National Health and Medical Research Council finds no evidence of wind turbines negatively affecting health
NHMRC says evidence scant in wind turbine health debate ABC News 10 may 14 An initial report from the National Health and Medical Research Council has found no reliable evidence that wind turbines have a direct physical effect on health…….The review of submissions to the draft report is under-way and the final report is due out within the next few months.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-09/tch-nhmrc-wind-health-research/5442148
Massive wind farm project approved by Tasmania’s West Coast Council
$200m wind farm on west coast passes another hurdle http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-09/24200m-wind-farm-on-west-coast-passes-another-hurdle/5441192 9 May 2014 Up to 200 jobs could be created on Tasmania’s west coast after the approval of a massive wind farm project.
The $200 million Granville Harbour project has passed another hurdle after gaining approval from West Coast Council. The proponent Westcoast Wind wants to build 33 turbines which will link to Reece Dam via an 11 kilometre transmission line. The Environment Protection Authority approved the project last month and handed it back to the council to assess.
West Coast Mayor Robyn Gerrity says it was given the green light at a special council meeting last night. “It’s a great boost for us, more job creation to saddle onto the new mining developments that are happening over the next 12 to 18 months,” she said.
The venture is still looking for investors.Last month, the proponents said they were not confident of finding investors while the Federal Government reviews the Renewable Energy Target.
Solar panels re-installed at the White House
White House solar panels power up Barack Obama unveils new solar expansion plans as officials confirm White House panels are now operational http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/09/obama-solar-power-initiatives-california Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent theguardian.com, Friday 9 May 2014 Barack Obama will on Friday unveil several new initiatives intended to expand the deployment of solar power on Friday, as officials confirmed that a set of solar panels on the roof of the White House was now operational.
Obama will – once again – bypass a deadlocked Congress and use his executive authority to announce $2bn funding for energy-saving measures at federal government buildings, as well as new financing and training programmes for solar installations.
The announcements, to be made on a trip to California, cap a climate-focused week at the White House, following the release of an authoritative report on the growing threat posed by heat waves, severe downpours and sea-level rise.
White House officials told a conference call with reporters the initiatives were intended to add momentum to the solar industry, which has seen rapid expansion over the last two years.
“We are going to be doing everything we can, with the tools that we have to move forward,” said Dan Utech, special assistant to the president on energy and climate change.
In a largely symbolic move, the White House began installing a small set of solar panels on the roof last summer. The fit was now complete, officials said, releasing a video in which the panels were shown being installed. “The size of the array we established here is the typical size for the average American house, ” said James Doherty, the White House usher. Security concerns had prevented the whole roof being covered, he said.
Agua Caliente in Arizona – first of many great solar farms
World’s Largest Solar Array Set to Crank Out 290 Megawatts of Sunshine Power Megaplants like Agua Caliente in Arizona herald a new efficiency in solar-sourced electricity Megaplants like Agua Caliente in Arizona herald a new efficiency in solar-sourced electricity Scientific American May 9, 2014 |By Roni Jacobson
Global climate change is here, and it’s only going to get worse, according to a White House report released on Tuesday. To combat rising sea levels and blistering summers, the Obama administration has been pushing for clean, renewable energy sources that cut down on carbon emissions. Now one of its projects is poised to pan out: Agua Caliente, the largest photovoltaic solar power facility in the world, was completed last week in Arizona.
The plant comprises more than five million solar panels that span the equivalent of two Central Parks in the desert between Yuma and Phoenix. It generates 290 megawatts of power—enough electricity to fuel 230,000 homes in neighboring California at peak capacity. The Agua Caliente Solar Project represents a significant advance in the technology compared with just four years ago, when the largest solar facility in the U.S. generated only 20 megawatts. “Solar has completely arrived as a competitive energy resource,” says Peter Davidson, executive director of the Loan Programs Office at the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE).
The project, which cost a total of $1.8 billion to construct, received a million-dollar loan from the Loan Programs Office. Under its “SunShot” initiative (so-named in the spirit of president John F. Kennedy’s “moon shot” program), the DoE provides guaranteed loans to unproved ventures in solar power in the hopes of promoting innovation and making the technology more cost-effective.* Although Agua Caliente (owned by U.S. energy giant NRG Energy and partner MidAmerican Solar) is now the largest photovoltaic solar facility in the world, it probably will not hold that distinction for long. …….
But as solar power becomes cheaper, Davidson predicts that utilities will pass those savings on to consumers. And as the technological advancements emerging from megaplants like Agua Caliente become more widely available, individual solar power adopters may eventually see savings as well. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/world-s-largest-solar-array-set-to-crank-out-290-megawatts-of-sunshine-power/
Depleted uranium contamination in USA (in Australia too?)
The Pentagon’s Dirty Bombers: Depleted Uranium in the USA, Aletho News By David Lindorff – 10/26/2009The Nuclear Regulator Commission is considering an application by the US Army for a permit to have depleted uranium at its Pohakuloa Training Area, a vast stretch of flat land in what’s called the “saddle” between the sacred mountains of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on Hawaii’s Big Island, and at the Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu. In fact, what the Army is asking for is a permit to leave in place the DU left over from years of test firing of M101 mortar “spotting rounds,” that each contained close to half a pound of depleted uranium (DU). The Army, which originally denied that any DU weapons had been used at either location, now says that as many as 2000 rounds of M101 DU mortars might have been fired at Pohakuloa alone.
But that’s only a small part of the story.
The Army is actually seeking a master permit from the NRC to cover all the sites where it has fired DU weapons, including penetrator shells that, unlike the M101, are designed to hit targets and burn on impact, turning the DU in the warhead into a fine dust of uranium oxide. Hearings on this proposal were held in Hawaii on Aug. 26 and 27.
Uranium particles, whether pure uranium or in an oxidized form, are alpha emitters, and can be highly carcinogenic and mutagenic if ingested or inhaled, since they can lodge in one part of the body—the kidney or lung or gonad, for example—and then irradiate surrounding cells with large, destructive alpha particles (actually helium atoms), until some gene is compromised and a cell become malignant.
Among the sites identified by the NRC as being contaminated with DU are:………http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/the-pentagons-dirty-bombers-depleted-uranium-in-the-usa/
Abbott govt’s draft climate action Bill could result in 30 % emissions rise by 2030
Govt releases climate action draft bill http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/govt-releases-climate-action-draft-bill/story-fni0xqi4-1226911847929 10 May 14, PUTTING in energy-efficient light bulbs and cutting gas in coalmines could be eligible for taxpayer funding under the federal government’s climate policy. There could also be scope for international carbon emission permits to be counted, despite the government saying they wouldn’t be part of its emissions cuts.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt released draft legislation on Friday for the emissions reduction fund, which will replace Labor’s carbon tax and carbon farming initiative. Both major parties are committed to cutting carbon emissions by five per cent below 2000 levels by 2020.
Improving the energy efficiency of homes and factories, capturing landfill and mine gas, improving farm soil and upgrading vehicles will qualify for funding. Those seeking funding, for projects lasting up to 15 years, will need to pass a new “fit and proper person” test.
And any project for which funding is sought would have to be something not likely to have occurred “under normal business conditions”.
The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) would be responsible for registering projects and issuing Australian carbon credit units for verified emissions reductions. The CER would buy emissions reductions at the lowest available cost, generally through reverse auctions.
The draft bill does not set out the rules for a new safeguard mechanism, which would ensure emissions reductions paid for by the fund were not displaced by a rise in emissions elsewhere. The safeguard, due to start on July 1, 2015, will be the subject of a separate bill.
Climate Institute chief John Connor said the draft laws were well short of a credible alternative to the current carbon pricing scheme.
The policy could put Australian emissions on track to rise by 30 per cent by 2030, he said.
Mr Connor said the draft laws left the door open for the purchase of international permits. The CER’s new powers would enable it to use almost any process it wanted to buy emissions reduction, undermining the claim to be a market mechanism.
“This draft legislation is still well short of a package that can credibly reduce pollution, let alone reduce pollution enough to help avoid costly climate disruption,” Mr Connor said. “Parliament should instead stay with the current laws, which price and limit pollution and can reduce emissions by up to 25 per cent by 2020 with deeper reductions thereafter.”
Submissions on the emissions reduction fund draft bill close on May 23.AAP
MAY 09, 2014
New website makes Aboriginal ecological knowledge available
First Nation knowhow to help save our landscapes http://phys.org/news/2014-05-nation-knowhow-landscapes.html May 08, 2014 The deep knowledge of First Nation (Aboriginal) people is being called on as part of a nationwide effort to stem the tide of extinction and decline that is engulfing the Australian landscape and its wildlife.
At a major scientific meeting in Canberra today, a new website will be unveiled which brings together thousands of records documenting Aboriginal traditional knowledge about Australian native landscapes, plants and animals.
The knowledge is presented in the form of a world-first map, which records publically-available Australian Indigenous bio-cultural knowledge (IBK) that is place-based. The detailed content of the identified documents is only made available with the express permission of the Aboriginal communities which own it.
Aboriginal people and non-Indigenous scientists and managers are currently working together on hundreds of projects across Australia to understand and better manage country using a combination of indigenous bio-cultural knowledge and ecological science.
The map draws together, for the first time worldwide, the wealth of projects, documents, reports, research and management plans where Indigenous bio-cultural knowledge is being used and Aboriginal people are adding value to today’s understanding of Australian ecology and land management practices.
This website maps the places where projects have been or are being carried out, documents results and provides examples of current leading practice, useful information and case studies of “living knowledge” and its practical application.
These include cases of Aboriginal-led landscape restoration, fire management, knowledge about native plants and animals and knowledge about wetlands and other important ecosystems.
“This is the first time that Aboriginal knowledge about landscape and Australian ecological science have been brought together across the whole continent in a single resource,” says ACEAS director Associate Professor Alison Specht
“It also represents a major contribution to documenting and preserving traditional knowledge for future generations of Aboriginal people – and for all Australians.”
The project is part of a worldwide trend to bring the knowledge held by First Nation peoples together with science and conservation policy, and makes Australia one of the global leaders in this field, she says.
“We have shown that all of Australia’s conservation priorities could be greatly informed by Indigenous bio-cultural knowledge – although the existing opportunities far outweigh the advances made to date,” says the team behind the project, in a soon to be published discussion paper. The ACEAS IBK Working Group is led by Dr Emilie Ens and includes twenty Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers and land managers from around Australia.
“Threats to global environments are increasing, so it is timely to rethink our ecological knowledge base and develop more holistic and inclusive research, management and funding options for the future.
“Enhanced cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary engagement has great potential to strengthen global capacity to build socio-ecological resilience for … inclusive and sustainable environmental management strategies.”
Australia’s largest energy utility attacks renewable energy
Origin lines up another attack on renewable energy target http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/origin-lines-up-another-attack-on-renewable-energy-target-64459 By Giles Parkinson on 9 May 2014 (This story is shown in excellent graphs) Origin Energy, Australia’s largest energy utility, has launched a new attack on the renewable energy target, arguing that it is exceeding its mandate and should be wound back – to a point where little or no large-scale wind or solar farms are constructed out to 2020.
In a presentation to a Macquarie Group conference this week. CEO Grant King argued that Australia’s renewable energy target was already at 16 per cent of national demand, and suggested that to reflect a “true” 20 per cent target, its scope should be drastically reduced……….
King argues that under this scenario only 9Twh more of renewable energy – both large scale and small scale – should be constructed under the renewable energy target, if it continues to exist.
If it is assumed that there is no further rooftop solar (unlikely unless it is removed from the scheme) this still represents a two third cut in the amount of large scale wind and solar farms that could be built out to 2020. If the figure does include small scale solar, it would mean virtually no large scale renewable energy projects between now and 2020.
This would be welcomed by the incumbent generators such as Origin and EnergyAustralia, as well as the state-owned generators such as Queensland’s Stanwell that want the target dismantled completely. They appear to have the ear of the government, and the industry fears it has the ear of the hand-picked and mostly anti-renewable RET review panel.
The argument presented by the utilities – and the Coalition – is one around costs to customers. ……….The real reason that utilities such as Origin are arguing against the RET – both large scale and small scale – is the impact of their incumbent generation. ……
ACT Energy Minister finds Joe Hockey’s remarks on wind power ‘offensive’
ACT energy minister slams Hockey’s “offensive” wind comments REneweconomyBy Giles Parkinson on 9 May 2014 Simon Corbell, the ACT minister leading its ambitious goal of reaching 90 per cent renewable energy by 2020, has slammed Treasurer Joe Hockey’s dismissal of wind turbines, and says he is “ashamed” of the federal government’s policy position on renewables.
Corbell says he was shocked by Hockey’s comments last week that the wind turbines at the Capital wind farm near Lake George, north of Canberra were “utterly offensive” and a “blight on the landscape.”
The ACT government wants to build 200MW of wind farms in the next few years to help meet its renewable goals, and expects some of these could be built in the region, including a possible extension to the Capital wind farm that Hockey finds offensive.
“It is deeply concerning that federal policy settings could be driven by Joe Hockey’s view of aesthetics as he drives down the Federal Highway,” Corbell told RenewEconomy in an interview on the sidelines of the Australian Solar Council conference in Melbourne.
“Wind farms in the ACT and the region deliver jobs, certainty and support for the agricultural sector, and they are making our city and our region a centre for renewable energy excellence.” However, Corbell says the federal Coalition’s policy on renewables, and its threats to remove or reduce the renewable nervy targets, and dismantle other institutions such as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and defund the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
“I’m ashamed from what we hearing from our federal leaders,” Corbell said. “Our federal leaders are locking us in to long-term price increases driven by vulnerability to the pricing of fossil fuels, whether that be coal or gas, and they should be taking a long-term view of the need to provide greater price certainty and lower cost energy by supporting the long-term development of renewable with a stable policy.
“Really, if the coalition says the country is open for business, it should be open for renewable energy as well.”……..
Corbell said the ACT is now the only state or territory in the country to have greenhouse gas reductions written into law. Its target is to cut emissions by 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, much of this through building efficiency and renewable energy.
“Switching to renewable energy is one of the most cost-effective and quickest ways to achieve emissions reduction,” he said.
“You can decarbonise a city like Canberra and do it a relatively low cost. If we can do it, other cities can do it too.” http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/act-energy-minister-slams-hockeys-offensive-wind-comments-87366
Obama supported by corporations as he pushes for renewable energy
With corporate help, Obama announces actions on renewable energy http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL2N0NU2OG20140509 WASHINGTON May 9 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday will announce executive orders to increase the use of solar panels, boost energy efficiency in federal buildings and train more people to work in the renewable energy field, the White House said.
The president, who will make the announcement during a visit to Wal-Mart in Mountain View, California, will also highlight commitments by corporations to lift solar generation at their facilities. Wal-Mart, Apple Inc, Yahoo Inc, Google Inc and 
Ikea were among the companies making such commitments.
Several financial institutions, including Citigroup Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, were announcing new plans for “large scale investment and innovative programs” to develop solar and renewable energy installations, the White House said.
Obama’s executive actions would support efforts at community colleges so that 50,000 workers would join the solar industry by 2020, it said.
Another initiative would press for $2 billion in energy efficiency upgrades for federal buildings over the next three years, building on another $2 billion commitment from 2011.
Actions to strengthen building codes were also part of the mix. “Investing in solar and efficiency makes sense to reduce our carbon emissions, but also for our pocketbooks and for our economy,” said Dan Utech, an energy adviser to Obama, during a conference call on Thursday to preview Obama’s announcement.
He said the U.S. solar energy industry had expanded dramatically under Obama’s watch, with installations increasing to an amount enough to power more than 2 million homes.
“So momentum is increasing,” Utech said. “Since President Obama took office we’ve increased production from U.S. solar electricity more than tenfold, and in the last year, U.S. production of electricity from solar energy was double what it was just two years ago.”
An Obama spokesman also announced the completion of a project to install solar panels at the White House itself. The panels were American-made and part of an energy “retrofit” for the building that would improve its energy efficiency.
“The project, which helps demonstrate that historic buildings can incorporate solar energy and energy efficiency upgrades, is estimated to pay for itself in energy savings over the next eight years,” spokesman Matt Lehrich said. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 