I dropped by the Melbourne Botanic Gardens today to see the Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum. It obligingly flowered on Christmas day and the main flower is still looking good though the central spathe is wrinkled. No smell of rotting flesh fortunately and the queue to view it wasn't long.
I wonder how much longer the flower will last, but I'm pleased to have seen it in the flesh (so to speak!).
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas for 2012
Seasons Greeting to you all. I hope you have a safe and Happy Christmas .
We enjoyed our Turkey, Ham, Prawns and roast vegetables and salad outside on the patio under the shade cloth with our close family friends.
After the main meal we moved to our friends house to play a little Tennis, or in my case, try to actually hit the ball and enjoy more of the beautiful weather.
Now we are enjoying our well earned rest. Not too much eating, not too much alcohol, good friends and fine weather. Pretty good down under today!
We enjoyed our Turkey, Ham, Prawns and roast vegetables and salad outside on the patio under the shade cloth with our close family friends.
After the main meal we moved to our friends house to play a little Tennis, or in my case, try to actually hit the ball and enjoy more of the beautiful weather.
Now we are enjoying our well earned rest. Not too much eating, not too much alcohol, good friends and fine weather. Pretty good down under today!
Friday, December 21, 2012
Electricity Price hike for 2013
A 5% electricity price rise was announced by the press yesterday following the Australian Energy Regulator decision.
Reasons given include network expenditure and bushfire safety. I have seen the changing of wooden power poles to new larger concrete poles in my area which has a certain amount of natural bush and paddocks nearby, increasing the bushfire risk.
The Federal Government rebate on Solar PV systems will be reducing at the end of this year so I am hoping householders are putting their savings into getting their systems purchased and installed.
With my smart meter installed recently I am able to track how many kWh's I've generated and how many I have used. On a good fine day I can generate more than 6kWh's per day.
On my current figures I have generated 27.38% of what I have used. Not too bad for a 3.5 person household with fridges, freezer, computers and TV's. The average sized system is now 2.6 kW unlike my 1kW system. So upgrading to that level would mean most of my electricity costs (in summer at least) would be paid for by the Solar PV. An encouraging thought.
So my next hurdle is to upgrade mysystem so that I can keep up with the technology and ability to absorb the increasing costs.
Given that I am on the Victorian Premium FiT I'll bet that if I upgrade to a larger system I will be placed on the new, low FiT. This, plus the reducing rebate, means the payback period for the system will need recalculating. If the period is greater than 8-10 years, many people will find it unattractive to install Solar PV even though they know the environmental benefits are great.
I agree with reducing the rebate down to almost nothing as the Solar Industry needs to stand on its own feet and not be knocked by the hot and cold winds of Governments, State or Federal. So yesterday's release of the Renewable Energy Target Final Report will be on my Christmas reading list. But here is the response from the Clean Energy Council.
So the challenge to all people and our Governments - how to design a system which takes into account the true environment costs not just the flawed, manipulated economic system we are chained to.
Reasons given include network expenditure and bushfire safety. I have seen the changing of wooden power poles to new larger concrete poles in my area which has a certain amount of natural bush and paddocks nearby, increasing the bushfire risk.
The Federal Government rebate on Solar PV systems will be reducing at the end of this year so I am hoping householders are putting their savings into getting their systems purchased and installed.
With my smart meter installed recently I am able to track how many kWh's I've generated and how many I have used. On a good fine day I can generate more than 6kWh's per day.
On my current figures I have generated 27.38% of what I have used. Not too bad for a 3.5 person household with fridges, freezer, computers and TV's. The average sized system is now 2.6 kW unlike my 1kW system. So upgrading to that level would mean most of my electricity costs (in summer at least) would be paid for by the Solar PV. An encouraging thought.
So my next hurdle is to upgrade mysystem so that I can keep up with the technology and ability to absorb the increasing costs.
Given that I am on the Victorian Premium FiT I'll bet that if I upgrade to a larger system I will be placed on the new, low FiT. This, plus the reducing rebate, means the payback period for the system will need recalculating. If the period is greater than 8-10 years, many people will find it unattractive to install Solar PV even though they know the environmental benefits are great.
I agree with reducing the rebate down to almost nothing as the Solar Industry needs to stand on its own feet and not be knocked by the hot and cold winds of Governments, State or Federal. So yesterday's release of the Renewable Energy Target Final Report will be on my Christmas reading list. But here is the response from the Clean Energy Council.
So the challenge to all people and our Governments - how to design a system which takes into account the true environment costs not just the flawed, manipulated economic system we are chained to.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Queensland water tanks and solar hot water
Yesterday's Financial Review newspaper alerted me to yet another Queensland State Government anti-environment decision. That of dismantling previous Labor government policy in regard to installation of water tanks and solar hot water heaters (pg 11).
It seems the poor people of Queensland will not now be obliged to install these environmental saving devices when building new homes. Unlike in Victoria where a 6 Star Energy Rating is applied to all new homes and extensions, including a requirement for solar water system or rainwater tank.
Queensland customers can now choose!
Solarhart advertises the previous building requirements as such "Under the Standard Building Regulations (SBR) sustainability measures have been introduced which are expected to reduce energy use in new houses by 33 percent and reduce water use by up to 36 percent. "
So a saving of approx $5000 when building a house (in Queensland) can mean the loss of several 10's of years free hot-water and rain water, as well as the opportunity to improve our building stock. In one of the sunniest and water poor nations on our groaning planet.
Such is the power of choice.
Of course this change assumes that by enabling free choice the individuals concerned know enough to choose. Not necessarily a given in my humble opinion. Or that the $5000 saved can be retrofitted later. It will be interesting to see how much Queensland will lag in numbers fitting these devices in a few years time.
Perhaps the Queensland State Government will remove the requirement for other regulations that have been introduced for "the common good" and continue to back business interests. Makes my reading of Joseph Stiglitz' book "the Price of Inequality" even more relevant.
It seems the poor people of Queensland will not now be obliged to install these environmental saving devices when building new homes. Unlike in Victoria where a 6 Star Energy Rating is applied to all new homes and extensions, including a requirement for solar water system or rainwater tank.
Queensland customers can now choose!
Solarhart advertises the previous building requirements as such "Under the Standard Building Regulations (SBR) sustainability measures have been introduced which are expected to reduce energy use in new houses by 33 percent and reduce water use by up to 36 percent. "
So a saving of approx $5000 when building a house (in Queensland) can mean the loss of several 10's of years free hot-water and rain water, as well as the opportunity to improve our building stock. In one of the sunniest and water poor nations on our groaning planet.
Such is the power of choice.
Of course this change assumes that by enabling free choice the individuals concerned know enough to choose. Not necessarily a given in my humble opinion. Or that the $5000 saved can be retrofitted later. It will be interesting to see how much Queensland will lag in numbers fitting these devices in a few years time.
Perhaps the Queensland State Government will remove the requirement for other regulations that have been introduced for "the common good" and continue to back business interests. Makes my reading of Joseph Stiglitz' book "the Price of Inequality" even more relevant.
Confused Electricity Price Signals
While Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced that she is going to help Australians save up to $250 dollars in Electricity bills (ha ha), the Queensland State Gvernment released its "Estimating a Fair and Reasonable Solar Feed-In Tariff for Queensland" draft report.
Both Julia's announcement and the draft Queensland report hold out little hope that small solar households will get any real reforms.
Crikey reports that 5 steps are needed to reform the energy market:
Crikey's first step Cost Reflective-Time and location variable charges talks about the need to accurately reflect costs at peak times. Crikey's report also indicates "existing electricity generators pay absolutely no fees for use of the network that delivers their electricity to customers’ doors. In combination with subsidies for rural consumers this distorts locational decisions around where to put these generators:"
Other comments including "state-government-owned networks have a very strong incentive to undertake more expenditure than necessary to maintain a reliable electricity supply"
This is interesting as the Queensland report talks about avoided network costs by PV customers - "The electricity distribution business is currently liable to pay the amount of the feed-in tariff which is then credited to the PV customer by the retailer" (p3). As distribution network charges are regulated , the costs incurred by the distribution business in funding the current Scheme (PV) are recovered through higher network charges for all customers"
Does that sound like the Electricity Distributors in Queensland are annoyed at subsidizing PV customers for generating electricity and using it without having the network charges levied? Even though the PV customers are doing what good citizens everywhere do, try to regulate their actions to reduce their own charges, including that of not needing so much network charges?
So it looks like the Queensland PV customers will be charged more for having avoided network costs plus have a reduced Feed-In Tariff, thus making sure the nascent PV industry will struggle to attract more customers. Thus allowing heavy users preference for using more electricity!
Crikey also reports "Network businesses are allowed to recover all their direct costs plus a margin thought to be necessary to raise finance from equity and debt markets." Looks like they also don't like a little local competition by cost effective PV units either.
Big corporations regulated by State Governments punishing little people for investing in local generation in this fashion will be a sure way to encourage a backlash. At least I hope so. The Conversation's Andrew Blakers article "Set reasonable PV feed-in-tariffs or expect perverse outcomes"also points out these issues.
I'm no expert, but having invested my $$ in doing something good for me and the environment, I will be quite peeved to see big business knocking back my initiative.
Just as well I'm not living in Queensland.
Both Julia's announcement and the draft Queensland report hold out little hope that small solar households will get any real reforms.
Crikey reports that 5 steps are needed to reform the energy market:
Crikey's first step Cost Reflective-Time and location variable charges talks about the need to accurately reflect costs at peak times. Crikey's report also indicates "existing electricity generators pay absolutely no fees for use of the network that delivers their electricity to customers’ doors. In combination with subsidies for rural consumers this distorts locational decisions around where to put these generators:"
Other comments including "state-government-owned networks have a very strong incentive to undertake more expenditure than necessary to maintain a reliable electricity supply"
This is interesting as the Queensland report talks about avoided network costs by PV customers - "The electricity distribution business is currently liable to pay the amount of the feed-in tariff which is then credited to the PV customer by the retailer" (p3). As distribution network charges are regulated , the costs incurred by the distribution business in funding the current Scheme (PV) are recovered through higher network charges for all customers"
Does that sound like the Electricity Distributors in Queensland are annoyed at subsidizing PV customers for generating electricity and using it without having the network charges levied? Even though the PV customers are doing what good citizens everywhere do, try to regulate their actions to reduce their own charges, including that of not needing so much network charges?
So it looks like the Queensland PV customers will be charged more for having avoided network costs plus have a reduced Feed-In Tariff, thus making sure the nascent PV industry will struggle to attract more customers. Thus allowing heavy users preference for using more electricity!
Crikey also reports "Network businesses are allowed to recover all their direct costs plus a margin thought to be necessary to raise finance from equity and debt markets." Looks like they also don't like a little local competition by cost effective PV units either.
Big corporations regulated by State Governments punishing little people for investing in local generation in this fashion will be a sure way to encourage a backlash. At least I hope so. The Conversation's Andrew Blakers article "Set reasonable PV feed-in-tariffs or expect perverse outcomes"also points out these issues.
I'm no expert, but having invested my $$ in doing something good for me and the environment, I will be quite peeved to see big business knocking back my initiative.
Just as well I'm not living in Queensland.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Why Poverty?
Congratulations to ABC TV 2 for showing, this week, 5 documentaries about poverty. I'll watch the next two tonight and tomorrow @ 9:30pm.
For more see the WhyPoverty.net website.
November Heat
While the media have been busily reporting the increasing certainty, in the scientific community, of the earth warming beyond the targeted 2 degrees C, the delegates from the current DOHA COP-18 meeting have been handing out Fossil Awards.
New Zealand, USA, Canada & Japan all "won" first prize for not having binding targets. So much for waiting for binding International agreements!
The Euro Zone was applauded for reaching its Kyoto targets 10 years early but reproached for not setting further targets.
The Euro-zone is deep in recession meaning industrial output, thus emissions are not rising. This is probably a major reason why the Euro-zone has reached its Kyoto emission target.
Social cohesion and the maintenance of a civil society is not a given with huge numbers of unemployed. For more see the Youth Climate.org website
Lets hope that the change to clean technology does not require the pain and waste of human lives as is being demonstrated by other countries, notably the so called "Arab Spring" countries and poverty-stricken failed states in Asia and Africa.
Meanwhile my Smart Meter has yet to appear, I'm generating more than 6kWh per day from my 1 kW Photovoltaic system.
Today Melbourne's expected temperature is 38 degrees C - 100 degrees F. If we get higher than that we will be getting close to a record breaking November temperature. Not a good start to the summer season.
New Zealand, USA, Canada & Japan all "won" first prize for not having binding targets. So much for waiting for binding International agreements!
The Euro Zone was applauded for reaching its Kyoto targets 10 years early but reproached for not setting further targets.
The Euro-zone is deep in recession meaning industrial output, thus emissions are not rising. This is probably a major reason why the Euro-zone has reached its Kyoto emission target.
Social cohesion and the maintenance of a civil society is not a given with huge numbers of unemployed. For more see the Youth Climate.org website
Lets hope that the change to clean technology does not require the pain and waste of human lives as is being demonstrated by other countries, notably the so called "Arab Spring" countries and poverty-stricken failed states in Asia and Africa.
Meanwhile my Smart Meter has yet to appear, I'm generating more than 6kWh per day from my 1 kW Photovoltaic system.
Today Melbourne's expected temperature is 38 degrees C - 100 degrees F. If we get higher than that we will be getting close to a record breaking November temperature. Not a good start to the summer season.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Victoria's Smart Meter Installation
Recently I received notification from my Electricity Supplier that I am to get a new Smart Meter as per the Victorian Government's program. I received a similar letter a year ago, before the government reviewed the project, thus putting it on hold.
As I already have a Solar Feed-in meter, installed 3 years ago with my Solar PV system I wondered if I needed to have it changed.
But my provider said yes it had to be changed to a iCredit 500 Meter. As the DPI says -"Smart Meters will continue to be rolled out across Melbourne and Victoria. These modern digital meters will replace the old electricity metering technology.
Electricity distributors will install a Smart Meter at every home and small business in Victoria by the end of 2013."
A quick search on Whirlpool Forums did nothing to inspire confidence in the process but on scrolling down the posts I came across more interesting ones, indicating the Feed In ability needs to be reprogrammed after installation and may even be done remotely. So I'll just have to keep checking the electricity meter and keep an eye on the Billing again. Just in the middle of summer when I'm actually feeding in electricity.
Friday, November 23, 2012
ATA, PV and electricity.
As I sit at home reading various articles on Climate Change, environment and other matters of interest, I am aware of my Solar Panels gently feeding in electricity to the grid. The sun is shining and only I am at home, with most appliances turned off.
However, an email from the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) has got me wondering how much more tinkering our various authorities will do to water down recent "green" lifestyle initiatives.
ATA believes that no further changes should be made to the Small-scale Renewable Energy market given the recent reduction in the solar multiplier. The ATA thinks the current market design is appropriate, a clear message they are sending to the Climate Change Authority (CCA) as it reviews the Renewable Energy Target. The CCA have been considering further cuts and tweaks to the small market as part of its review. ATA talks about PV generation as follows:
“At the end of the day, we are talking about a technology, given its time of generation, that actually reduces wholesale electricity prices for all other consumers. This is something that as a nation we should be encouraging as much as possible,” says the ATA’s Energy Policy Manager Damien Moyse.
The recent Federal Government’s decision adds $700 to $1000 to the cost of an average solar system, thereby making it harder for those households and small business to use solar PV to manage their ever-increasing electricity bills.
The Climate Change Authority has been considering extremely punitive and almost unworkable measures to further reduce the size of the small renewables market – despite the fact that this market increases costs for electricity consumers by less than 1% of average bills, after all costs and benefits are taken into account.”
Hopefully, the authority will listen but recent experience warns me they won't. Please let social justice and green initiatives continue. We, the people want to be able to manage our bills as effectively as possible.
PS: definition of Negawatts : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negawatt_power
I rather like the idea of this
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 22nd, 2012 at 12:53 pm
However, an email from the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) has got me wondering how much more tinkering our various authorities will do to water down recent "green" lifestyle initiatives.
ATA believes that no further changes should be made to the Small-scale Renewable Energy market given the recent reduction in the solar multiplier. The ATA thinks the current market design is appropriate, a clear message they are sending to the Climate Change Authority (CCA) as it reviews the Renewable Energy Target. The CCA have been considering further cuts and tweaks to the small market as part of its review. ATA talks about PV generation as follows:
“At the end of the day, we are talking about a technology, given its time of generation, that actually reduces wholesale electricity prices for all other consumers. This is something that as a nation we should be encouraging as much as possible,” says the ATA’s Energy Policy Manager Damien Moyse.
The recent Federal Government’s decision adds $700 to $1000 to the cost of an average solar system, thereby making it harder for those households and small business to use solar PV to manage their ever-increasing electricity bills.
The Climate Change Authority has been considering extremely punitive and almost unworkable measures to further reduce the size of the small renewables market – despite the fact that this market increases costs for electricity consumers by less than 1% of average bills, after all costs and benefits are taken into account.”
Hopefully, the authority will listen but recent experience warns me they won't. Please let social justice and green initiatives continue. We, the people want to be able to manage our bills as effectively as possible.
PS: definition of Negawatts : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negawatt_power
I rather like the idea of this
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 22nd, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
World Bank Now Worried
The Bean counters at the World Bank must now be worried after commissioning a report from the Potsdam
Climate Change Institute. Entitled Turn Down the Heat shows that the business as usual attitude, which
While 4 degrees doesn't sound much, this will be an average increase, meaning significant rises elsewhere in the world. Of particular worry in this scenario is heat waves, reduction in food production and rises in sea level.
So I do wish I had had enough money to buy a Hybrid Vehicle. Its on my long-term plans (which are going awry at the moment). Transport makes up 14% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions and as a suburbanite I need to drive to get anywhere in this sprawling metropolis of Melbourne.
I was heartened a bit by Heather Ridout on ABC TV's Q&A program stating, that for the first time, over the last 12 months, Australia's emissions are going down, while economic growth continues to rise. She attributed this to the Renewable Energy Targets mandated by State and Federal Governments. Targets which are indeed under attack.(ABC TV attributes the statement to Tony Jones, but its transcript is wrong I think)
So here's to more emission reduction and less to the hot air produced by the politicians also on display on QandA. Meanwhile, I'll have a beer to recover from another warm Aussie Spring Day.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Taking Australia's Temperature and Fact Checking
Did you watch ABC TV's "Catalyst" program last Thursday? A quick overview of rises in temperature, sea level, and changes in rainfall. All in a simple, appealing package. If you watched it, did this program change your mind? The understated sub-text is Climate Change of course. Watch it at the Catalyst website.
If it didn't change your mind, you are in good company according to Radio National Future Tense Fact and Fiction, broadcasting now, Sunday 18 November.
Scientists have been measuring and dissecting our reactions to facts, challenges to held opinions and values. It's not surprising to find that we find it very hard to change our minds as our emotions kick in and find it too challenging for the ego.
I've been reading several papers on this recently, sent via a friend with greater access to the scientific databases than I have. It's even more interesting that we also grossly overestimate the number of people who agree with our opinions as well as overestimating those who totally disagree, according to a paper published in Nature Climate Change on 11 Nov 2012.
"Your opinion on climate change might not be as common as you think" . They state"people with high false consensus bias are less likely to change their opinions."Read and enjoy the authors opinion on the media.
If it didn't change your mind, you are in good company according to Radio National Future Tense Fact and Fiction, broadcasting now, Sunday 18 November.
Scientists have been measuring and dissecting our reactions to facts, challenges to held opinions and values. It's not surprising to find that we find it very hard to change our minds as our emotions kick in and find it too challenging for the ego.
I've been reading several papers on this recently, sent via a friend with greater access to the scientific databases than I have. It's even more interesting that we also grossly overestimate the number of people who agree with our opinions as well as overestimating those who totally disagree, according to a paper published in Nature Climate Change on 11 Nov 2012.
"Your opinion on climate change might not be as common as you think" . They state"people with high false consensus bias are less likely to change their opinions."Read and enjoy the authors opinion on the media.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Cars & Climate
Just as Australia has released its Energy White Paper, confirming that its natural resources of coal, oil, gas and uranium will be dug up and shipped overseas, no matter what anyone has to say on climate change, my car, that essential machine of pollution, greenhouse gas generation and freedom in modern city life has stopped.
It just won't go and the local mechanics are calling in THE SPECIALIST!
(But before I rant on, a big thank-you to G and J from RACV Roadside Assistance- fast and friendly service indeed.)
Just when I've moved library branches there is no way to get from my house to work via the one train line. In fact the Public Transport Victoria Journey Planner tells me it will take 2 hrs and 8 minutes to get to work on public transport - walk, then bus to train station, then off the train to another bus, then walk to the next train station, then take that to my workplace (which is right next to another train station).
So much for Melbourne's radial transport network!
So I'll have to catch a lift to work tomorrow and being a night shift, it will entail lots of phaffing around.
So while I am waiting for a new,green, electric car to commute in, I will probably have to buy a newer petrol car. The old one, is sounding suspiciously like a goner!
The new electric cars cost >$50,000. Hybrid Camry's and Honda Civic's >$30,000 which is more than this poor public servant lady can afford at this moment in time. (Or wants to spend given other looming commitments).
So while I'm grounded I may as well read part of this blasted White Paper. The Conversation web site featured an article "Energy White Paper plans to burn, burn, burn it all" by Chris McGrath who is also disgusted in this outcome.
(But before I rant on, a big thank-you to G and J from RACV Roadside Assistance- fast and friendly service indeed.)
Just when I've moved library branches there is no way to get from my house to work via the one train line. In fact the Public Transport Victoria Journey Planner tells me it will take 2 hrs and 8 minutes to get to work on public transport - walk, then bus to train station, then off the train to another bus, then walk to the next train station, then take that to my workplace (which is right next to another train station).
So much for Melbourne's radial transport network!
So I'll have to catch a lift to work tomorrow and being a night shift, it will entail lots of phaffing around.
So while I am waiting for a new,green, electric car to commute in, I will probably have to buy a newer petrol car. The old one, is sounding suspiciously like a goner!
The new electric cars cost >$50,000. Hybrid Camry's and Honda Civic's >$30,000 which is more than this poor public servant lady can afford at this moment in time. (Or wants to spend given other looming commitments).
So while I'm grounded I may as well read part of this blasted White Paper. The Conversation web site featured an article "Energy White Paper plans to burn, burn, burn it all" by Chris McGrath who is also disgusted in this outcome.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Hurricane Sandy
I heard that the Public Libraries are closed in New York and perhaps other cities nearby (meagpolis as it was called by one US commentator), so at least all the US Law Books are safe.
The Day After Tomorrow is favourite watching in our house, despite its many flaws - nothing like a heroic dad and resilient youngsters triumphing over man-made & nature's adversity!
I came across an article earlier this year regarding the increasing frequency of extreme events and links to Climate Change - "Explaining Extreme Events of 2011 from a Climate Perspective" by Peterson, Stott & Herring. This article clearly explains that not all extreme events can be linked to climate change but some are.
Hopefully the current Hurricane Sandy doesn't cause extreme harm to people and property unlike Hurricane Katrina. Or the scientist & meterologists involved don't get jailed like the Italian Earthquake Scientists unless it can be shown they were negligent.
So good luck everyone and I hope you don't have to experience the dislocation and destruction of your homes and lives like the Pakistani flood victims, Haiti earthquake survivors and Bangladeshi peasants when their delta floods regularly. The US is in enough debt as it is.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Catalyst: Information Overload - ABC TV Science
Catalyst: Information Overload - ABC TV Science
All this information technology is making us shallow thinkers. Great show Catalyst.
But wait, I need to check something on my iPad.
Be back soon.
All this information technology is making us shallow thinkers. Great show Catalyst.
But wait, I need to check something on my iPad.
Be back soon.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Rainfall & Barrier Reef - Our Great Southern Land
Two reports caught my eye recently.
The first - Decline of the Great Barrier Reef - "The 27–year decline of coral cover on the
Great Barrier Reef and its causes" in http://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Full-PNAS-paper-for-publication.pdf . This outlines the factors leading to the decline in corals in our major tourist attraction.
The second, 3 October 2012 publication of "Rainfall reductions over Southern Hemisphere semi-arid regions: the role of subtropical dry zone expansion" by Wenju Cai, Tim Cowan & Marcus Thatcher in Scientific Reports 2, Article number 702.
Our dam water storage capacity is now 80% (up from 20% a couple of years ago) following a couple of years of above average rain. So I wonder how many people, farmers included will give this last study more than a cursory look. This illustrates the difference between how the general public and scientists do their thinking. A good scientist has their biases and weakness as anyone, but they do have access to equipment that enables quantitative research and do not necessarily reject data that doesn't fit their hypotheses or seems counter intuitive.
So in spite of the last few good, wet years they postulate the Australian sub-tropic zone is moving southwards and that the rain used by farmers to grow winter wheat may be less reliable.
Meanwhile ABC TV screened a visually stunning series "Great Southern Land" where presenter Professor Stephen Simpson toured the country using unique data visualisations and a variety of kite like flying machines! These visualisations give a great view of the flow of information, data, transport and products into our cities. The complexity, interconnectedness and volumes are astounding and we are only a little country. If you haven't seen this series I would highly recommend it!
No wonder we are having such effects on the Barrier Reef and climate. Do we have a hope of changing this to something that will allow us to live here as long as the Aboriginal people's?
The first - Decline of the Great Barrier Reef - "The 27–year decline of coral cover on the
Great Barrier Reef and its causes" in http://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Full-PNAS-paper-for-publication.pdf . This outlines the factors leading to the decline in corals in our major tourist attraction.
The second, 3 October 2012 publication of "Rainfall reductions over Southern Hemisphere semi-arid regions: the role of subtropical dry zone expansion" by Wenju Cai, Tim Cowan & Marcus Thatcher in Scientific Reports 2, Article number 702.
Our dam water storage capacity is now 80% (up from 20% a couple of years ago) following a couple of years of above average rain. So I wonder how many people, farmers included will give this last study more than a cursory look. This illustrates the difference between how the general public and scientists do their thinking. A good scientist has their biases and weakness as anyone, but they do have access to equipment that enables quantitative research and do not necessarily reject data that doesn't fit their hypotheses or seems counter intuitive.
So in spite of the last few good, wet years they postulate the Australian sub-tropic zone is moving southwards and that the rain used by farmers to grow winter wheat may be less reliable.
No wonder we are having such effects on the Barrier Reef and climate. Do we have a hope of changing this to something that will allow us to live here as long as the Aboriginal people's?
Monday, October 1, 2012
Slavery &"Power from the People"
I received the "Power from the People: Summary Report July 2012" the other day following the announcement of the reduction of Feed-In-Tariffs (FiT's)to the wholesale price of 8-10c.
It makes interesting reading particularly when you compare the Choice Magazine article on Payback times for purchased Solar PV systems (27 Sep 2011).
As a personal Choice Magazine subscriber and a librarian I have hoped that Choice will revisit this article regularly to see what changes over time.
I would particularly like to see this soon, factoring in more recent cuts to PV system costs, the reduction in the various incentives (REC's, STA's) and the cut-back of FiT's, and the increase in electricity prices from the Carbon Tax. (By the way an interesting article in The Financial Review (Sat 29 Sept 2012) on the various increases over each state of Australia)
This highlights one of the pitfalls of government intervention - always changing the rules as the money goes out of the budget. Of course, one of the reasons for government intervention is to encourage innovation, which reminds me of the recent Science Show.
As Lord John Kreb's (on Radio National's Science Show 15 September 2012) said: " Yes, one argument would be this is not the time to introduce more regulations when the economy is in a poor state, business is saying we need deregulation to grow faster to get back on our feet. The counter view is that regulation can drive innovation."
and " this reminds me of what happened when legislation came forward for the abolition of slavery. Business said, 'But we need slaves, if you abolish slavery you'll hamstring British industry, you'll destroy our competitiveness.' What happened was when slavery was abolished, innovation kicked in and jobs that were done by human hands in slavery were done by machines."
So various governments and business beware - innovate and look after your people, encourage appropriate payback times for small investors and they will look after their businesses.
It makes interesting reading particularly when you compare the Choice Magazine article on Payback times for purchased Solar PV systems (27 Sep 2011).
As a personal Choice Magazine subscriber and a librarian I have hoped that Choice will revisit this article regularly to see what changes over time.
I would particularly like to see this soon, factoring in more recent cuts to PV system costs, the reduction in the various incentives (REC's, STA's) and the cut-back of FiT's, and the increase in electricity prices from the Carbon Tax. (By the way an interesting article in The Financial Review (Sat 29 Sept 2012) on the various increases over each state of Australia)
This highlights one of the pitfalls of government intervention - always changing the rules as the money goes out of the budget. Of course, one of the reasons for government intervention is to encourage innovation, which reminds me of the recent Science Show.
As Lord John Kreb's (on Radio National's Science Show 15 September 2012) said: " Yes, one argument would be this is not the time to introduce more regulations when the economy is in a poor state, business is saying we need deregulation to grow faster to get back on our feet. The counter view is that regulation can drive innovation."
and " this reminds me of what happened when legislation came forward for the abolition of slavery. Business said, 'But we need slaves, if you abolish slavery you'll hamstring British industry, you'll destroy our competitiveness.' What happened was when slavery was abolished, innovation kicked in and jobs that were done by human hands in slavery were done by machines."
So various governments and business beware - innovate and look after your people, encourage appropriate payback times for small investors and they will look after their businesses.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Winter Power Bill
I received my winter power bill recently so have spent the afternoon comparing the bill.
Daily Usage:
1.4 kwH per day greater usage in 2012. This is where I need to see if I can increase the amount of insulation and reduce heat loss. Most of this increase is due to having someone at home all day needing electricity, whereas I had hoped to reduce usage with all children off at work during the week.
Difference in cost: $99.09 extra this year
Tariffs - Peak (2011) - 28.73 c/kWh :
2012 before Carbon Tax - 30.34 c/kWh
2012 after Carbon Tax- 34.62c/kWh
-Off-Peak (2011) - 10.89 c/kWh
2012 before Carbon Tax -11.50 c/kWh
2012 after Carbon Tax-13.12 c/kWh
Adjusting for slightly different number of days (95 days in 2011 and 89 in 2012)
gives $ amount increase of $92.15 for the equivalent number of days (89).
70% of the price increase is the carbon tax, the rest the increase prior. Its a quite a bit more than what the government had suggested - 15% instead of 10%. Is it all due to the Carbon Tax or also other price rises by the electricity company (profiteering??). Carbon Tax seems to be affecting the off-peak rate a bit more (17%) which is interesting.
The amount we contributed to the grid is a little less this year - either more cloudy or greater usage than last year.
So the increase with the Carbon Tax is about the same as the increase that has been occurring almost yearly the last 3-4 years. While increases in costs are not welcome, in my case the % cost that electricity makes to my bills versus my& my partners net income is approx 1.8%.
Verdict -Not the end of existence as we know it!
Daily Usage:
1.4 kwH per day greater usage in 2012. This is where I need to see if I can increase the amount of insulation and reduce heat loss. Most of this increase is due to having someone at home all day needing electricity, whereas I had hoped to reduce usage with all children off at work during the week.
Difference in cost: $99.09 extra this year
Tariffs - Peak (2011) - 28.73 c/kWh :
2012 before Carbon Tax - 30.34 c/kWh
2012 after Carbon Tax- 34.62c/kWh
-Off-Peak (2011) - 10.89 c/kWh
2012 before Carbon Tax -11.50 c/kWh
2012 after Carbon Tax-13.12 c/kWh
Adjusting for slightly different number of days (95 days in 2011 and 89 in 2012)
gives $ amount increase of $92.15 for the equivalent number of days (89).
70% of the price increase is the carbon tax, the rest the increase prior. Its a quite a bit more than what the government had suggested - 15% instead of 10%. Is it all due to the Carbon Tax or also other price rises by the electricity company (profiteering??). Carbon Tax seems to be affecting the off-peak rate a bit more (17%) which is interesting.
The amount we contributed to the grid is a little less this year - either more cloudy or greater usage than last year.
So the increase with the Carbon Tax is about the same as the increase that has been occurring almost yearly the last 3-4 years. While increases in costs are not welcome, in my case the % cost that electricity makes to my bills versus my& my partners net income is approx 1.8%.
Verdict -Not the end of existence as we know it!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Victorian Feed-in-Tariff and Coal Fired Power Stations
The war between renewable technologies such as Solar Power (PV) and the dirty, polluting brown coal power stations boiled over recently. The Victorian State Government has completed its review of "Power from the People" and announced the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for household solar power will be reduced to the wholesale electricity rate of 8c. See more information at http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/energy/environment-and-community/feed-in-tariffs.
I will be very interested to see what the effect this will have on the uptake of Solar PV in Victoria. The argument of the state government that the changes to a lower FiT enables both equity to all Victorian's and encourages investment in larger systems is nonsense.
Householders who own their roofs and have a solar system feeding in electricity to the grid are directly leading to reduced peak electricity costs ( "Who's afraid of solar PV - The Conversation) and reducing the need for costly new power stations, thus saving $$ for those renting or otherwise unable to generate their own power. As Environment Victoria says on its website "Importantly the feed-in tariff in Germany has actually led to lower wholesale electricity prices as it has reduced peak power demands."
Householders who install a PV system and generate electricity to feed in to the grid are positively discriminated from installing bigger systems - who would make that extra investment when the extra power fed back is not earning the same as the amount used inside the house itself?
To me this is another example of big,established, polluting businesses having more "power" over governments than we, the citizens! Exactly what is expected of a Liberal Party & their business at all cost ideology.
At the same time the Federal Government has broken off negotiating with owners of the oldest and dirtiest brown coal power stations in Victoria, such as Hazelwood, and elsewhere. Initially the Federal government was going to buy off these stations to close them. However, no agreement could be negotiated. The Age is scathing in its analysis saying "According to Frontier Economics, it means the generators are between $400 million and $1 billion better off than if there was no carbon tax"., So is the ABC.
Meaning of course that these stations had already negotiated unfair compensation with the carbon tax and would have got more if they were closed early. So although this decision has saved us, the taxpayer money, the Federal Government has again shot itself in the foot with its voter base!
I will be very interested to see what the effect this will have on the uptake of Solar PV in Victoria. The argument of the state government that the changes to a lower FiT enables both equity to all Victorian's and encourages investment in larger systems is nonsense.
Householders who own their roofs and have a solar system feeding in electricity to the grid are directly leading to reduced peak electricity costs ( "Who's afraid of solar PV - The Conversation) and reducing the need for costly new power stations, thus saving $$ for those renting or otherwise unable to generate their own power. As Environment Victoria says on its website "Importantly the feed-in tariff in Germany has actually led to lower wholesale electricity prices as it has reduced peak power demands."
Householders who install a PV system and generate electricity to feed in to the grid are positively discriminated from installing bigger systems - who would make that extra investment when the extra power fed back is not earning the same as the amount used inside the house itself?
To me this is another example of big,established, polluting businesses having more "power" over governments than we, the citizens! Exactly what is expected of a Liberal Party & their business at all cost ideology.
At the same time the Federal Government has broken off negotiating with owners of the oldest and dirtiest brown coal power stations in Victoria, such as Hazelwood, and elsewhere. Initially the Federal government was going to buy off these stations to close them. However, no agreement could be negotiated. The Age is scathing in its analysis saying "According to Frontier Economics, it means the generators are between $400 million and $1 billion better off than if there was no carbon tax"., So is the ABC.
Meaning of course that these stations had already negotiated unfair compensation with the carbon tax and would have got more if they were closed early. So although this decision has saved us, the taxpayer money, the Federal Government has again shot itself in the foot with its voter base!
So Australia will have 2 choices the next Federal election - a running scared, changeable Labor Party which is scared of the Greens, the companies, the Liberal Party and a "lets give everything to business" Liberal Party who will "levy" the people to pay for carbon reduction incentives by big business.
So there is no choice at all!!!!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Springtime
The last week has really started to feel spring-like. As I drove to work yesterday I stopped to let a mother duck and nine ducklings cross the road. The ducklings were so cute but I did wonder what they were doing up the hill at 8 oclock in the morning. Given that the ponds they live in are down the hill!
But here are some photos from my garden. Just to give the spirits a lift!
But here are some photos from my garden. Just to give the spirits a lift!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Electricity Market and "The Conversation"
Several articles by Mike Sandiford,
Director, Melbourne Energy Institute at University of Melbourne and The Conversation contributor have caught my eye recently. Researchers have access to a wide variety of statistics and information sources us regular people don't have. As a Librarian I know its out there, all this information, but don't have the time and expertise to follow. So I find these graphs really interesting.
Mike's recent post "Who's afraid of Solar PV' on The conversation, 21 August 2012 filled in more about the effect solar PV is having on the electricity market and I enjoyed the "Death Spiral" analogy. Here is one of his graphs- showing the effect solar PV is having on demand of electricity in South Australia by time of day
.
It shows that the enormous uptake of solar PV is having an effect on the delivery of power, particularly in the middle of the day as would be expected. That is has reduced the " peak hourly revenues by almost 90% between 2007-09 and 2011-12, contributing to a 30% decline in the annual wholesale revenue."
So who's afraid of solar PV! The whole current setup of electricity generation particularly by coal fired power stations. Thus paving the way for new investment and cleaner investment - power from the people in more ways than one.
However, what do we do for those who cannot afford solar PV or those who don't have roof-space? Geo-thermal?, Wind energy or ??
Mike's recent post "Who's afraid of Solar PV' on The conversation, 21 August 2012 filled in more about the effect solar PV is having on the electricity market and I enjoyed the "Death Spiral" analogy. Here is one of his graphs- showing the effect solar PV is having on demand of electricity in South Australia by time of day
|
| Average demand for mains electricity in South Australia as a function of hour of day. Red line is the average for the two financial years from July 2007 to June 2009. Blue line is for financial year 2011-12. Left panel shows absolute demand, right pane shows demand changes referenced to 2007-09 averages as a percentage. Data from AEMO, figure by Mike Sandiford |
So who's afraid of solar PV! The whole current setup of electricity generation particularly by coal fired power stations. Thus paving the way for new investment and cleaner investment - power from the people in more ways than one.
However, what do we do for those who cannot afford solar PV or those who don't have roof-space? Geo-thermal?, Wind energy or ??
Friday, August 17, 2012
Carbon Tax Bills and Ocean Health
I received my yearly rate bill yesterday. The Council rates have increased by some $120 since last year reflecting a number of things, including the Carbon Tax. The bill states "The Carbon Tax is $25.00 on average per assessment".
So the rest of the increase must be due to other factors such as a need for more money by council to pay its staff, and/or to pay its legal bills (perhaps knowing this council) and/or increase in property values (very probable in Melbourne) and/or other factors beyond my knowledge. I'll have to see if I can read council's budget to see why.
I am awaiting my winter power bill to see the effect of the Carbon Tax on that. The increase will be exaggerated by the fact an elderly relative has landed in my house and needs to be kept warm all day. This increase in power has been offset by my youngest child getting a job and partner, which means he is more often not at home!
Meanwhile the CSIRO has released its latest report on the warming of the Ocean- tropical fish found as far south as Tasmania! You may like a 1 degree warming, but its a further indication of how quickly things are changing. This follows northern hemisphere reports (yet again) on the reducing level of Arctic Sea Ice.
So tell me, is it worth paying an extra few dollars, on a Carbon Tax, to possibly (though increasingly unlikely) slow the destruction of our environment! Or are we waiting for the sea ice to totally disappear from the Arctic before "believing" the science!!
So the rest of the increase must be due to other factors such as a need for more money by council to pay its staff, and/or to pay its legal bills (perhaps knowing this council) and/or increase in property values (very probable in Melbourne) and/or other factors beyond my knowledge. I'll have to see if I can read council's budget to see why.
I am awaiting my winter power bill to see the effect of the Carbon Tax on that. The increase will be exaggerated by the fact an elderly relative has landed in my house and needs to be kept warm all day. This increase in power has been offset by my youngest child getting a job and partner, which means he is more often not at home!
Meanwhile the CSIRO has released its latest report on the warming of the Ocean- tropical fish found as far south as Tasmania! You may like a 1 degree warming, but its a further indication of how quickly things are changing. This follows northern hemisphere reports (yet again) on the reducing level of Arctic Sea Ice.
So tell me, is it worth paying an extra few dollars, on a Carbon Tax, to possibly (though increasingly unlikely) slow the destruction of our environment! Or are we waiting for the sea ice to totally disappear from the Arctic before "believing" the science!!
 |
| From Next Gen website |
Monday, August 13, 2012
Pollie Hot Air
They're back! The Politicians have had a bit of a break, with the Olympic Games dominating the TV and also radio waves. But today they came back to haunt us with news of more Asylum seekers boats, oppositions opposing everything except their own policies (as they have every right to do) and expert panels going about their business knowing damn well that until and unless someone moves an inch or two from their entrenched positions, no one is going to give a damn about trying to find a sensible policy.
The amount of hot air over this issue is enough to drive several wind turbines!
Today is another windy day both on the radio and outside.
At least there is enough sunshine not to bother with Canberra.
The amount of hot air over this issue is enough to drive several wind turbines!
Today is another windy day both on the radio and outside.
At least there is enough sunshine not to bother with Canberra.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
August Winds
August is one of the windiest months in Melbourne. Just when my Camellias are at their best, the Jonquils & Daffodils flowering and the last of the Magnolia blooms linger on budding branches, along comes the wind to blow them all away. Although, like the Olympics my Daffodils and Jonquils are largely white, not yellow in colour.
The rain continues to fall this winter, and temperatures plunge with it. Today the wind gusts are somewhat less than the buffeting we received yesterday. In previous years I have had native trees blown down. Their remains are still providing me with wood for the fire and wood chips for the the garden mulch.
While the sun has deigned to show itself for a brief moment just now, the forecast for rain and hail today is not encouraging.
So I wonder why the waiter at a popular local Cafe asked if I would like to sit outside for lunch today?
But the winds have blown the Aussie Sailors into Gold medals at the Olympics in Weymouth. My sailor friend, sitting snugly in his seaside home on the Mornington Peninsula must be very happy.
As we all are.
Finally along with Sally Pearson' and Anna Meares' gutsy efforts, Australia of the Green and Gold, has a bit of the latter!
The rain continues to fall this winter, and temperatures plunge with it. Today the wind gusts are somewhat less than the buffeting we received yesterday. In previous years I have had native trees blown down. Their remains are still providing me with wood for the fire and wood chips for the the garden mulch.
While the sun has deigned to show itself for a brief moment just now, the forecast for rain and hail today is not encouraging.
So I wonder why the waiter at a popular local Cafe asked if I would like to sit outside for lunch today?
But the winds have blown the Aussie Sailors into Gold medals at the Olympics in Weymouth. My sailor friend, sitting snugly in his seaside home on the Mornington Peninsula must be very happy.
As we all are.
 |
| Sailing on Port Phillip Bay |
Friday, August 3, 2012
Olympics
Of course the TV in our household is almost permanently tuned to the London Olympics.
While Australia's results haven't been as good as we had hoped, and Channel 9 is not my favourite, the Games have been interesting.
So here's to all those competing, the Green and Gold, may your dreams come true. May London be a great experience for you all.
So here's to all those competing, the Green and Gold, may your dreams come true. May London be a great experience for you all.
Solar Fringe and Reports
Last Saturday, The Age newspaper (not yet dominated by that rich lady GR) published an interesting article "Out on the fringe, solar comes of age" by environment editor Adam Morton. In the article, Adam comments on the large number of solar Photo-voltaic(PV) panels adorning so many roofs in the outer Western Melbourne suburbs.
We have noticed the same in our suburb, lower midle class outer suburban. Even over the last year, the number of houses showing solar PV panels seems almost to have doubled. Obviously even the lower middle class suburbanites have found the current deals attractive.
The subsidies have now dropped off so the incentives must be the Carbon Tax (which is the point of the Tax) and the clear price drop in the cost of purchase and installation. Supply and demand, market forces in action, spurred on by massive investment in panel production by China.
A report by the Australia Institute, 11 Nov 2010, (The Australian Government's solar PV rebate program by Andrew Macintosh and Deb Wilkinson) a couple of years ago, criticized the Federal Government scheme by saying the lower socioeconomic group were not participating.
I commented then -in Solar Power and Costs - that China's production would drop prices dramatically. In the Age article, the ATA energy policy manager, Damien Moyse comments that he has changed his advice to members. Things have moved so fast that "it now makes more sense to put solar on your roof than buy electricity from the grid according to Ray Wills, Sustainable Energy Association advisor" as quoted in the Age article.
While the poorest, and those renting, have not participated, the next rung up in the socioeconomic scale have clearly seen the benefits of generating some of their own power. Infrastructure savings are thus the result as well as a reduction in exposure to price increases in electricity.
So the solar market may very well be at the stage of price parity with the Electricity grid but support for Feed-In-Tariffs may well fade from various levels of governemts. We shall see, as I still think "Power from the People" should be charged at the same rate as Power from the Grid. The final report has now been submitted so we shall see what the Victorian Government response will be.
We have noticed the same in our suburb, lower midle class outer suburban. Even over the last year, the number of houses showing solar PV panels seems almost to have doubled. Obviously even the lower middle class suburbanites have found the current deals attractive.
The subsidies have now dropped off so the incentives must be the Carbon Tax (which is the point of the Tax) and the clear price drop in the cost of purchase and installation. Supply and demand, market forces in action, spurred on by massive investment in panel production by China.
A report by the Australia Institute, 11 Nov 2010, (The Australian Government's solar PV rebate program by Andrew Macintosh and Deb Wilkinson) a couple of years ago, criticized the Federal Government scheme by saying the lower socioeconomic group were not participating.
I commented then -in Solar Power and Costs - that China's production would drop prices dramatically. In the Age article, the ATA energy policy manager, Damien Moyse comments that he has changed his advice to members. Things have moved so fast that "it now makes more sense to put solar on your roof than buy electricity from the grid according to Ray Wills, Sustainable Energy Association advisor" as quoted in the Age article.
While the poorest, and those renting, have not participated, the next rung up in the socioeconomic scale have clearly seen the benefits of generating some of their own power. Infrastructure savings are thus the result as well as a reduction in exposure to price increases in electricity.
So the solar market may very well be at the stage of price parity with the Electricity grid but support for Feed-In-Tariffs may well fade from various levels of governemts. We shall see, as I still think "Power from the People" should be charged at the same rate as Power from the Grid. The final report has now been submitted so we shall see what the Victorian Government response will be.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Refugees and "The Conversation"
If you haven't caught up with the Conversation web site by now, please do so.
At last academics providing information, opinion, and interesting research in an easy to read and understand fashion.
Try this one, regarding Refugee movement around the world. Based on actual figures it provides a great visual map of their movements.
Read the rest of The Conversation’s asylum seeker coverage:
Asylum seekers and Australia: the evidence
The Conversation panel on asylum seekers: meet the experts
Who are Australia’s ‘boat people’, and why don’t they get on planes?
Uncomfortable truths: busting the top three asylum seeker myths
There’s no evidence that asylum seeker deterrence policy works
There’s more to regional collaboration than the Malaysia Arrangement
How immigration policy harms asylum seekers' mental health
Asylum seekers in Indonesia: why do they get on boats?
Preventing deaths at sea: asking the experts on asylum seekers
Steve Melnikoff is the technical officer at iWakari.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.
At last academics providing information, opinion, and interesting research in an easy to read and understand fashion.
Try this one, regarding Refugee movement around the world. Based on actual figures it provides a great visual map of their movements.
Infographic: global refugee movements 1975-2010
By Steve Melnikoff, University of Melbourne- Almost 3.5 million of refugees have arrived in Australia since 1975.
- More than 100 million people have fled Afghanistan since 1975.
- Iran and Pakistan have each taken around 60 million refugees during that time.
- Since 1989, 2.5 million refugees have fled Sri Lanka.
- 18 million refugees arrived in the US between 1975 and 2010; the UK has taken 5 million.
Read the rest of The Conversation’s asylum seeker coverage:
Asylum seekers and Australia: the evidence
The Conversation panel on asylum seekers: meet the experts
Who are Australia’s ‘boat people’, and why don’t they get on planes?
Uncomfortable truths: busting the top three asylum seeker myths
There’s no evidence that asylum seeker deterrence policy works
There’s more to regional collaboration than the Malaysia Arrangement
How immigration policy harms asylum seekers' mental health
Asylum seekers in Indonesia: why do they get on boats?
Preventing deaths at sea: asking the experts on asylum seekers
Steve Melnikoff is the technical officer at iWakari.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.
Road Conditions & Thinking Slow
After many years of driving my small commuter car to and from work, I have suddenly noticed a large increase in hazards littering the freeway.
I was driving home from a late night shift, when I was suddenly aware of something in front of me on the road. At 100km speed, I didn't have fast enough reflexes to swerve out of my lane and bypass the hazard. The next thing I knew, I had hit the object and a loud scraping sound indicated it was stuck underneath the car. I managed to move into the emergency lane and tried to dislodge the object. It was extremely unnerving, with the car shaking every time someone went past. I eventually drove home, off the freeway, at a slow speed and had the object removed at home.
it was a large piece of plastic from the front-end of a car.
Since then I've noticed a lot more stuff on the road, more potholes and more hazardous conditions.
So why am I noticing this now? Is there any change to the road conditions. Has the abnormal number of rainy days meant the road is more prone to pot-holes?
Or is this an example of association bias, priming, halo effect? Having had a problem, I'm more likely to see more of the same problems than I would have previously?
My current reading, "Thinking Fast & Slow" by Daniel Kahneman may give me some insights into halo effects, association bias, irrational thinking. So far its a very interesting book.
More chocolate consumption coming up I think(pg 43)!
But perhaps Vicroads needs to look at the state of the roads.
And why not public transport you ask? That is another Melbourne story!
I was driving home from a late night shift, when I was suddenly aware of something in front of me on the road. At 100km speed, I didn't have fast enough reflexes to swerve out of my lane and bypass the hazard. The next thing I knew, I had hit the object and a loud scraping sound indicated it was stuck underneath the car. I managed to move into the emergency lane and tried to dislodge the object. It was extremely unnerving, with the car shaking every time someone went past. I eventually drove home, off the freeway, at a slow speed and had the object removed at home.
it was a large piece of plastic from the front-end of a car.
Since then I've noticed a lot more stuff on the road, more potholes and more hazardous conditions.
So why am I noticing this now? Is there any change to the road conditions. Has the abnormal number of rainy days meant the road is more prone to pot-holes?Or is this an example of association bias, priming, halo effect? Having had a problem, I'm more likely to see more of the same problems than I would have previously?
My current reading, "Thinking Fast & Slow" by Daniel Kahneman may give me some insights into halo effects, association bias, irrational thinking. So far its a very interesting book.
More chocolate consumption coming up I think(pg 43)!
But perhaps Vicroads needs to look at the state of the roads.
And why not public transport you ask? That is another Melbourne story!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Health and Coal
Today the news is filled with speculation regarding cancer news from an independent study of Coal Loading Workers at a NSW port. It seems they have found a higher rate of cancers including colorectal, melanoma and prostate cancers.
This follows on from the study of Country Fire Authority Fiskville workers and their exposure to hazardous materials without appropriate safety measures.
With both of these studies, the first and most important facts/questions have been answered. Is there a risk and is it greater than in the general population. But the answers to the questions most workers want have not been answered, and may never get answered to everyone's satisfaction. What caused these cancers and are the current clusters "just a statistical anomaly"?
Who wants to be a statistical anomaly?
I'm at the age when several of my contemporaries and friends are starting to see differences in heath appearing. I have one friend recently released from the Peter Mac Cancer Hospital. Several others have been treated and are in remission, but of course living with the recurrent fear of the cancer return.
So what has caused these cancers?
Perhaps we shall find out but perhaps not.
Life is such a mystery sometimes.
"Always do right- this will gratify some and astonish the rest."
- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
This follows on from the study of Country Fire Authority Fiskville workers and their exposure to hazardous materials without appropriate safety measures.
With both of these studies, the first and most important facts/questions have been answered. Is there a risk and is it greater than in the general population. But the answers to the questions most workers want have not been answered, and may never get answered to everyone's satisfaction. What caused these cancers and are the current clusters "just a statistical anomaly"?
Who wants to be a statistical anomaly?
I'm at the age when several of my contemporaries and friends are starting to see differences in heath appearing. I have one friend recently released from the Peter Mac Cancer Hospital. Several others have been treated and are in remission, but of course living with the recurrent fear of the cancer return.
So what has caused these cancers?
Perhaps we shall find out but perhaps not.
Life is such a mystery sometimes.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Winter quietness
I have been too busy working to do much blogging lately. Mid-winter solstice means the days are just a little longer though this is now the coldest part of the year.
My backyard and vegie garden are sodden due to the recent rains, that keep coming and coming. However the lime tree is producing a great crop, the tangelos are ripening and I have 4 grapefruits on my little tree. We have been harvesting silver beet, broccoli and peas from the vegie garden. So lots of green soups which are good for the waistline and vitamin input!
But on the radio we hear of wildfires in the USA and storms in Russia.
London of course has the same problem as Melbourne so my Olympic display features an umbrella, which may become the icon of the coming games!
The media is a little quiet on the carbon tax front, occasional digs and mentions of businesses going under due to the "Carbon tax".The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has a Carbon Tax hotline and a number of complaints have been lodged, some scalps claimed (Brumby's Bakery amongst them).
So let the games begin!
PS Melbourne by-election : Greens vs Labor! Very interesting. Labor loss coming up perhaps??
My backyard and vegie garden are sodden due to the recent rains, that keep coming and coming. However the lime tree is producing a great crop, the tangelos are ripening and I have 4 grapefruits on my little tree. We have been harvesting silver beet, broccoli and peas from the vegie garden. So lots of green soups which are good for the waistline and vitamin input!
But on the radio we hear of wildfires in the USA and storms in Russia.
London of course has the same problem as Melbourne so my Olympic display features an umbrella, which may become the icon of the coming games!
The media is a little quiet on the carbon tax front, occasional digs and mentions of businesses going under due to the "Carbon tax".The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has a Carbon Tax hotline and a number of complaints have been lodged, some scalps claimed (Brumby's Bakery amongst them).
So let the games begin!
PS Melbourne by-election : Greens vs Labor! Very interesting. Labor loss coming up perhaps??
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Carbon Frenzy
Dubbed by the media, Carbon Sunday, the start of the "Carbon Tax" was greeted with an absolute blitz of comments, media stunts, bad music and drama.
Q&A last night on ABC TV showed all these aspects with Simon Sheikh, from Getup, collapsing on stage (later reported to be well again and out of hospital thankfully).
Sophie Mirabella nearly had another shoe thrown at her from my couch, stopped only by the gift of a comment she made when discussing the Parental Leave "Levy".
"Is the Coalition's parental leave policy a tax? NOOOO of course not, it is a levy (Audience guffaws)." Further statements such as
"you are being quite mischievous Tony" when directed by Tony Jones to answer the chief thrust of the question and
"I don't think any objective analysis can compare an economy wide carbon tax....with an economically important levy"
How she could be so morally & intellectually disingenuous to argue about the Carbon Tax and simultaneously argue her party's Parental Leave position is beyond me! No wonder the population have so little regard for politicians of all persuasions.
It was also good to see Ross Garnaut weighing in with the international comparisons to show that Australia is not acting alone, and is not acting with a cost that is disproportionate to our "contribution" to the problem.
How anyone can argue that a levy on pollution is bad for the country eventually is also beyond me.
We have had CFC changes due to the Ozone Hole, cleaning scubbers on Coal Fired Power Stations due to Acid Rain and the economy hasn't faltered, stopped, died or any other hysterical response. And now the "Carbon Tax" to reduce carbon pollution.
The Australia Institute published the following graphic on the Carbon "Levy" to put it into perspective!
Lets hope the Australian population is not, as Joe Hilderbrand's program calls us, Dumb, Drunk and Racist.
Q&A last night on ABC TV showed all these aspects with Simon Sheikh, from Getup, collapsing on stage (later reported to be well again and out of hospital thankfully).
Sophie Mirabella nearly had another shoe thrown at her from my couch, stopped only by the gift of a comment she made when discussing the Parental Leave "Levy".
"Is the Coalition's parental leave policy a tax? NOOOO of course not, it is a levy (Audience guffaws)." Further statements such as
"you are being quite mischievous Tony" when directed by Tony Jones to answer the chief thrust of the question and
"I don't think any objective analysis can compare an economy wide carbon tax....with an economically important levy"
How she could be so morally & intellectually disingenuous to argue about the Carbon Tax and simultaneously argue her party's Parental Leave position is beyond me! No wonder the population have so little regard for politicians of all persuasions.
It was also good to see Ross Garnaut weighing in with the international comparisons to show that Australia is not acting alone, and is not acting with a cost that is disproportionate to our "contribution" to the problem.
How anyone can argue that a levy on pollution is bad for the country eventually is also beyond me.
We have had CFC changes due to the Ozone Hole, cleaning scubbers on Coal Fired Power Stations due to Acid Rain and the economy hasn't faltered, stopped, died or any other hysterical response. And now the "Carbon Tax" to reduce carbon pollution.
The Australia Institute published the following graphic on the Carbon "Levy" to put it into perspective!
Lets hope the Australian population is not, as Joe Hilderbrand's program calls us, Dumb, Drunk and Racist.
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| Australia Institute Carbon Tax effect |
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Did the Earth Move For You??
Victoria
has had a number of shocks recently. The latest was a 5.3 earthquake situated
near Moe in the state’s south-east. I was watching Foreign Correspondent on ABC
TV when the sliding door nearby rattled for a good few seconds. While my couch
didn’t move (too weighed down perhaps?) it was pretty obvious that we had an
earthquake.
After
checking everything was ok and there hadn’t been a short windstorm outside the
patio, I jumped on the iPAD and checked Geoscience Australia. No joy there, the
site crashed with all the traffic ( when will governments learn to fund their
websites appropriately??) then turned to Facebook and the Amercian Geological Survey which gave
accurate data about the quake within about 15 minutes.
I didn’t
turn to the Age website, the Age newspaper or any other media outlet,
other
than Facebook. I went directly to the source of technical
knowledge, repute and
interest – the geologists who have sensitive machines measure these
things. I
also turned to my friends who are inhabiting social media.
This also
illustrates the other quake that hit Melbourne and Australia in the last couple
of days, the shedding of thousands of staff at Fairfax media empire.
I don’t buy
the newspapers except for the Saturday edition. I do the crosswords and look at
the magazines and occasional business stuff. My other half reads the main pages
and does the Sudoku. The rest gets turfed into recycling bin or used for
cleaning the fire.
So here is
the dilemma. I buy the Age, read it at the library occasionally, but don’t
support it financially.
I certainly won’t buy the Age newspaper at all if Editorial Freedom is
lost!
I consume media largely from free
websites, such as the ABC, and specialist groups – Australian Conservation
Foundation, government websites, and overseas websites. I watch TV, read blogs
and watch non-fiction DVD’s often sourced from my public library.
So Brave New World – it will rock on whether I like it or not!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Feed-In-tariff (FiT)and new Solar Installations
Have you got your submission to the Victorian CEC "Power From the People" Draft Report ready yet? It's due on the 15 June which is only a couple of days away. So get typing people!!
I wonder if the owners of new Photovoltaic panels, now popping up everywhere I look in my suburb, have had mentioned that their standard FiT will only last til 2015?
I wonder what the commission calls a good ROI (Return on Investment).
Invest $8000, earn how much per year ( at 8c per KwH) and save >25c per KwH similar amount in usage.
How long will it take to pay for the system then??
Read the Department of Primary Industries "Misleading Claims about Solar Power". I wonder if they should add in the reduced FiT as being a Misleading Claim. So much for trusting governments!
I wonder if the owners of new Photovoltaic panels, now popping up everywhere I look in my suburb, have had mentioned that their standard FiT will only last til 2015?
I wonder what the commission calls a good ROI (Return on Investment).
Invest $8000, earn how much per year ( at 8c per KwH) and save >25c per KwH similar amount in usage.
How long will it take to pay for the system then??
Read the Department of Primary Industries "Misleading Claims about Solar Power". I wonder if they should add in the reduced FiT as being a Misleading Claim. So much for trusting governments!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Snow, Floods & Storms - Weather Down Under
- Snow in Christchurch
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| Christchurch 7 June 12 |
- Yallourn Power Station in Victoria suffering from Flooding: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-06/water-flows-into-yallourn-open-cut-mine/4055852
- Tornado like storm in Perth - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-07/20120607-perth-tornado-raw/4058856
Winter in the Southern Hemisphere! Not as mild and easy to cope with as some may think!
Good luck to all those affected by the weather.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Carbon Tax Time is Nigh
Everywhere I look and listen there are articles on the imminent Australian Carbon Tax.
Choice Magazine (June 2012 p13) asks that people look out for Carbon Tax Scams - people calling asking for your bank account of personal details to receive a compensation package.
Choice Magazine (June 2012 p13) asks that people look out for Carbon Tax Scams - people calling asking for your bank account of personal details to receive a compensation package.
- You can calculate the effect of the Carbon Tax for yourself using this handy calculator http://www.carbontax.net.au/category/how-will-the-carbon-tax-affect-me/- while its only an estimate based on your input it may help to allay some fears (if you are the type of person who believes that calculators can estimate your financial stuff!).
- Recent newspaper reports on increasing Electricity prices and claims the Carbon Tax is to blame is discussed by the Conversation in : http://theconversation.edu.au/increasing-electricity-prices-watts-the-culprit-1408.
- Here is TRUEnergy's FAQ on the changes in prices - http://www.truenergy.com.au/faq/2012.xhtml#1
- And the Federal Government Clean Energy Future website: cleanenergyfuture.gov.au
- The compensation package from the Federal Government is expected to start making its way into our pockets this month
- http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/about/benefits/Pages/CleanEnergyFuture%E2%80%93HouseholdAssistancePackage.aspx- for more information about household assistance.
Go Figure and go check the sky at the end of July!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Einstein Quotes & Climate Change
"In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep."
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
"This world is a strange madhouse," Einstein wote a friend at the time. "Currently every coachman and every waiter is debating whether relativity theory is correct. Belief in this matter depends on political party affiliation."
"Members of the public with the highest degrees of science literacy and technical reasoning capacity were not the most concerned about climate change. Rather, they were the ones among whom cultural polarization was greatest. This result suggests that public divisions over climate change stem not from the public’s incomprehension of science but from a distinctive conflict of interest: between the personal interest individuals have in forming beliefs in line with those held by others with whom they share close ties and the collective one they all share in making use of the best available science to promote common welfare." -
The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks
- The Farce that is Federal Parliament - http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-flees-as-thomson-votes-with-coalition-20120530-1zi79.html.
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
- On the door of the Library workroom
"This world is a strange madhouse," Einstein wote a friend at the time. "Currently every coachman and every waiter is debating whether relativity theory is correct. Belief in this matter depends on political party affiliation."
- Quoted by Shawn Lawrence Otto (Fool me Twice author) in his blog- http://shawnotto.rebeccaotto.com/neorenaissance/blog20120508.html
"Members of the public with the highest degrees of science literacy and technical reasoning capacity were not the most concerned about climate change. Rather, they were the ones among whom cultural polarization was greatest. This result suggests that public divisions over climate change stem not from the public’s incomprehension of science but from a distinctive conflict of interest: between the personal interest individuals have in forming beliefs in line with those held by others with whom they share close ties and the collective one they all share in making use of the best available science to promote common welfare." -
The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks
Where do you stand? Rugged individualism or egalitarian communitarian?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Migrant Workers and Mining
While trying to read the VCEC report on Feed-inTariffs and Barriers to Distributed Generation (all >200 pages) my son and I have been diverted by the current media reports on the effects of the Mining Boom on a Queensland town of Moranbah ("Casualties of the Boom" 4Corners, ABC TV) and todays discussion of migrant workers.
As a "migrant" worker, married to another "migrant" worker, its amazing to re-visit the arguments yet again. The scale of the mining boom, much as I personally deplore it, will totally dwarf the employment opportunities of local areas. So migrant workers are absolutely necessary. Remember the Snowy River Scheme. Those migrant workers contributed enormously to the nation.
Migrant or Australian workers are also not easily able to move states, unless people are willing to take the risk, move to WA or Queensland first, & then know the process of applying for jobs. This takes a special sort of person, not necessarily those who are currently looking for jobs in the Eastern States. It also takes resources ($$) and persistence.
As a librarian, I see many people looking and not succeeding in their job searches. This is for many reasons and lack of knowledge, skills and sometimes personality/psychology! To my children, a job is sitting in front of computers. I acknowledge Senator Cameron's concerns for safety, appropriate wages and conditions for the workers, but assume that much of this infrastructure is already in place and working (or why not??).
The ABC program last night left me with a number of questions.
As a "migrant" worker, married to another "migrant" worker, its amazing to re-visit the arguments yet again. The scale of the mining boom, much as I personally deplore it, will totally dwarf the employment opportunities of local areas. So migrant workers are absolutely necessary. Remember the Snowy River Scheme. Those migrant workers contributed enormously to the nation.
Migrant or Australian workers are also not easily able to move states, unless people are willing to take the risk, move to WA or Queensland first, & then know the process of applying for jobs. This takes a special sort of person, not necessarily those who are currently looking for jobs in the Eastern States. It also takes resources ($$) and persistence.
As a librarian, I see many people looking and not succeeding in their job searches. This is for many reasons and lack of knowledge, skills and sometimes personality/psychology! To my children, a job is sitting in front of computers. I acknowledge Senator Cameron's concerns for safety, appropriate wages and conditions for the workers, but assume that much of this infrastructure is already in place and working (or why not??).
The ABC program last night left me with a number of questions.
- Why were more houses/accomodation not built in Moranbah to ease the housing shortage?
- Who controls the land around the town and enables the release of land?
- Who is responsible for the services needed to support the FIFO workers?
- Is it the Council or is it the Employer?
- Who fills in the holes left by the Miners??
Questions and Answers : More than what 1 radio show and 1 TV program can provide.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
World Wildlife Fund -2012 Living Planet Report
Have a look at this report. Just as Victoria is planning to export more coal! Go figure the consequences!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Tree Loss & Climate Change
Catch-up TV is great. While away in the beautiful, deforested South Island of New Zealand, ABC TV Catalyst program screened "Tree Deaths" on 26 April 2012. Having just caught up with the program in ABCiView I am struck by the sad vision of acres of tree die-back in Western Australia. According to the program "We're looking at tree mortality over a scale of tens of millions of hectares in the last decade alone. "
Tree death is nothing new to landscapes such as Australia and New Zealand, where for years land deforestation has been the norm with consequent degradation of bio-diversity, erosion, water and carbon loss.
My ecology degree, many years ago, touched on the consequences of this type of loss.
I remember the problem of acid-rain and loss of trees in North America, Germany and other places, showing the environmental effects of atmospheric pollution. See http://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/index.htm for more information on world forests.
So its not hard for me to see that temperature extremes coupled with increased evaporation may easily kill even well-adapted species (such as Eucalyptus) over a particularly short time span as documented in the program.
Mass kill events have been documented in other environments for example wide-spread coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef.
All this is secondary information to the climate change debate. It adds more dimensions to the problem.
The old chestnut, that increasing CO2 is good for plant growth, is not necessarily true for food crops and for forests. After all we have so changed the plant-based face of the planet and increased the population so much that this experiment with our base livelihood is really disturbing.
Tree death is nothing new to landscapes such as Australia and New Zealand, where for years land deforestation has been the norm with consequent degradation of bio-diversity, erosion, water and carbon loss.
My ecology degree, many years ago, touched on the consequences of this type of loss.
I remember the problem of acid-rain and loss of trees in North America, Germany and other places, showing the environmental effects of atmospheric pollution. See http://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/index.htm for more information on world forests.
So its not hard for me to see that temperature extremes coupled with increased evaporation may easily kill even well-adapted species (such as Eucalyptus) over a particularly short time span as documented in the program.
Mass kill events have been documented in other environments for example wide-spread coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef.
All this is secondary information to the climate change debate. It adds more dimensions to the problem.
The old chestnut, that increasing CO2 is good for plant growth, is not necessarily true for food crops and for forests. After all we have so changed the plant-based face of the planet and increased the population so much that this experiment with our base livelihood is really disturbing.
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| Near Alexandra, New Zealand-deforested and dry |
Friday, May 4, 2012
Emissions Trading Scheme & New Zealand
While I'm still remembering my holiday, I thought it might be instructive to contemplate the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). New Zealand, unlike Australia, introduced a price on carbon a while ago but is now reviewing it. "Changes to the scheme are being considered as part of a Select Committee Review and discussions with Australia on harmonisation with their similar Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme" (outdated statement!).
(Note: if in fact the current Federal Government manages to convince voting Australians that the sky won't fall in after July, the coal barons & gas won't stop extracting carbon rich fossil fuels and the government is not incompetent - big ask!).
In New Zealand, life continues as usual, the populace are trying to be green and reduce emissions. Higher unemployment and greater debt are largely the result of the Christcurch earthquake. Cows and Sheep are exempt from the ETS. Its worthwhile noting that New Zealand is also banking on having a global agreement to share their responsibility with the rest of the world and has compiled a snapshot of their Greenhouse Gas Emissions (up to 2010). (I wish they would update their website!!!)
The following website, Licensingline News, indicates the current state of entry into the ETS scheme by various sectors of the economy. Note the Carbon Price of $25 much like Australia's legislated but not implemented price, though that has effectively been halved to $12.50 by the implementation period in the scheme.
(Note: if in fact the current Federal Government manages to convince voting Australians that the sky won't fall in after July, the coal barons & gas won't stop extracting carbon rich fossil fuels and the government is not incompetent - big ask!).
In New Zealand, life continues as usual, the populace are trying to be green and reduce emissions. Higher unemployment and greater debt are largely the result of the Christcurch earthquake. Cows and Sheep are exempt from the ETS. Its worthwhile noting that New Zealand is also banking on having a global agreement to share their responsibility with the rest of the world and has compiled a snapshot of their Greenhouse Gas Emissions (up to 2010). (I wish they would update their website!!!)
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| NZ Responsibility for CO2 Emissions. Note where Australia is! |
In Australia we still have the heavies in the Resources industries waging war against both the Federal Government and the Federal Opposition vowing to repeal the legislation when it comes to power. Time will tell if the NZ ETS is effective, if Australia manages to implement its Carbon Tax (almost an ETS), and if we get any of the various oligarchs in the resource sector being pre-selected to the Liberal or National Parties.
For the sake of the little people, I hope not!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
On Holiday
So gentle reader, its been a few weeks since I've typed up a blog post. No I haven't disappeared down some black hole. I've been on holiday and now back at work, home and blog.
Autumn holidays can be wonderful. This year I decided to visit the South Island of New Zealand, just a few hours hop (by plane). Yes I purchased Carbon Offsets for the flight but not for the rental car that I used to do the tourist trail from Christchurch (damaged but not out) to Aoraki Mount Cook to Central Otago and back to Christchurch via the Pigroot and Moeraki Boulders.
As I drove, I contemplated the NZ marketing campaign " 100% Pure New Zealand". The scenery was spectacular, the waters of Lakes Tekapo, Pukaki, Ruataniwha and Dunstan sparkling blue and clear. The silvery tussocks waving in the gentle breeze under a bright blue sky beckoned one to breathe the fresh air.
But the truth is that much of the South Island flora and fauna is completely introduced and man-made. Gone are the vast swathes of Southern Silver Beech, Red Beech and Kahikatea forests. The Lakes mentioned above are all controlled for hydro power and Lake Dunstan swallowed the historic bridge and part of the town of Cromwell - something I remember from my last visit 20 years ago!
But the holiday was a breathe of fresh air. Time to recharge and contemplate the breathtaking beauty of a relatively empty country. Time to see misty mountains, rushing rivers and glacial lakes, golden poplar trees and catch up with the damage in Christchurch.
Autumn holidays can be wonderful. This year I decided to visit the South Island of New Zealand, just a few hours hop (by plane). Yes I purchased Carbon Offsets for the flight but not for the rental car that I used to do the tourist trail from Christchurch (damaged but not out) to Aoraki Mount Cook to Central Otago and back to Christchurch via the Pigroot and Moeraki Boulders.
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| Moeraki Boulders |
But the truth is that much of the South Island flora and fauna is completely introduced and man-made. Gone are the vast swathes of Southern Silver Beech, Red Beech and Kahikatea forests. The Lakes mentioned above are all controlled for hydro power and Lake Dunstan swallowed the historic bridge and part of the town of Cromwell - something I remember from my last visit 20 years ago!
But the holiday was a breathe of fresh air. Time to recharge and contemplate the breathtaking beauty of a relatively empty country. Time to see misty mountains, rushing rivers and glacial lakes, golden poplar trees and catch up with the damage in Christchurch.
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| Former Arts Centre |
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| Crown Plaza now completely demolished |
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| Restart Container Shopping |
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