals starving to death.  Christian Nissen, managing director of Highland Game, venison and game dealers in Dundee,said “Every processor has the responsibility to attempt to sell as much of the carcase as possible.  “The pizzles are creating an extra income for the land owners, just like the meat.”

Chinese athletes use the male animal’s sexual organ to boost stamina and for its alleged anti-inflammatory, immune stimulant and injury-healing properties.

Deputations of Chinese pizzle traders have been visiting the Highlands to view the deer, regarded as the most virile in the world, and have been training Scottish game dealers on how to process the parts for export.  Pizzles, are frozen or dried before export, and are rich in protein, vitamins, calcium, magnesium and hormones and low in cholesterol.

How can the rest of the world’s athlete possibly be expected to compete with that!

Not sure about the environmental significance of this one but i enjoyed reading about the in The Scotsman.

Technorati Tags: secret behind China’s Olympic success, China, Olympic, pizzle, pizzles, pizzle trading, Chinese athletes

Here is a new way of sequestering the CO2 pouring out of the world’s electricity plants. So far, most of the focus has been on pumping the CO2 back underground, to bind with rocks. But why not just stash it in the cement used to make footpaths, buildings and roads, mankind’s version of rocks?

A California-based startup company called Calera says it can capture and stash more than 90% of the CO2 pouring out of a power plant and lock it in cement. The feat address two challenges at once: power plant emissions and cement production. The first problem is well known; CO2 pouring out of cement kilns is the third largest producer in the U.S., says the EPA. Calera mixes the hot CO2-rich flue gas from the power plant with sea water to make calcium carbonate, a key component in cement that is conventionally made at very high temperatures by using huge amounts of energy. Caldera says each ton of its cement can sequester an equal mass of CO2. The potential. Check out the full story at Scientific American.

Technorati Tags: concrete cure for global warming, global warming, CO2, carbon dioxide, sustainable business, electricity plant

I am always interested in New Zealand because two of my children married New Zealanders and I have 4 passionately “Kiwi” grandchildren.
Environment Minister Trevor Mallard recently spoke at a Zero Waste and Zero Carbon Conference and here are some of his comments.

1. Issues such as resource recovery and climate change are fundamentally linked as part of carbon emissions and reducing the effect humans have on the environment.
New Waste Minimisation Bill is currently going through Parliament. It puts a levy on all waste disposed of in a landfill, initially at $10 per tonne. The revenue from the levy will be used to help communities and businesses address waste issues.

The Bill also goes beyond reducing the amount of rubbish thrown away and will offer economic incentives and rewards to help businesses, councils and the public to use less material in the production of goods

The new waste legislation will put more emphasis on investment in ‘front-of-pipe’ solutions. That means focusing on how we can reduce the potential for waste at the very beginning of the design process.

2. Emissions Trading Scheme
A cornerstone of New Zealand’s response on climate change is the proposed emissions trading scheme. This will create an incentive across the economy to reduce emissions and reward manufacturers and producers who reduce their emissions and encourage others to avoid increasing theirs.
3. Energy Strategy and Reduction Targets

Energy use is a major contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions and a range of actions are directed at addressing sustainability and energy efficiency in both businesses and households.

In New Zealand, about 65 per cent of electricity is already generated from renewable sources. Through the New Zealand Energy Strategy, the government has set a goal that by 2025, 90 per cent of electricity will come from renewable sources.

WOW!  What a real benefit New Zealand has from it’s long white cloud and frequent rain over Australia’s sunburnt country.  NZ have hydro electricity.  It also has huge potential for geothermal

They are restricting the development of fossil fuel base for electricity generation for the next 10 years by proposing restriction on fossil fuel thermal generation above 10 MW if the fuel source contains more than 20 per cent fossil fuels.

Technorati Tags: New Zealand, climate change, fossil fuels, waste management, resource recovery, Emissions Trading Scheme, energy strategy

More than 3000 of the world’s 6000 species of amphibians are now at risk of dying out.  Frogs are facing the biggest wildlife extinction threat since the disappearance of dinosaurs.

The warning comes from amphibian expert Natalie Hill, of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, and University of Queensland frog expert Professor Gordon Grigg.

“The biggest contributor to their decline is the chytrid fungus.  Frogs have primitive lungs and augment this by partially breathing through their moist skin.  It is this moist skin which makes them so vulnerable to polluted water and to the fungus.  As water temperature increases, the fungus grows faster.

Apparently while scientists can’t stop the fungus in the wild, there are treatments for captive frogs, and it is hoped that over time, it’s hoped frogs in captivity may build up a resilience to it and then be released back into the wild.”

Frog extinction risk was the world’s “wake-up call”.  University of Queensland Emeritus Professor Gordon Grigg compared frogs to “the canaries in the coalmines” because of their indicator status of the planet’s health.

How can you help?
•    Build a frog-friendly garden, including an elevated water feature like a wheelbarrow or barrel surrounded by reeds.
•    Limit the amount of chemicals you use in the home or garden to protect our waterways.
•    Keep cats and dogs inside at night.
•    Wash boots after walking in national parks to stop the spread of the chytrid fungus.

Technorati Tags: frogs are facing extinction, amphibian expert Natalie Hill, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, University of Queensland

Climate change is not only a pertinent issue for anyone mindful of the environment, but also an opportunity for a serious recruitment drive by vegetarians.

Food is responsible for about 37% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and beef and dairy are major contributors.  The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) estimates a reduction of one 150-gram serve of beef a week results in annual savings of 10,000 litres of water and 300 kilograms of greenhouse gases.

OK so these are true but I think that the big recruitment push be vegetarians is their personal agenda and may well not suit all our metabolisms.

I am allergic to soy and to a lesser extent all legumes and I get sick of finding soy “enrichment” (pollution?) in so many modern foods.  This seems to be the stable choice of those who hate us eating meat.  I would be very ill if I ate their diet and I object to being harangued about meat.  I mainly eat fish and free range poultry anyway.

Technorati Tags: climate, climate issues heat up menus, climate change, environment, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions

Coopers Australia’s is encouraging drinkers to walk to the pub to save greenhouse gas emissions.  Great idea but claiming the beer is “big beer, tiny footprint” is false and misleading.

Here is another example of greenwash, the term used to describe marketing that overstates a product’s benefits to the environment.

“Green” is the new black – it is now a fashion in marketing.  This should not surprise us because we know shopping is an emotional experience so it should not surprise us that marketers use emotion to sell.  All the recent surveys show that over 90% of Australians are worried about the environment and more than half of us are prepared to pay more for products and services that we perceive as “green” and perceive is the danger word.

As consumers we need to be careful of adverts using emotive images such as frogs, dolphins and pandas.  You should ask what the relevance is to the product or service provided.  You should also be careful of adverts and names using Eco, Enviro and environmentally friendly and vague phases, such as green, safe for the environment, environmentally preferred, energy efficient and recyclable, which could be misleading.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a crackdown on greenwash.   There are very large fines and they have already been used.   They also frown on the use of scientific language the public may not understand and claims like the “product is CFC free” because CFC is illegal so all product is CFC free and the claim is irrelevant.  In the past year Woolworths, Saab, LG, Goodyear tyres and Origin Energy have all been accused of greenwashing.

Another form of greenwash includes some of the huge range of “Green Ticks”.  Few of these are backed up by regular external audits from qualified auditors.  The safest green certification is international standard called ISO 14001.  That certifies the work practices of a business and requires the business to prove to a highly qualified external auditor that they do what they say they do and that they continually improve.

Technorati Tags: ISO 14001, beer, making beer green, ACCC, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

ONE in 10 South Australian electricity customers are now buying GreenPower, double the number of two years ago.

GreenPower is the name given to Federal Government accredited renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and usually costs homeowners about 5c per kilowatt hour more.  Greenhouse gas emissions are not produced when GreenPower is generated, unlike traditional electricity sources such as coal and gas.

University of Adelaide Climate Change Professor Barry Brook said it was great to see a dramatic increase in GreenPower usage in the community. But he said Governments needed to do more to resolve bureaucratic issues to ensure more people bought emission-free energy in years to come.

Technorati Tags: GreenPower,   GreenPower purchases have doubled, electricity, global warming, climate change, renewable energy, solar energy, wind energy

Dell Computer said today it reached its goal of becoming “carbon neutral” five months ahead of schedule.

It is interesting that this is more evidence of the fact that taking action to avoid the consequences of rising energy costs and helping the environment are not mutually exclusive.

Dell’s reliance on greater energy efficiency and renewable energy is now saving the company $3 million a year. Okay, a drop in the bucket. But more importantly for other companies of all sizes, Dell executives say the internal returns on the efficiency drive are stellar: Most of the new projects pay for themselves in less than two years, and almost all the projects pay back in less than three. As they plan to still be in business in three years, it just makes sense,” said Dane Parker, Dell’s global director of environment, health and safety.

Dell’s headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, are already 100% powered by clean energy. But since 2004, the rest of the company has increased renewable-energy purchases ten-fold. Conventional wisdom says buying things like wind power is an expensive luxury, since wind and other alternative energies are more expensive than traditional power sources. But wildly volatile electricity prices thanks to higher coal and natural gas prices mean Dell’s actually saving money by going green.

Plenty of big companies, from Wal-Mart and other retailers to airlines to restaurant chains, are discovering that cleaning up operations can clean up the bottom line. With the election just three months away, it will be interesting to see if Washington is watching.

Technorati Tags: Dell, Dells green payday, carbon, neutral, going carbon-neutral helps bottom line, dell computer, dell computers

The Rudd Government’s luxury car tax increase from 25% to 33% is under fire from a surprising source – Green Party senators. With a very close senate and Green and Independent senators holding the balance of power this could be the key to whether the law actually passes through Parliament. Greens senator Christine Milne has expressed concern that the tax will hit some of the most advanced and fuel efficient cars on the road.

Senator Milne went on to tell The Australian Financial Review “You’ve got a situation where some of the high-end vehicles, which will be subject to a luxury vehicle tax, will be some of the most efficient on Australian roads. That’s the technology, not necessarily the brands that we need to encourage.”

The Greens want to talk with the Government about a broader car tax proposal that could see vehicles taxed on a sliding scale depending on their fuel efficiency. While the Greens are yet to officially decide whether or not to support the luxury car tax, Milne’s comments will add weight to car companies angry with the proposal.

Apparently Mercedes Benz is pushing for greenhouse gas emissions to be placed on cars.

Technorati Tags: Australian, Australia, Australian Green groups attack luxury car tax, luxury car tax, car tax, Rudd Government, green party, green