Posted in Natural Resources

Naomi Klein says building new nuclear power plants ‘doesn’t make sense’

News.com.au, 1 September 2015.

BUILDING new nuclear power plants to create a carbon-free world “doesn’t make sense” and just serves as a distraction from the risks, Canadian author Naomi Klein says.

The activist and author of This Changes Everything, was asked what she thought about the possibility of building a nuclear power plant in South Australia, which a Royal Commission in the state is currently considering.

Backers of nuclear power often spruik it as an alternative to renewables because it does not produce greenhouse gases, unlike coal-fired power stations.

But Klein said building new nuclear plants did not make any sense to her.

“What’s exciting about this renewables revolution spreading around the world, is that it shows us that we can power our economies without the enormous risk that we have come to accept,” she told media on Thursday.

She said the latest research showed renewables could power 100 per cent of the world’s economies.

“We can do it without those huge risks and costs associated with nuclear so why wouldn’t we?” she said.

We can achieve a carbon-free world with renewables says Canadian author Naomi Klein. Picture: Cole Bennetts/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

We can achieve a carbon-free world with renewables says Canadian author Naomi Klein. Picture: Cole Bennetts/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

While there was still debate over the timing of when renewables should be introduced, and whether existing nuclear power plants should be taken offline first, Klein said it didn’t make sense to her to build new nuclear facilities.

“People are constantly holding this promise of next generation nuclear which supposedly doesn’t have the risk of our current generation nuclear but at this point it’s notional, that’s not what’s being constructed and I think in large part that serves as a distraction from the risk associated with actual nuclear power.”

Klein said Germany was already getting 30 per cent of its daily electricity from renewables. On sunny days renewables can make up to 80 per cent.

“They’ve created … 400,000 jobs in this transition, they’ve also deepened their democracy because they have taken back control of their energy grids in hundreds of cities and towns in Germany and are able to keep the profits of energy generation and use them to pay for services,” she said.

“So this is not just about flipping the switch from one energy model to another, it’s also about changing our economy to make it fairer.

“It is true that some of the most powerful actors in our current economic system … stand to lose a lot.”

View full article here.

Sustainable living put to the test in Bondor-QUT study partnership

Sustainable housing is increasingly sought-after by Australians – but how effective are current strategies and products used in sustainable construction?

A study, which sees Queensland University of Technology (QUT) team up with Bondor, aims to find out.

Residential homes in each state constructed using Bondor’s innovative InsulLiving® building products, InsulWall® and SolarSpan®, will be monitored over an extended period of time to evaluate how Bondor’s high performance thermal building system meets the needs of the residents in relation to both energy cost savings and comfort.

Bondor, sustainable livingQUT’s Dr Wendy Miller and Bondor have been working closely since 2009 when Bondor first began marketing to residential homes. This is their third joint project.

The goal of the project is to develop an Innovations Adoption Toolkit (IAT) that will enable housing supply chain agents to identify and implement innovations with benefits for all stakeholders.

Bondor’s InsulLiving® national sales manager Paul Adams said Bondor’s long-term partnership with Dr Miller and QUT was an excellent way to continually review the benefits of building products and construction methods that promote sustainable living.

“As always, we are excited to be a part of this project and look forward to seeing the results,” he said.

“Anything which works towards a more streamlined and widespread approach to sustainable living is something which we at Bondor are enthusiastic about.”

Dr Miller said the project would look at innovation within all areas of the housing market, from homeowners and real estate agents to builders and manufacturers like Bondor.

“This particular project came about from previous research saying that sustainable housing wasn’t a focus in standard methods of housing construction, and it was hard to cater for customers who wanted something more sustainable,” said Dr Miller.

“So we wanted to find out if there were leaders in the market working on construction methods which lent themselves to sustainable living, and how they were doing so.

“We are hoping to show that doing things differently to ‘business as usual’ has benefits for everyone – the supplier and the consumer.”

Each home under analysis will be measured in a range of areas including temperature, electrical circuits, thermal imaging and air tightness.

The project began seven months ago and ends in 2017, with the first set of results to be available from mid-2015.

Further information on the study and a full overview of expectations: Toolkit for transforming Australian housing: behaviour, culture and practices.

 

 

It’s raining water tanks

It’s raining water tanks: top tips for keeping them healthy and efficient

Article published by CSIRO 11 February 2015 Author:

Australia is the driest populated continent in the world, and yet our water consumption per person is among the highest on the planet. For Australians, water is scarce and how we manage this resource is a concern for us all.

It’s no surprise that people are looking to install some form of water catchment for their property. Recent data shows that 26 per cent of Australian homes have already installed a rainwater tank and an overwhelming majority reported that they are positive about the tanks.

From saving money on your water bills to the conservation of a valuable natural resource, there is a lot to like about the humble rainwater tank.

raining water tanksMore than a quarter of Australian households have a rainwater tank. Picture credit: ABC.net.au

They can even have other positive flow-on effects for the community. For example, the use of rainwater tanks in urban areas can relieve pressure on public infrastructure because of reduced stormwater runoff. We’ve also seen the popularity of rainwater tanks increase year on year, with the ABS reporting that the total storage capacity in Australia has gone up by 30 per cent between 2006 and 2011.

This is all very encouraging news for the environment – but, it’s not all drinking water and skittles. Just like buying a puppy dog or a Tamagotchi, owning a rainwater tank comes with its own responsibilities.

A recent study we conducted with the Smart Water Fund has shown that households may not be aware of some of the maintenance requirements that come with rainwater tank ownership.

In the report, Survey of savings and conditions of rainwater tanks, we conducted extensive research into rainwater systems across Melbourne, looking at the efficiency of the tanks and the water savings that can be generated at an individual household level.

One of the most interesting findings was lack of awareness around maintenance. Only 58 per cent of Melbournians indicated that they have conducted some form of maintenance on their system.

It’s important to know that the installation of a rainwater tank isn’t a set-and-forget scenario. There are some maintenance tasks that are unavoidable if you want to keep the tank healthy and efficient.

Read full CSIRO article here.