IN ADELAIDE - INNOVATION; HEAVY RAIN AND FRUSTRATION

Co-ordinator of the Australian Water Network, Bernard Eddy, has this to say to-day:

IN ADELAIDE - INNOVATION; HEAVY RAIN AND FRUSTRATION

Anyone wanting a clear insight into the central issues of the nation’s witless water work could do no better than keep a close eye on developments in Adelaide.

·        It has the lowest annual rainfall of all major population centres.

·        It’s the only city to opt for privatised water supplies and legal problems are brewing over alleged excess billing arrangements by United Water.

·        United Water’s contract is up for renewal next year.

·        The place is on the wrong end of the bitterly contested water from the Murray River.

·        High Court and constitutional challenges are either in progress or brewing in the four state squabbles over water allocations and buyback deals.

·        Recent groundbreaking innovations in Adelaide’s central plains could benefit all Australians by making innovative use of water stored in aquifers.

Once again, as in the case of Peter Andrew’s natural sequence farming, the lateral thinking has come from years of innovation, hard work and instinctive common sense: sadly foreign to mainstream federal and state water management.

Colin Pitman, former farmer, shearer and abalone diver has created 53 wetlands on the Salisbury Plains based on ideas inspired by a project which effectively purified storm water, freeing it of potassium, phosphorous and heavy metals.  Inspired by the successful installation of a series of catchment ponds, Colin discovered that most impurities can be removed in a very short time. The idea grew to creating wetland storm-water catchment areas and then pumping the part processed water into aquifers for later retrieval for industrial use, and, more recently as potable water.

Colin’s vision is the adoption of this process by other council’s: a national take-up is the obvious end goal.

A recent media release dated Monday, September 21^{st by} Mark Parnell (SA Greens MLC) headed ‘Yesterday’s Rain – today’s Lost Opportunity’ lends further perspective.

Heavy rain in urban South Australia over the last few days has filled both major storage dams. But a huge amount has simply drained into the sea.

"Every downpour is another forceful reminder that we are not doing enough to capture the precious rain that falls on the Adelaide plains," says Mark Parnell.

"We need to dramatically lift our sights and embrace this world leading technology as major part of our water future. In just one hour yesterday enough rain fell on Adelaide to reduce our annual draw from the Murray by 7-8%,"

Approximately 25mm was dumped on the city in just one hour yesterday.  According to Colin Pitman from the Salisbury Wetlands, yesterday's rain equates to about 7-8 of Adelaide's yearly consumption from the River Murray.  The critical need is for a decent network of wetlands to capture and store the rainwater.

Just last week the CSIRO announced that storm water from the Salisbury wetlands is clean enough to be bottled for drinking. 

Speaking on the ABC Radio National programme Innovations, Colin Pitman said “Adelaide sits on a huge aquifer system with lots of potential storage.” The Parafield Airport wetland is one of eight wetlands in the area connected to aquifers.

‘To actually pump the collected storm water underground is groundbreaking.”

The project developed by Salisbury Council is attracting good business. Mitchells, a wool processing mill uses 60,000 litres per day. Nearly all the water is supplied by the Council from recycled storm/groundwater. The impurities have been removed by organisms in the aquifer which remove 90% of the pathogens in the first few hours.

The price structure is equally refreshing. It costs about 70 cents to a dollar a kilolitre for storm/ground water (depending on volume). This is half the average cost of standard water supply operations ( $1.80 - $2.00).

As a further step, residential developments at Mawson Lakes operating on a two pipe water supply system (purple denoting storm/groundwater) is now being built catering to 10,000 dwellings.

The point is Adelaide’s total annual storm water run-off is in advance of annual usage; hence the potential to allow the city to become independent of the Murray River is achievable.

The water saved would then be available to flow to the mouth of the river which is facing total environmental obliteration.

 

The success of the Salisbury Plains project has attracted world attention: sooner of later our elected caretakers will see the benefit of long-term investment in sensible solutions and abandon ad-hoc panic attacks which see billions of dollars handed  to corporations which ignore our water sovereignty and the environment. 

 

Bernard Eddy
Australian Water Network
Mobile: 0447 605 057

Sam Alexander's message: voluntary simplicity

Don't know how many of you have come across the dedicated Samuel Alexander. For those of you who don't know Miss Eagle, she is not in first blush of youth.  It is questionable whether she is over the hill or just making the last steps on the upside before reaching the summit and coasting downhill.  I take the trouble to mention this because I turned up at the Students of Sustainability Conference at Monash University a couple of months ago to support the Lake Cowal Campaign.  Had a bit of time to kill and wandered into Sam's workshop on Voluntary Simplicity.  I had heard of his work on this from Professor Lee Godden of the University of Melbourne Law School where Sam is doing a PhD.

Well, Networkers, it did my heart good.  Sam told those in attendance about Thoreau - and I was back in my own heady Thoreau days as a child of the 60s and 70s and, of course, as a great fan of Doonesbury.  The small room was jam packed to hear all this.  How impressed was I.  The message isn't dead in spite of decades of Greed is Good, gated communities, and government funding - even under Labor - being diverted to the wealthiest of wealthy private schools.

So, if you can't get to hear Sam and his message in person, perhaps you might like to get a copy of his book.  Go here and put it in the cart.

Friends of the Earth and Ethical Jobs

Miss Eagle is a member of Friends of the Earth and active in their sustainable water campaign.  FoE is asking its supporters to vote for it over at ethicaljobs.com.au.

Please 'vote' for FoE on the Ethical Jobs website

We are one of the featured NGOs in the current round of funding disbursements, in the running to get a share of the $2,000 on offer, but we need people to 'vote' for us.

You do need to register to vote, it will take about 2 minutes - thanks!

The poll can be found at: http://www.ethicaljobs.com.au/   half way down on the left


EthicalJobs.com.au supports charities that are making the world a better place. For Sept/Oct we’ve decided to donate $2,000 split between four Australian charities, based on the portion of our users who vote for each one. Which charity gets your vote?

Its a choice between:
Centre for Policy Development
Friends of the Earth Australia
The Big Issue
WIRES - NSW Wildlife Information Rescue & Education Service

About Ethical Jobs:
Are you looking for a job that you can be really passionate about?

EthicalJobs.com.au is a new jobs site for people looking for an ethical job or career, and for employers who see their organisations as contributing to a more equitable, more just or more sustainable world.

Increasingly people want to see the work they do as part of who they are, not just something to make a living from.  Increasingly, people want the work they do to contribute to a more just or more sustainable world.  Unfortunately, though many people would love a job where they feel they're contributing to a better world, they're often unable to find one.

EthicalJobs.com.au has been launched to fill this gap - to bring together people and organisations with a passion for sustainability and justice, and to provide resources to help people find a great job or career.

My mates in Watershed Victoria, many of whom are colleagues in the Australian Water Network, do not give up easily.

Watershed Victoria Still Campaigning on the Desal Disaster 

In recent weeks Watershed Victoria and supporters have raised the major financial backing of the desal plant in Wonthaggi by Westpac and the National Australia Bank.

Both banks have signed on to the "Equator Principles", a comprehensive statement of responsibility to invest only in projects that have no damaging environmental and social consequences.

In the last 2 weeks we have leafletted Westpac and NAB branches in Melbourne, with good responses from bank customers.

We would love people to keep the pressure up, asking for an explanation of the banks' financial involvement and a comprehensive environmental impact study by the banks BEFORE financially backing the energy guzzling desal plant. It's a mistake both in terms of local environmental impact and climate change.

The banks have promised to meet us to discuss our concerns, but nothing has happened so far.

On the bright side, we have had many whale sightings on the coast this winter, including a Southern Right mother and calf last week.

Ring NAB Corporate Responsibility Officer on 03-86342734 or Westpac 132032 and ask for the Corporate Responsibility Officer. More details and form letters are on our website under the "writing letters" section. 

www.watershedvictoria.org.au

We are meeting at 11am on Thursday 1st October 

at Flinders St Station 

for more leafletting of Westpac and NAB. 

More info Neil 0143 902571. 

All welcome.

DAVE CORNTHWAITE'S A POM BUT HE CARES ABOUT WATER AND IS A MEMBER OF THE AUSTRALIAN WATER NETWORK. PLEASE SUPPORT HIM ON HIS JOURNEY

PRESS RELEASE

25th September 2009

For Immediate Release

British Adventurer prepares

for Source to Sea expedition

along The Murray

On the 4th October Dave Cornthwaite, 29, from Wiltshire, UK, will begin a 70 day expedition along the 2400km length of Australia’s greatest river, the Murray.

Cornthwaite, who gained a Guinness World Record for crossing Australia on a skateboard in 2006, is a published author and passionate advocate of using sport and travel to encourage care and knowledge of the environment, and will travel the river’s length on foot and by kayak.

A love for Australia was cemented by his 5823km skate journey from Perth to Brisbane, but it was a 100 metre ferry crossing of the Murray at Wellington during that expedition that encouraged the Englishman to turn his attention from road to water. Tellingly, his return Down Under will be underlined by the crisis facing the Murray and its tributaries, and Cornthwaite will be filming a High Definition documentary which will investigate just why the river is drying up.

He says, “My excitement at another Australian adventure is tempered somewhat by the environmental and human issues at hand. I’m not paddling the Murray because the river is dying, I’m doing it to find out whether there’s anything we can do to save it. I’m in no doubt that the Australian public, as always, will do everything they can to assist this cheery yet parched Englishman on his way.”

Cornthwaite’s Great Big Paddle project, which in the coming years will include a Stand-Up-Paddle journey from London to the African Continent and another expedition along the Amazon, is raising funds for solar and water projects in the developing world, implemented by the AV Foundation charity. Cornthwaite is inviting schools, organisations and individuals to join him for a paddle as he passes through, and hopes that residents along the Murray will host fundraising events to promote positive action towards saving the river.

For more information and to follow an online documentary tracking Dave Cornthwaite’s progress, please visit www.thegreatbigpaddle.com.

Donations will be gratefully received at www.justgiving.com/greatbigpaddle

Miss Eagle's comment:  Please note, Dave has been in contact with Australia's inveterate kayaker and AWN member, Steve Posselt (see sidebar for Steve's book and 'Steve Posselt' tag for all posts regarding him on The Network).  Steve's probably gone a bit further than Dave's journey because he included the Darling.


Further information:

About the Great Big Paddle
www.thegreatbigpaddle.com

About Dave Cornthwaite
www.davecornthwaite.co.uk

About BoardFree Australia: Skating from Perth to Brisbane
www.boardfree.co.uk

About the AV Foundation
www.avfoundation.org

WATER NOT SHORT, JUST SHORT SIGHTED

Water in Australia is every Australian’s issue.  

It is definitely not a global issue, 

except in accepting our part in addressing 

global warming and climate change.  

We have all the tools here in Australia 

to resolve our own water problems.

We have the inventors and the knowledge, the experts, the decision makers and the project managers, the workers and the water consumers. 

All we have to do – and it seems to be such an unnecessarily big call - is to support all these attributes with strategies and policies which cater adequately for rapidly changing water availability. 

Melbourne for example has one and a third years supply of water in its storages today, which demonstrates the lack of real action by governments to address the crisis which has been apparent for 10 years. 

CORPORATIZING WATER DOESN’T MAKE MORE

The one thing that absolutely sabotages ongoing water availability for all Australians is the McCarthiest approach to water.

Dan McCarthy writes that ‘Protectionist US could break water flow’ (The Age Opinion 23/09/09)

Mr McCarthy is the chief executive of a global water business, Black & Veatch.  It is well worth delving into the intense book ‘Blue Covenant’ written by Maude Barlow, senior water advisor to the UN.  

Maude Barlow documents just how insidious and depraved are the efforts of lobbyists and economic McCarthiests throughout the World.  The very corporations that are setting up in Australia comprise board members and CEO’s of corporations that have been thrown out of other countries for breaking promises on the quality, costs, and delivery of water.

The Age article by McCarthy contains the line that no country can solve these (water) issues alone.  What baloney!  McCarthy’s interest is solely to make money out of water and water infrastructure, and to monopolize as much of that as he can.

What McCarthy is on about is not making water available to everyone; rather it is about profiteering from privatisation of water and water infrastructure.

South Australia has fallen for the privatised water system ploy and is already suffering the consequences.  Victoria is beginning to fall for it, with the PPP  - Public Private Partnerships – such as the North-South Sugarloaf pipeline and the mammoth, (biggest in the World, of course), Desalination plant designated for Kilcunda in Gippsland.

WATER WASTE, OUT OF DATE

Australians living in urban areas, exemplified by Melbourne, Geelong, Shepparton, Albury Wodonga and Ballarat and even the arid Bendigo, universally have a water based effluent system which requires vast quantities of water to keep on flushing the solids and to dilute the industrial and domestic poisons we put down the sewerage systems.  This was designed for places and times of over abundant water.

The operating success of those current systems is dependent on continual large quantities of water, and in sheer defiance of logic during this long period of growing drought and climate change, we use drinking quality water for this purpose.

It is not rocket science to conceive and develop a new system, which eliminates many solids, salts and toxic effluents at the entry end of the system, or to control what goes in before it enters the system.

Many industries which use a lot of water (industry uses about 120 billion litres per year - one third of the total Melbourne water consumed) can be required to stop shoving salts and other chemicals down the sewer, with the likely result that their profits will rise through greater efficiencies.

…AND ON WATER DELIVERY

On the water storage and delivery side of water supply, it is not beyond us to split the water delivery system so that the truly critical human requirements of say 20 litres of potable water per day are delivered to each household (after all, we used to delivery milk this way.  The challenge is to see that the McCarthiests don’t hold their monopoly on that).

Sensibly, and to keep the drinking water and its distribution system ownership in public hands, a second system of small pipes can be added to the system for strictly potable use.

The precedent is already set; new urban developments are having purple striped pipe installed to carry second grade water for parks, and for gardens.  The potable small quantity delivery system can lead to the third kitchen tap.

The enormous quantity of less potable water for general use can be delivered from the existing poorer quality storages and from underground.  To enable sustainable use without dropping the groundwater levels unsustainably, storm water is directed underground and filtered in the process.

McCarthy and his cronies offer no solution to the water problem; they offer; in fact demand only more water abuse, so that they can get paid premium prices for their services, using our water.

When we recognise that environmental sustainability, water as a prime example, underpins our lives and our ability to live in this wonderful dry continent for which we are stewards, we see that economic development cannot be sustainable unless we ensure that environmental sustainability comes first.

Edwin Adamson

DipAg MEnvSc

Landscape for Life

Merrijig Vic 3723

0428 775 758

Edwin Adamson is an environment, planning consultant and ecologist. 

Transition Towns - Dandenong Ranges: Training

Click to enlarge

GE crops can contaminate non-GE crops, says Judge.

From Common Dreams comes the article of interest below.

Miss Eagle thinks an appeal on this decision is a sure, sure thing.

Published on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 by the San Francisco Chronicle

Court Rejects Genetically Modified Sugar Beets

by Bob Egelko

SAN FRANCISCO -- The government illegally approved a genetically modified, herbicide-resistant strain of sugar beets without adequately considering the chance they will contaminate other beet crops, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled.

Sugar beet at harvest time (Flickr photo by grabe)The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White rejected the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision in 2005 to allow Monsanto Co. to sell the sugar beets, known as "Roundup-Ready" because they are engineered to coexist with Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.

Sugar beets produce 30 percent of the world's sugar and, according to consumer groups, half the granulated sugar in the United States. This year's planting, centered in Oregon's Willamette Valley, is the first to include a full crop of the Monsanto product.

White said the USDA, in concluding that the new crop would have no significant environmental effects, discounted the likelihood that wind-borne pollen would spread to fields where conventional sugar beets, table beets and the beet variety known as Swiss chard are grown.

Planting genetically modified sugar beets has a "significant effect" on the environment, White said in his ruling Monday, because of "the potential elimination of a farmer's choice to grow non-genetically engineered crops, or a consumer's choice to eat non-genetically engineered food."

He said the department must prepare an environmental impact statement, which would include public input.

White did not immediately prohibit distribution of the genetically modified sugar beets, but a lawyer for plaintiffs in the case said they would ask the judge for an injunction against sales until the review was completed.

The ruling "sends a very clear message to the USDA to protect American farmers and consumers and not the interests of Monsanto," said Kevin Golden, a San Francisco attorney for the nonprofit Center for Food Safety, which opposes genetically modified foods and supports organic farming.

Golden said the ruling could also affect herbicide use, because the Environmental Protection Agency has allowed more herbicide spraying in areas where the resistant crops are grown.

Representatives of the Agriculture Department and Monsanto were unavailable for comment. Luther Markwart, spokesman for the 10,000-member American Sugar Beet Growers Association, said the group is "looking forward to aggressively advocating" for farmers who want to use the altered beets.

The ruling followed a similar decision in 2007 by another federal judge in San Francisco, Charles Breyer, to halt the nationwide planting of Monsanto's genetically engineered strain of alfalfa until the USDA conducted an environmental study. A federal appeals court upheld Breyer's decision last year.

The department's 2005 decision on sugar beets acknowledged that pollen from the genetically modified crop could spread to other beet crops. But the USDA said farmers would not be harmed because they would still be able to buy non-genetically modified seeds.

White, however, cited studies that said winds can carry sugar beet pollen at least 2 1/2 miles, much farther than the voluntary buffer zones between beet crops recommended by Oregon agriculture officials.

He said the department had failed to consider the economic effects of its decision and had provided no evidence for its conclusion that non-genetically modified sugar beets would remain available to farmers.

© 2009 Hearst Communications Inc
.

Dear Networkers,

Some items for your calendar.

Please join Archbishop Freier on Wednesday 30th of September, BMW Edge Theatre, Fed Square at 7:30am, as he discusses the increasing level of street violence in Melbourne with Chief Police Commissioner Simon Overland, and adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Greg.

Click to enlarge

This is an invitation to:

It’s Vegie Time!

Melbourne Multicultural Food Fair

Official Community Fundraiser for the Parliament of the World's Religions

27th September, 11am - 3pm,
St Kilda Town Hall
Cnr Carlisle St and Brighton Rd, St Kilda.

This event is organised by the Buddhist Council of Victoria for the purpose of raising awareness of the cultural diversity within the Buddhist community in Victoria.

The event aims to raise funds on behalf of the Victorian Buddhist community towards the organising costs of the upcoming Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR) to be held in Melbourne, 3-9 December 2009, the world's largest interreligious gathering.

The event will feature tantalising food from the vegetarian cuisines of the diverse ethnic groups within the Buddhist community of Melbourne.

The Food Fair will also present introductory talks on Buddhism and Meditation and give participants the chance to experience the tea ceremonies of Japan and China.

This will be a ‘green event’ with all food served on biodegradable, reusable containers. Participants are urged to “keep the footprint low” by coming on public transport and bringing their own clean sealable containers to take food home to share with others.

Prices at the Food Fair are low with $5 and $2 coupons exchangeable for your individual choices.

Venerable Phuoc Tan from the Quang Minh Temple is a patron of the PWR and is assisting us in organizing this event.

For more information visit PWR Melbourne Events Website

Download the Official Poster 

FINANCIAL FELONS FORTUITOUSLY FREE?

Picture from here

I empathise with the sentiments of this story.  I don't see why those involved at every level of the economic and financial events that left people homeless; deprived people of jobs; and interfered with economies the world over should not end up behind bars or facing huge, bankrupting penalties.  Leaving them in situ to return to a lifestyle of huge bonuses is not only wrong and immoral.  It is nationally and internationally reckless.  

However, I do think that, in the United States, people see economic and financial felons in handcuffs more often than we in Australia do.  Have a think, Aussies.  How many can you name who have been major corporate offenders and have done jail time?  Much as I might question the honesty and veracity of Alan Bond, much as I might believe the rumours that he salted a fortune away outside the country - at least he stayed and did time.  More than can be said for Christoper Skase.  We have also had the satisfaction of seeing Ray Williams and Rodney Adler of HIH infamy settle down to the restricted life of prison.   Now some others could have slipped my memory - so I would be pleased, dear Networkers, if you could add to the list.  

You see, the longer the list the more I would think our corporate compliance laws were adequate and that ASIC was up to and is doing the job.  The shorter the list is an indication that we have a long way to go before making our laws actually reflect the damage done to lives and reputations by these highway robbers.  Well, in fact, some of the highway robbers were gentlemen and women by comparison!

Storm Financial principals, Julie and Emmanuel Cassimatis

Picture from here.

The latest financial theft appears to have been the machinations of Storm Financial based in Townsville.  Here I must declare an interest.  I have a relative who has lost a substantial sum with SF.  However, were Cassimatis and spouse (spouse No. 2) to be found guilty in a court of law and sent to prison - would others go from, say, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia or Macquarie?  Or would there be the scapegoating process that one perceives as operating from time to time where those believed to be less significant to the powerful are thrown to the wolves and those with Friends at Court, Parliament, and exclusive Golf Clubs get away all together or with minimal impact.  Miss Eagle watches with interest (declared)!

Further Reading:
Reform or Bust by Paul Krugman

RALLY FOR THE RIVER: SAVE AND RESTORE THE MURRAY RIVER

COALITION OF CONCERNED 

RIVER MURRAY COMMUNITIES 

(CCR)

is coming to BERRI, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

RALLY on the RIVERFRONT

Thursday 1 October 2009 at 2-3:30pm

THE COALITION OF CONCERNED MURRAY COMMUNITIES (CCR)

Formed on Grieger’s sandbar on 19 August 2009 and attended by hundreds of River Murray community members, the Coalition is reaching out to the communities of the Riverland to join them campaigning for treatment of the River Murray as one living system. The CCR intend to work their way along the River ultimately taking their message to Canberra at a strategic time.

The failings of the ‘historic’ River Murray handover deal have now been demonstrated, and the deal needs to be scrapped and State and Federal Governments forced back to the drawing board to fix the system once and for all.

For more information contact: 

David Peake 0428 836 317

PS. The Fresh Water Embassy from Clayton Bay will be there and is looking forward to building the coalition as we take the message to Canberra: Australia's River knows no state borders. Join us. Diane Bell - 0427 554 194


Further reading:
Clayton Bay - Fresh Water Embassy
HURRY Save the Murray

MORE EVIDENCE OF ANOTHER FAILED PUBLIC POLICY: THE INTERVENTION WAS BAD, IS BAD, ALWAYS WILL BE BAD

Mike Zissler during his vist to the Aboriginal community of Utopia.

(ABC TV)

Role of NT Intervention chief quietly scrapped

Mike Zissler during his vist to the Aboriginal community of Utopia. (ABC TV)

The Federal Government has today confirmed that Mike Zissler left his role as Operational Commander of the Northern Territory Emergency Response in June, despite only being appointed to the job in March.
Mr Zissler took over as Operation Commander from Major General Dave Chalmers, who finished his stint in February to return to the Australian Defence Force.
In late March, Mr Zissler headed to the Utopia community, about 200 kilometres from Alice Springs, to hear first-hand how locals were dealing with intervention measures.
"My task is to listen, to try and understand," he told those present.
He also revealed the intervention had had unintended consequences.
"I'm sure through the intervention we never intended to offend as we clearly have," he said.
"We never intended to divide as I think you're demonstrating here today there is division.
"That is not our intention and for that I'm sorry and I'm sure you know, the Minister regrets some of those things."
A spokesman for the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs today said Mr Zissler was only ever employed on a fixed-term basis.
"The department sought a short-term replacement for the position of Operational Commander of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) Operations Centre," the spokesman said.
"Mr Mike Zissler was appointed Operational Commander ... for a fixed period to 30 June 2009, when the responsibility for the NTER was integrated into the department.
"The integration of the Operations Centre is consistent with moving the NTER to a sustainable development phase."
Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin, has refused to comment saying it is a departmental issue.
Barbara Shaw, from the Rollback the Intervention group in Alice Springs, says the Government's move will make the intervention less transparent.
"Having an independent person there, I guess it keeps an eye on things and how it rolls out," she said.
"But if it's going back to the Government then it's going to be more controlling, you know, it's not going to be fair."