Middle East

Here is an extract of a speech given by a former top CIA officer about the wests involvement in the middle east.
He says at one point that,

"We in the West are fighting an enemy we have woefully chosen to misunderstand and to whom we are losing hands down and on every front,"

He goes on to say,

"the US and its allies continually became involved in Middle East wars because of their reliance on Arab oil supplies and had little other interest in the region."

When the Iraq war started and I marched with many others here in Melbourne, we knew that oil was at the bottom of this conflict. And now at last it is coming out from senior cabinet ministers [Australia's Defence Minister Brendan Nelson] that the oil of the middle east is all important.
Wise up this ain't no practice run we have to find alternative types of energy now and make our planet safer, cleaner, and sustainable.

Woof.

Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Premier Water Wallies

Here is an article by Kenneth Davidson in The Age. I couldn't of put it so well.

Premiers need to stop tilting at windmills and back effective water plans

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July 5, 2007

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Recycled water, not desalination, is an answer to our shortages, writes Kenneth Davidson.

MELBURNIANS are going to pay a heavy price for their reluctance to drink recycled water. It beats me: the same people who would turn up their nose at recycled water in their home town willingly travel to London and other European cities where the water that comes out of the taps in their expensive hotel rooms includes recycled sewage.

The only reasons the Labor governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have foreshadowed expenditure of some $5.3 billion on desalination plants are their irrational fear that the existing water storages will dry up completely and their belief that Toowoomba's reaction to the 2006 referendum on recycling — an overwhelming victory for those opposed, despite bipartisan support for the move — reflects the attitude of the population at large.

It is possible that existing storages could run dry if drought persists and we insist on wasting potable water. But only 20 per cent of water consumption needs to be potable: the water we use to drink, cook and wash in. The other 80 per cent — which we use in the laundry, to flush toilets, water the garden and wash the car — doesn't.

The rainfall on greater Melbourne is seven times our present wasteful consumption in an average year and three times average consumption in the drought conditions experienced recently.

If we understand both these points, it becomes clear that there isn't a shortage of water but a problem with how we use it. This flies in the face of the crazy policies being foisted on the electorate by state premiers.

By using a judicious system of taxes and subsidies, households and businesses can be persuaded to recycle grey water, supplemented by tanks to harvest rainwater. Harvesting minimises stormwater run-off, which generates most of the pollution in the Yarra and Port Phillip.

Black water from toilet flushing can be recycled for the watering of parks, street trees and sports fields through the introduction of sewer mines, built on sewer mains around the city. Production of black water can be avoided by the introduction of dry composting toilets, which are now being installed in northern Europe.

If climate change led to existing water storages drying up despite an 80 per cent cut in consumption of reticulated potable water, as per the above reforms, a desalination plant would not save Victoria. The remnant population would be in retreat past Tasmania to the poles.

It is more likely that global warming will be associated with extreme weather events, including violent storms and flooding such as that seen in Gippsland and Newcastle recently. According to Melbourne Water chief executive Rob Skinner, the desalination plant could be forced to shut down within 10 years if Melbourne's water storages fill. Is Victoria so profligate that it can write off $3.1 billion in spending on infrastructure that produces water at a cost six to seven times that from existing storages?

Then there are the environmental costs. According to the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), the combined consumption of electricity to operate the desal plant and pump water from Wonthaggi to Melbourne will generate 946,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually if the electricity comes from brown coal. This is equivalent to putting another 240,000 cars on Melbourne's roads.

Victoria's baseload generating capacity is already up against supply constraints during peak demand, thanks to the proliferation of air-conditioners in poorly designed and insulated houses permitted by bad planning regulations.

The Bracks Government sidesteps the environmental issue, claiming the desal plant will be carbon-neutral because the Government will offset its emissions by building wind farms. According to the ACF, to balance the emissions would require an additional 150 turbines — doubling the state's existing wind farm capacity.

If Australia is to meet its share of global greenhouse gas targets by 2050 (to prevent warming of 2 degrees over pre-industrial levels and avoid the tipping point where warming becomes uncontrollable), it will have to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent. Those who think that business-as-usual growth can be sustained by carbon offsets are living in a dream world or have no concern for the future.

What is needed is a batsqueak of political courage to confront the electorate with the real choices. The Labor premiers could do worse than join Kevin Rudd, who is proposing a $500 subsidy for households to install water tanks or grey-water recycling.

It's not enough, but at least it is not taking us backwards like Steve Bracks, who has promised to overhaul Victoria's green building rules by scrapping the requirement for either tanks or solar panels in new homes.

Kenneth Davidson is a senior columnist.

Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Howard is misdirected

John Howards attempt at making changes to the indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. Is both misdirected and dangerous.

Misdirected because he has come to it after 10 years in power during which he has not done very much to help the aboriginal community. He stopped the reconciliation process, he has ignored the fundamental areas of concern, and now wants us all to focus on these failing areas in aboriginal life. I don't buy the idea that it is better late than never. If he had come up with a 10-20 year plan at the beginning of his term as prime minister, the problems he now describes as "Our cyclone Katrina" would of been identified and a programme of rebuilding would be in-acted.

Dangerous, because if this heavy handed approach goes wrong, which I think is quite likely. Then the matter becomes even worse. It will be very hard to garner public support for billions of dollars for a second or third wave of assistance.

Aboriginal people cannot be treated like a social experiment that can be re-adjusted by our interventions that come without consultation or consent. So the next time Mr Howard wants to divert our attentions from a popular leader of the opposition, lets hope he finds a different type of distraction, maybe drug abuse in AFL football stars???

Woof.

Post Script: Here is an article about this subject from The Age newspaper.



Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Our Leaders

Just a couple of quick comments.

1] I realised the other day that the political leaders are by and large lawyers. It has depressed me no end. I don't think the legal brain is the best suited to solve the practical problems that concern us most in our world.

2] John Howard our prime minister [who is also a lawyer] has decided to send in additional police to clean up the Aboriginal settlements in the outback. I read in todays paper that even the man who produced the report that initiated this response is not happy with the prime ministers approach.

John Howard is quoted as saying,

"I believe in my heart it is absolutely right."

I think I heard him say something similar about the reason to go to war with Iraq.

Of course the cynics amongst us could see this initiative as a distraction and a bit of grandstanding by the prime minister as we head towards an election.

Woof.




Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

10 years in the job

John Howard has had 10 in the job as Prime Minister and in the closing months of as prime minister he decides he needs to take the bull whip out to Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.
Here is an article in The Age newspaper throwing some light on this blatant political stunt. He has used race and fear before, here he goes again.

Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Desalination continued

An article in The Age 'Pass on the Salt'

When you read the article you will see we are going to pay on average $1000 per annum for water, going from the cheapest in Australia to the most expensive. And this is to pay for just one desalination plant that will only supply a fraction of Victoria's water needs. Using Brown Coal, to power it. [Off set by wind turbines].
The article also mentions that a $1 billion plan to reuse rain run off has been shelved because it is too long term, whatever that means.
What a joke these so called experts are.
Woof.
P.S. The politicians wont have a problem paying their water bills, the federal pollies are getting another 6-7% pay rise a year after the last.
Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Desalination not the solution

From the BBC an article referring to a report from WWF. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6767533.stm Desalination 'not the solution'

r Turning salt water into drinking water is not a solution to tackle global water scarcity, the WWF has said. A report by the environmental group said a growth in the energy intensive technology would increase emissions and damage coastal and river habitats. More attention should instead be paid to conserving supplies, it suggested. The study was published as Australia announced plans to build one of the world's biggest desalination plants to supply drinking water to Melbourne. "Desalinating the sea is an expensive, energy intensive and greenhouse gas emitting way to get water," said Jamie Pittock, director of WWF's global freshwater programme. "It may have a place in the world's future freshwater supplies but regions still have cheaper, better and complementary ways to supply water that are less risky to the environment." The report called for greater emphasis on managing existing supplies before the go-ahead was given to major water projects. It added that new desalination plants, which were primarily located in coastal areas, should also be subject to tighter impact assessments to minimise damage to the marine environment. Advances in technology meant that it was also possible to develop alternative "manufactured water" systems, such as treating waste water, the authors wrote. Securing supplies Desalination plants already play a major role in providing water for drinking and irrigation in areas such as the Middle East, where freshwater supplies are scarce. But many other nations, including the US, China and Spain are turning to the technology to meet growing demands. "Water supply, on a global basis, is a problem," commented Richard Bowen, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. "Desalination is set to become more important because the demand for water is going to increase, and a large percentage of the world's population is situated in coastal areas." Professor Bowen, from the University of Wales' School of Engineering, Swansea, said the environmental impact of desalination was well understood by the industry. "The basic problem is that by taking sea water and producing fresh water, you are going to get a stream of fresh water, which is what you want, but you also produce a concentrated salt stream," he explained. "You have to be very careful what you do with that concentrated stream and where you put it back into the environment. "There have been quite careful studies into the effects of this, so it is a consideration in the development of a new plant." The government in the Australian state of Victoria on Tuesday announced plans to build one of the world's biggest desalination plants near Melbourne. The project, which is expected to be completed by 2011, is part of a scheme to "drought-proof" water supplies to the nation's second largest city. Southern Australia has been in the grips of a six-year drought, the worst on record. The WWF report acknowledges that the technology had a "limited place in water supply", but each project should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, it argued. It recommended: "Desalination plants... should only be constructed where they are found to meet a genuine need to increase water supply and are the best and least damaging method."

So There you go. I am not alone in my concerns.
We will need to see a lot more information on this proposed
Desalination plant.
Woof.

Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Desalination Plant

Here in Victoria our Premier has just announced a Desalination plant to provide 150 billion litres of water per year, at a cost of $3.1 billion. This in turn is going to double the price of water to the consumer over the next five years.
I thought desalination plants were a complete no no. Environmentally unfriendly, big CO2 producer. It must be the most expensive way of making clean water. In Saudi Arabia they can afford to get their water this way, but here where many users are on low incomes I don't think it will be fair to ask everyone to pay twice as much for their water.
I hope we can see an comprehensive plan for this project. It's not good enough for the Premier to say. "I'm confident we have the right plan for the future," we all need to see what outcomes we can expect from a large desalination plant.
Have they considered collecting rain run off, or recycled water plants?
And when we have above average rain fall again, [like the floods in NSW at the moment] and we are awash with water again. How will the people of Victoria react to higher water prices and cost over runs. As our experts tell us it is the best plan. Just dig deeper in your pockets to pay for it.

Woof.



Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

Dalai Lama

Yep the Dalai Lama is over here, not his first trip, he is relatively well known here and well liked. Over the years he has probably been a bit of an embarrassment to the government, because he hasn't always had nice things to say about China, one of our biggest trading partners.

We all know that human rights in China since the 1950s hasn't always been good. He has told it how he sees it and the people of Tibet have been hurt by the occupation of their country by the Chinese.

The fall out from this is our politicians don't necessarily agree with his views [in regard to china]. Especially in an election year when, leaders on both sides of the political spectrum could be in power in the near future.
The current foreign minister is Alexander Downer. He has come out and attacked the leader of the opposition for playing politics with seeing the Dalai Lama, calling it a political stunt. A direct quote from the Downer states that,

"I think it just is a reflection of the fact that Mr Rudd just plays politics the whole time."

And then goes on to deny that the Prime Minister has played politics at all on this issue.
Now let me get this right; They are all politicians, that is the name of the game. If I went to see a doctor of medicine and he stopped being a doctor while he performed his examination, I would not be too happy.

"A round of tiddly winks on your belly while I listen to your heart beat". I don't think so.

So of course he is playing politics, maybe that is why Downer [a failed party leader] just isn't up to the job. On issues like trade and foreign affairs it has always been and always will be a matter of diplomacy which is the language of politics. If you don't get that much you oughtn't be a politician.
Woof.


Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com

The John Howard years

I have just read David Marr's piece in The Age on the John Howard's years. He starts the article with this paragraph.
The Howard Government has been the most unscrupulous corrupter of public debate since the Cold War was at its height. Our passivity and trust have let this happen.

It is compulsive reading for anyone who believes in free speech.

Here is David Marr's piece.


Woof


Any additional comments can be sent to mark_brickel@hotmail.com