Biochar - carbon capture or trickery?

The Guardian

Two English entrepreneurs are attempting to turn the production of charcoal - Biochar - into a new carbon capture industry, proposing to trade carbon offsets to green consumers wishing to offset greenhouse gas emissions from car travel or flights. The controversial project uses a process call ‘pyrolysis’ to turn wood into charcoal, which is then buried.

posted by patrick on August 28, 2009 at 11:42 am · filed under

Disappointment at Barrow Island decision

WWF - Australia

WWF Australia Conservation Manager Dr Gilly Llewellyn has expressed disappointment at the approval granted to Gorgon’s Barrow Island natural gas project, saying that there are no conditions that could be imposed on the development that would guarantee no impact on the island’s vulnerable species. WWF is encouraging the relocation of the project to a more appropriate onshore location such as Ashburton North.

posted by patrick on August 27, 2009 at 11:15 am · filed under

Environmentalists question Gorgon gas project

Sydney Morning Herald

Technical experts working on the $50 billion Gorgon gas project which plans to bury its greenhouse emissions beneath the Barrow Island Nature Reserve off the coast of WA have found that it is possible that the site will leak due to faults in the geological formation underneath the island.  PM Kevin Rudd continues to back the project despite environmentalists’ concerns, dubbing it the “world’s largest demonstration” of carbon capture and sequestration technology.

posted by ruby on August 26, 2009 at 7:54 pm · filed under

Green light for Gorgon LNG

The Age

Australia’s largest ever resource deal, the Gorgon LNG project on Barrow Island, off the Western Australian coast, cleared it’s final hurdle today when the Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garret, approved the project. The project, a joint venture between Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil has a contract to sell $50Bn worth of gas to China’s state owned  PetroChina.

Barrow Island is home to much endangered fauna , rare and endemic , including the Barrow Island Mouse, the Spectacled Hare-Wallaby, the Golden Bandicoot and the threatened Flatback Turtle.

posted by Vinnie on August 26, 2009 at 3:53 pm · filed under

NSW wetlands in trouble

ABC News

There are fears the Macquarie Marshes in NSW could be removed from the Ramsar List of internationally important wetlands, after acknowledgement from the Federal Government that the marshes are in decline. Eric Fisher of the Macquarie Marshes Environmental Landholders Association says he hopes now the government has recognised the problem, measures will be taken to salvage the wetlands.

posted by anna on August 24, 2009 at 8:47 pm · filed under

Senator Joyce supporting Nuclear dissing Turnbull

The Age

Outspoken Queensland National Party Senator, Barnaby Joyce, has lashed out at coalition leader, Malcolm Turnbull, pledging his allegiance solely to the leader of the National Party, Warren Truss at the sacrifice of Turnbull. Joyce, speaking at the Nationals’ Federal Council Meeting, has also vowed to dismatle any ETS the coalition inherits and has put Nuclear power back at the center of the climate debate.

posted by Vinnie on August 24, 2009 at 2:20 pm · filed under

WA Oil rig set to leak for 8 weeks

The Age

A fracture in an oil well, nearly 2km below the surface of the sea off the coast of West Australia, could leak oil for as long as eight weeks according to PPTEP spokesperson David Tasker. PPTEP, the Thai based operator of the oil and gas rig, the West Atlas, who may yet be charged over the leak, will bring a second rig from Singapore to stem the flow.

While the environmental damage from the leak has not yet been established, the Australian Marine Conservation Society warns that the area, 250kms off the Kimberly Coast, is an important migration route for whales and nursery for turltes, as well as bing close to coral reefs.

posted by Vinnie on August 24, 2009 at 2:00 pm · filed under