Ecos articles from August 2006

Ecos archives from August 2006

Out of sight, out of mind.
August 1, 2006... There has been sporadic media coverage of the environmental problems associated with the South-East Asian palm oil industry due to increasing international demand for vegetable oils. If ever there was a sustainable development challenge to...

Researchers identify a likely carp control.(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation investigates Koi herpesvirus)
August 1, 2006... A potential new biological control agent could help eradicate one of Australia's most invasive aquatic pests--carp. Researchers at CSIRO Livestock Industries' Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong, along with the Department of...

AFL goes carbon neutral.(Australian Football League, Origin Energy)
August 1, 2006... The Australian Football League's 'AFL Green' program will neutralise an estimated 120 000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions generated from AFL headquarters, the pre-season competition, the main Premiership Season and Finals Series matches over the...

Emission reducing technology pays off.(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, SRL Plasma Ltd. jointly developed PLASCON[TM] technology)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... PLASCON[TM] technology, jointly developed in Australia by CSIRO and SRL Plasma Ltd to convert hazardous gases and liquids to harmless substances, is now reducing potent greenhouse emissions around the world and paying back handsomely. ...

A global win for the Gold Coast's Pimpama Coomera water plan.(recipient of Global Grand Prize at World Water Congress)
August 1, 2006... The Gold Coast City Council has won the Global Grand Prize at the recent World Water Congress in Beijing for its Pimpama Coomera water plan, which is designed to deliver Australia's largest fully integrated sustainable water community. One...

NEW! Environmentally friendly insecticides.
August 1, 2006... By targeting the chemistry of an insect's own hormones, CSIRO researchers--in collaboration with Australian Wool Innovation (AWl) Ltd--are developing a new class of insecticide that is pest-specific and produces no harmful environmental side...

Running a smart farm.(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's ICT Centre and Livestock Industries focus research on wireless sensor networks)
August 1, 2006... A partnership involving CSIRO's ICT Centre and CSIRO Livestock Industries based at the JM Rendel Research Laboratory near Rockhampton is working towards the 'Smart Farm' of the future, with research focusing on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)...

Switched on to green power.(Fuji Xerox Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Fuji Xerox Australia recently announced that it will soon run its company sites on 100 per cent green power from renewable energy sources. Over the next four years the company will be increasing its use of renewable energy--based power by 25...

Fossilised giant clams give high fidelity climate records: ancient giant clams dug from Papua New Guinea's tropical rainforests have provided Australian paleoclimatologists with a unique and detailed record of climate 400 000 years ago. The new lead promises to help answer some of today's central climate change questions.(Bridget Ayling explains how she got good paleoclimate data for research)
August 1, 2006... Three years ago, Australian National University PhD student Bridget Ayling despaired that her research project had stalled. In order to reconstruct the climate of past interglacial periods, she had visited Henderson Island, in the far...

A community revolution: around Australia, ordinary people are forming organisations and mobilising against sustainability challenges in a wave of community-level action that began in the 1990s. Steve Davidson profiles four successful initiatives that illustrate the power of local effort.(Focus: COMMUNITIES)
August 1, 2006... Exemplified and led by the establishment of Landcare in 1989, now a household name and an umbrella to over 4000 voluntary organisations, community action for sustainable development has broadened to encompass a range of differentiated groups...

CSIRO 80 years of impact.(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)(Organization overview)
August 1, 2006... Eighty years ago the first staff of CSIR, the precursor to CSIRO, commenced work in a few small rented rooms at a technical college in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. Today, CSIRO is Australia's largest scientific research body, with more...

The new oil barrens.(growth in palm oil industry threatens tropical rainforests)
August 1, 2006... Asia's expanding oil palm plantations are proving double trouble as, unbeknown to most consumers, rising international demand for palm oil in supermarket foods, cosmetics and now biofuel is providing new incentive for wide-scale clearing of...

$uper powers: how investment funds could be driving progress in an emerging 'sustainability' economy.(Cover story)
August 1, 2006... Overcoming market driven short-termism in our economic framework is one of the central challenges to achieving more progress toward sustainable development. With environmental, social and governance (ESG) aligned investments now defying...

Plantation, paper and milling show how it's done.(Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council launch sustainability action plan)
August 1, 2006... The Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council's recently launched sustainability action plan has raised the bar for industry commitments to practice improvements. Now being comprehensively implemented across 22 of the country's...

Greening the planet, one backyard at a time.(permaculture)
August 1, 2006... Nestled in Clayton, in a south-eastern pocket of Melbourne, a typical suburban home inhabited by three everyday tenants was the scene for some big ideas. Dan Palmer, Adrian Wedd and Cat Moore transformed their quarter-acre backyard into a...

100 climate change leading organisations.(2006 Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Making the Connection report)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The 2006 Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Making the Connection report, commissioned by the Ceres organisation from the Investor Responsibility Research Center, presents the findings of how 100 leading global companies (76 US and 24...

Long-term prosperity needs 'resilience'.(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
August 1, 2006... Current approaches to sustainable natural resource management are failing us, according to Resilience Thinking, a new book by CSIRO scientist Brian Walker and science writer David Salt. Dr Walker, an international leader in the field of...

Fungi convert waste starch into value.(University of South Australia)
August 1, 2006... Researchers at the University of South Australia are turning starchy wastewater from a potato chip factory into the high demand food additive, lactic acid, using a single stage process. Lactic acid is a highly valuable product that has...

Vegetation carbon stock has doubled since 1788.(Research)
August 1, 2006... Researchers investigating how Australian vegetation has changed since European settlement, taking into account the rapid rise in atmospheric C[O.sub.2] concentration over the last two centuries, have found that the total carbon stock in the...

Events calendar.
August 1, 2006... BCSE--Environmental Carbon Market Seminars National capitals, 3-20 October www.bcse.org.au International Mine Management Conference Melbourne, 16-18 October www.ausimm.com/immc2006 2nd Intergovernmental Review Meeting...