Adventure Ausrama Blog

Australia begins production of potash. It is a large consumer of the salt, but until now has not produced any of its own. Though resources of the compound have always been available to Australian companies they have never processed it. The Australian Potash company has obtained 3 tonnes of potassium-rich feeder salts from the Lake Wells SOP (sulphate of potash) project. The process facility is near Perth. Production of more of it will be carried out over the next three months. Two Chinese MuO off-take partners have joined the parent company. Lake Wells 180km from Laverton is the source of the compound. There is a chain of evaporative ponds that filter it out of raw material. A research project has been set up by Australian Potash with the School of Agriculture and Environment at the University of Western Australia. The newly produced Australian potash will be tested on various WA soil types. The university product will enable the company to engage with the consumer, namely,...

Anthropology: Cat mummy in Western Australian Museum a fake. It is known that ancient Egyptians made counterfeit mummies, particularly of birds and cats who were given as offerings to the gods. In 1982 an X-ray of a cat mummy showed that it was a fake, probably made in the early 20th century. Staff of the Western Australia Museum who were custodians of the "mummy" were shocked and disappointed by the discovery. A recent CT scan of the "mummy" highlights a human femur broken in the middle then molded to take the shape of a cat. The scan has been sent to Cairo for further study. To solve this problem once and for all a determination of its real age needs to be done. Why waste time looking and re-interpreting?  The WA Museum is still so ashamed of the issue that is has never released a photo of the fake cat mummy nor will show the X-ray or scan to the public. Genuine fake-cat mummy from Saqqara in  Egyp Genuine mummies are on display today at the WA M...

Scientists know everything! Unfortunately, they don't. Much is still being discovered. The Kimberley in Western Australia should be called the place of the unknown because new species are being found there all the time. New Gudgeon Species Forays into the Kimberley rivers area have brought to light 16 new species of grunter ( Terapontidae ), three gudgeons ( Electridae ) and a hardy head ( Atherinidae ). Twelve were found during the first three weeks. Hardyhead from the Kimberley Famous people become more famous because they are - well, famous it seems: one of the new species is to be named after the writer Tim Winton. The rest will be given Aboriginal names, after all, there is the little thing about them being the first on this continent. Kimberley Grunter ◆  Biology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Solutions Blog        ...

The conclusion reached by Bill Schopf that tiny carbon-rich filaments in Pilbara rock of Western Australia show the presence of fossils is now proved to be incorrect. There has been debate about the issue since Bill Schopf made his announcement. Tests indicate that they are just rocks. Professor Martin Brasier first highlighted the problem in 2002, when he claimed that the rocks were part of a high-temperature thermal vein. In other words they were not sedimentary in nature. New high-spacial resolution examination indicates stacks of clay-like mineral plates in the rocks' structure. Carbon has been absorbed into the worm-like chains giving the impression of cell walls.  Carbon distribution was completely wrong for microfossils. The "mischievous" clay plates are the culprit in leading scientists astray in their findings. Authentic microfossils just as old as the Shopf example have recently been found in Western Australia, so the claim for the oldest fossi...

Something has been living out there without our knowledge. Yes, it could be called a monster - a very small one. It is in fact a new species of lizard. A team of scientists from the University of Adelaide has discovered a new kind of Varanus lizard. It was found living in a remote part of the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia. Consequently, it has named the Dampier Peninsula goanna ( Varanus sparnus ). There are now a total of 77 species of the "genus Varanus ". Sparnus is the smallest found so far. The lizard burrows under the ground beneath hard surface objects like stone and wood. Not much is known about its living habits because it moves very fast. The new species seems to be localized, existing only on the Dampier Peninsula. There are no doubt more currently unknown animals in the region. ✴ Biology by Ty Buchanan ✴ http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.co...

You cannot change culture by legislation. The Western Australian government is closing remote Aboriginal communities citing poor health, suicide and not much work. Aboriginal children are brought up in "strong" communities where they learn local languages and rituals passed down for generations. Closing communities will result in total loss of language and culture. How can Aboriginals buy housing in cities? They have no tradition of hereditary wealth or access to education to better one's life. White governments are absolutely responsible for the situation of modern day Aboriginals. White people forcibly took this country from them and forced them into the margins of society where they have remained for centuries. What remote Aboriginals need is more money from government. They have a right to live on their ancestral lands. They were born there. The WA government will be closing rural towns next. Where does this end? If Aboriginals decide to move back ...

Australia is about to lose the Christmas Island pipistrelle bat forever. Wildlife experts say the government is not doing enough. Only 20 of the small bats remain on an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia. The small group are staying together under the bark of a tree. Watchers say the only answer is to collect all of them and try to breed them in captivity. Otherwise, they will be lost. The government has offered to set up a breeding program for a related small bat, but this will not save the pipistrelle. A zoologist, Mr Penney, says the species will not exist this time next year. Scientists are planning to collect the bats and set up a breeding program themselves, ignoring the government. The government is not paying attention to the scientists, so that is what will happen. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ http://adventure--au...

Western Australia is about to fill up its jails and children's care homes in the war on drugs. New legislation will jail parents and take away children for the cultivation of one cannabis plant. The jail terms are mandatory for the manufacture of small amounts of other drugs.  The conservative government has certainly lived up to its ideals of trying to turn back the clock a century or so. Transportation to a far off land could be next for "criminals". An earlier Labor government had decriminalized minor marijuana use. Just why the WA government would want to change a situation that seemed to be working is the real question. The premier must know that tough regulation like in the US has failed, totally. If legislation worked, such action would be justified Even in the UK, people found with a small amount of drugs on their person are given a warning the first time it happens. Only serial offenders are jailed. This is the best idea. Target the dealers not individu...