Archive for November, 2007
Solar city - City-scale solar generation for Cloncurry, Australia
Posted in Models by fedwards on November 4th, 2007
As reported recently in Planet Ark World Environment News, the small town of Cloncurry in northern Queensland, Australia, plans to be the first fully-supplied by solar-power city in the world! The city will become home to a government supplied A$7 million (US$6.5 million), 10-megawatt power station to make Cloncurry one of the first towns to rely on solar power alone.
As reported in the article:
“The town of Cloncurry has long claimed the title of having recorded Australia’s hottest day — 53 degrees (Celsius) in the shade in 1889, so I reckon we’re on a winner,” Queensland Premier Anna Bligh was quoted as saying by Australian Associated Press.
The solar plant will use 8,000 mirrors to reflect sunlight onto graphite blocks. Water will be pumped through the blocks to generate steam which generates electricity via turbines.
The Queensland government said the station would deliver about 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power the entire town. It is expected to be running by early 2010.”
For more details visit the full article at http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/45142/story.htm
Tags: Carbon-neutral, energy
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Sustainable Cities - www.SustainableMaleny.org
Posted in Models, Movements by fedwards on November 2nd, 2007
The Sustainable Maleny website represents a town in hinterland Queensland, Australia, who are “taking locally-focused action on Climate Change and Peak Oil“.
A welcome addition to the Sustainable Cities Network, articles on the site regularly updated site include:
• Walk Against Warming
The SCEC hosted National Walk Against Warming event will be held on Sunday 11 November 2007 at 10.30 am at Alexandra Headlands Surf club (along Aerodrome Road to Sixth Avenue and back)
• The Queensland Oil Vulnerability Taskforce Report
Two and a half years after Premier Beattie appointed Andrew McNamara to chair a task force to examine Queensland’s vulnerability to rising oil prices, the report has finally been released. It apparently spent many months at the bottom of a drawer.
“The report concludes that the overwhelming evidence is that world oil production will peak within the next 10 years, and recommends that a prudent risk mitigation approach requires a mix of initiatives such as reduction in consumption of liquid fossil fuels, encouraging the development and use of alternative fuels, technologies and strategies, and preparation for demographic and regional changes, as Queenslanders change travel, work and living habits in response to rising fuel prices.”
• Solar Hot Water Drive: Phase 2
Over the past few months the Sustainable Maleny team has been working hard on a project to make cheap solar hot water systems available to our members. We formed a partnership with Solahart Sunshine Coast and together formulated a two-phase “Solar Hot Water Drive”.
To see more of the action on this site visit Sustainable Maleny website
Tags: networks, Resource, Urban Design and Built Form
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Research - More articles from World Food Day - Boston
Posted in Models, Research by fedwards on November 1st, 2007
As part of the recent blog action for World Food Day, the team from Boston Medical Centre have published some research from their own backyard. They have kindly given us permission to re-publish this material. The information below is from the C-SNAP Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program website, http://www.c-snap.org/page.php?id=98.
World Food Day
The Real Cost of a Healthy Diet Research Team
October 16, 2007
October 16 is World Food Day, a global event aimed at increasing awareness and advocacy around the multifaceted problem of hunger worldwide. This year, the Real Cost of a Healthy Diet research team looks at hunger in the United States, focusing specifically on the Food Stamp Program and how inadequate benefits and high costs are compromising child health and development.
healthy_diet_wfd_10_16_07.pdf
Factsheet from the Real Cost of a Healthy Diet.
Tags: Food, Provocations
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