Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

In his popular song, Nat King Cole croons
"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer"

Our hazy, crazy days of summer are here, but they are anything but lazy. Commuter travel becomes especially trying in the heatwaves of summer. At the moment the roads are reasonably sane, but in just a few days the normal commute starts again for many, including 3 of my household. Libraries start their summer reading programs and the grandparents head to the library with hordes of bored kids, desperate for some shoot-em up game playing on computers!

"Just fill your basket full of sandwiches and weenies
Then lock the house up, now you're set
And on the beach you'll see the girls in their bikinis
As cute as ever but they never get 'em wet"

My days of wearing bikinis are fortunately past, but you only have to stroll down any of Melbourne's beaches to see plenty. We have often had late night suppers on the beach, trying to beat the plus 30 degree heat with sandwiches, pizza or fish -n-chips and a paddle/swim. I was never very keen on weenies - enough said!

"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
You'll wish that summer could always be here"

So long as we don't have many searing +43 degree heatwaves, I should find my garden, sanity and energy levels surviving the summer. Otherwise, I give fair warning, watch out for temper boil overs when the thermometer maxes out!

Happy summer and Happy 2012 to all.

Christmas Day Diary

BOM forecast: 30 degrees C, humid with thunderstorms later
6:30 am - wake up after restless, hot night. Neighbours had party that kept me awake. Start tidying house after strong coffee.
7:00 am - Computer turned on and Skype video call to 2 lots of relatives overseas. London call a bit foggy and without colour. Perhaps the cold weather there. Lovely to actually see the relatives. Receive calls from local relatives.
8:20 am - Cook prawns (cheap and plentiful this year) and potato's for potato salad. Make potato salad and place in fridge to cool. Check Turkey is deftosted ok.
9:45 am- Start stuffing turkey - bread, apricots, fresh herbs from garden. Yum. Place in oven bag and put on BBQ tray. 10:00 am -Place in BBQ outside so heat doesn't become unbearable inside.
10:30 am - Youngsters manage to get up and gather around Christmas tree. Unwrapping of presents and photos taken. Then clean up waste! Fortunately not too much of the latter!
11:00 - 11:30am - Make green salad, move tables n chairs, set table with crackers, Christmas napkins, tablecloth etc.
11:30 am - Prepare tray of roast vegies including potatoes, sweet Potatoes, red capsicum and parsnips
12:00 noon - Prepare antipasto, dip and biscuit platter. Search unsuccessfully for mixed nuts I have hidden so they are not eaten before Christmas, but find previously hidden Cashew nuts so use them instead.
12:30 pm - change clothes, sit down and wait for friends to arrive. Steam peas and beans a bit later.
12:40 pm - Friends arrive and we start EATING, drinking Moet Champagne with fresh, home-grown strawberries, then enjoy our Christmas Dinner. Turn ceiling fans on.
2:00 pm - Put away left-overs, do the 4th set of dishes today and sit down again to have a post-prandial chat/snooze (dependant on age and tiredness). Approx 28 degrees, humid and ceiling fans giving welcome cooling.
4:00 pm - Kids tell us thunderstorm coming fast to our end of town and heavy rain is forecast. See a few lightning forks in the distance. Friends go home to rescue their washing and start preparing dessert to have at their house.
5:00 pm - Dessert of Christmas pudding, strawberries, pineapple, watermelon, cherries caramel tarts and mince pies.
7:00 pm - Heavy rain, kids play on computers, do jigsaw puzzle (or try to) and chat. Hear about thunderstorm, wind and hail damage in Melbourne!!! Nibble on Christmas cake.

What a wonderful, peaceful and plentiful Christmas (for us at least!)

Christmas Greetings

As Melbourne goes nuts in the lead up to a forecast hot and humid festive day, I will wish you all a very Merry Christmas and and prosperous New Year. 2012, in the Mayan Calendars is purported to be a year of disasters, but according to Wikipedia : The "Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is the basis for a New Age belief that a cataclysm will take place on December 21, 2012. December 21, 2012 is simply the day that the calendar will go to the next b'ak'tun."


To the poor, terrified people of Christchurch, Christmas 2011 is starting to seem almost as disastrous as February 22 with several very strong and sharp aftershocks happening today. My family are okay but the psychological effect of these shocks is becoming ingrained. One of the latest quakes is only a few km from their house in North New Brighton and threw them to the ground while out walking the dog.


Check out the Christchurch Earthquake Map website to get a good idea of the > 18 shakes today and the thousands they have had to endure since last year.


Whilst Gerry Harvey has forecast a disastrous retail environment, the experience of Christchurch shows how lucky we really are. He has now "seen the light" and opened up his site to purchases from his Irish stores.


As a librarian, my job has undergone a number of transformations since I started. We originally provided books  and reference services to people. I now provide training in Internet technologies, help with computer use, reference information using online databases and Google searches as well as information about eBook technology etc. As well as helping people to borrow DVD's, CD's, Talking Books, Daisy Players. RFID tagging will eventually bring about massive changes in employment for the library staff. We too need to change to survive and provide employment,


Sounds a bit like the challenges facing the retail industry. But fortunately, less confronting than the earthquakes and their consequences on Christchurch citizens and indeed the whole of New Zealand.


We have much to be thankful - so raise a glass or two and donate generously to those in need.

Retail Sorry

Sorry Aussie retailers. I just spent half of my Christmas present money overseas. Now that is largely because the family IS in other countries -several in fact.
I was shopping online on Tuesday and found a book which I would have liked. (Yes as a Librarian I still read physical books). Unfortunately by the time I got round to making up my mind, the damned book was now "unavailable". So I've put my details down to be advised when republished. I hope it is early next year then I can pick it up in person.
So far the online retailers have suggested my orders will arrive before Christmas, which is great as I'm quite disorganized at this time of year, every year!!
I went physically shopping yesterday, got a good parking spot, and then managed to find 1 present. The CD my other half wanted is not available physically (12 months on back order) but I just downloaded it from iTunes. So I'll burn it to CD and again the Aussie retailer misses out.
But what to buy the 2 "young adults" who share my house and importantly my internet connection (that I pay for!). What do they need ?
A car ?? Too expensive!
A computer game?? No way Jose!
A book?? Perhaps for one, but not the other.
Clothes?? Ditto
Shoes?? Ditto ( and need them available for that option)
Glory Box ( in hope they will move out?) - no room for that!
Chocolates?? Oh yes they would both like that as would all of us. But not a healthy Christmas present!
Thinking, thinking and still no inspiration.
Perhaps I can go shopping again on the weekend, brave the horrendous crowd, berserk drivers, road-rage and heat stress and get something. Click here for the Productivity Report on Online Shopping.
What is more environmentally friendly. Going online and buying presents in the country of residence of the receiver - or - buying something here and posting to the other side of the world ?

My Solar Power Stats: 2 years

Recently I reviewed my solar power generation stats as we passed the 2nd year anniversary of their installation

• Household size: 4 Adults
• System size: 1 kW
• E total: 2433 kWh
• H total : 8337 hrs
• Feed in to Grid: 684.5 kWh (meter was installed 1 month after the panels, due to various factors)
• Feed in Tariff (pFIT): 66c per kWh
• Total $$ Generated with FIT : $451.77
• Yearly Total : $225.88
• Yearly Total $$ Generated if FIT is .25c per kWh: = $171.25/2 = $85.5

So does this help with the power bills?
Yes but only at the higher FIT. I would need a much larger system to overcome the current >10% yearly rise in electricity bills. (Most of which is due to electricity network upgrades, not any carbon tax impost as yet).
At the time I bought my system, a further 1 kW would have cost another $10,000. Now this cost has plummeted due to the immense increase in world wide production of panels. Even the Germans use the Chinese production capabilities.
The Australian Consumer Association (Choice) along with help from the ATA,  has reviewed  solar power payback times again (sept 2011) and perhaps will do other reviews in years to come. The payback times have now increased to a level seen by many householders as not worth bothering with.

From Choice Website: http://www.choice.com.au

 Interestingly, I recently received a letter from my Electricity distributor, informing me that should I make any changes to my "Embedded Generator System" then I must inform them. So if I add any more panels I must inform both Retailer and Distributor. I hear also that the Victorian Smart Meter program roll-out is being reviewed. My dwelling was slated for a smart meter in October but that seemed to be put on hold once I informed them I had a Solar System with appropriate Feed-In meter.
Lets hope this summer the sun shines more than last summer (quite cloudy) but not so strongly to give us those 42-46 degrees C days of 2 years ago, leading to the inferno of Black Saturday!

Short Break

Last week, I took off to the Mornington Peninsula for a couple of days break with a friend. For those who haven't visited the Peninsula (as its known) it's a long curving piece of land in Melbourne's south east. The Port Philip bay side has almost endless, calm, sparkling clean beaches while the Bass Strait areas abound in sparkling surf beaches.
My friend has a new house, situated just one street back from a popular beach. As such their new house has double-glazing, solar hot-water and now a 3kW solar PV system. An ideal location, retired and active lifestyle (sailing, cycling, beach walks ) new and efficient house and wonderful views nearby. Just heaven.

Of course there must be a fly in the ointment. One can't have it all and indeed on a sunny Melbourne summer day, hordes descend upon said beaches in their tens of thousands. But the Peninsula's many beaches and other activity centers can absorb all those people. Strawberry Farms, Markets, dozens of Wineries, Olive Farms and loads of Restaurants, upmarket and takeaway, service this hungry population.

Lets hope today's reported increase in carbon pollution and possible sea-level rise doesn't make these beaches wild enough to swamp all those wonderful beach-side houses and facilities. Do you think the Durban talk fest will deliver any international agreement or will individuals, some state governments and other organisations do the hard yards while the politicians argue?

The ABC weather reports the temperatures and rainfall at the end of each month care of the Bureau of Meterology. This November had 110mm (approx) of rain, higher than average daytime temperatures and several degrees higher than average night-time temperatures. A temperature trend that continues month by month. If you want real figures try the RealClimate.org website.

Solar Panels

The weekend (19-20 Nov 11) Financial Review echoed Bloomberg with an article titled "Bumpy Ride on the Solar Coaster" by Marcus Priest. As the article was buried on page 56, I wonder how many people read it. One thrust of the article was that solar power costs "were rapidly approaching parity with conventional retail power.... as the cost of ... silica has dropped from $450 kg in 2008 to $20-$25, and more efficient technology is making the cost of photovoltaic units potentially cheaper than when they were backed by large government subsidies".
So in effect the large government subsidies helped kick-start the retail solar industry in Australia while the explosion in production of clean energy technology in China has led to drastically reduced costs to the whole world . This has led to the titled "Bumpy Ride of the Solar Coaster". Hopefully sufficient Australian retail companies can retain their trained staff and increase their sales, as well as allowing the solar energy industry to expand into larger units capable of powering industries and towns.
I for one will monitor the situation closely. I can fit another 3-4 kW of PV units on my roof and would have to purchase a Dual Multipoint Inverter (according to advice from those who know) to cope with the differing panels & generation. My close friends have 3kW of generation capacity and with a family of 5, don't expect to have to pay any electricity bills until April-May next year.
This sure beats investing your money in sinking stocks or listening to those nay-sayers who said Solar Power would never become economical.
Roll on the "prosperous post carbon economy" as advertised by the University of Melbourne's free public lecture on Thursday night by Roy Neel, chief of staff of Al Gore.

Spring Thunderstorm Last Night

Last night I sped home from work followed by the imminent thunderstorm. This was the view from my house towards the south-west before it struck. Fortunately this storm did very little damage to my property, approx 20 mm of rain in a half-hour or so. A little wind and small hail stones. Much less damage than the February one.

But many people were not so lucky. Its so good to have access to the Bureau of Meteorology radar website, though once I got home I unplugged the internet router, PC's and other vulnerable equipment.

I hope my friends all over Melbourne were not affected.

Carbon Tax Passed

Finally, the long awaited, long debated, long fought Carbon Tax and associated legislation passed the Australian Federal Senate, making world news.
The Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott has said he would repeal the legislation if he wins the next election.  As Australians, we continue to struggle with the reality of a minority government, with special interest groups/individuals finally having the chance to make various changes.
This has lead many to say Julia Gillard has no mandate. Given she successfully negotiated a workable (or sometimes workable) government and has been able to push through the Carbon Tax and associated legislation after squandering what mandate the Labor party had previously under Kevin Rudd, I think it means there is a mandate, but only a slim one.
Treasury models show the difference the Carbon Tax may make:

Targets for Action

 and try this link: Again from Treasury Modelling .http://www.abc.net.au/news/linkableblob/2790092/data.png.

In light of Wall Street jitters, Greek bankrupcy, Italian shenanigans (+ or - Berlusconi) we are all wondering what the rest of the world will do to us and I for one am pleased the Carbon Tax debate is now passed and I will see how it will work. We will see if our public servants and lawyers have the competence to make the legislation work.
Other legislation that is needed to be passed is the Pre-Commitment Gambling legislation.

Perhaps the Financial Industry needs a version of this Pre-Commitment Legislation or a Tax on Currency Transactions to be then spent on providing appropriate sustainability aid to the third world, as suggested by the recent UN Human Development Report (page 11 of the Overview). After all, these extremely poor people will bear the flooding, drought, lack of education and economic ability caused by the changes in the world climate being brought about by Global Warming.
While we continue to complain about our Carbon Tax!

Serene Spring and Violent Debate

This morning I have been sitting in my sun filled patio enjoying the serene view of my spring garden. The White Irises are just coming out. The watsonia's and daisies are flowering and the carpet roses just showing, with the mass flowering due in a few days. The birds are singing their hearts out and the Wattlebird is nesting in my magnolia tree. All is quiet and serene.
Yet a few kilometres down the road the city is in a state of excitement with Queen Elizabeth visiting Melbourne city for a few hours today. The Occupy Melbourne protesters, who were violently removed from the City Square last week have promised not to disrupt the Queens visit, but have published a photo of a police officer they allege has been violent.
The Occupy movement is interesting. I have some sympathy with some of their views but how do they think to make the changes they are protesting for? How do we move some money and power from the extremely powerful & privileged to the poor and needy? How do we maintain a modicum of equality, freedom, civil society and reasonable opportunity for all? Australian statistics show the National Wealth and Household Economic Wellbeing. Growth has slowed but the Credit Suisse Global wealth report (Oct 2011) shows Australians are incredibly lucky.
So has this wealth flowed to you?
Is Australia like the US - 1% hold 50% of the wealth? Are baby boomers the problem- holding all the nations wealth?
Is the use of social media changing the way we view law, order, free speech etc?
Is the speed of the internet and its use by various media & companies - twitter, facebook, stockmarkets, banking systems undermining our ability to control volatility and build good communities?
Are we fracturing the community or are we building a more inclusive society?
Looks like more reading is in order, if I can stay awake whilst sitting in the sun getting my Vitamin D, naturally.

Carbon Tax passed step 1

Yesterday the Carbon Tax passed the Australian Government House of Representatives.
Step one completed.
Now we have to wait until the Australian Senate does the same.
Then it will be L. A. W.
Once the Bills have been passed, gazetted etc they needs to be enacted and that may be even harder!
Hold on for the ride. The Opposition vows it will continue the fight, so I expect more strident, negative, sky-is-falling down statements!
Outside the sun is shining, my solar array is humming away generating some power, but not yet enough to run my washing machine, fridge & freezer, radio & laptop. Hopefully my teenager hasn't left the heater on overnight!
The nesting Red Wattlebird is flying close to my windows looking for insects trapped in the spiderwebs (that I cleaned away last week but have grown back!). I can see the red wattles clearly but the bird is very canny and it is hard to move fast enough to photograph it. Quite often I can see both parents visiting the nest which is now hidden in my Magnolia tree close to the house.
In other words, my life continues as it did yesterday!
Time to hang out the washing!

More reports on Carbon Tax

The last few days have seen a couple of new reports on the Carbon Tax.
The "Clean Energy Future" legislation (18 Bills!) is due to be submitted for discussion in the Federal House of Representatives on Wednesday.
One report is by the Joint Select Committee on the proposed legislation.
A dissenting report has been produced by the Coalition indicating "Labor have denied Australians a proper voice throughout the carbon tax debate". Surely a debate has been had, ad infinitum, ad nauseam and any other latin addages.
What we are sick of is the inaction!
"Most importantly, we will give Australians a choice at the next election" says the coalition. Yes that will be the time to have a continuing debate, after more than 5 years of debate, by then hopefully, implemented legislation. Lets see if the sky has fallen in!
Roll on Wednesday for the media hysteria.
Manufacturing
Today ABC Radio AM program reported on a manufacturing group criticizing the Carbon Tax. Supposedly made up of companies such as Amcor, BlueScope Steel and Boral (are you surprised?).
Supposedly the tax will be a disaster for manufacturing. But what about the last >10 years? High Australian dollar, cheap Chinese and Asian imports, automation,  an ageing & less tech savvy workforce, & reduced tariffs have led to reduced number of jobs in  manufacturing industries. The latest ABS Year Book indicates 9% of jobs are in this industry. The ABS  publication 100 Years of Change in Australian Industries shows how the percentage of GDP has risen and fallen.

1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2005

Have a read of this book "The Failure of Free-Market Economics" by Martin Fiel, to hear more about manufacturing and tarrifs from the perspective of an old-timer!

I know my partner is struggling with the high Aussie dollar, low economic growth overseas and productivity. But he still supports needed carbon reforms.

Science, Media Balance and Debate

Radio National's Science show had an interesting report into BBC science broadcasting by Steve Jones. While I agree with most of the points he raised one thing I do disagree with is the need to continue vigorous discussion on science as it affects public policy, politics etc. Even if there are 1500 scientists who agree with a particular point of science, we do need to allow debate by the "non-believers" and proper skeptics. Quite often these debates illuminate the hysteria and self-serving approach of the anti-argument. The fact that the discussions are skillfully manipulated and debated at a level of hysteria should be fairly obvious to most listeners/viewers.
Or am I showing ignorance of how sophisticated these fear campaigns are and how many people do not have either the education, honesty or skill level to determine when they are being manipulated?
So how do we teach this to our youngsters? Or more pertinent in the days of the baby-boomers ageing, how do we teach this to your mothers, fathers & grandparents. And in today's "me society" how do we change the vested interest of big business and politics in our society.
Oh yes! Ask Andrew Wilkie, Adam Bandt, Bob Brown et al!

4 Corners "The Carbon War" and "At Home With Julia"

If you didn't watch this program on Monday night I suggest you do so
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/09/15/3318364.htm
or watch it on Youtube

At least the ABC has got the gumption to stand up and provide some much needed "balance" on the political hysteria surrounding the Climate War, Carbon Tax and our political system.
I noticed the vast majority of people on the show can be said to belong to the WASP older electorate demographic. When I ask younger people what they think, they want the whole debate over and done with and a price on carbon.
If we couldn't do it when the nation was doing so well then its disingenuous to put off the idea now that there may be some tough times ahead. After all the Stern report warned strongly that the cost of doing nothing is even higher. (1% now vs 20% later).
As far as I know most elections produce a Government who then proceeds to govern, not asking us to vote again for another 3-4 years, and certainly not asking us to vote on every big issue that comes up.
And most scientists I know (and I know several) will argue the science with far more accuracy than those climate deniers featured here.
BTW its also the same demographic that is outraged by "At Home With Julia" - Tim and Julia G characters under the flag, in her office, having a cuddle! Give us a break, have a bit of a laugh and remember your history- see Crikey's list of Badly Behaved Pollies to see our finest with feet of clay.
People in glass Houses etc etc
After all we are supposed to be able to laugh at ourselves!

Spring Sunshine

What do magpies, hay fever and sunshine have in common? They are all features of our wonderful Melbourne spring.
The Magpies have started nesting so I am getting swooped while hanging the washing on the line. Often we have windy days in spring and today is no exception. Unusually though the wind is very warm along with 27 degrees C temperature undoing all the good the recent La Nina rains have done.

The streets around me are resplendent in drifts of blossoms (hence some hay fever) and my garden is glowing with red Mesembryanthemum and brilliant white daisies. As the garden was getting overgrown, I have had several trees and bushes removed. So no more Diosma scents at the front door, no more bee laden Blue Pacific (Ceanothus), which was blown over a couple of years ago. Now the Chinese Pistachio is about to break out into new leaf as is the Persimmon tree. The Nashi Pear is the latest to bud and blossom.
And while the garden is framed in sunshine, light and colour, my solar array is humming away increasing its output of power to approx 4 kWh per day.


Here's to the Federal Government, finally debating the Carbon Tax legislation. Lets get something passed into law, as soon as possible, to try and place the energy reforms needed into some framework. We have seen how successful the current rebates have been and the consequent abrupt winding down of these schemes. Lets not lose the momentum, jobs and investment in clean energy by stopping the Carbon Tax.

Solar News -FiTs and Pricing

A couple of good news stories emerged this last week or so regarding home Photovoltaic (PV)  installations. The first story -" Solar Installations celebrate Grid Parity" was very interesting particularly as it followed closely on from the Victorian State Government announcement concerning a Transitional Feed in Tariff (FiT's) which will replace the Premium FiT many early adopters (like me) were lucky enough to get.
The goal of Grid Parity for solar was something I have been long awaiting, but am interested to hear that the Photovoltaic Association thinks we are attaining this so soon after the introduction of the recent set of incentives.
The second story by The Age reporter Paddy Manning showed over 418,000 households are generating more than 1.1 gigawatts of power from Photovoltaics. His comment "..there's mounting evidence FiTs are helping to reduce energy demand, defer infrastructure spending and lower overall electricity prices - contrary to the idea that paying some home owners an FiT increases prices for everybody else" This is good news indeed for those of us who felt investing money into home electricity generation was a sound investment.


It seems that contrary to the naysayers, FiT's and PV schemes are both helping to reduce power demand and reduce the cost of delivering these technologies to consumers, sufficently so to help make solar of similar price to electricity generated by coal stations and delivered to our houses via current power infrastructure.


My current electricity bill showed a small amount of electricity was fed back into the grid, even from a 1kWH system, 4 person home in cloudy, wintry Melbourne.

While changes to various FiT' schemes will reduce the incentives for more households to invest in rooftop PV, as well as probably the jobs available in these industries, we now have good evidence of the overall worth to both the economy and individuals. As often is the case, appropriate environmental ideas will provide sound  economies for households as well as the wider world.

10 Years on from 9/11

This week the media has been running daily stories on how the world has changed since the horrendous attacks on the World Trade Centre, Pentagon and other areas. I remember waking up that morning, turning on the radio while having the morning coffee and being transfixed by the news. Moving to the TV coverage gave access to the confronting views of the twin towers on fire and then, almost immediately (care of TV), collapsing in that enormous cloud of dust. I couldn't believe it - watching for hours.

So has my life changed since then? Not really as no one I know was involved. But I think our society has.

My "mad scientist" and I have been to the US since then and have endured patiently the extra security involved. On my family trip to California I was "tagged" as a Security target so spent the entire trip, from the moment of offering my tickets and bag to be checked in, to be searched, swabbed, and put in security areas. Las Vegas corralled myself and my teenager, put me through x-ray, swabbing, patting down and detailed property searches.
My scientist, on his trip shortly after 9/11, was searched 3 times before boarding the aeroplane.

But still the attacks continue. ASIO reports today that the organisation has tripled, and they are following more suspects than ever before. Most are radicals of one sort or another- not just islamic fundamentalists.

Islamic women using the traditional head-dress have been targeted and Islamic youth have often found Australia's intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq to be completely repugnant. Fear, violence and inability to solve these intractable problems in poor, war-torn countries has lead to mass refugee problems and violence in our lucky country as well as America. And those who should know better, use the fear of the stranger to implement extreme views and policies.

So does war solve anything? Not this one. I don't like my freedoms being restricted and I'm sure the poor refugees didn't like being raped, attacked and left to starve by their "governments". But it is a wake-up call for our self-complacent society, to really try and help people solve their own problems. without killing masses of them, if possible.

Fish, Gyre & Pollution

Last friday I visited my local Fish Market to get some lovely fresh snapper for dinner. The fish was fresh and cooked beautifully, even if I do say so myself! (Must have been a result of all those cooking TV shows!)
But since then I have been hearing and watching Radio/TV programs talking about the dire state of over fishing in the world oceans, plastic pollution in the Pacific, and dolphin slaughter in Japan .
First came the Radio National's Science Show talking about the Great North Pacific Garbage Patch, the gyre of plastics slowly and surely polluting a large area,with large amounts of plastic found in the guts of seabirds as well as spreading through the entire ecosystem as the particles of plastic break down to ever smaller pieces.
This story was followed by a snippet (somewhere else) describing the state of over-fishing that is threatening many essential food species such as the Southern Blue Fin Tuna.

Southern Blue Fin Tuna Stocks

And on Sunday night ABC TV screened "The Cove" a graphic, disturbing account of activists filming the ongoing slaughter of dolphins in Taijii. Part of the doco described the large concentration of methyl mercury concentrated in these animals.

Given that Planet Earth may be more accurately described as Planet Water, the fact that we are severely polluting and affecting the ecology of such a vast area of the planet should give us warning regarding the pollution of the atmosphere.

I rather like my occasional fish dinner. I would hope that I can continue to enjoy such beautiful fish from reasonably pristine New Zealand waters for many years to come. I don't want to feel too guilty over enjoying the odd "Fish n Chips".

Warren Buffet, taxes and Silex

Warren Buffet's opinion piece in the New York Times "Stop coddling the super-rich" must provide ammunition for those who argue that raising taxes for the richest is the right way to start paying back the crippling US debt.
Buffet says "The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot." and further comments "I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off."
This sounds remarkably like sense. 
I noticed also today that Silex, the only solar panel producer in Australia, is stopping production and axing jobs. Direct Action at its best perhaps?
With the axing of the generous Feed-In Tarrif in NSW and the capping of the Net Feed-In Tarrif in Victoria, this will place a large number of jobs in peril. Will the politicians travel up and down the length of Australia and butcher this as well?
It's just this boom and bust mentality that has ruined ongoing and sustained investment in renewable energy technologies and jobs in Australia. Hence the need for something like a carbon tax which shifts the investment decisions away from government to those best placed to decide them, the entrepreneurial business.

Green Hell

It is sometimes instructive to read (or try to) a book whose central thesis is something you disagree with. "Know thy enemy" said Sun Tzu, so here is "Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them" by Steve Milloy.
I have only finished Chapter 1 and  I had to stop several times to exclaim. I particularly "liked" the comment on the"walking school bus" (page 22) where parents have withheld their enthusiasm for the prospect of having volunteers.., corralling kids along the roadside all the way to school". Oh dear - this is too green for him to bear and how dare (green hellish) for VicHealth to offer advice on such things!

Another gem included (page 4) the list of revenues ($1.36 billion) and net assets ($7.1 billion) of Green Groups in the US (BHP after all only has revenue of 34,166 million for half year ending 31 Dec 2010 and its only 1 company!). Followed quickly by the statement "as the ever-rising green establishment gains more power over your life, its members are devising lots of nifty loopholes, exemptions and free passes for their rich and powerful friends". Doesn't that sound like the status quo you and I have grown up with over the last century or so, the product of capitalists economies!
My grandmother ( born in 1890's) would be rolling in her grave to hear her strategies for hard work, thrift, credit not debit, recycling and morality described as "Green Hell"! Remember that Steve Milloy is said to have close links to big tobacco and oil companies. Go figure!

Riots and Rollercoasters

So are the riots in England this week the product of vicious, opportunistic, disengaged youth? The footage we see of injured people being looted, shops trashed and buildings burned is disgusting and tends to the view that these people are just thugs.
Social science tends to the view that extreme disadvantage and inequality in society creates conditions where some young people are so disengaged from the mainstream to the point where they will attack their own communities. Poor parenting, violent peers and epidemic violent behaviour erupt into an ongoing accelerating, explosion of violence in certain neighbourhoods.
In the current riots in England, many commented "where are the parents?" after viewing the effects of the violence.A New Economics Foundation blog comments "The truth is that both Left and Right have a great deal to answer for creating this culture of entitlement, from the feral underclass to the feral elite – for abandoning their moral vision for society and replacing it with retailing. Both have been responsible in the UK for the corrosion of community and family life by the wrong kind of economics."  A view echoed by ABC commentator on The Drum.
I have met a number of people who have grown up in disadvantage - whether migrants, violent family background, whatever. Surely there is an individual responsibility to chose to be part of our society?
Community Indicators Victoria gives a number of interesting, comparative statistics on social indicators here.
 Unemployment and poverty amongst youth is a serious problem even in affluent Melbourne. Now that everyone has instant access to mobile phone/web 2 services,  the ability to quickly organize destructive violence is concerning to anyone like me who have teenagers.
The GFC rollercoaster moved private debt onto governments. In Europe and Britain the continuing high debt level of governments has lead to reductions in social services and employment. Can we be sure that any fiscal tightening here will  not have a disproportional effect on already severely disadvantaged people leading to a similar unravelling of community? Lets hope "a fair go for all" is an Australian reality.

July Activities

Last weekend was a busy one with plenty of unusual activity. I spend some time in the city exploring some of the Melbourne Open House buildings including the Australian Conservation Foundation's 60 litre Green Building. I have been wanting to visit this building for a while to check out its energy credentials and design features. The tour guide was frank about the buildings achievements as well as its shortcomings. Noise due to the open plan centre and hardwood (recycled wood) floors was one I thought could have been designed out with appropriate glazing. The blackwater system that became too hard to maintain was of interest.

I found the building completely different to how I had pictured it but it was good to see louvres to allow appropriate heat and air movement. A bit like some of the housing features I grew up with which are not obvious in today's buildings. Congratulations to the ACF for following their convictions and I hope we can see many more buildings that can bring green design in a cost effective fashion.
After visiting the buildings I then took in a little bit of culture later with "Love Never Dies" and was completely blown away by the set design, singing and lighting. Its been sometime since I've been to one of these blockbuster musicals but they are absolutely spectacular!
So that's been my contribution to the economy. Don't expect it too regularly as the cost of various excursions can only been maintained by economies at other times.

Malcolm speaks out

Last night, a somewhat muted and weary sounding Malcolm Turnbull seemed to refute a number of criticisms of the Global Warming debate, saying "a war was being waged on scientists by "those opposed to taking action to cut emissions, many because it does not suit their own financial interests"." and that " the rejection of scientific consensus on global warming was not Liberal Party policy. "Quite the contrary," he said. "The Liberal Party's policy is to accept the scientific consensus that the globe is warming and that human greenhouse gas emissions are substantially the cause of it.""

As Malcom Turnbull's blog points out on the 21 July2011 Lateline interview: "The second point I made in the interview which has been the subject of criticism in the media is my remark that direct action would be a charge on the budget. Well, let’s be fair dinkum about this. The whole point of direct action is that abatement is funded out of the budget as opposed to being funded by an impost on emitting industries who then pass it on to their customers in higher electricity or fuel prices. In other words emitting industries do not face an uniform economic incentive to cut their emissions under direct action. Instead the Government is obliged to pay for carbon credits to offset enough of those emissions to meet the target and the Government may choose to pay particular firms to convert their operations to lower emission intensities. Either way the Government picks up the tab – that’s the whole idea."

So to those who want a "balanced view of the science" do you want to argue about banning di-hydrogen monoxide or simply want enough of it to drink! Quite often, in science, there are facts based on high probability rather than balance.

Big City Life

School holidays ended last week. So now I have been taking up to 1 hour driving to work (tuesday) and 1 hour travelling home from work (wednesday). So tiring especially since there were public transport problems as well.
Yesterday, I took the train to the city to an all-day workshop. Surprisingly both the trains and the roads were relatively clear, so both forms of transport worked well.
A bit like the Internet - excellent when working but society almost falls apart when there is either an accident or the Internet is down (or so my borrowers give me to understand)
The all day seminar was very invigorating - its amazing what a little bit of networking and new ideas does to the spirit. Its refreshing to hear information delivered by people who do not work for the product vendors. The pros and cons of various decisions are clearly enunciated. Several participants brought their iPAD's and iPhones to the meeting to take notes, but I stuck with good old pencil and notebook, as my typing is not that good whilst concentrating. And the notes from the meeting will be posted on the web.
But back to work again tomorrow - a full weekend of it. Here's hoping what I've learn't will be put into practice sometime soon, crossing fingers and hoping funding comes through for staff resources to maintain my skill level.
After all, we are the clever country, aren't we??

Carbon Tax and Me

Since the announcement of the Carbon Tax by the Prime Minister on Sunday media commentators have been asking people to call in/tweet/comment on the Tax and how it would affect their lives and families.
So how will it affect me?
My family income is above the $85,000 but nowhere near the $150,000 - $200,000. So we will get something from the household compensation package.
We have recently changed our solar-electric hot water system to a solar-gas hot water system at some cost to ourselves. We used the 2x $900 handout from the Federal Government (2 years ago) to purchase 1 KwH of Solar Electric Photovoltaic Panels and will keep an eye out for any decrease in cost/ improvement in technology to increase this if possible.
We are looking at Double Glazing part of our windows, though without any cost estimates as yet this may be delayed again.
And the triple-burn, enclosed wood fire is our main heating at night.
I am pleased there will be a $10 billion Renewable Energy fund but whether this will be aimed at the small consumer or to raise the $$ for large renewable energy research and development is not clear to me. I suspect the fund is there to benefit the latter stuff and hope Solar-Thermal and Geo-Thermal developments get going quickly to try and answer the critics regarding base-load power generation.(Note considerable rise in stock prices of some of these firms - you might have got a bit richer yesterday)
While watching Julia Gillard answering questions on Q and A, I noticed that she failed to convince many of the questioners. I wonder if the lady who asked her to simplify her answers got what she needed.
Hopefully, simplifying the conversation about the Carbon Tax doesn't lose sight of a number of scientific, moral and competitive reasons it was brought in. Many of the tweets were spot on with their comments.
I did like one of her last statements to the question " Can the Prime Minster guarantee the Carbon Price won't rise?" by Suleman Khan, NSW. Quick as a whippet she replied "Absolutely none", as she explained the whole point is for the price to rise. I would have liked more direct language like that. Download the transcript and see for yourself.
No Prime Minister can guarantee all your jobs, that interest rates will or won't rise (or decrease), that all people make the right decisions. After all we are an irrational race, especially seduced by simplified language for complex questions that require more attention than even Q and A can give.
So I urge all doubters to keep asking, keep reading and wait to see if the sky falls in from this time next year. I survived the GST (10%) price increase without bi-partisan support.
Time will tell if the price on Carbon will change both the "Big Polluters" behaviour as well as our own. So download the plan from http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/clean-energy-future/our-plan/ and read it yourself.

Carbon Tax Imminent

Sunday, the BIG day for the announcement of the "Carbon Tax" by the Federal Government. Will the announcement of the announcement as Ben Eltham reports start a blizzard of reactions before the actual announcements. Will the commercial TV channels have advertisements from every lobby group under the sun over the next few weeks to try and bring the scheme down??
Will you be watching the announcement? Will the price on Carbon, about to be announced, be what you expected or hoped?
We are being carefully primed to expect a low carbon price, a transition to a higher price (ETS) and substantial recompense to almost anyone affected. Is this Tax going to be enough for the Australian public and enough for the Prime Minister to get re-elected, as well as going down in history as the architect of a big reform?
So will this Tax be effective? History will tell, as well as the next federal election. By the way this is not a belief but something measurable & possibly scientifically based.
I'm sure a higher price for electricity won't stop me from using it to heat and cool parts of my house, but perhaps the flow of money to the renewable sector may stop the boom and bust aspects of the industry.
As a Librarian I wonder if anyone will ask about the details of the Announcement. We have occasional questions regarding a carbon tax, as well as other questions on solar power, solar hot water. Like most government announcements, reading the detail is important, though quite often highly boring.
Shall we leave to the shock jocks and media commentators?

On Holiday in the Shaky Isles

Recently I took a well earned break from work & family and flew (Air New Zealand) to the shaky isles. I was a bit worried by the difference in policy between Air New Zealand (flying under & around the ash cloud) and other airlines (not flying at all). But I arrived safely at my destination and have returned, recharged and rested. And yes I did purchase carbon credits for flying, though in NZ dollars (for tree planting over there).
I was staying with elderly relatives in the North Island and spent nearly 2 weeks without any form of computer or internet access, and much of the time without radio and TV also! I must admit to feeling considerable withdrawal symptoms without electronic information access.
While away I saw first hand some of the ongoing damage and problems occurring in Christchurch. My family member who lives there was detailing the liquefaction, subsidence and ongoing aftershocks and increasing damage to houses from these shocks.
I saw Prime Minister John Key addressing the nation from Christchurch and announcing the permanent buy back of some $5000 home in the "red zone".(see http://www.landcheck.org.nz/)
John Key also outlined the damage to the New Zealand economy (some 8 Percent of GDP) and the cost to the New Zealand government (and taxpayer) of between $485 - $635 million. A further 10,000 people are in the orange zone awaiting assessment and unknown numbers in the white zone which has been affected by more aftershocks.
After these announcements it was heartening to hear the Greens announce that negotiations about the carbon tax are going well and that perhaps an agreement will be reached in the next couple of weeks. Do we think the carbon tax will affect Australia's economy to the tune of 8% GDP like New Zealand is facing?
Many cities in NZ are now also facing a lack of ability to insure their public infrastructure as the worldwide reinsurance industry is somewhat chary of adding to its risk profiles. This reaction is quite understandable in private industry, After all they cannot afford to operate at a loss but it underscores the problems governments face (remember Premier Anna Bligh and why Queensland didn't hold flood insurance).
I wonder how the actuaries are going after the earthquakes in Japan & NZ, how their risk profiles are changing and how much possible climate change damages will affect premiums throughout the world.

Carbon Cate, Say Yes & Climate Change Rally on Sunday

Have you been following the "Say Yes" Ad featuring "Carbon Cate"? The furore of comments included the idea that rich actresses are not the kind of people that will make the ad change the minds "of the battlers" out in the electorate. Perhaps the "Working Families" are not watching the ad either, being too busy working, driving to and fro and looking after their families. There was even a suggestion on Q&A last night that those "who are doing it hard " in "Western Sydney" have spent too much on their McMansions to have anything left over for saving the environment, once they take their blankets off!

Go for it Cate, you have as  much right to comment as anyone and a much better looking face on the TV than mine would be. If the ACF and others made an advertisement with normal people like myself, who would watch it? (unless its one of those instant viral hits on YouTube). Jonathan Holmes Media Watch discussion also was a beauty and its great to see that . But having seen Prof David Karoly in action at Melbourne University it is sad to see how little the actual factual information was able to be presented.
As Jonathan Holmes commented  "And Alan Jones is accusing one of Australia's most respected scientists of being corrupted by the payment of a small retainer? The hypocrisy, and the gall, are breathtaking.
The current regulator, ACMA, tells Media Watch that today it's begun an investigation into 2GB's coverage of the climate change debate." I'll hope that produces some results but I wouldn't bet on it.

So I'll say Yes to a Carbon Tax. Even though I can be considered part of a "Working family", earning less than the $150,000 mentioned as being part of middle class welfare. Its interesting to know that 3 professional working adults still barely make it to the income level considered middle class!
So join the Climate Change March in Melbourne on Sunday - 11am outside the State Library, Melbourne and Say Yes!

Climate Commission Report

Yesterday the Climate Commission released its "The Critical Decade" report.  This updates the science on Climate Change and continues the warning that this decade is critical for actually doing something about changing our behaviour. Key message number 4 states: " This is the critical decade. Decisions we make from now to 2020 will determine the severity of climate change our children and grandchildren experience. "
John Faine, after his holiday in Turkey, commented that in Europe no one is still arguing the science but is actually trying to do something. The fairly lax standards introduced initially are being tightened and some are proposing that the European Union will impose greenhouse gas controls on products and services imported from parts of the world that lack such regulations.
So no matter what we do, others will impose their solutions on us. Whether Britain can manage a 50% cut in Carbon Emissions as reported by CoolMelbourne.org  (and others) is moot, at least it is having the moral and physical attempts at trying. Unlike us, so far.
So gird your loins and expect price changes in electricity (coming anyway with infrastructure improvements in network and transmission), fuel, food, imports etc, etc.
Just start saving and stop consuming quite so much and many of us will have money to pay for these changes.
Think global & act local.
But even if we cut CO2 emissions it won't make a lot of difference right? Favourite argument of the denial movement. Check out Skeptical Science site for the maths for this. Rational argument, detailed explanation , not 1 minute, TV/Radio, irrational sound bites help to understand these problems.
Go to your local library and any of the plethora of books and magazines on the subject. Go do something useful.

iPAD Reality Check

Sometime ago I was lusting after an iPAD (jan 2010). I could envisage lots of uses for such a device around my home, at work and generally as a mobile device instead of lugging a laptop.
Now I've got one, or should I say, my library has bought a couple of devices for staff use. Yeah!! I have been bringing it home and figuring out the pros and cons of the device.
Dealing with "the Apple Way" was the first learning point. From a person who has used PC's her whole life, the Apple Way of doing things is a little different. Downloading iTunes onto my work PC, authorising it and syncing iTunes with the iPAD was relatively easy, if somewhat counter-intuitive to 20 years of PC using.
Downloading Apps from the iStore was easy - very similar to my Android Phone.
Paying for iWorks Apps such as Pages, Keynote and Numbers has enabled the device to be used with office files but it hurts that I need to download the three apps separately. Perhaps my systems admins can use a different, networked approach?
The interface with iTunes Apps File Sharing is workable but cumbersome. However, the document I transferred from the iPAD  to the appropriate folder and then opened in Word 2007 worked like a dream. No importing problems or formatting problems so far.
So far I have avoided as much of the "cloud" as possible, for reasons to do with privacy and security, but I will have to approach that issue sooner or later.
I have downloaded eBooks, podcasts and iView programs - all good. More on eBooks later!
I have used the iPAD at a planning meeting, taking notes as the discussion evolved. I have loaded photos and used it as a photo slideshow, and I used the device in a particular Library Program.
The inbuilt camera is useful for Skype but does not have high enough resolution to use it as a camera. The size of the iPAD makes it difficult to focus as well.
I have also projected the iPAD screen onto a data projector.
The BAD part is the lack of Flash support - none of the Children's online databases subscribed to by my library work as all need Flash!
The interface is intuituve, easy to use and of course a little bit limiting.
But it is a fine piece of engineering and great to use while sitting on the couch in front of the fire!

Todays news - more killings

I find it sad that today's news is focussed on more killings.
President Obama has announced that Osama bin Laden has been killed. Retribution by the west for his launching attacks on the "free world".
A NATO bomb has also supposedly killed one of Gaddafi's son and grandsons.
And in Afghanistan a 12 year old boy has launched a suicide bomb attack killing four and injuring a dozen more.
I wonder whether the world is a safer place. I doubt whether killing Osama bin Laden will change the direction of terrorist groups.
An "eye for an eye" says the bible. But does retribution work? Does the use of force make the world a safer place or is it safer for us in the west that have money, power and weapons?
Perhaps the "powers that be" (PTB's) can reflect on the need for justice and basic living conditions for all people to combat the rise in terrorism and killing of innocents. Or are none of us innocent?
I too would use force against a perceived enemy, particularly if the enemy has killed someone close to me.

Nanny State vs Free Market: My Reading Diary

Topics of conversation and ABC reporting recently include Pauline Hansen not getting into the NSW Senate with 2% of the vote, the Clubs & Gambling people screaming against Andrew Wilkie's proposal to attempt to control problem gambling and the on-going crises in Japan with the nuclear facility at Fukushima. News that Portugal's economy needs bailing out, the rise of the Aussie $ compared to the sinking of the US $ and other financial woes including the Resource Rent Tax and Carbon Tax are simmering away sometimes making the headlines, sometimes not.
Is this symptomatic of the conflict with the "Nanny" State ie large, interventionist, regulatory Government telling the business world that they must control their behaviour to enable social needs of equality, social support, and  long-term environmental improvement? This website says yes!
Or are the forces of business - endless growth, consumerism, jobs at any cost to environment or social needs gaining the upper hand again after a brief lull with the GFC? (hands out and begging)
My reading this month has included Joseph Stiglitz "Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy", Loretta Napoleoni's" Rogue Economics", Andrew Leigh's "Disconnected", "History's Greatest Deceptions" by Eric Chaline.
As the New York Times article on Joseph Stiglitz book comments "ersatz capitalism, the privatizing of gains and the socializing of losses". 
Books can give a larger view of whats happening  than a 3 minute TV news clip, 1 page internet link or 5 minute radio interview. What do you think?

Autumn days

I love these lovely sunny days that Autumn often brings. It is quite cool in the morning but the sun streams into  my house almost all day long. I love this feature and designed the house to have appropriate shade during summer but allow the rays to penetrate at this time of year. During winter the sun streams in the family/lounge room almost to the kitchen and warms both the tiles and my spirits.
Normally, with a hot summer, I find some deciduous trees drop their leaves prematurely due to water stress. But this year the trees are only starting to drop their beautiful brown, gold and red leaves. I was in Oakleigh recently and the streets are just starting to have piles of brown leaves from some of the mature Oak Trees.
My Ginkgo tree is just turning gold and the Magnolia just browning off.
The weeds have been getting away from me but at least the main vegie garden has been dug over just waiting for the compost and organic manure to be added. Then its time to plant the winter crops of cauliflower, broccoli, asian greens, peas and broad beans. In fact I might just be a bit late!
Once this is done I'll have more time for reading all these interesting reports on climate change, carbon tax, literacy and even the odd fiction title "Time machines repaired, while u wait" by K. A. Bedford.

Blogger Dynamic Views

Blogger now has a new feature enabling you, the reader, the ability to view this blog in several formats. Tp see what I mean try one of these views:
http://greenstonegirl.blogspot.com/view/mosaic
http://greenstonegirl.blogspot.com/view/flipcard
http://greenstonegirl.blogspot.com/view/timeslide


Click on one of these and see how they go.
As my blog has quite a bit of comment and fewwer images these views may not be as attractive as the standard formats. But it is great to see what is in effect different templates from the norm.

Climate Change and Media Reporting

Good on you Media Watch!. Last night Jonathan Holmes provided a succinct and interesting take on the bias against factual reporting of Climate Change in the commercial media. He clearly laid out the bias of these radio stations and showed their lack of balance, factual veracity and general bad reporting of the topic.
I have issues with inviting many skeptics on such shows, mainly because the short time period on radio reporting cannot give even the modest amount of data needed to understand the topic (unless of course you have read multiple books, journals and other in-depth publications). Its all emotion and poor reasoning.

My scientist family generally has the ability to seek beyond the 3 min sound-bite in search of factual information. ABC The Drum also reported on bias in programs on the ABC on Climate Change last year and its take on the problem was interesting also. But as they said - "But if I were running a science show on the ABC, I might well feel that what should guide me is the science, not shifts in popular opinion"

Yes the weather is changing and so is the climate. One you can see if you look out the window (weather), the other is a long-term, mathematical construct with huge variables and specific regional variations.
I can understand radio talk back hosts not being very good with numbers as per this statement(and I quote from Media Watch)
Alan Jones: Nature produces nearly all of the carbon dioxide in the air. Human beings produce point 001 percent of the carbon dioxide in the air...— 2GB Sydney, The Alan Jones Breakfast Show, 15th March, 2011

That's one of Australia's highest rating radio hosts with a very odd figure. The fact is that almost 30% of the carbon dioxide in the air is there because of human activity in the past two hundred years - and that's thirty thousand times more than Alan Jones's point 001%"

But isn't that why we have calculators and the people able to use them??
Please a bit of humility. But I forget again - after all who's paying these people??
Follow the money!

Satellite images of Tsunami Damage

Following my previous post on why the earth is causing these large quake, I saw Dr Kerry Sieh from the Earth Observatory in Singapore discussing his research into the Asian region on ABC TV Program 7:30 special. It seems from his research that more large earthquakes are expected due to the continual movement of the Pacific (and other) plates. I quote" So the 2004 earthquake began a sequence that is now continuing through the Chilean earthquake of last year to the earthquake recently in Japan. We don't know yet whether that's going to be the end of it or whether in fact this extraordinarily robust sequence of great earthquakes will continue."
It's not called the Ring of Fire for nothing.
Sobering reading/watching.
Youtube videos of the Japanese Tsunami damage is also very sobering



Scary reading but we have to live our life to the full without unduly worrying about these uncontrollable events. At the same time hoping our regulations, governments, disaster planner and wealth can ameliorate any disasters that may yet happen.