Adventure Ausrama Blog

Carbon capture from power stations that are coal powered is not going well. coal-powered power pollution For decades there has been much talk about capturing carbon from coal-fired power stations. So far projects have failed to come up with a viable solution. Coal is dirty and it remains so. Nuclear is more realistic alternative but it is dangerous.   power station pollution carbon coal-fired capture soda ash power stations pollution A new attempt is about to be made in India by Carbon Clean Solutions (CCSL). Claims are being made of capture costs as low $30.00 a tonne, half of that achieved so far in other tests. Pollution is also claimed to be reduced to zero. Such figures are obviously totally baseless.       carbon coal-fired pollution power stations cement fertilizer  Reduction of carbon by salt and amines to soda ash is the method to be used. Soda ash is used for fertilizer and cement. There is more than one system. The list i...

Australia is one the world's major producers of wheat. If climate change reduces national output there will be widespread consequences. The economy will suffer with the need to import wheat. Internationally, a wheat shortage will put prices up and many poor people will have to go without. On the positive side some regions of Australia will get more rain. People will still be able to "fatten up" on sugar and rice, despite research showing that sugar contains no nourishment whatsoever for the human body. Two centuries ago a group of British sailors was shipwrecked on the west coast of Africa. The ship was beached. Even though the ship had a full load of West Indian sugar they all died of malnutrition. Getting back to the main point. There will be competition for arable land pushing land prices up. There is also a link between the land and sea. Climate change will reduce the fish catch. Living in the bush will become impossible with farming failing to prop...

Whether you use an "environmentally friendly" shopping bag or a standard one you are damaging the environment. They both take time to break down. Furthermore, the so called "safe" bags cause pollution during manufacture. Australia's oceanic waters carry countless pieces of plastic bags, Marine creatures eat this debris and die. When plastic breaks down in sea water it becomes very tiny and is virtually invisible. These pieces gather up pollutants and become mobile destructors. The tinier the particles the more absorbent it becomes. Researchers scooped up surface water from the ocean in coastal water all the way from Perth to Fiji and New Zealand. By observing the area of the net covered in plastic fragments they were able to codify amounts across a vast area. The average number of microplastic fragments was 4,000 per square kilometers. It went as high as 23,000 in some places. This was near highly populated cities. Most of the items people use are ma...

Now don't get me wrong here! Tony Abbot has shown himself to be a good prime Minister. He has kept his known temper under wraps. Whether this will last we don't know yet. Keeping control of information about new boat arrivals will probably not work for much longer. The press have a habit of "getting ahead" of events. Reporters will find out somehow and release the knowledge to everyone. The greatest problem lies in the area of climate change. Everyone has the latest news and info at hand today. The north and south poles are decreasing in size and that is enough in itself to accept that climate change is caused by human activity. Furthermore, animal species are moving into new regions as oceans warm up. Though Tony Abbot admits somewhat reluctantly that climate change is due to industrialization, one cannot be sure if he genuinely believes this. He has surrounded himself with climate change skeptics. Many would not accept that a war was going on un...

It seems it is not only nuclear power that pollutes the earth with radioactive substances. For centuries coal and oil production has brought thousands of tons of polluted material from beneath the planet to the surface. Further processing concentrates it even more.  Apparently the sludge is left lying around and is not isolated from the population. For every barrel of oil pumped up into storage, ten barrels of polluted water is dragged up as well. Uranium and radium occur naturally below ground. In the US plastic pipes used in the production process were given to kindergartens to make playground equipment. The coal and oil industry has known for many years about the problem but has kept very quiet about it. While nuclear power stations are closely monitored, limits are set high for coal and oil which allows producers to pollute at will. Tests for radioactivity on dumps of sludge give readings 700 times higher than clean areas. With new housing estates being built on top of dis...

As human beings take more medications, so the environment becomes saturated with drugs. Sewerage treatment works are having a difficult problem removing them and providing usable water. Even low levels of these dangerous chemicals can damage fish, for example. When exposed to anti-stress drugs they get hungry like drug addicts and eat until they are blotted. Very small microbes that keep the environment running effectively no longer do their work on slime to create food for fish. Chemicals such as shampoo, washing powder, disinfectants, caffeine, antihistamines and antibiotics upset the ecosystem. They slow production of algae a base food source. Basically, waterways are being sterilized. It is difficult to ascertain the impact of each drug because there are a number of pollutants present at any one time. Pesticides and fertilizers are mixed in with drugs. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.c...

Despite changes in the supply of motor fuel, i.e., the move toward unleaded petrol, high levels of lead in the blood of children is still an issue. In the northern hemisphere there are seasonal fluctuations in levels of lead. Though the general amount of lead present in the environment has fallen, it remains significantly high in the blood of children. Much of the lead released decades ago is still there. The polluted fine particles are swept up into the air in the warmer months of July, August and September. This is the time when children are outside playing their sports. Money would be better spent on "fixing" the suspended lead rather than reducing content in products we use. Finding a way to "lock-in" the lead particles would end the damage to future generations of people. Once lead reaches a high level in the blood it is extremely difficult to reduce. Damage to the brain and nervous system is permanent. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ htt...

We are obsessed with the oil crisis. So much so that we fail to see other problems that face us in the near future. For example, what about fresh drinking water. If nothing is done soon, the world will be in crisis. Even countries with cold climates, in Europe, are facing a shortage of potable water because of the high population density. As people become Westernized they consume more water. They change from bathing when they can, to having showers every day. Production oil also impacts on the availability of water. it takes 2.5 liters of water to produce every liter of oil. Even growing bio fuels puts pressure on water, with a thousand liters of water needed to make a liter of bio fuel. The modern way of life is water "heavy": Wealthy people use 3,000 liters of water each day to live their lives. More drought in the world is putting prices of everything up. When water gets short it does so locally. Moving water from one place to another in bulk is problematical. In the shor...

Though it is not unusual for alien species to invade Australia, it is unusual for animals native to Australia to become pests in other countries. The Australian spotted jellyfish, phyllorhiza punctata , is stinging bathers on Spanish beaches. The jellyfish is not dangerous to humans, but it causes a painful sting. Though called the Australian spotted jellyfish it is also found in North Carolina and the Gulf of Mexico. Seven beaches were closed in Spain to protect people: Cala Cerrada, La Zenia, Cala Capitan, Punta Prima, La Mosca and Playa Flamenca. There are fears that the jellyfish will arrive on British beaches this summer. Climate change, pollution and overfishing are being blamed. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Climate

Where there's money to be gained someone will jump in. This is now the case for camels in Australia. Plans are being made to kill the animals in exchange for carbon credits. It is claimed that their flatulence is polluting the atmosphere. Northwest Carbon apparently believes it owns the camels or has the sole right to cull them. The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency first suggested taking such action. Apparently, one camel produces a ton of carbon dioxide each year. This is an exaggeration. Culling camels has nothing to do with reducing Australia's carbon footprint. It is just a money-making exercise. Admittedly camels are feral. They were introduced into Australia in the 19th century because they were ideal for moving goods about in the dry outback. But their metabolism is higher than cattle and their pollution level is low. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAu...

Western Australian beaches are in the throws of an ecological disaster. Tiny pellets of plastic resin are in the environment which absorb industrial chemicals particularly pesticides. The pellets are a bi-product of plastic drink bottle manufacturing. There is real danger that Bisphenol A will create estrogen leading to infertility. Bisphenol A was first found in plastic in the 1950s. Such plastic is now found everywhere. It is not known how or even if marine animals consume the plastic. Other chemicals, many estrogenic, are put into bottle plastic for flexibility, color and other properties. The chemicals are not fully absorbed in the plastic, so they migrate to the surface and escape. It was established several years ago that PCBs, DDT and HCH chemicals. all hormone disruptors. were in plastic resin pellets. Australia is playing a "waiting game", watching to see what other countries do in regard to these pellets. Many people are not worrying because the pellets bl...

What has happened to Australian society that the support for a carbon tax, so high when Kevin Rudd was in charge, has vanished? It seems everyone thought that a tax on pollution wouldn't really mean a financial burden. With the sudden hits from water and electricity price increases they know that it will cost - a lot. Kevin is crying into his handkerchief saying they made me do it - his cabinet told him to give up his push for a carbon tax, so he says. Julia Gillard has apparently had a change of heart and it is now her baby. Australians will have to accept that they will get less for their money in the near future. All countries will have to join the carbon club eventually. Not using as much petrol is a possibility, but doing without air conditioning particularly the wealthy that will be difficult. It seems the pillars of capitalism will be challenged. This is the kind of post-capitalism that twenty years ago hardly anyone would imagine. A society that really cares for th...

If you want healthy lungs don't take up running or vigorous exercise. Perhaps it is better to head for the country and stay away from smokers. Your body needs clean air in order to stay healthy. Living in cities is a no, no. If you live in London you will already have lung damage. Spending just 48 minutes there is equivalent to smoking a cigarette. It is not only cigarette smoke that is troublesome. Fumes from cars and diesel buses is something you can't avoid. Heading indoors is a waste of time. Pollution condenses down into corridors, tunnels and homes. Toxins are more than double that of the external environment. Plants help to clear the air. Don't use artificial air fresheners. Even the television pumps out volatile organic compounds (VOC). Unfortunately there is not a lot we can do in the modern world to avoid toxins. It's everywhere. Doing exercise will make the body take in more pollutants. Taking a holiday in the country is no answer - ozone from cities ends up ...

The world is in a tight corner and people are far too optimistic. Thinking that carbon pollution will cure itself is not scientific fact. Only a fool would hang onto the notion that nothing is wrong. The poles are thawing out and that is fact. Polar bears are dwindling in number as their traditional frozen feeding grounds get warmer. Butterflies that used to stay on in winter in southern England have moved north to colder climes. Those species that stay are getting larger. Despite coal power stations being the main culprit more are being built to meet Mankind's increasing demand. Much is said about nuclear power stations holding the key to a "clean" future. Used uranium is going around Europe at this very moment without finding a home in any country. Where will this dangerous product be put in the future? Unless it is blasted into space toward the sun there is no where for it to go. France gets more than 80 percent of its electric power from nuclear means, but this is th...

There is hope for a new fuel that will reduce the price of oil, but carbon pollution of the earth will still be a problem. In Mackay, north Australia, a farmer is planting "diesel trees". Oil from the trees will be tapped and used in diesel engines without refining. A tree can produce 40 liters a year. This means that a farmer can grow a hectare of the trees, and this will be sufficient for all his farm needs. This is good for the cost of fuel. However, it will do little to reduce carbon pollution. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . .