Ecos articles from February 2006

Ecos archives from February 2006

Seeing the glass half full.(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
February 1, 2006... After considerable media coverage in February again scrutinised CSIRO's challenging position as the national research body balanced between industry, government and science, a recent letter from a reader, which incorrectly suggested that Ecos...

Solar thermal power warms up.
February 1, 2006... With some major shifts now occurring in the global energy supply stakes, a recent study by the CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development (CCSD) shows that solar thermal energy is emerging as a cost-competitive source of electrical power,...

Federal funds will accelerate devil tumour disease work.(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... A $750 000 federal grant is the first instalment of a $2 million rescue package to strengthen research and counteract the effects of the highly contagious cancer which has already wiped out up to half of Tasmania's devil population, forcing...

Vast snapshot of the Barrier Reef's deep life rewards collaboration.(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... After more than 300 days sampling at sea, scientists for four major research agencies have begun compiling a rich picture of seabed life across the length and breadth of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to form the basis of maps,...

National sustainability charter inquiry opens.(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... The House of Representatives Environment and Heritage Committee has opened an inquiry to determine the feasibility of a national sustainability charter aimed at measurable outcomes across the built environment, water, energy, transport, and...

NZ enforces a huge no-go zone for bottom trawling.(New Zealand)
February 1, 2006... At a 20-nation fisheries conference held in Wellington during February, New Zealand announced an unprecedented arrangement to ban destructive seabed trawling in approximately one-third of its waters--the largest closure to this controversial...

PC power recruited to compute climate change scenarios.(climate change influences personal computers)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... In a democratic initiative organised by Britain's BBC, people around the world have been using the spare computing power of their PCs to help run complicated projections on climate change impacts, via a screen saver. The BBC and Oxford...

The ozone wash heralds better cleaning.(ozone )(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... After development with Queensland Environment Protection Authority's ecoBiz program, Sunshine Coast Laundry Services is set to be the first commercial operator in Australia to clean fabrics with ozone--a process pioneered by NASA that heavily...

New spray coating method cuts printing industry impacts.(coatings method influences)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... A new 'Cold Spray' coating method developed by printing engineers the Kirk Group and researchers at CSIRO Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology could revolutionise the manufacturing of printing rollers. It significantly lowers production...

Reclaiming the Golden Triangle: under a successful two-pronged strategy targeting Thailand's thriving drug trade across the infamous Golden Triangle, sustainable agriculture is successfully supplanting poppy growing by providing alternative profit and a better lifestyle for farmers in the rugged region.(environmental research)
February 1, 2006... Thailand is taking radical action on several fronts to absolve itself of an international reputation as a centre for illegal drug production in the global trade. The geographical focus of these new suppression programs is the Golden...

Wood--another low carbon footprint solution.(Progress)
February 1, 2006... With the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that at least 60 per cent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will be needed to stabilise emissions at double pre-industrial levels, organisations across a range of industry...

Building a Water Resources Observation Network.(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... In Australia, we're now facing some of the biggest environmental challenges to date, and water scarcity is right at the top of the list. But we still to tackle the tough decisions about its competing uses. Clare Peddie reports on the emergence...

Wild horses with wings: in one of the most ambitious bids to save a large animal from extinction, the world's last wild horse is returning to its native steppe.(Przewalski horses)
February 1, 2006... Like the mythical steed Pegasus, Claudia Feh's wild horses have winged their way across the world to alight in the Mongolian pastures they vanished from a quarter of a century ago. In one of the most remarkable reintroductions of a locally...

Emulating nature: the rise of industrial ecology: industry is looking to nature's examples of sublime efficiency to find ways to improve the sustainability of our production and consumption systems.(INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY: Progress)
February 1, 2006... At the Kalundborg industrial park in Denmark, one industry's unwanted byproduct has become another's sought-after process input. Central to this heavy industrial complex are a coal-fired power station and oil refinery, which exchange waste...

Innovation inspired by nature biomimicry.(environmental research)
February 1, 2006... The 2002 book, Biomimicry, describes a new science that studies nature's best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to provide innovative and sustainable solutions for industry and research development. Author and international...

New resolutions through Societal Learning and Change: can we truly find solutions to some of society's most pressing problems? According to Canadian Steve Waddell, author of "Societal Learning and Change", we most certainly can. His book outlines a collaborative process for innovative resolutions in large scale, complex challenges which involve multiple and varied stakeholders.(Progress)
February 1, 2006... When you have tried just about everything with government, civil society and corporations to move forward on key issues--for example, in the environmental or social justice areas--and there appears to be nowhere else to go, the process of...

The experts' word on climate change impacts.(Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change)(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2006... Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change Edited by H. Schellnhuber, W. Cramer, N. Nakicenovic, T. Wigley and G. Yohe Cambridge University Press 2006, Hardback ISBN: 0521864712 RRP: $199 Available from: www.cambridge.org In 2005, as...

Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human-Nature Connection.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2006... Building for Life Designing and Understanding the Human-Nature Connection Stephen R Kellert Island Press, USA 2005, Hardback ISBN: 1559636734 RRP $120.00 Paperback, ISBN: 1559637218. RRP $69.90 Available from CSIRO Publishing:...

Nature and society intertwined.(Nature and Society: Patterns in Space and Time)(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2006... Nature and Society Patterns in space and time David Tranter Seaview Press 2006 Paperback ISBN: 174008375X RRP: $25.00 Available from the author: david.j.tranter@acenet.com.au The specter of severe effects from climate change is...

Sounding out the seabed.(Research)(sonar technology)
February 1, 2006... Using new sonar technology, scientists are discovering, mapping and monitoring the seabed off Victoria and have been astounded by some of the underwater features they have found, including old laval flows, dune fields, ancient lakes, rivers and...

Improved metal recycling.(Research)
February 1, 2006... A new technique that can predict where metal quality is lost in the recycling process could make recycling cost-effective and reduce the need for raw material inputs. CSIRO, the University of Melbourne and Delft University of Technology,...

Events calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2006... Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Nationally, 1 February-5 May 2006 www.amonline.net.au/eureka The Ideas Festival Brisbane, 28 March-2nd April www.ideasfestival.com.au GLOBE 2006 Vancouver, Canada, 29-31 March www.globe2006.com 4th...