Ecos articles from October 2003

Ecos archives from October 2003

Down the track.(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... Issue 117, and we're very pleased with the encouraging response to the last issue and the ongoing changes to Ecos. A few readers were, however, concerned about the depth of the shorter articles up front, and we've had one ambivalent response to...

The environment--the world media's greatest challenge.
October 1, 2003... NOW, more than ever, there is a vital need for well-informed public debate in the world's media about the globe's growing environmental issues. The Greenaccord Association was recently born out of this necessity, and to highlight the priority,...

Over-burning pressures Top End's biodiversity.
October 1, 2003... OVERLY FREQUENT and widespread burning could be damaging the biodiversity of northern Australia's savanna bushland, according to results from one of the world's largest fire experiments, which involved CSIRO researchers. The Kapalga fire...

Monitoring for illegal Antarctic fishing.
October 1, 2003... New Zealand, the US, and other members of the 20-nation-strong Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) have backed Australia's proposal for a centralised vessel monitoring system to fight increasing...

Governance reassessed in the Pacific's troubles.
October 1, 2003... In recognition that sustainable and appropriate development is founded on 'good governance', and given the perceived failure of governance in many Pacific states, over 50 academics, indigenous representatives, and development practitioners met...

Global marine census role begins.
October 1, 2003... AUSTRALIA has officially commenced a significant role in the global $1 billion, 10-year Census of Marine Life, a massive international effort to assess the diversity, abundance and distribution of biodiversity in Earth's oceans. A national...

Old and new gather for the Tarkine.
October 1, 2003... DURING OCTOBER, in the remote Tarkine rainforest of Tasmania's north-east, 20 of Australia's best wilderness photographers gathered with writers, documentary makers and visiting journalists to spend an intense, creative fort-night in the...

World-first water-efficiency labels.
October 1, 2003... By 2005, water-efficiency labels will be mandatory on all shower heads, washing machines, dish-washers and toilets sold in Australia, with voluntary labelling suggested on taps, urinals and other products. The new Water Efficiency and...

Tax deduction encourages rural conservation.
October 1, 2003... Landowners who sign voluntary conservation agreements--or covenants--with government authorities can now claim a tax deduction for any resulting decrease in land value, thanks to a legislation amendment approved by Federal Parliament in...

One golden pond: after turning white death into gold on saline land in northern Victoria, entrepreneurs have built an ingeniously simple solar pond that generates cheap heat energy and helps restore salt-laden pastures.
October 1, 2003... In collaboration with RMIT University's Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy group, and former environmental engineering company*, Geo-Eng Australia Pty Ltd, Pyramid Salt Ltd is involved in the demonstration and commercialisation of a salt...

Light factories: nature does it best. Or does it? An ambitious trans-Tasman cooperation is aiming to perfect artificial photosynthesis. Researchers want to exploit its potential to produce just about everything under the sun.(Cover Story)
October 1, 2003... WE TEND TO TAKE for granted the deceptively low-key ability of plants to make carbohydrates using the energy in sunlight, so enabling life on Earth. But the researchers now attempting to emulate this feat appreciate the complexity and ingenuity...

Rural remote control: small, distributed computer devices are being developed to act as embedded, self-learning environmental 'agents' on rural properties, remotely reporting and managing complex agricultural processes, monitoring the behaviour, health and productivity of stock, and optimising environmental conditions. Farming, as we know it, could be revolutionised.
October 1, 2003... Making a living from natural resources in the driest continent on earth is difficult. Doing it in a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable way is even harder. Landowners, natural resource managers and communities have to juggle...

Lessons on fire: from the ashes of the worst blaze to hit the Australian Alps since 1939, scientists have seized a rare opportunity to study the nature of fire in the high country. Their work is revealing new understanding about management interventions needed to ensure the continued survival and functioning of these rare and specialised alpine communities.
October 1, 2003... SOME 1.73 MILLION hectares of sub-alpine and alpine landscapes, across Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, were severely burnt in January 2003 after hot, windy weather, prolonged drought and a string of lightening...

Towards the forever fuel: the globe's major economic players are beginning to weigh into a hydrogen future. Steve Davidson looks at the viability considerations ahead for a transition to the new fuel economy and profiles Australia's position.
October 1, 2003... Recent enthusiasm for hydrogen fuel is understandable. It's ubiquitous, inexhaustible and produces virtually no greenhouse gases if generated using renewable energy. Hydrogen has the potential to power our homes, vehicles, appliances and...

Australia's future energy focus.
October 1, 2003... UNDER THE NATIONAL Research Flagship, Energy Transformed, launched on 30 October, leading scientists will concentrate on Australia's future energy requirements, positioning us to develop one of the world's first hydrogen economies and a new...

Building beautifully: environmentally efficient buildings can be conventional-looking inspirations.(Progress)
October 1, 2003... One of the funny things about energy and resource-efficient architecture is how we, as a society, expect it to look. In April this year, Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., showed the world just how mainstream a 'green' building's design could appear...

Future dilemmas.(Progress)
October 1, 2003... A SOBERING REPORT on Australian life towards 2050 suggests that we need wholesale societal changes to break excessive consumer habits and uncouple the economic growth driving the depletion of our natural resources. In 1999 the Commonwealth...

Tracking nomadic birds and habitat health.(Research)
October 1, 2003... ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY researcher Mark Ziembicki is tracking the threatened Australian bustard, a large, nomadic bird of our grasslands and plains. His study is using newly available satellite tracking methods to develop a model for species...

Dances with cranes: though several have come close, no Australian has yet won one of the world's most prestigious awards for environmental, cultural and scientific achievement--a Rolex Award for Enterprise. Julian Cribb reports on the achievements of a young conservationist who has, by marshalling a continental-scale rescue effort for the majestic cranes of Africa and their dwindling wetlands.(Profile)
October 1, 2003... AS A CHILD, Lindy Rodwell heard the haunting cry of the blue cranes as they flew high overhead on their nomadic trek from one wetland to another across southern Africa. It seemed to her to embody something uniquely African. Today the blue...

Learn to live in a sunburnt country.
October 1, 2003... DROUGHT AND FIRE--along with flooding rains--are major determinants of most Australian ecosystems. Despite more than 200 years of European settlement, the public psyche still has difficulty in coming to terms with the reality of these natural...

Political imagery.
October 1, 2003... Writer and Director, Scott Milwood's film, Wildness, has screened to great acclaim on ABC TV and in select theatres in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. This beguiling documentary profiles the epic lives of Olegas Truchanas and Peter...

Corrections to issue 116.(Correction Notice)
October 1, 2003... * The credit line of the diagrams published on page 14 should have read 'As published in Natural Capitalism, Earthscan 1999.' * The top arrow of the diagram on page 15 should have been labelled 'Innovation'. * In the opening paragraph...

The brussel sprout vs. the silver bullet.(Research)
October 1, 2003... For many of us, a mouthful of brussel sprouts or cabbage awakens vibrant childhood memories of 'eat them or you'll get no dessert!' But research has recently shown that the same chemicals responsible for the strong tastes in these members of...

Enticing mat cleans up--fast.(Research)
October 1, 2003... PRECIOUS BODIES of groundwater are vulnerable to contamination by fertilisers, pesticides, industrial waste and other pollutants. Cleaning them up is usually a very complex and costly business. But Dr Bradley Patterson of CSIRO Land and...

Events calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2003... Population and Environment in Australia--Online Conference September-November 2003. Hosted by the Australian Academy of Science to facilitate public debate in Australia on the relationships between demographic change and environmental...