Ecos articles from July 2003

Ecos archives from July 2003

Moving with Australia.(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... Hello, and welcome to issue 116 of Ecos,--the first full issue embracing the magazine's new and broader editorial scope covering the science of sustainability in Australia. Extending 27 years of communicating environmental research, our aim...

Youth views: young Australians, we'll publish your views!.(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... If you're a young Australian interested in, and thinking through particular sustainability issues in Australia, we'd like to publish your ideas and views. The best articles on topics of wide appeal will be published in subsequent issues....

Gore gives a wake-up call for leadership.
July 1, 2003... A NEW REALITY now dominates the relationship between civilisation and the Earth itself, former US Vice President Al Gore told an audience of Australia's most senior corporate leaders. Whereas past generations could comfortably say that the...

Government and business agree on an action plan.
July 1, 2003... At a specially convened trans-Tasman summit held on 13 June in Brisbane, Australian Environment Ministers and company CEOs acknowledged that a bolder, more urgent pursuit of sustainability initiatives is essential to underpin Australia's future...

Instant low emission cars.
July 1, 2003... The USIS Group, an Australian company, has launched the Unique Steam Induction System which bolts on to a regular combustion engine creating a low-cost, water/petroleum hybrid vehicle. Steam induced during the combustion process makes...

Perth's hydrogen bus trial: the Western Australian government has taken the road to the future with investment in a trial of fuel cell buses.
July 1, 2003... By the middle of next year, three prototype hydrogen-powered buses will begin operations in Perth. Each will have nine hydrogen tanks and two fuel-cell stacks on the roof to convert the energy in hydrogen to electrical energy to run the bus...

Bluefin social study.
July 1, 2003... A detailed social and political profile of the fragile southern bluefin tuna fishing industry is being developed to reduce potential for quota tension between Japan and Australia, the biggest stakeholders. Dr Kate Barclay of UTS Institute...

Climate and ocean research boosted.
July 1, 2003... Our contribution to the urgent quest for understanding of regional climate and ecosystem influences was strengthened on 31 July 2003 with the launch of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems in Hobart. ...

A forward look at city sprawl.
July 1, 2003... Acknowledging the pressing challenge of sustainability in our urban areas, the Federal Minister for Environment and Heritage has commissioned the Sustainable Cities 2025 Inquiry from the House of Representatives Committee to be chaired by MP...

Extreme power: after a ten-year planning phase, specially adapted wind turbines are now exceeding expectations at Mawson Station in Antarctica, showing the way ahead for wind power engineering in the most severe conditions.(Cover Story)
July 1, 2003... WIND IS A RESOURCE Antarctica has in wild abundance. Driven by gravity as air cools above the Pole, its 300 km/h katabatic winds are infamous. Taking on the ultimate challenges such an unforgiving landscape throws down, scientists and engineers...

Siphoning the sun: the breathtaking solar tower project near Mildura stands out as an innovative Australian commitment to finding alternative energy solutions. Graeme O'Neill reports the latest progress on a facility that could power 200 000 homes from the planet's tallest man-made structure.
July 1, 2003... IN THE LAND where bulldust often lies thick upon the landscape, a small Melbourne company's proposal two years ago to construct a kilometre-high tower in the Outback to siphon power from the Sun, risked generating more scepticism than...

New efficiency from our old systems: whole systems engineering is providing innovative and exciting ways of looking at the overall design and efficiencies of established industry systems. It can uncover significant, hidden, long-term value that provides a strong argument for taking on the often daunting upfront costs associated with change.(Progress)
July 1, 2003... MUCH OF THE ART of design for the next industrial revolution will come from asking the right questions. What do people truly need? They need paper, not paper mills; mobility and access, not bigger cars; and energy, not coal-fired power...

Ancient wisdom in a new city.
July 1, 2003... THIS PICTURE shows a scale model of the 'new' city of Ningbo in China which Australian consultancy Hassell recently won an international competition to design with Hyder engineers. Ningbo was actually built in AD700, and Hassell's...

A platform for change: the Natural Edge Project argues that, with better integration across society, today's key drivers of unsustainable practice in Australia could be re-harnessed as the engines of real progress.(Progress)
July 1, 2003... In the April June 2003 edition of Ecos (issue 115, page 23), a feature on the Wentworth Group showed that sustainability issues are significant, multi-faceted, systems problems that need more integrated approaches to achieve progress. The...

Australia after rabbits.
July 1, 2003... The crash in rabbit numbers across Australia is giving cause for cautious optimism as pastoralists and researchers work to keep the populations pinned down. SINCE ITS ESCAPE from Wardang Island, South Australia, in 1995 and subsequent...

Seeds of life cast a golden hue: with the independence struggle over, East Timor is trying to establish its basic agricultural and economic needs. Brian Palmer's experience is helping sow the seeds of self-sufficiency for the world's newest nation.
July 1, 2003... The village women sit cross-legged, patiently shelling com; production-line workers filling woven baskets with tumbling grain. Ordinarily there would be nothing to differentiate this moment from countless others in the seasonal cycle of life...

Putting C[O.sub.2] back: underground sequestration could be a long-term, high-volume greenhouse gas solution. Steve Davidson looks at the work of Australian scientists assessing its potential.
July 1, 2003... AS THE WORLD comes to grips with the greenhouse challenge--that of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) to limit global warming--it seems unlikely that any single approach Mil prove a magic bullet. One of the options showing...

Emissions trading--what business opportunities? In a pragmatic view, leading trade analyst Alan Oxley argues that, whilst emissions must be controlled, the real potential costs to Australia of emissions trading must be considered.(Comment)
July 1, 2003... IT IS CLAIMED repeatedly that business is losing opportunities because Canberra has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Expect the same claim if we do not establish emissions trading of credits to emit carbon dioxide. Recent research shows...

There's money in the air: regardless of the short-term future of the Kyoto Protocol, it would seem that the lucrative trading of greenhouse gases is a burgeoning new industry staking the future on emissions legislation, and predicting change.(Comment)
July 1, 2003... The nation of Slovakia has recently sold emissions credits equivalent to 200 000 metric tons of carbon dioxide to a Japanese trading house. Meanwhile, Great Britain and Denmark have also been developing markets based on the assumptions laid out...

Taking Natural Capitalism to the world: the 1999 publication Natural Capitalism details a new model that enables companies to realise the opportunities sustainability brings. Co-author, Hunter Lovins, is now focusing on implementing the principles of Natural Capitalism throughout the business world, and she's on her way to Australia.(Profile)
July 1, 2003... The next Industrial Revolution is already being led by companies learning to profit and gain competitive advantage from the principles of Natural Capitalism. Not only that, their leaders and employees are feeling better about what they do. (1)...

Beefing up the locals: Australian genetics know-how is helping South Africans to have heavier beef, healthier land, and a happier life. Australia gains too.
July 1, 2003... IN THE POOR RURAL regions of the Limpopo and North-West provinces of South Africa, struggling farmers are learning to run cattle enterprises that will generate profits while alleviating severe grazing pressure on local country. Through efforts...

Worm eater shows green promise: a new weapon in the war against nematode parasites of livestock is on the verge of deployment. It could help fulfil an increasing demand for agricultural commodities free of chemical inputs.(Research)
July 1, 2003... Duddingtonia flagrans, a nematode wormeating fungus, has been shown to markedly reduce the number of nematode larvae in young sheep. As a promising biological control agent it also boosts sheep productivity through improved worm control and has...

A water resource.
July 1, 2003... The Australian Water Map produced by the Melbourne-based group Earth Systems was launched on 11 June 2003 for the International Year of Freshwater and draws together a wide range of water-related data into a single resource. There are 58...

Practical farm conservation.
July 1, 2003... Much of our native wildlife relies on vulnerable habitat on rural properties. Wildlife on Farms provides land managers--'frontline operational environmentalists'--with a guide to conserving the key wildlife habitats on farms through adopting...

River reflections.
July 1, 2003... The Murray-Darling Basin is a focus point of the growing and reverberating alarm calls for more conservation action on our declining riverine ecosystems. Its citizens have been vocal in the bubbling debate about how to balance agricultural and...

2003 Eureka Awards glitter.
July 1, 2003... The Australian Museum 2003 Eureka Prize awards, held in Sydney on 12 August, were a glittering occasion--the equivalent of an 'Academy Awards' for Australian Science. The 21 prizes, valued at $210,000, rewarded outstanding achievements in...

Smarten up your home.
July 1, 2003... Household energy use contributes almost 20% of Australia's gas emissions. Do your bit with the help of this free and inspiring 'how-to' magazine. The Australian Green House Office has worked with the Institute for Sustainable Futures at...

Use the network.
July 1, 2003... The CSIRO Sustainability Network is a free-to-join, 'virtual learning community of practice', dedicated to inclusive exchange of ideas across disciplines and professions in business, industry, education, government, NGOs, and the community. ...

Fish need healthy stream banks: both the individual fitness of fish and species diversity are influenced by the riparian zone.(Research)
July 1, 2003... THE RIPARIAN ZONES of rivers and streams--essentially the areas between the low and high water marks--occur at the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They are usually high in biodiversity. Fish communities suffer when...

What's wood worth?(Research)
July 1, 2003... To accurately calculate C[O.sub.2] emissions from land-use change and forest management, scientists must understand the decomposition rates of coarse woody debris (CWD) on forest floors. This is because the carbon stored in dead trees, branches...

More plastic from plants.(Research)
July 1, 2003... Plant oils might replace petrochemicals as the basis of plastics if an Australian-Swiss team succeeds. Most people associate vegetable oils with salad dressings and pasta dishes. But they are also important in the production of resins,...

Events calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2003... ISOS Online and Face-to-Face Conference--'In Search of Sustainability' Online: February--November 2003. Face to Face: Canberra, 14 November. www.isosconference.org.au Themes: February: Water. March: Human health & wellbeing....