Ecos articles from July 2004

Ecos archives from July 2004

A change of pace.(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... The significant national announcements on energy and water made over the last few months seem to signal that mainstream policy makers are now firmly grappling with a bigger, long-term picture of environmental changes. While there are arguments...

Marine survey prioritises the Solomons' surprise bounty.
July 1, 2004... An Australian-led survey team of local and international marine experts has confirmed that the Solomon Islands are a previously unknown extension to the 'Coral Triangle'--the region with the globe's highest diversity of corals--elevating the...

Domestic fuel cell power unit launched.(Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited launched Combined Heat Power Unit)
July 1, 2004... Melbourne-based company Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) has generated interest from international markets with a micro Combined Heat Power Unit, in which a 1 kW fuel cell power generator drives a domestic hot water system, returning excess...

Funding challenge for lucrative national parks.
July 1, 2004... A first-ever study of visitation to Australia's protected areas, conducted by the Sustainable Tourism CRC and the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia, shows that they generate huge revenues, but that greater investment is urgently needed to...

Australia tops the GHG league table.
July 1, 2004... A June report by the independent research centre, The Australia Institute, claims that, on a comprehensive basis, Australians actually have the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per person of all industrialised nations, 27% higher in fact...

A global contribution to mining sustainability recognised.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Gavin Murray has become the first Australian to win the prestigious Dr Adrian Smith International Environmental Mining Award for his achievements in addressing the environmental and social aspects of mining within the international mining...

Bonus power from waste mine gas.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BHP Billiton is building a $13 million electricity plant near Appin, NSW, that will burn waste coalmine gas from its West Cliff operation, normally vented into the atmosphere. The West Cliff Ventilation Air Methane Project (WestVAMP) will...

Burning issues for water supplies: there were severe but little-known effects from recent bushfires on essential water catchments. Steve Davidson uncovers a concerning story of long-term damage and a lesson learned about the vulnerability of our urban water supplies.(Progress)
July 1, 2004... Every time another wildfire rages through a forest in Australia, an opportunity arises to learn more about the interplay between fire, forests and catchment management. The unprecedented firestorm that tore through eucalypt forest, woodland,...

Ultra-light rail is moving right along.(Progress)(Bishop Austrans mass transit rail system)
July 1, 2004... An Australian-designed rapid ultra-light rail system that combines the flexibility and comfort of car travel with the ease of an elevator is edging towards realisation. With low set-up, running and energy costs there is hope that it may be a...

In a spin over super-sized ocean eddies: marine scientists are slowly unravelling the secret lives and effects of vast, current-driven whirlpools off the Australian coastline. Their new insight is expected to greatly assist sustainable management of key fisheries.
July 1, 2004... Space provides an excellent vantage point from which to view and study gigantic ocean eddies. Hundreds of kilometres across, the massive whirlpools appear as bulges and depressions on satellite maps. Until recently, little was known about them....

The man who defeated famine: as nominations open for the 2006 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, Julian Cribb profiles past laureate Gordon Sato's inspired coastal agriculture project which is giving new life to struggling Eritreans. Might it also have applications on Australia's coastlines and salt-soaked wasteland?(Profile)
July 1, 2004... The sight of famine- and war stricken Eritrean families unlocked painful memories in Gordon Sato. It recalled a time when he and his family were outcasts too, imprisoned behind barbed wire by their own country, along with thousands of fellow...

Dried-up ideas: our changing approach to drought.(Progress)(Cover Story)
July 1, 2004... As the latest long dry lingers on, and a familiar story of rural hardship repeats itself, Steve Davidson looks at our entrenched reactions to this latest drought episode. But what are re-focused attention on policy, better understanding of...

Fighting the triffid take-over: land managers and scientists are battling a widening guerilla war against triffid-like weed infestations. One of Australia's greatest but least known environmental threats, alien plant species cost the country billions each year in containment, eradication and biological control measures.
July 1, 2004... As an island continent, Australia's unique ecosystems and flora were protected through the ages by isolation. That changed, dramatically, when the first European settlers arrived with foreign crops and ornamental plants. Since then, over 28 000...

The snow season forecast: probably lighter and higher by 2020.(Progress)
July 1, 2004... It is expected that winter tourism and alpine ecosystems will need to adjust to significant reductions in depth, duration and height of the regular snow cover in the Australian Alps because of climate change. Government and industry bodies...

The revealing roles of estuaries.(Where River Meets Sea)(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... Where River Meets Sea Dieter Tracey, Lynne Turner, Jan Tilden & Bill Dennison CRC for Coastal Zone Estuary and Waterway Management, 2004 ISBN 0 957 86788 3 RRP $49.95 Available from CSIRO PUBLISHING www.publish.csiro.au/pid/ 3897.htm...

Questioning growth for growth's sake.(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... Growth Fetish Clive Hamilton Allen & Unwin, 2003,Paperback ISBN 1 74114078 1 RRP $24.95 Economist, author, and commentator, Clive Hamilton, has manifested what many people are increasingly writing and thinking as the sustainability...

Peer-reviewed progress.(Environmental Chemistry, vol. 1(1))(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... Environmental Chemistry Volume 1 (1), 2004 CSIRO PUBLISHING ISSN 1448-2517 The first international journal on the chemistry of environmental processes has recently been launched, providing a new and timely peer-review channel for the...

Underground nitrogen busting is crucial.(Research)
July 1, 2004... A study in south-east Queensland has confirmed the vital processing role that waterside habitat plays in reducing the amount of nitrate flowing into waterways, often from agricultural land, lessening the risk of toxic algal blooms. The findings...

Conservation needs re-focusing on our backyards.(Research)
July 1, 2004... Conservation planning efforts apparently need radically re-directing to urban regions if the majority of Australia's native animals are to be protected for the longer term. According to Dr Gary Luck, an ecologist from Charles Sturt University,...

Stormwater drainage is reducing stream biodiversity.(Research)
July 1, 2004... Australia's sensitive and rare endemic water bugs are in decline around our urban fringes because streams and waterways are receiving unnatural runoff from the impervious surfaces laid in developed areas. New research published in the journal...

Events calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... International Conference on Water Security for Future Generations Changchun, China, 26-31 July. www.neigae.ac.cn/conference/20030227.htm Wetlands Science & Water Resources Management: 7th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference...