Sustainability and Global Issues – September 2006

Conservation group criticises Murray Darling water buying delay

30.Sep.06: Environment groups say the future of the Murray Darling Basin is at risk because of delays to a decision to buy water. … more

Report from Boston’s Altwheels Festival

30.Sep.06: A summary of the present alternatives in powered personal transportation, as they were presented at the festival. … more

Oil weakens despite price cut

30.Sep.06: OIL prices declined overnight as traders’ attention turned to abundant global supplies, while the market shrugged off a move by OPEC members Nigeria and Venezuela to reduce their production, dealers said. … more

Branson plans cuts to plane emissions

28.Sep.06: British tycoon Sir Richard Branson has urged airlines and airport operators to join his Virgin Atlantic carrier in an ambitious plan to curb the aviation industry’s contribution to global warming. … more

Wetland dry-up eases methane levels

28.Sep.06: A new study has shown that methane levels have stabilised in the atmosphere but it is only because emissions produced by wetlands have fallen. … more

Media shut out of petrol probe

28.Sep.06: A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry into petrol prices has gone behind closed doors. … more

Suzuki fears climate change damaging reef

28.Sep.06: Environmentalist David Suzuki says the Great Barrier Reef is in “bad shape” and he has noticed “huge changes” over the 18 years he has been visiting the area. … more

NRMA calls for petrol price transparency

28.Sep.06: The NRMA says there needs to be greater transparency on how petrol prices are set. … more

Arnie commits to greenhouse fight

28.Sep.06: CALIFORNIA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law overnight aimed at reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. … more

Unpredictable weather ahead: warning

28.Sep.06: NSW should prepare itself for unpredictable fire and storm weather over coming months, the State Government has warned. … more

50 years after Maralinga atomic tests, Aust ‘hasn’t learnt’.

27.Sep.06: The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) believes the nation has not learned from the mistakes of nuclear testing at Maralinga in south-western South Australia. … more

Drought predicted to worsen

27.Sep.06: There is another gloomy forecast today that suggests the drought is set to worsen. … more

PM hits out at Murray Darling Basin efforts

27.Sep.06: The Prime Minister, John Howard, has accused the Labor governments in the eastern states of not doing enough to address the Murray Darling Basin environmental problems … more

Oil chiefs give price rise evidence

27.Sep.06: THE chief representatives for the oil industry in Australia have admitted the fluctuations in petrol prices cannot be attributed to wholesale prices. … more

Climate change sews weed threat seeds

27.Sep.06: SOME of the 3000 foreign plant species established as weeds in Australia could explode in numbers in new areas because of human-induced climate change, a conference has been told. … more

Climate change behind bushfires: Democrats

26.Sep.06: THE early start to Australia’s bushfire season was being driven by climate change, the Australian Democrats said today. … more

Earth’s temperature nears million-year high

26.Sep.06: Earth may be close to the warmest it has been in the last million years, especially in the part of the Pacific Ocean where potentially violent El Nino weather patterns are born. … more

Uranium find boosts Olympic Dam mine value

26.Sep.06: The Olympic Dam mine at South Australia’s Roxby Downs has nearly 200,000 tonnes more uranium than previously thought. … more

More droughts to come, says researcher

25.Sep.06: TEMPERATURES will rise, rainfall will dwindle and the weather will become more erratic in the last decades of this century, a leading climate researcher has said. … more

Global warming will make weed battle harder to win, conference told

25.Sep.06: A conference on the battle to stop weeds in Australia has heard that global warming will make the fight harder to win. … more

New Bald Hills wind farm plan released

25.Sep.06:The company planning the Bald Hills wind farm in Victoria says it has addressed all the concerns of federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell in its latest planning application. … more

PNG gas pipeline ‘still viable’

25.Sep.06: OIL and gas producer Oil Search Ltd says the $5 billion Papua New Guinea gas pipeline project is still viable despite some recent speed bumps. … more

Drinking water ‘safe’: Thwaites

25.Sep.06: VICTORIAN Water Minister John Thwaites has been forced to issue assurances that Melbourne’s water is safe to drink, amid concerns the supply includes recycled effluent. … more

Uranium sales to India possible: Howard

25.Sep.06: The Prime Minister says the Federal Government is considering the possibility of selling uranium to India but India would have to adhere to certain safeguards. … more

Don’t sell uranium to India, Rudd says

25.Sep.06: ANY sale of Australian uranium to India would damage the nuclear non-proliferation cause, federal Labor says. … more

No uranium for India without arms treaty

25.Sep.06: AUSTRALIA will not sell uranium to India until it signs the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile has said. … more

Govt looks set for nuclear policy U-turn

25.Sep.06: The government appears ready to do a u-turn on its nuclear supply policy, as it faces growing pressure to sell uranium to India. … more

Federal judge retires to save the planet

24.Sep.06: THE nation’s longest-serving Federal Court judge – who this week capped off his career by handing down a controversial native title ruling – wants to dedicate the rest of his life to saving the planet by addressing climate change. … more

Brave new wheels

24.Sep.06:Demand for oil could outstrip supply within 10 years, pushing petrol over $5 a litre. Enter the hybrid and alternative-fuel cars that will be cheap to run, stylish and safe. Australia is in the driver’s seat, writes Nick Tabakoff. … more

Aussie singers snub Iraq Diggers

24.Sep.06:SOME of Australia’s top entertainers have angered the Federal Government by refusing to perform for Australian troops in Iraq for political reasons. … more

Environmental farmer in town

23.Sep.06: Peter Andrews who Australian Story made famous for his work in converting salt-ravaged farms into fertile, drought-resistant pastures is visiting Mudgegonga. … more

LPG on tap in estate. Lower greenhouse emissions: Elgas

23.Sep.06: A key feature of the Yackandandah Heights Estate on Racecourse Rd is an underground LPG reticulation service to limit the use of electricity. … more

Biodiesel to recruit. 17 jobs on offer at Barnawartha plant

22.Sep.06: BIODIESEL Producers will start next month to recruit workers for its Barnawartha plant. … more

Parched Murray taking its last gasp

23.Sep.06: RIVERS supplying water to some of the most productive agricultural land in Australia are drying up as the worst drought on record continues to bite. … more

Antarctic ozone hole ‘close to record size’

23.Sep.06:The seasonal ozone hole over Antarctica is reaching a record size previously seen in 2000 and 2003, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says. … more

Linfox trialling biofuel for Axiom

22.Sep.06: RENEWABLE fuel company Axiom Energy has opened its $36 million initial public offering (IPO) and entered into a trial arrangement of its biodiesel fuels with trucking company Linfox. … more

Branson to lobby Canberra on climate

22.Sep.06: BRITISH tycoon Sir Richard Branson has said he will pressure the Australian Ggovernment to sign the Kyoto agreement. … more

Virgin profits to fight global warming

22.Sep.06: BRITISH mogul Richard Branson has promised to plough all future profits from his airline and train businesses into renewable energy projects and investments – some $US3 billion ($3.9 billion) in the next 10 years. … more

Caltex backs petrol companies on ethanol

22.Sep.06:Australia’s largest oil refiner Caltex says petrol companies are getting bashed unfairly over the slow shift towards ethanol-blended fuels. … more

New PNG-Australia gas pipeline proposed

22.Sep.06: A new, shorter design is being considered for the proposed Papua New Guinea-Australia natural gas pipeline that could keep the project alive, Paul Botten, managing director of Oil Search Ltd has said. … more

California sues car makers over global warming

21.Sep.06: California is suing six of the world’s largest auto makers over global warming, saying that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have caused billions of dollars in damages. … more

Gas guzzlers take sales hit

21.Sep.06: HIGHER petrol prices and interest rates put the brakes on new car sales last month, with new figures today showing gas-guzzlers are out of favour. … more

El Nino to blow ill wind across WA grain harvest

21.Sep.06: WESTERN Australia, the nation’s largest wheat-growing state, may produce 40 per cent less grain this year because of dry weather that could be followed by El Nino weather conditions. … more

$27m for water research

21.Sep.06: SCIENTISTS will be given $27 million to study rivers and coastlines in tropical Australia as part of a major water announcement by Prime Minister John Howard. … more

$2.5m to tackle climate change

21.Sep.06: THE New South Wales Government is to invest $2.5 million for research into overcoming problems associated with climate change. … more

Fuel, wages affect tourism

21.Sep.06: HIGHER petrol and wage costs have been blamed for a drop in the profitability of Victoria’s tourism operators in the three months to August. … more

Price of water ‘should double’

21.Sep.06: BILLIONAIRE businessman Richard Pratt has suggested doubling water charges for urban, business and agricultural users to ease the nation\’s water woes. … more

Victoria OKs diesel fuel project

21.Sep.06: VICTORIA has approved a 50-year mining licence for a $5 billion joint project by Shell and Anglo American to convert Latrobe Valley brown coal into diesel fuel. … more

Students look at future fuel

21.Sep.06: YOUNG minds were energised with ideas on developing environmentally friendly fuels yesterday at a biodiesel workshop at Wodonga TAFE. … more

Say Goodbye To The Bogongs

21.Sep.06: ALL those who love the Bogong High Plains and the surrounding region had better get up there and say their goodbyes. … more

Arctic ice melt shocks scientists

21.Sep.06: EUROPEAN scientists voiced shock today as they viewed pictures which showed Arctic ice cover had disappeared so much last month that a ship could sail unhindered from Europe’s most northerly outpost to the North Pole. … more

Calls for global legislation to achieve global energy targets

20.Sep.06: A new report has found wind energy could provide up to a third of the world’s electricity by the year 2030, if governments around the globe legislate to support renewable energy. … more

Businesses need LPG incentives: NRMA

19.Sep.06: HALF of the nation\’s small businesses would convert their vehicles to LPG if governments provided them with more incentives, the NRMA has found. … more

BP delay affects Asian oil prices

19.Sep.06: OIL prices have climbed in Asian trade after news that the launch of British energy giant BP’s facilities in the Gulf of Mexico may be delayed, dealers said. … more

Russia cancels Shell’s gas field permit

19.Sep.06: Russia has put the world’s largest oil and gas venture in doubt by cancelling an environmental permit for the energy giant Royal Dutch Shell. … more

Petroleum exploration permits criticised

19.Sep.06: The Greens have criticised the West Australian Government’s energy resources management, following a decision to grant 16 new petroleum exploration permits. … more

Economists tip petrol price fall to $1

19.Sep.06: Economists are predicting the price of petrol could fall to $1 a litre within months. … more

New Zealand’s green energy future

18.Sep.06: Is a bright green energy future possible? Is it, indeed, achievable? In New Zealand’s case, a recent scenario exercise suggests that the answer may in fact be yes. … more

Bracks rejects water pricing plan

18.Sep.06: VICTORIAN Premier Steve Bracks has rejected a proposal by the Business Council of Australia (BCA) to lift water prices for some big users but reduce the need for restrictions … more

Turnbull ‘takes on board’ water reform plan

18.Sep.06: The Federal Government says many of the water reforms suggested in a Business Council of Australia paper are in line with current government policy. … more

Business council urges water pricing review

18.Sep.06: The Business Council of Australia wants the Productivity Commission to investigate whether Australians are paying too little for water. … more

New power plants ‘unnecessary’

18.Sep.06: AUSTRALIA could cut greenhouse emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 if it delayed building new power plants, an environmental group said today. … more

Hydro power plant gets the go-ahead

18.Sep.06: THE Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) will build the country’s largest hydroelectric power plant in 25 years in Victoria’s Alpine region. … more

12 oil exploration permits granted

18.Sep.06: THE Federal Government has awarded 12 new permits for offshore oil exploration in Australia. … more

Minister calls for global green technology sharing

17.Sep.06: Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell says more must be done to encourage the transfer of energy-saving technology throughout the world. … more

Oil prices fall as demand forecasts lowered

17.Sep.06: Oil prices have continued to slide this week, with ministers from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announcing they will not be pulling back on production just yet. … more

Campbell stands firm over climate

17.Sep.06: Environment Minister Ian Campbell stood firm on Australia’s long standing refusal to sign onto the Kyoto protocol to limit greenhouse gas emissions, declaring it a slogan not a solution. … more

Extracting grain of truth on ethanol

15.Sep.06: A LOT of nonsense has appeared in the media in the past few days about fast-tracking the subsidising of ethanol so we can reduce petrol prices. … more

Polar bears drown, islands appear in Arctic thaw

16.Sep.06: Polar bears are drowning and receding Arctic glaciers have uncovered previously unknown islands in a drastic thaw that is being blamed on global warming. … more

The Oz blows it again on global warming

15.Sep.06: The Australian continues its deplorable coverage of global warming, in this editorial which contains more errors and misleading claims than it is possible to count. … more

Geosequestration push meets resistance

15.Sep.06: Australia’s bid to change international laws to allow geosequestration is meeting resistance at a United Nations climate change meeting in Switzerland. … more

Oil supply conjecture grips industry

15.Sep.06: Motorists around the country are enjoying welcome relief from high petrol prices with the cost of fuel easing in the past week – still high, though. (7.30 Report Transcript) … more

Wrong to refuse to sell uranium: Ferguson

15.Sep.06: Labor resources spokesman Martin Ferguson yesterday cast a moral case for the party to reconsider its ban on new uranium mines, following the purchase this week of a rich deposit in South Australia by Chinese interests. … more

Melbourne dams lowest since 1997

15.Sep.06: MELBOURNE’S water reserves have reached their lowest levels for September since 1997, according to figures released by the city’s water authority. … more

Watchdog hits out at pace of regional fuel price fall

15.Sep.06: An independent watchdog on petrol prices says fuel prices are not falling quickly enough in rural and regional Australia. Fueltrac says over the last five weeks the international refined price for unleaded fuel has dropped by $30 a barrel or 19 cents a litre. … more

Enough Rope interviews Al Gore: Transcript

15.Sep.06: In his recent book ‘Collapse’, the author Jared Diamond asked the question -“Why do societies destroy the environment around them when they know their actions will ultimately destroy them too?” An example he gives is of the people of Easter Island, who chopped down their last tree on the way to their own extinction. According to former US Vice-President, Al Gore, we might be doing exactly the same thing with global warming. … more

Oil hits near six-month lows

15.Sep.06: WORLD oil prices dropped to their lowest levels for almost six months overnight on easing supply concerns and news that Nigeria’s two oil unions had suspended a strike a day after it was launched. … more

Arctic ice shrink a sign of greenhouse effect: scientists

15.Sep.06: Arctic perennial sea ice – the kind that stays frozen year-round – declined by 14 per cent between 2004 and 2005, climate scientists said on Wednesday, in what one expert saw as a clear sign of greenhouse warming. … more

Australia may miss solar power boom

14.Sep.06: Australia faces missing out on a booming solar energy industry in the next three years unless it regulates to create the environment for business to invest in it, a visiting Greenpeace campaigner says. … more

Backing for recycled sewage project

14.Sep.06: VICTORIA’S power stations and a leading water expert have backed a $1 billion state government plan to use Melbourne’s treated sewage instead of drinking water to cool generators in the Latrobe Valley. … more

Petrol prices ‘more worrying’ than rates

14.Sep.06: A new Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research survey shows more people are worried about a rise in petrol prices rather than another interest rate hike. … more

Oil prices ‘likely to remain high in 2007’

14.Sep.06: THE strong US and Chinese economies as well as an array of supply issues look set to keep oil prices high next year, with markets pointing to a price of $US70-$US75 a barrel, the IMF said today. … more

El Nino brings drought warning

14.Sep.06: EL Nino, an extreme warming of equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean that causes drought in Australia has formed and will last into 2007, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said today. … more

Gore: PM out of touch on global warming

13.Sep.06: Former US vice President Al Gore has urged the Australian Government to be more proactive about global warming. Mr Gore said Prime Minister Howard is increasingly isolated in his views on climate change. … more

Report calls for mandating of biofuels

13.Sep.06: World agricultural banker Rabobank says a sustainable biofuel industry in Australia will depend on several factors but most important among them is continued government funding. … more

Australia to Launch ‘Solar City’

13.Sep.06: Australia’s first Solar City is hoping to set a precedent and pave the way for communities across the country to adopt more renewable energy resources and solar technologies. … more

Backlash predicted over Bracks water plan

13.Sep.06: VICTORIAN National Party leader Peter Ryan is predicting a voter backlash against the Bracks Government over its radical proposal to divert 115 billion litres of waste water from an ocean outfall to cool power plants in the La Trobe Valley. … more

Scrap Labor uranium policy: Shorten

13.Sep.06: THE Labor Party should scrap its “half pregnant” uranium mines policy, union boss and Labor candidate Bill Shorten said today. But Mr Shorten has not decided whether he wants Australia to use nuclear power. … more

Carbon capture costs earth: scientists

13.Sep.06: Capture and storage of greenhouse emissions from Australia’s coal-fired power stations will double the cost of producing electricity and could increase carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by about 30 per cent, CSIRO scientists have told a Federal Government inquiry. … more

Setting an environmental example

13.Sep.06: IN the past 10 years, Australia has walked on the same stage as the leaders of the free world. It is time Australia took a greater role in global environmental issues. … more

Joyce fails to halt petrol retail rules Bill

13.Sep.06: “It’s going to be absolutely nauseating listening to Labor Party senators banging on about protection when this week they chose to support multi-national oil companies and putting mum and dad businesses out of business,” he said. … more

Consumers cautious despite cheaper petrol

13.Sep.06: LOWER petrol prices have lifted consumer confidence, although people remain cautious about the economic outlook. … more

Hybrids tipped to outsell diesels

13.Sep.06: HYBRIDS would outsell diesels in Australia within 10 years but fuel cells would fail to take off, DaimlerChrysler’s director of hybrid technology said last week. … more

Town reduced to bottled water

13.Sep.06: Residents of Wycheproof in north-western Victoria are relying on bottled water to bathe, cook and drink because their water supply is contaminated. … more

Plan to power state with recycled water

13.Sep.06: VICTORIAN Premier Steve Bracks today defended a proposal to pipe billions of litres of treated water to the state’s power stations to replace the fresh water they now use. … more

PM rejects Gore’s call to sign Kyoto protocol

13.Sep.06:”I’ve made it very plain on behalf of the Government that we do not intend to sign a protocol which would export Australian jobs to other countries” Mr Howard said. … more

Water fight: fury over $1.5bn water recycle plan

13.Sep.06: THE Bracks Government is facing a backlash from Gippsland over a $1.5 billion plan to secure Melbourne’s drinking water supply for 50 years by replacing billions of litres of fresh water used by Latrobe Valley power stations with treated effluent from the city. … more

Water policy ‘ignores climate change’

12.Sep.06: A Senate committee says current government policies to regulate water have not considered the impact of climate change on future water availability. The Rural Affairs Committee is investigating how Australia accounts for its water use and allocation. … more

Govt must be ‘realistic on wind farms’

12.Sep.06: The Australian Democrats have called on the federal government to get realistic about wind farm turbines and not give precedence to those who oppose them purely because they don’t like the look of them. … more

Family First wants to stop oil giants

12.Sep.06: “Independent service stations have already got their backs to the wall and this government is hell-bent on seeing them squeezed out of the market completely,” Senator Fielding said. … more

Call to let market forces dictate ethanol industry

12.Sep.06: Petroleum company Exxon Mobil says the ethanol industry stands the best chance of succeeding if it is left to market forces to determine how and where it should be used. … more

Gore in fight for truth on global warming

12.Sep.06: In his powerful documentary – in Australian cinemas this week – which describes global warming as the greatest crisis the world has ever faced, Al Gore introduces himself as the man who used to be the next president. … more

Australia could show China the way: Gore

12.Sep.06: FORMER US vice-president Al Gore has no problems with China adopting nuclear energy – he is more concerned the Asian superpower is not moving fast enough. … more

Big oil says reserves are plentiful

12.Sep.06: ExxonMobil Australia chief executive Mark Nolan said the theory that oil supplies had peaked and would dwindle over the next 20 years was of “no value”, having surfaced regularly since the 1920s during times of high oil prices. … more

Vail urges retailers to make ethanol fuel more available

12.Sep.06: The deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader, Mark Vaile, has called on Coles and Woolworths to make ethanol-blended fuel available at all their service stations. … more

Dry up, peak oilers
By Michael Pascoe

11.Sep.06: There’s a story that I think says a lot about the state corporate Australia from an employee’s point of view: The optimist looks at the glass and sees it half full, the pessimist looks at the glass and sees it half empty, but the CFO looks at the glass and says: “You’ve got a glass that’s twice as big as you need, downsize.” … more

Secret to cheap petrol is coal

11.Sep.06: A $5 BILLION proposal to turn some of Victoria’s abundant brown coal into diesel moved a step closer after the State Government revealed it was about to grant a mining licence to the company behind the project. … more

Perth fuel price cuts ‘temporary’

11.Sep.06: The Motor Trade Association says a drop in fuel prices in Western Australia is temporary, and prices will soon head higher. The price of unleaded petrol has fallen as low as $1.25 a litre in Perth, and is even cheaper for motorists with discount dockets. … more

Local Planning for an Oil-Depleted Future

11.Sep.06: Letter in “The Jimboomba Times” & “The Beaudesert Times” from local resident Kim Bax, announcing 12 Sept 2006 Beaudesert Shire Council Peak Oil presentation – “Peak Oil Will Affect Us All” … more