Recently added articles from Ecos:
Achieving despite the challenges.(Editorial)(Editorial)
Apr 01, 2009; ... Our April-May issue covers a number of areas where the challenge of reducing environmental pressures--and particularly greenhouse emissions--is being earnestly met, despite the shadow of financial uncertainty. The message is that we don't need to wait to get on with critical efforts to ...
Brazil's low-carb computing solution reaches more schools.
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A relatively new technology known as 'desktop virtualisation' provides part of the answer to reducing the information technology (IT) sector's rising carbon footprint--around 2 per cent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. It also revolutionises the ...
Thin-film solar cells in print.(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A banknote printing company and CSIRO are among the members of the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC), which is developing a new generation of polymer solar cells that can be printed like money. The banknote printer, Securency International, has begun trials to ...
Carbon fallout from February fires.
Apr 01, 2009 ... The February bushfires in Victoria released an amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere equivalent to Australia's total yearly industrial emissions, according to a recent story by Asa Wahlquist in the Australian. The story quoted Professor Mark Adams, from the University of ...
YUS: PNG's first forest conservation area.(Papua New Guinea )(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Papua New Guinea (PNG) has proclaimed its first national conservation area - a 760 [km.sup.2] slice of tropical rainforest stretching from the coastal reefs of PNG's northern Huon Peninsula to the 4000-metre peaks of the western Saruwaged Mountains inland. The YUS Conservation ...
Videoconferencing to cut public sector airfares and emissions.(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In an effort to cut its annual $280 million domestic airfare bill, the federal government will work with Telstra to deploy high-definition, large-screen videoconferencing systems across 20 sites around the country. The Minister for Finance and ...
Breaking down herbicide residues.
Apr 01, 2009 ... Farmers around the world are expected to benefit from the successful trial of an enzyme that breaks down residues of the widely used herbicide, atrazine, in farm dams and runoff water, helping reduce pollution downstream. 'When we added the enzyme to a holding dam filled with ...
Millions poured into soil carbon research.(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2009 ... More than $30 million has been allocated to fund research projects on soil carbon and nitrous oxide emissions in Australian agriculture under the federal government's Climate Change Research Program. Among the projects will be creating national standards for sampling and ...
More resources pumped into groundwater research.
Apr 01, 2009 ... The Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, recently announced initiatives to improve the management of Australia's groundwater resources. These included the launch of a National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, a comprehensive 'atlas' of ...
Scouts lead community in water-saving efforts.(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Scouts Australia has installed 1000 water tanks across the country in what they claim is the largest community water-saving project undertaken in Australia. Scouts rolled out the project in collaboration with Storm Sustainability. The two groups successfully applied for a ...
Air-conditioning from the sun.(solar cooling technology)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Scientists from CSIRO are working on ways to harness the sun's warmth to cool homes and offices. Solar cooling would consume less electricity and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a conventional mechanical air-conditioner. 'Solar ...
Smart living on Magnetic Island.(Profile)
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As you cruise into Nelly Bay, on Magnetic Island, granite outcrops tower over the harbour and tall, emerald-green hoop pines sway in the breeze. But a different kind of green impressed the judges at the 2008 Australian Sustainable Cities Awards. Thanks to ...
Sea-level rise: the view from ground zero.
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to the World Bank, tens of millions of people in 84 developing countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Jamaica and the Maldives will likely be displaced by rising sea levels over this century. In our region, a rise of one metre would effectively ...
Stand-out progress from our corporate first-movers.(Progress)(National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development's meeting)(Conference notes)
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In May, the National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development meets for the 10th time. More than ever business leadership is needed to help us all address the challenges around climate change, water availability and species loss. Here's a quick ...
Putting a value on ecosystem goods and services.(DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABILITY--9)
Apr 01, 2009; ... How much is a clean beach or pristine rainforest worth? Putting a value on ecosystem services is more than an analytical exercise. Figures help us assign non-zero values to services we dearly desire, but we also need to understand how numerical values are derived, as they can give a ...
New vehicle horizons: after our decades-long love affair with petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles, escalating environmental concerns, the recent oil-price spike and the global financial crisis mean the era of greener cars and trucks is fast gearing up. Rachel Sullivan looks at recent developments and the opportunities ahead.(Focus: GREEN VEHICLES)
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 'We still love our cars and are heavily reliant on them" says Monica Richter, Sustainable Australia Program Manager at the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF). 'However, there has been a 20 per cent decline in new car sales over the past ...
Clean technology spin-outs on the rise at CSIRO.(Progress)(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The market pull for 'clean'--or environmentally friendly--technologies has grown pending the introduction of the Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and a global move to formalise carbon markets. Demand is high for technologies ...
Old buildings take the green lead: updating existing building stock to become more energy efficient is the most effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the built sector--and it pays off in many ways.(Focus: BUILT INFRASTRUCTURE AND EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS)
Apr 01, 2009; ... In an increasingly carbon conscious world, there is much emphasis on the creation of new 'green buildings' and infrastructure. But, with 98 per cent of Australia's existing office buildings built without sustainability considerations, people are starting to recognise the importance of ...
Engaging visions of change: visual art can speak to us in an entirely different way, opening new pathways for understanding and action. Alexandra de Bias reports on the Engaging Visions project which is documenting the environmental transformation taking place in the Murray-Darling Basin and how communities are coping with that change.
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 'Imagine Kakadu being reduced to 20 per cent of its biodiversity--well that's what has happened here.' Artist Gary Duncan has been using his artwork to campaign for the plight of native species suffering in his region for ...
Achieving both economic growth and reduced environmental pressures in the current financial climate.(Progress)
Apr 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During arguably the worst global economic recession since the 1930s, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen later this year to negotiate a Post Kyoto Framework and targets for decoupling economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. Since the ...