Read the rest of "Sensational Shale Gas ‘Cocktail’ Coverage"]]> By Peter Willams, The West Australian newspaper.

The Australian chief of the US energy giant at the forefront of developing shale gas in WA says the industry has failed to defend the practice of “fraccing” against claims about its dangers.

The president of ConocoPhilip’s Australian business, Todd Creeger, said business had been on the back foot over explaining the science behind hydraulic fracturing o extract gas from shale and coal seams in the face of some “sensational” media coverage.

CoconoPhilips last month signed an agreement with New Standard Energy which could create WA’s first shale gas operation in the Canning Basin in the Kimberley.

Proposals by other players to extract gas in the South West’s Whicher Range have attracted opposition from conservationists, farmers and local governments concerned about groundwater contamination.

The NSW Government last month extracted a moratorium on fraccing in the coal seam gas sector until the end of the year.

Fraccing involves drilling into the shale layer and fracturing it with explosives. A mixture of sand, water and chemicals is pumped into the fissures, releasing gas and water through the pipe.

Critics say it has the potential to expose aquifiers to a “cocktail” of chemicals used by the drillers.

“There’s very very little potential to contaminate groundwater,” Mr Creeger told an American Chamber of Commerce in Australia breakfast in Perth yesterday.

He said more than 99 per cent of the materials used in fraccing were sand and water: “The chemicals that we add a swimming pool has more chemicals. We haven’t done a good enough job in getting out and explaining the science.”

Mr Creeger also told the function that the value of CoconoPhilips’ Australian assets were projected to triple over the next decade and predicted its workforce across Australia and East Timor of 500 people would double in just a few years.

He said a second phase of LNG exploration with Karoon Gas in the Browse Basin was set to being in the December quarter, but that the company had not yet decided on what form the Browse Basin development would take.

See also “Environmental Problems Caused by Fracking / Coal Seam Gas Mining“

Read the rest of "Wipe Your Bottom on the House of the Sumatran Tiger"]]> There are less than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild.

The habitat of Sumatran tigers is being sold in IGA supermarkets across Australia as toilet paper.

IGA buys its toilet paper from Indonesia’s most notorious rainforest destroyer, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP).

If you believe in Principle before Profit, and you don’t like the thought of wiping your bottom using the habitat of the last Sumatran Tigers in the world, send a message to the CEO of IGA, Andrew Reitzer.

Read the rest of "Monster Wind Turbines"]]> The Vestas V164 7 Megawatt.
A dedicated offshore turbine – specifically designed for the roughest North Sea conditions.

According to Anders Søe-Jensen, President of Vestas Offshore, the offshore wind market is set to really take off over the coming years, but more so in some parts of the world than in others:

“We expect the major part of offshore wind development to happen in the Northern part of Europe, where the conditions at sea are particularly rough. Based on our broad true offshore experience and our many years as pioneers within the offshore wind industry, we have specifically designed the V164-7.0 MW to provide the highest energy capture and the highest reliability in this rough and challenging environment. This makes our new turbine an obvious and ideal choice for instance for many UK Round 3 projects.”

Based on the potential market size, the V164-7.0 MW business case is based on Europe and primarily the Northern European markets. Should market demand require so, Vestas is however also prepared to take the V164-7.0 MW to other parts of the world in due time.

However, for some time now, people forced to live close to wind farms in Australia have expressed concern that the noise from the turbines is affecting their health. They say the machines have destroyed their lives, causing headaches, high blood pressure and nausea. ABC Australia’s Four Corners has gone to several wind-farming hot-spots across Australia to meet the people who claim they are simply collateral damage as the nation scrambles to embrace renewable energy.

Waubra, in regional Victoria, is an established wind farm location, with 128 turbines so far. Several locals who claim their health had been harmed by the technology. One man said that the turbines cause headaches that were so bad he had to relocate from his farm and move into town. In his view he’s paying a terrible price:

“We’re refugees in our own country. We’re leaving here because of danger, it’s no set up or anything, we’re being really harmed.”

But is there any scientific basis for these claims? Some experts believe it’s possible that low frequency sounds, generated by the turbines but too low to be audible to the human ear, could have a health impact.

Others say that while people might be getting headaches, it’s unlikely their health is being affected by sound waves:

“If you whip up anxiety, people will generate many of these symptoms. There’s fear of the unknown, there’s activists creating concern among the population.”

And that raises one of the major questions in this debate: are health concerns being exaggerated by activists who simply don’t want wind farms in their backyard?

[source]

Read the rest of "The World’s Best Gourmet Places"]]> 1. Donghuamen Night Market, Beijing, China

This bustling night market is a kaleidoscopic food zoo of all the Chinese food you could wish to try (with plenty of critters-on-a-stick you might not care for, into the bargain). For the squeamish, there are lamb kebabs, beef and chicken skewers, corn on the cob, noodles and candied fruit kebabs. For those harder-of-stomach, how about smelly tofu, or deep-fried and skewered creepy crawlies such as grasshoppers, scorpions, silkworms and centipedes? For many it might be a case of look but don’t dare to buy, but the photo opportunities are outstanding. Dozens of stalls are set up here each evening (from about 5.30pm); vendors’ signs are generally in Mandarin and English.

2. Gelateria di Piazza, San Gimignano, Italy

It’s not only the incredible beauty of the walled Tuscan town of San Gimignano that will cause your heart to soar. Stop by the Gelateria di Piazza and your taste buds will applaud… As the pictures on the wall attest, many celebs have wrapped their lips around one of the gelateria’s rich ice creams (‘all the family thought the ice cream was delicious’ attested one Tony Blair). Master Sergio uses only the choicest ingredients: pistachios from Sicily and cocoa from Venezuela. There are plenty of the traditional flavours, but you’ll be tempted by unusual combinations such as rosemary-scented raspberry, or pink grapefruit and sparkling wine.

Give your appetite another thrill at the town’s Museo del Vino (Wine Museum), where you can taste some of the choice local white wines.

3. La Grande Epicerie, Paris, France

If grocery shopping normally bores you to tears, prepare to be stunned. The exquisitely presented chocolates, pastries, tins of biscuits, fruit and veg, seafood, cheeses, wines and other enticing edibles in this glorious food store within Le Bon Marché department store are a sight to behold (for our money, this beats the Mona Lisa). There are downsides to visiting this shrine to fine food, however. The first: no suitcase (or budget) will be big enough for all that you wish to buy and take home. The second: returning to your neighbourhood supermarket after visiting Le Grand Epicerie will likely reduce you to tears.

You’re not too far from the Jardin du Luxembourg, so snaffle some supplies and dine alfresco in one of the city’s most beloved parks.

4. Tokyo Fish Market, Japan

Come for the tuna auctions, stay for the sushi breakfast. After it’s been fished from the sea and before it turns up on a sashimi platter, most of Tokyo’s seafood transits through Tsukiji Market. This gigantic pulsating hub of Tokyo’s gastronomic system pumps at a frenetic pace. Workers yell, slice blocks of ice, haul massive bluefin tuna, spit, stop for a smoke, laugh, bone an eel and yell some more. You’ll have to trundle out here early to see the predawn arrival of fish and its wholesale auctioning (when visitors are permitted), but even at around 7am there’s still some good market bustle and seafood-slinging going on.

Lines are unavoidable at Daiwa Sushi, Tsukiji’s famed sushi bar (open from 5am). The sushi sets are a good bet if you’re not comfortable ordering in Japanese.

5. House of Master Belgian Chocolate-Makers, Brussels, Belgium

Belgium produces a dreamy 220,000 tonnes of chocolate per year. Its unmatched reputation for sublime chocolate derives from the silky smooth texture created by extended conching (stirring) during the production process, and from the use of pure cocoa butter. A turning point for Belgian chocolate came in 1912, when pralines (filled chocolates) were born in Brussels. On that city’s magnificent Grand Place, La Maison des Maîtres Chocolatiers Belges unites 10 of the country’s choco-craftsmen in an upmarket boutique that also offers demonstrations in English (and the all-important taste-tests) at 4pm Saturday and Sunday.

Also stop by a Pierre Marcolini store – his innovative choc-creations are a top choice for Belgium’s wealthy and fashion conscious.

6. Darjeeling, India

It’ll start on the train there (or indeed, any train in India) – the nasal call of the chai wallahs pacing the platforms, hawking their masala-spiced nectar. But that’s nothing compared to Darjeeling itself. Once you switch to the narrow-gauge steam train that hauls you up to this 2000m hill station you’re surrounded by the stuff : tea in the cafes, tea in the bazaars and a deep-green leafy profusion of tea cascading down the hillsides, with the might of the Himalaya behind.

Between March and November (picking and processing season) take a plantation tour and marvel at what goes into a humble tea bag. Of course, high tea is in order – take it at the Elgin or Windermere hotels. Shop for tea at Nathmull’s Tea Room.

7. Spice Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

Although somewhat tainted by tourist creep, this market can easily transport you back to its Ottomanera heyday with the kaleidoscopic colours of its mounds of saffron, sumac, chilli and salça (tomato paste), its herbal teas and lokum (Turkish delight), and enough aphrodisiac remedies to make even a sultan blush. As well as baharat (spices), nuts and honey in the comb, there are truckloads of incir (figs) and pestil (fruit pressed into sheets and dried). This is a regular shopping spot for the city’s best chefs.

Don’t be afraid to do as the locals do – try before you buy, and compare prices. If you’re in need of more sustenance than a market snack, Bab-i Hayat is a beautiful vaulted space over the eastern entrance to the bazaar.

8. Maison Mercier Épernay, France

Épernay, the capitale du champagne and home to many of the world’s most celebrated champagne houses, is the best place for touring cellars and sampling bubbly. The most popular champagne brand in France, Mercier, has thrived on unabashed self-promotion since it was founded in 1858 by Eugène Mercier, a trailblazer in the field of eye-catching publicity stunts and the virtual creator of the cellar tour. Everything here is flashy, including the 160,000L barrel that took two decades to build, the lift that transports you 30m underground, and the train taking you along part of the 18km of champagne cellars.

Stay in style at Le Clos Raymi, once occupied by Monsieur Chandon (of champagne fame).

9. Roquefort Caves, France

In the heart of rural southern France, the village of Roquefort turns ewes’ milk into France’s most famous cheese. Its steep, narrow streets lead to natural caves, where seven producers ripen 22,000 tonnes of Roquefort each year – and some cheesemakers offer tours. La Société, established in 1842, has one-hour tours of its pungent caves (including tasters). It’s now the largest Roquefort producer, churning out 70% of the world’s supply. And did you know that the mouldy blue-green veins that run through Roquefort cheese are, in fact, the spores of microscopic mushrooms, cultivated on leavened bread? Er, yum.

Roquefort is a parking nightmare; it’s better to leave your car beside the tourist office at the main, western entry to the village and walk in.

10. San Miniato National White Truffle Market, San Miniato, Italy

The tuber magnatum pico (white truffle) reigns supreme at the medieval hilltop town of San Miniato, roughly halfway between Pisa and Florence. The woods around here are famed throughout Italy as prime truffle-hunting grounds, and mid-September to December is when all the action takes place. The best way to enjoy it is via the town’s white-truffle market, held on the last three weekends of November. During the festival, restaurateurs and truffle tragics come from every corner of the globe to purchase supplies, sample truffle-based delicacies in the town’s shops and restaurants, and breathe in one of the world’s most distinctive aromas.

[source]

Read the rest of "Steve McQueen’s Cars to be Sold"]]> A 1953 Siata 208/S Spider and a 1970 Porsche 911S once owned by Steve McQueen will be sold at Monterey Car Week.

The Porsche (which is being sold by Jerry Seinfeld) was delivered to McQueen, appropriately enough, while he was on the set of Le Mans and boasts just 12,400 miles. The cherry red Siata, on the other hand, was acquired by McQueen in 1956 and has recently been completely refurbished, now sporting a 2.0-liter V8 producing 115 horsepower. As these beautiful cars have a legendary heritage, it’s close to certain that they won’t go for cheap.

Steve McQueen’s 1953 Siata 208/S Spider

Steve McQueen’s 1970 Porsche 911S

[full story]

Read the rest of "The History of the English Language in 10 Minutes"]]> Everyone who speaks English knows it’s a jumbled mess of borrowed words, colloquialisms and exceptions to the rules. The Internet has shown us that even 13 (or more) years of English education aren’t even enough for some people to get the basics down.

But also thanks to the Internet, there are ways to learn about things that are more interesting–and definitely more entertaining–than taking notes in a middle school classroom.

For that, the Open University presents “The History of English in Ten Minutes”, a ten-part series of bite-sized history lessons on the sources of English words and phrases, as well as a look at how English grew into a major global language./

Chapter 1: Anglo Saxon

Chapter 2: The Norman Conquest

Chapter 3: Shakespeare

Chapter 4: The King James Bible

Chapter 5: The English of Science

Chapter 6: English & Empire

Chapter 7: The Age of the Dictionary

Chapter 8: American English

Chapter 9: Internet English

Chapter 10: Global English

Videos courtesy of Open University.

Save 75% on your college textbooks – learn more!

Read the rest of "No Justice for Constable Matthew Butcher"]]> The WA Police Commissioner said he was “thoroughly disgusted” with the outcome of the six-week trial that saw three men acquitted of assault against police officers – including Constable Matthew Butcher.

Karl O’Callaghan said he had already received two resignations from rank-and-file police officers this morning in protest of the not-guilty verdicts – which saw 29-year-old Barry McLeod cleared of striking Constable Butcher from behind with what prosecutors described during the marathon trial as a “flying headbutt”.

Constable Butcher remains paralysed down his left side from the attack and is often wheelchair-bound.

The incident occurs after the 25 second mark of the video.

Today, the Commissioner vented his disappointment that no-one would be held accountable for that attack.

“I’m thoroughly disgusted with the outcome and there wouldn’t be a police officer in WA that is not disgusted with the outcome also,” he said.

“An officer was brutally assaulted with his back turned and apparently no one is to blame.”

The Director of Public Prosecutions has taken a swipe at the jury that was selected for the Matthew Butcher assault trial, claiming it failed to properly represent the breadth of the community.

Robert Cock has also defended the resourcing and staff of the DPP in unsuccessfully prosecuting Barry, Scott and Robert McLeod, saying prosecutor Simon Stone was “exceedingly competent” and more than equal to the high-priced Melbourne silks who he went up against.

Speaking a few weeks after a jury acquitted the McLeods over their role in a brawl outside a Joondalup tavern last year which left Constable Matthew Butcher seriously injured, Mr Cock said he believed the lack of a “properly reflective” jury caused the controversial verdicts.

This, he said, was a result of so many people pulling out of serving on the jury in the marathon trial.

“I have the strong view that it was the absence of a properly reflective jury (properly reflective as in community attitudes) that caused that verdict,” Mr Cock said.

“I have views as to how we lost it, and I think it is entirely a consequence really of the jury. Juries make these decisions, and we can’t make up the jury the way we’d like.”

Response from the DPP:

As you may be aware, the law in Western Australia provides that a jury may not bring in a verdict of guilty unless they are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of all the elements of the offence of which the accused person has been charged. This standard of proof is the highest standard of proof known to our law and is onerous. The law in Western Australia also provides that, where a defence is raised by an accused person, the prosecution must negate that defence. That is, the prosecution must prove that the defence has no application in the case, also to the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the jury in WA does not give reasons for the verdict.

Another feature of WA law is that verdicts of not guilty, when delivered by a jury, are generally not subject to any appellate review. That is, even if the prosecution is dissatisfied with the outcome or, even more fundamentally, if we believe the outcome has been tainted by some error in the trial process, there is no legal way in which the verdict can be challenged subsequently. A verdict of not guilty, when delivered by a jury, is generally not subject to any appeal. The only exception is if the verdict has been delivered on a charge for which the maximum penalty is 14 years or more, but only on the grounds that before or during a trial the Judge made an error of fact or law in relation to the charge. Only one of the charges before the Court in this case carried a statutory penalty which includes imprisonment for 14 years or more. That was the principal charge, which only Barry McLeod faced, of assaulting Constable Butcher and endangering his life.

Following the acquittal, my Office conducted a thorough review to determine whether there was any basis to appeal the decision.

It was determined that there was no basis upon which it could be realistically asserted that the Judge made an error of fact or law in relation to the charge of assaulting Constable Butcher and endangering his life. That being so, despite the strength of the community disappointment with the outcome in this case, the law does not allow me to, nor does it provide me any means by which I can, challenge the jury verdict or conduct a new trial.

Juries are constituted by members of the public, selected at random. It is their collective view which determines the conviction or acquittal of people prosecuted for serious offences. Jury outcomes are dependent upon people of good character and strong will maintaining their integrity and honesty in the jury room, evaluating the evidence according to the Judge’s direction, and bringing a true verdict on that evidence. As long as our juries are constituted by fair-minded people, it is my expectation that justice will be done. To this end, I am heartened by the Attorney General’s decision to amend the legislation to reduce the number of people who avoid jury service. So long as juries are properly reflective of mainstream Australians, I think we have every reason to be optimistic about the future of our criminal justice system.

Yours sincerely,

Joseph McGrath
Director of Public Prosecutions

Read the rest of "Beer Prices in Perth"]]> A middy is essentially half a pint at 325mL.

At the Subiaco Hotel a middy of beer costs $5.20 which equates to $16/L.

Beer costs about $5/L at retail prices, meaning the hotel is charging 320% of the retail price for beer, and they are buying their beer at wholesale prices which means they are charging even more than 320% of the cost they pay for it.

Imagine buying a home for $100,000 and selling it for $320,000 every week.

I remember when middies of beer cost $2.50 not that long ago.

Raileurope 15th birthday – win up to 310$

Read the rest of "Environmental Problems Caused by Fracking / Coal Seam Gas Mining"]]>

CSG: a threat to us all. Tues 31 May, 2011.

The coal seam gas industry is holding its ninth annual conference today in Brisbane.

For the first time in its nine years of holding such conferences, the industry will be confronted by a movement that is horrified by the potential risks it presents to our underground water systems, the land and to rural communities who will suddenly find themselves living in a gas field.

This movement quite rightly points out that the coal seam gas industry is conducting an uncontrolled experiment on the Australian environment that could cause serious harm to the Great Artesian Basin and this could take centuries to fix.

That the industry does not know what to do with the water and salt that comes to the surface.

That farmers could lose their bore water or have it contaminated and rural landowners will probably have extraordinary difficulty going about their everyday activities and not be able to sell their land if it has gas infrastructure on it.

Coal seam gas has a large ecological footprint but its adherents claim, nevertheless, it is ‘clean and green’ and consequently, the industry has gained some traction by claiming a transition from coal to coal seam gas would achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the proponents of gas, it emits half the greenhouse gases of coal and therefore we don’t need to transition to renewable energy – we can simply go to gas.

However, preliminary studies by the US EPA and, more importantly, major research by Cornell University’s Robert Howarth, throw serious doubt on these claims.

A recent paper by Cornell Professor Robert Howarth and others in Climatic Change Letters suggests that natural gas power generation is twice as greenhouse gas intensive as coal.

This is largely because of methane leakage in the production stages of natural gas, with a specific focus on the use of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) in the extraction of shale gas.

Fracking is, of course, also used extensively in extracting coal seam gas and so it could be expected to result in similar losses of methane to the atmosphere.

Howarth’s study has been roundly criticised but, as he points out, his paper was peer-reviewed whereas his critics are mostly employed or funded by the gas industry.

The tendency to rely exclusively on industry-based literature extends to politicians in the Queensland Parliament who regularly draw their arguments straight from literature supplied by the gas industry body APPEA.

Back-of-an envelope calculations would suggest that the new extractive activity in both coal and coal seam gas in Queensland will add over 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from purely domestic sources (in other words before any product goes into a power station or steel mill).

This would be an increase of more than 30 per cent over the already outrageous greenhouse gas output from Queensland of 190 million tonnes per year.

And all this at a time when both major parties are committed to a 5 per cent decrease in emissions from 1990 levels by 2020.

One of the conference sessions has the government’s general manager of coal and coal seam gas operations, Andrew Brier, talking about “enforcing land access and environmental laws and safeguards”.

Mr Brier will be informing delegates that the government he serves has introduced legislation that attempts to force landowners to negotiate with the mining companies and, if landowners refuse, they can be taken by the companies to the Land Court.

The government Mr Brier serves is happy to take landowners to court if they knock down trees or extract underground water outside of a rigorous permitting system but the coal seam gas industry can take unlimited amounts of water from underground – to the point where they risk the entire Great Artesian Basin – and can remove any amount of vegetation without being subjected to the state’s land clearing laws.

What Mr Brier won’t say is that the system of environmental regulation he heads has neither the resources, nor the expertise nor the will to regulate an industry controlled by some of the biggest corporate mining giants on the planet.

The coal and coal seam gas industries have moved onto the Darling Downs. Here they intrude on good agricultural land and closely settled areas.

While the mining industry was located in more remote parts of the state, it could get away with poor environmental management and unacceptable standards of rehabilitation but now we face the destruction of some of our most productive country and intrusion of the industry even into the outer suburbs of cities like Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Chinchilla and Miles.

That is why the Lock the Gate movement has burst onto the scene in the last few months.

When our leaders fail us, ordinary people have to become heroes. Landowners have refused entry by coal and coal seam gas companies to their properties in places like Felton, Gowrie Junction, the Scenic Rim and Kingaroy and many regions in New South Wales have done the same.

This is an issue that will divide the country.

This division will not be along traditional party-political lines; it will have, on one side, those who love this country – its landscape and landforms, its beaches and billabongs – and, on the other, those who see it as the source of a quick buck.

Drew Hutton | The Brisbane Times | Tues 31 May, 2011
Drew Hutton is a spokesman for Friends of the Earth and acting president of the Lock the Gate Alliance.