Adventure Ausrama Blog

It seems the only way to impact on climate change and reduce pollution is regulation. Such ideas as banning petrol and diesel cars by 2030 will not work, however. People have to learn to live without the luxury of jumping in the car and driving down the road. There must be some form of "punishment" for driving your car. Sure using a bicycle is virtually free. Obviously, punishment is not high enough yet to make you use the bike There is no doubt that the cost of motoring will rise dramatically in the future as countries accept the human cause of an unhealthy planet. This is obvious because even now governments are addicted to taxation. The only real answer to change people's life habits is to make it financially painful to do things that damage the environment. It costs less than $1,000 a year now to register a car. In coming years this will rise to a realistic level of $5,000. It will hurt. Prices in the shops will increase, but the standard of living has to ...

Lincoln red cattle are genetically strong, ideal for farmers. Lincoln Red cattle are large. They provide a lot of meat. However, many consumers have never heard of the breed, mainly because investment in marketing has been minimal. A marketing program is planned. In many ways the meat is superior to the much vaunted Angus. Admittedly, only a thousand head are produced each year in Western Australia. If consumers knew of the quality meat more could be ready for market very quickly. The breed comes from the cold and windy east coast county of Lincolnshire in England. There true origin is the Bos urus cattle of Scandinavia. While not currently popular with consumers in Australia, they have "taken-off" in Europe. It has pluses for farmers. It efficiently converts feed to meat and grows rapidly. Crossbreeds in particular grow very fast. Unusually for meat animals they make good milkers as well. ◆ Genetics by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal ...

Genetics: Identification of the genome of the carrot has just been complete by researchers. Though the carrot is a mundane vegetable it is important for a rounded, varied diet. Haven't you heard that carrots are good for your eyesight - I bet you have never seen a rabbit wearing glasses have you? Ah well, a little less of the frivolity! Scientists sequenced the genome of the humble carrot only a week ago. Increasing the level of nutrients in the vegetable is the prime objective. Vitamin A is present in high levels naturally. This does benefit one's eyes. Side issues include disease resistant and greater yields. This does directly improve life for farmers. Overall ,consumers get a better product at a lower price. Ironically, vegetables have more genes than humans: 32,000 compared to 20,000. It seems that Man is nothing special after all. Plants are more complex than us. Carrots are probably more useful than people to the planet - they don't destroy it. ...

For the first time economic theory is being challenged by the Internet. Economics has always put forward the premise that the consumer was all-knowing, in that the "going price" for products was known. Of course, in the past this has been a lie. The demand curve was absolutely false. Buyers did not know where they could get the best price. Now, potential buyers can go to a store, try on a particular brand of clothing to find the correct size, then go and buy it on the Internet. Some shops are charging for such browsing. This will only drive consumers away to another store. There isn't much doubt that there are too many stores in the market selling the same goods. This is a problem caused by local councils allowing shopping center development even when it is contrary to local planning laws. Councils are too easily influenced by cashed-up big business. As chain stores move into populated centers of rural areas the future looks bleak for the corner store. The da...

Environmentalists launch a campaign to stop the sale of battery eggs.  This involves "pestering" consumers in supermarkets who are about to buy battery eggs.  The environmentalist will not win the war.  They will just make consumers angry.  Radio advertisements will have the same effect. If battery eggs are banned the price of supermarket eggs will increase from $2.50 to $10.00 a dozen.  The government will also have the burden of compensation for battery farms which are forced to close. The campaigners believe that consumers need to be educated about chickens living in tiny pens.  People already know this.  They don't need to be force-fed the truth.  They also know that cows must be kept alive for blood to be drained from the body after they are knocked out.  This doesn't stop them buying beef. European countries are trying to change, but the supply of free-range eggs is insufficient to meet demand.  Not enough businesses ar...

Despite calls by some countries for Internet companies to had over information on citizens' searches and email, the knowledge superhighway is moving in the other direction. Information stored in the cloud are out of reach of national police forces. Gone are the days when just about everything that a suspect has done is available recorded somewhere at sometime. Data is there but it cannot be accessed. The ordinary person will not have much sympathy for police trying to "background" a suspect. They see authorities as being too intrusive anyway. For years Australian social security sent out "demand" forms for aged pensioners to provide up-to-date information about what they had in the bank. A court found that social security did not have the legal right to demand honest answers. The forms are still being sent out. Legally they are still suspect. Such is the quagmire authorities are in. Anyway, back to the case in hand. Police are saying even getting data ...

Coles has chosen not to sell beef enhanced by Hormone Growth Promotants (HGP). For making this stand it has been condemned by Animal Health Alliance (AHA). Note that AHA is financed by pharmaceutical companies. Elanco and Pfizer are members of this organization. Saying that Coles ignores scientifically based findings that HGP beef is safe is unscientific in itself. No number of tests will ever prove it to be safe because it hasn't been in use long enough to ascertain its dangers. CSIRO has found HGP beef to be of poor eating quality, and as Coles makes a quality related buying decision is will not be purchased by them. This is a free country and producers "jumping up and down" will not make consumers buy their product. HGPs make cattle grow faster so it should be cheaper. Unfortunately, this saving is not passed on to the buyer. Indeed, consumers will pay more for non-HGP beef. Sales of HGP meat is declining and it won't be around for much longer. How can Coles action...

Consumers will have to learn to do without. If we want our children to enjoy seafood we will have to eat less of it now. That means paying a higher price. A guide has been put out by the Australian Conservation Society to make people aware of what species are in danger. This Christmas consumers have bought lobster, bugs and mackerel. It is debatable as to whether all of these are actually threatened. Not everyone is in favor of informing the general public about the need for change in the seafood industry. The Queensland Seafood Industry Association, in particular retailers the body represents, are angry because they fear a fall in income. They are saying the industry is already struggling. Yes, it is struggling because seafood is becoming more difficult to supply. It is really a case of " someone has to pay and it won't be us ". They say fishing boats have been bought and licensing fees have been paid. The reality is, however, that if fishing is not cut back there will n...

As if bankcard fraud is not bad enough a new "easy to cheat" card is released. No pin number is necessary to use cash resources on the card. Just tap it on an Eftpos and a green light comes on to show goods are paid for. Businesses may like this new system because purchases are quick, impulsive and transaction costs are lower. But what if someone gets hold of the card from a burglary. The account can be emptied without a pin or signature. Surely banks will refuse to refund money to the card owner. It is a way for banks to opt-out of their responsibilities. Retailers can also be hit, apparently, because the card can be used with nothing in the bank account. New technology is the culprit. Magnetic strip is now seen as old fashioned. Solid state chips are now the go. Competition is beginning with PayWave and Payless trying to dominate the new market. Thankfully, transactions are limited to $100 at the moment. Takeaway chains and corner stores are adopting the new system for quic...

Electronic publishing will not improve income for authors. There isn't much hope that the Australian Society of Authors will get its way. The ASA wants 35 per cent return for ebooks. With an expectation of $10 for a new novel that is $3.33. That is a much more than traditional paper publishers pay. Trying to manipulate the electronic medium for more profit is not on. Book publishers have been paying only 10 per cent of the sale price for years. Demand is only high now because many old favorites are available for free. Most consumers are prepared to pay only cents for new work. The same thing will happen as happened with music. Some will buy books then distribute them online for free. When Internet book publishing matures consumers will pay only what they pay now to get a song from iTunes - $0.99. Publishing firms are selling more new books in ebook format than paper, but this is the honeymoon period. As sells mushroom, profit margins and price will crash. Don't forget the dange...