Various and general news
The Sydney Morning Herald
Nicole Keupper, 23, last night won two Australian Museum Eureka Awards for the new solar cells she’s been able to produce in a pizza oven! Compared to current solar cell technology which is very costly, the iJET cell developed by Ms Keupper can be manufactured cheaply in low-cost, low-temperature environments like pizza ovens. She hopes this technology will be ready to be sold commercially within 5 years, to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but, will be able to supply electricity to poorer countries.
posted by kirsty on August 20, 2008 at 4:50 pm · filed under 
Premier of Victoria
Victorian Premier John Brumby has released figures showing public transport use is growing dramatically in Melbourne. During the 2007-08 financial year, Melburnians made 201.2 million trips on trains, 158.3 million tram trips and 91.3 million on buses. Figures indicate that public transport use grew at over 7% during the past two years. Rising passenger numbers are beginning to strain the system.
posted by seamas on August 20, 2008 at 4:02 pm · filed under 
Sydney Morning Herald
A new report confirms that the cotton industry is the thirstiest crop in the Murray-Darling basin, consuming 20% of all water used in agriculture in the region, and in some areas accounting for up to 87% of the agricultural water used. Farmers choose to grow cotton as this is the most profitable crop, but with water allocations being reduced, 2007 saw the smallest cotton crop in 30 years. The Murray-Darling Basin holds 40% of Australian agriculture and in order to survive farmers will need to change to less water-intensive crops.
posted by steve on August 18, 2008 at 9:53 am · filed under 
ABC News
The Australian Industry Group are increasing their pressure on the Federal government to scrap its renewable targets of 20% by 2020, claiming it will make the cost of off-setting greenhouse gas emissions more expensive. Heather Ridout, head of the Australian Industry Group, claims that Australia can meet its reduction targets by carbon trading schemes alone. Critics point out that such a move could only ever be a short term solution, as in the medium to longer term it would render Australian industry less competitive in world markets.
posted by steve on August 18, 2008 at 9:40 am · filed under
ABC News
The Australian Workers Union are calling on the Federal Government to provide assurance that there will be no job losses as a result of the implementation of the emissions trading scheme. There are concerns that industries producing aluminium, concrete and LNG will seek to move their operations off-shore where they are not subjected to the higher operational costs that an emissions trading scheme will entail, and that such a move would result in local job losses. The Australian Workers Union is working with the Government to seek ways in which job losses can be avoided whilst working towards a better environment.
posted by steve on August 11, 2008 at 11:16 am · filed under 
ABC News
Marion council in Adelaide want to buy a three hectare site in order to develop it into a wetlands and catchment area which could be used to store up to 200 mega-litres of water. Although the land is currently used as a park and a driver training school, it has been zoned as residential, and as such the South Australian Government has put a price-tag of $2 million on the land. Marion council will now not be able to proceed with the plan in the current financial year.
posted by steve on August 11, 2008 at 11:07 am · filed under
CSIRO
A new international Working Group aimed at developing better ways to utilise and distribute electricity has been established. Consisting of leading academic and industry specialists from China and Australia, the forming of the group was a major outcome of a three-day specialist conference on sustainable electricity held in Queensland.
posted by patrick on August 7, 2008 at 10:05 am · filed under
The Age
Leading ice and snow experts are predicting that the arctic icecap covering the North Pole could disappear altogether during the summer months within five years. Just a few years ago the predictions were that this “melt-out” would not occur before the end of the century, but ongoing observations have resulted in the prediction being brought steadily forward. Historical records show that the Arctic Ocean has not been ice-free at any time in the last 16 million years.
posted by steve on August 4, 2008 at 7:18 am · filed under 
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