Gold Coast Show - QWC storm trooper tactics ...

Reports are filtering in of the QWC employing security guards to watch over the distribution of NEWater samples at the Gold Coast show.

Cameras have been banned from the QWC stand (they don't want photographic proof circulating that their taste testing numbers are PR rubbish).

Were you at the show?

Add your comments on the QWC's behaviour ...

California expands use of recycled water for non-potable use ...

See - The Mercury News - Recycled water project officially on tap.

Toowoomba Regional Council picks up $14 million ...

See - Fed Govt unveils $370m funding for Qld councils.

Pimpama continues purple pipe approach ...

27 August 2008

The council's water management committee chairwoman, Cr Daphne McDonald, yesterday said the new treatment plant would first be tested for its capacity to receive and treat the region's wastewater to 'Class B' standard, which would initially be sent on to the Coombabah wastewater treatment plant and out to sea.

Cr McDonald said when the city's first Class A+ recycled water treatment plant was completed at the Pimpama site later this year the Class B water would be treated to the Class A+ standard -- the level required to distribute the water to homes to flush toilets and for use outdoors.

She said the recycled water was expected to be introduced to the region's distribution network by early 2009.

"Once the additional treatment processes have successfully completed three months of quality testing, as per the State Government's new recycled water regulations, the product will be distributed to specially plumbed households for toilet flushing and external use," said Cr McDonald.

"This means residents in the area will live in one of the world's most water-wise communities.

See - Goldcoast.com.au - Pimpama wastewater flowing.

Qld Health - where a hospital bed is often a chair, trolley, cot, stretcher or lounge suite ...

Qld Health caught fudging the numbers on hospital beds.

See - Sunday Mail - Queensland Health counts chairs as beds.

And this is the Department trusted to bring recycled water to your taps ...

Sydney without water in 2012 - media aims for climate porn ...

By Christmas Eve in 2012, no rain has fallen in Sydney for more than 200 days and, despite its new desalination plant, the emerald city has run out of drinking water. The effects of climate change have created the conditions for a ring of bushfires that surround the city, but authorities don't have enough water to put them out.

See - News.com.au - Sign of the times or just climate porn.

Also see - Courier Mail - Nine's apocalyptic TV drama Scorched causes concern.

Also see - Daily Telegraph - TV show too hot for sensitive state government.

Also see - Scorched.

Perhaps the old Toowoomba City Council was planning its own mini-series:

By Christmas Eve in 2005, no rain has fallen in Toowoomba for more than 200 days and, despite attempts to locate bore water, the garden city has run out of drinking water. The effects of climate change have created the conditions for a ring of bushfires that surround the city, but authorities don't have enough water to put them out. The only thing that will save the city is the Mayor's planned recycled water plant.

Climate porn ...

Former Premier Beattie tells Qld: 'get stuffed' ...

See - Courier Mail - Peter Beattie loving LA and critics can 'get stuffed'.

Looking after himself - as he always did ...

Global warming - how one man tossed everything aside to worship Al Gore ...

See - Australian Story - It's not easy being green.

Minister Garrett - uranium flipper ...

See - Courier Mail - Peter Garrett changes tune on uranium mining.

Also see - YouTube - Nicholson on Garrett.

Ultimate recycled water endgame - dissolving bodies for recycling ...

It's like something out a bad horror film!

Technology which enables human bodies to be dissolved and flushed down drains.

No more funeral homes!

And with Anna Bligh's recycled water technology, it could all be coming to a house tap near you ...

Excerpt from MSNBC.com

A rival to burial: Dissolving bodies with lye

Mortuary science weighs process; procedure used in medical centers

8 May 2008

CONCORD, N.H. - Since they first walked the planet, humans have either buried or burned their dead. Now a new option is generating interest — dissolving bodies in lye and flushing the brownish, syrupy residue down the drain.

The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses. It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.

No funeral homes in the U.S. — or anywhere else in the world, as far as the equipment manufacturer knows — offer it. In fact, only two U.S. medical centers use it on human bodies, and only on cadavers donated for research.

But because of its environmental advantages, some in the funeral industry say it could someday rival burial and cremation.

"It's not often that a truly game-changing technology comes along in the funeral service," the newsletter Funeral Service Insider said in September. But "we might have gotten a hold of one."

Procedure faces tough public relations

Getting the public to accept a process that strikes some as ghastly may be the biggest challenge. Psychopaths and dictators have used acid or lye to torture or erase their victims, and legislation to make alkaline hydrolysis available to the public in New York state was branded "Hannibal Lecter's bill" in a play on the movie character's sadism.

Alkaline hydrolysis is legal in Minnesota and in New Hampshire, where a Manchester funeral director is pushing to offer it. But he has yet to line up the necessary regulatory approvals, and some New Hampshire lawmakers want to repeal the little-noticed 2006 state law legalizing it.

"We believe this process, which enables a portion of human remains to be flushed down a drain, to be undignified," said Patrick McGee, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester.

State Rep. Barbara French said she, for one, might choose alkaline hydrolysis.

"I'm getting near that age and thought about cremation, but this is equally as good and less of an environmental problem," the 81-year-old lawmaker said. "It doesn't bother me any more than being burned up. Cremation, you're burned up. I've thought about it, but I'm dead."

In addition to the liquid, the process leaves a dry bone residue similar in appearance and volume to cremated remains. It could be returned to the family in an urn or buried in a cemetery.

Down the drain

The coffee-colored liquid has the consistency of motor oil and a strong ammonia smell. But proponents say it is sterile and can, in most cases, be safely poured down the drain, provided the operation has the necessary permits.

Alkaline hydrolysis doesn't take up as much space in cemeteries as burial. And the process could ease concerns about crematorium emissions, including carbon dioxide as well as mercury from silver dental fillings.

The University of Florida in Gainesville and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have used alkaline hydrolysis to dispose of cadavers since the mid-1990s and 2005, respectively.

Brad Crain, president of BioSafe Engineering, the Brownsburg, Ind., company that makes the steel cylinders, estimated 40 to 50 other facilities use them on human medical waste, animal carcasses or both. The users include veterinary schools, universities, pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. government.

Liquid waste from cadavers goes down the drain at both the Mayo Clinic and the University of Florida, as does the liquid residue from human tissue and animal carcasses at alkaline hydrolysis sites elsewhere.

One funeral home weighs option

Manchester funeral director Chad Corbin wants to operate a $300,000 cylinder in New Hampshire. He said that an alkaline hydrolysis operation is more expensive to set up than a crematorium but that he would charge customers about as much as he would for cremation.

George Carlson, an industrial-waste manager for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, said things the public might find more troubling routinely flow into sewage treatment plants in the U.S. all the time. That includes blood and spillover embalming fluid from funeral homes.

The department issued a permit to Corbin last year, but he let the deal on the property fall through because of delays in getting the other necessary permits. Now he must go through the process all over again, and there is gathering resistance. But he said he is undeterred.

"I don't know how long it will take," he said recently, "but eventually it will happen."

See - MSNBC - recycling human bodies.

Perhaps someone should ask Queensland University how it disposes of cadavers.

Just what is heading down the drains into Anna Bligh's recycling machine ...

Arrow Energy on target for significant expansion ...

See - Oil and Gas Gazette - Arrow on target for significant expansion.

Qld electoral boundaries - final redistribution report ...

See - ECQ - Final redistribution report.

Drought-hit Cloncurry to drink from abandoned mines ...

See - Courier Mail - Drought-hit Cloncurry to drink from abandoned mines.

Qld Gas Co - the QGC story ...

See - QGC media release - the QGC story.

K Rudd's Chinese friends still sending 79 year olds to re-education camps ...

If you listen to KRudd, everything in China is rosy and they're our best friend.

But beyond the Olympic glitz, fake fireworks, lip-synching singers and underaged gymnasts, the ugly side of this regime remains - administrative sentencing - no trial and no appeal.

Excerpt from New York Times:

Two Elderly Women Sentenced to 'Re-education' in China

21 August 2008

Beijing — Two elderly Chinese women have been sentenced to a year of "re-education through labor" after they repeatedly sought a permit to demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas, according to family members and human rights advocates.

The women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits to the police this month in an effort to get permission to protest what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing.

During their final visit on Monday, public security officials informed them that they had been given administrative sentences for "disturbing the public order," according to Li Xuehui, Ms. Wu's son.

Mr. Li said his mother and Ms. Wang, who used to be neighbors before their homes were demolished to make way for a redevelopment project, were allowed to return home but were told they could be sent to a detention center at any moment. "Can you imagine two old ladies in their 70s being re-educated through labor?" he asked. He said Ms. Wang was nearly blind.

A man who answered the phone at the Public Security Bureau declined to give out information about the case.

At least a half dozen people have been detained by the authorities after they responded to a government announcement late last month designating venues in three city parks as "protest zones" during the Olympics. So far, no demonstrations have taken place.

According to Xinhua, the state news agency, 77 people submitted protest applications, none of which were approved. Xinhua, quoting a public security spokesperson, said that apart from those detained all but three applicants had dropped their requests after their complaints were "properly addressed by relevant authorities or departments through consultations." The remaining three applications were rejected for incomplete information or for violating Chinese law.

The authorities, however, have refused to explain what happened to applicants who disappeared after they submitted their paperwork. Among these, Gao Chuancai, a farmer from northeast China who was hoping to publicize government corruption, was forcibly escorted back to his hometown last week and remains in custody.

Relatives of another person who was detained, Zhang Wei, a Beijing resident who was also seeking to protest the demolition of her home, were told she would be kept at a detention center for a month. Two rights advocates from southern China have not been heard from since they were seized last week at the Public Security Bureau's protest application office in Beijing.

Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang were well known to the authorities for their persistent campaign for greater compensation for the demolition of their homes. Mr. Li said his family had given up their home in 2001 with the expectation that they would get a new one in the development that replaced it. Instead, he said, the family has been forced to live in a ramshackle apartment on the capital's outskirts.

"I feel very sad and angry because we're only asking for the basic right of living and it's been six years, but nobody will do anything to help them," Mr. Li said.

He said that he and Ms. Wang's daughter tried to apply for their own protest permit on Tuesday but that the police would not even give them the necessary forms.

The two elderly women were given administrative sentences to re-education through labor, known as laojiao, which seeks to reform political and religious dissenters and those charged with minor crimes like prostitution and petty theft. Government officials say that 290,000 people are detained in re-education centers for terms ranging from one to three years, although detentions can be extended for those whose rehabilitation is deemed inadequate.

Human rights advocates have long criticized the system because punishment is handed down by officials without trials or means of appeal. Last year, the government briefly grappled with revamping the system but backed off in the face of opposition from public security officials.

Although it is unlikely that women as old as Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang would be forced into hard labor, many of those sentenced to laojiao often toil in agricultural or factory work and are forced to confess their transgressions.

QWC claims Olympic record for NEWater tasting ...

In what must be some form of record, the QWC claims that it handed out NEWater samples on People's Day at the Brisbane Exhibition at the rate of a cup every 4 seconds.

Excerpt from QWC media release:

"There were very long queues to try the samples at the Ekka. On people's day on Wednesday alone, we provided 8,600 samples to the public."

People at the Ekka on the day give a very different account.

Assuming NEWater operations for the full 10 hours (unlikely), that means an average of 860 samples an hour or more than 14 samples per minute or one sample every 4 seconds - for the entire day.

That must be some kind of record with a high probability of plenty of RSI for those handing out the samples.

And if you believe this latest load of absolute hogwash from the QWC (whose head stumbles from one failing company to the next), Anna Bligh wants to sell you the Storey Bridge ...

MP Horan - Will you still love me when I'm 64 ...

Or 65 - by the time of the next State election.

Refuses to stand aside for MP Copeland whose seat disappears in electoral redistribution.

See - ABC News - Horan won't give up seat.

Nomura Institute collaborates with Qld govt but gets confused ...

Thinks recycled water is not for drinking.

Reuse, recycled and rain water: Rain and recycled water can be positioned between drinking water and wastewater, and refers to rain water and water that has been treated to some degree but is not suitable for drinking. Such water can be used for purposes that can utilize non-potable water such as watering, washing cars, etc.

See - Nomura Institute press release - NRI to Inaugurate International Joint Research Project with Research Alliance in Australia’s Queensland to Study Strategic Use of Water Resources - 20 August 2008.

Also see - Times Online - Water, water everywhere: Leo Lewis on Asia.

Also see - Nomura Institute wants to export recycled water to Qld.

Will the QWC set them straight ...

New Zealand sets record 4.5 metre snow falls ...

Excerpt from news.com.au:

Kiwis bust records with 4.5m of snow

21 August 2008

Records continue to fall as fast as the snow in New Zealand, with Turoa on Mt Ruapehu yesterday recording the deepest snow base in the history of commercial skiing in the Shaky Isles.

Turoa's snow stake at 2000m measured 455cm, and with yet another storm brewing for this weekend, an incredible 5m upper-mountain base is possible for spring.

See - Global warming takes a cool twist.

Coldest summer in Colorado since 1872. Deepest snow base in commercial skiing history in New Zealand.

Even the scientists will start shivering soon ...

QWC's Nosworthy gets temporary promotion at Babcock & Brown ...

Does Ms Nosworthy have any time to run things at the QWC?

Fresh on the heels of the insolvency of Commander Communications which she road into the ground as Chairperson, she now takes over as temporary Chairperson - elevated from Deputy Chairperson - of one of the credit crunch basket cases - Babcock & Brown - which has lost 87% of its market value this year.

See - Nosworthy at the helm of another basket case.

Also see - Unsecured creditors likely to get zip from Commander.

CSG latest - QGC merger with Sunshine Gas ...

See - QGC-Sunshine Gas merger.

Anna Bligh commits to open transparent government ...

See - ABC News - Qld govt backs FOI overhaul.

But just try to get some honest answers from them about recycled water ...

Global warming hits CH2M Hill's HQ ...

Denver Colorado - coolest maximum temperature for August 15 and 16 since 1872.

In Denver, the high temperature on Friday the 15th was 59 degrees (15C), setting a new record for that date for the coldest maximum temperature. The old record was 68 degrees (20C) set in 1880!

On Saturday, another record tumbled when Denver's high only reached 58 degrees (14C). The former record-lowest-maximum temperature was 63 degrees (17C) set in 1890!

See - 9news.com - Coldest record this past weekend.

Qld Liberal National Party advocates limiting recycled water to industrial and agricultural use ...

See - Liberal National Party - Climate Proof - SEQ Water Policy.

Arrow Energy - waiting game pays for the gas man ...

See - Courier Mail - Waiting game pays for the gas man.

Linc Energy - Dalby Council airs concerns ...

A southern Queensland council says it is being forced to try to monitor the massive resources boom in the Surat Basin because it cannot get information from the State Government.

See - ABC News - Dalby council airs resource boom concerns.

CSG v. UCG - head to head - Linc Energy responds ...

Excerpt from Linc Energy media release:

7 August 2008

RESPONSE TO INACCURACIES IN THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER ARTICLE OF 7 AUGUST 2008

This announcement is in response to an article on page 19 of The Australian newspaper today in relation to Linc Energy Limited’s (ASX : LNC) ongoing Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) activities in Queensland.

The article contains a number of inaccurate statements concerning the status of Linc Energy’s discussions with the Queensland government regarding approval of its production tenures in the Surat Basin and environmental assessment.

So as to correct the public record, Linc Energy notes the following:

• The allegation (quoting an unnamed “spokeswoman” from Minister Wilson’s office) that there is a 3 year moratorium on the granting of UCG production tenures in Queensland is untrue.

• Linc Energy is continuing with the normal process for tenement approvals in relation to its planned commercial operation at Chinchilla.

• The Queensland government is fully aware of Linc Energy’s plans and, despite lobbying from the coal seam gas sector, has not mandated a moratorium on the granting of production tenures for UCG.

• Since the commencement of Linc Energy’s UCG trials at Chinchilla in 1998, the Company has been regularly supplying data, including groundwater monitoring data, to the Queensland government’s Environmental Protection Agency. In that time, Linc Energy can clearly show that not only does UCG not have a detrimental impact on groundwater, but that Coal Seam Gas
(CSG) production is coming up as the biggest groundwater issue of the Surat Basin (reference “Company Dilutes Truth” article – Chinchilla News & Murilla Advertiser 31 July 2008 and “Why Qld Farmers are Dam Worried – Queensland Country Life 31 July 2008).

• Linc Energy’s UCG and Gas to Liquids (GTL) project at Chinchilla was declared a project of State significance in 2007 and as such the Company has been voluntarily undertaking a comprehensive environmental impact statement process since that time. Whilst this process will provide additional information to the government, Linc Energy has never been required to undertake any “new demonstration trials” by the Environmental Protection Agency.

• To date, no coal seam gas producer has provided an environmental impact statement to the Queensland government so as to allow a detailed assessment of the environmental impact of their production process, particularly with respect to its effect on groundwater and surface
contamination.

• In terms of the reference to incompatible industries as in one industry must succeed at the expense of the other, this statement is also incorrect and inaccurate. For example, the Queensland Gas Corporation (QGC) are suggesting they are targeting 7255PJ of CSG for their future project/s. QGC also admit that Linc Energy’s main site in Chinchilla contains only
approximately 32PJ (on a 2P basis) of CSG. If the entire 32PJ was removed from that CSG total, the multi-billion dollar UCG industry Linc Energy is proposing would have a minimal effect of less than 0.5% on QGC alone. Yet in return, Linc Energy has the potential to create a minimum of approximately 210.000.000 barrels of oil (on the coal area that QGC admits to housing only
32PJ of CSM potential) over a 30 year period.

• Assertions of incompatibility between CSG and UCG are not accurate. As is the case between CSG and underground coal mining, the question is not one of incompatibility, but one of best use of resource.

• The article fails to make reference to any other of Linc Energy’s significant UCG activities in other parts of Australia or the world.

See - Linc energy media release.

Clash over gas on the plains of western Darling Downs ...

Excerpt from The Australian:

Clash over gas on the plains of western Darling Downs

9 August 2008

The hot, dry rolling plains of the western Darling Downs are dotted with gum trees and the occasional lagoon or animal in what is at best, in a good season, average grazing country.

It's not the area's agricultural potential but what's under the surface that's exciting passions among Australia's investors.

There is, put simply, coal. It has been there for millennia, and now it is mostly being mined to fire power stations such as Kogan Creek or railed to Brisbane for export.

But about 10km out of Chinchilla there's a road on the left which leads to Kummerows Road, where among the spinifex grass there's a tall, metal structure from which, at night, a gas flame often flares.

The fate of this piece of ground was fought out this week in Brisbane's Supreme Court in a battle that will continue next week as two companies have mining leases over the property under different legislation.

The flame is the only above ground sign of underground coal gasification, a process of power generation developed in the old Soviet Union, where it still operates.

It involves producing gas by setting fire to underground coal seams. In this system, air, oxygen or steam, or a combination of the three, is piped into a deep coal seam, which is set on fire to produce fuel gas. Its proponents say UGC can use deep and low-quality coal reserves that can't be used otherwise.

The company trialling the method at Chinchilla, Linc Energy, got the technology from the Soviet Union, and still operates a plant there, in the town of Angren.

Linc is one of three ASX-listed companies trialling UCG, the others being Cougar Energy and Perth-based Carbon Energy. All say it is safe and efficient and does no harm to the environment, but Linc, the most advanced, is still several months off finalising its Environmental Impact Statement, which must be cleared by the Queensland Government.

The major environmental problem is that burning coal underground could harm the underground water system, which is no small concern as the ground under Chinchilla contains not only coal but the water of the Great Artesian Basin. There's a an even bigger problem on the Chinchilla holdings -- one that is being canvassed in Queensland's Supreme Court. While Linc is operating its pilot technology under the Minerals and Resources Act, Queensland Gas has tenements over the same land under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act.

Multiple tenements have existed before, but the main issue in this instance is that production of coal seam methane and underground coal gasification technology are broadly incompatible. UCG involves burning the methane that is the basis of coal seam methane production.

It's exactly this dilemma that the Queensland Government has to confront. CSM is growing quickly in Queensland, and there is considerably more potential in it. It is a proven technology with existing infrastructure and would provide energy, in particular, for the fast-growing southeast Queensland area, about 300km to the east.

While proponents of UCG claim it is a proven technology with no environmental risk, the Queensland Government is being ultra-cautious in its approach. So much so that on Wednesday afternoon, after inquiries from this newspaper, it issued a statement that "the Department of Mines and Energy has no intention of granting production tenures for underground coal gasification for at least three years".

It was a short-term political fix, but when the ASX opened on Wednesday morning the share prices of all three UCG companies were slashed. Linc dropped 13 per cent, Carbon Energy dropped 35 per cent, while Cougar Energy dropped 11.5 per cent.

During the day, the state government's position changed subtly. It issued another statement, this time with no mention of the three-year moratorium. Instead, Queensland Mines and Energy Minister Geoff Wilson said the state Government "would only do what was best for Queensland in relation to underground coal gasification technology on trial in the state".

"These projects are in a pilot phase, which is why they have a conditional tenure and that gives no automatic right to a production tenure at a later point," he said.

"We're not about to give the green light to underground coal gasification projects, especially where any of them may affect the Great Artesian Basin, unless we're convinced it's in the best interests of Queensland.

"Any company carrying out trials of this new technology is doing so in the full knowledge of the state Government's stance. This should come as no surprise to anyone."

There was some recovery in share prices yesterday, with Linc gaining 8.5 per cent to finish at $3.20, not that far behind the $3.38 it had been before the state Government's statement.

The debate still has a long way to go. Linc managing director Peter Bond says it's obvious the two technologies can't exist on the same piece of ground -- "two people can't eat the same slice of cake" -- but they can exist close to each other.

"Just throw up a fence, we'll be 500 metres away, and that's fine with us," he said.

"We need a lot less ground. If there's 1000 acres, they could have 900."

The case is continuing in Queensland's Supreme Court, but this is only the start of the debate. At some stage in the next few years, the Government will have to decide which technology to back, or at the very least, how to allocate land between the two.

See - Clash over gas on the plains of western Darling Downs.

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Toowoomba's acting water chief branches out ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Water-Saving rebates

13 August 2008

Toowoomba Regional Council will investigate the costs associated with the introduction of rebates on water-saving devices to all areas on a reticulated supply.

Yesterday council discussed a uniform rebate program, within the Toowoomba Water Supply area worth more than $541,400.

Councillors were keen to push for the retrofitting of dual flush toilets. [Note: the old Toowoomba City Council cancelled the rebate for dual-flush toilets.]

The State Government offers $150 for a six/three litre or better system, while council are set to approve $100 rebates for 500 4.5/three litre suite installations.

Director of engineering Kevin Flanagan declared a material personal interest because a company he is involved with stood to gain from the decision.

end.

Many think being the acting chief of water is a full-time job. Perhaps it's not. Is the Council getting the fulltime attention of its employee ...

Global warming to end restaurant experiences with only rat and roo on menus ...

See - Science Daily - Fry me Kangaroo Brown Sport.

Also - Herald Sun - Scientist says eating kangaroo will reduce greenhouse gases.

Also - SMH - Oysters, lobsters, mussels, sea urchins and abalone wiped off menus.

Also - ABC News - Eat rats, 'solve global food crisis'.

Rice farmers think smarter about water ...

See - ABC News - Rice farmers look to new region as irrigation solution.

Global warming = food shortages; eating rats = world solution ...

See - ABC News - Eat rats, 'solve global food crisis'.

River Symposium 2008 WCRWP tour ...

See - Western Corridor Recycled Water Plant tour - 2 September 2008.

Wake-up call on aquifer resources ...

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Wake-up call on aquifer resources

13 August 2008

As dam levels sink to 10.5 per cent, news the Toowoomba underground basalt water aquifers would fail unless the resource was better managed, was not unexpected.

Toowoomba Regional Council received a wake-up call as the Klohn, Cripper, Berger findings into the Toowoomba Basalt Aquifer Sustainability Assessment were delivered.

Andrew Moser from Klohn, Cripper, Berger and Department of Natural Resources and Water regional manager Ross Krebs gave councillors a quick maths lesson.

There is 6162 megalitres of water allocated from the aquifer each year with 4250 megalitres used: 3000 megalitres by council, 1000 megalitres by commercial, industrial and irrigation and 250 megalitres by domestic backyard bores.

However, without regular recharge, the aquifer can only sustain 2000 to 3000 megalitres of pumping a year.

"Doing nothing is not a good long-term strategy," Mr Krebs warned.

DNR introduced 110 meters on bores last year.

Council will seek to impose a moratorium on bores on the western city fringe.

Councillors agreed to seek ministerial approval to secure the power to impose restrictions on domestic bore use where a reticulated supply was available.

Such power would be a legislative first in Queensland.

The imposition, Cr Ian Orford warned, would be a debate for another day.

See - Wake-up call on aquifer resources.

Readers will recall that at the height of the water debate, Cr Ramia opted for a bore for his ice etc. business to avoid the need to use recycled water.

See - [Former] Deputy Mayor Ramia to opt for bore water.

Did Cr Ramia exclude himself from the vote to seek Ministerial approval to impose restrictions on bores on the western boundary ...

Wivenhoe pipeline - from one white elephant to another ...

Letter to the Editor, the Chronicle:

5 August 2008

Two years after Toowoomba voted against a toilet-to-tap machine the city hasn't run dry and won’t for yet another two years. This debunks the water panic put forward by Council during the water debate of 2005-2006. With just a trickle oozing from Wetalla, predictably, it wouldn't have supplied any meaningful amount of water. The processed sewage plant would now be standing as a $100 million monument to mindless bureaucracy.

From one potential white elephant to another, a $180 million pipeline from Wivenhoe Dam to Cressbrook Dam. If it was built would we be using it today? No, because we still have dam and bore water to last until April 2010 according to our Council experts. In fact we won't use the Wivenhoe pipeline at any time unless our bores and dams are first bone dry.

The greenhouse cost of pushing Brisbane effluent up hill will result in using our local dam and bore water first and resort to the pipeline only in droughts much more extreme than our current circumstance.

The scarcity of water supply was planned to push up the price, introduce toilet-to-tap schemes and make your water supply financially much more attractive for the Queensland Water Commission and Ms Elizabeth Nosworthy's to privatize and sell to the highest bidder at your expense.

Snow Manners

Council takes action against bottled water ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

10 August 2008

A Sydney council has become the first in Australia to allow members of the public access to free filtered water in an attempt to reduce litter from water bottles.

See - Manly Council offers free filtered water to combat litter.

And Toowoomba's former Mayor infamously told Toowoomba residents if they didn't like her recycled water plan, we could drink bottled water ...

Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change ...

“Global warming” is not a global crisis

We, the scientists and researchers in climate and related fields, economists, policymakers, and business leaders, assembled at Times Square, New York City, participating in the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change,

Resolving that scientific questions should be evaluated solely by the scientific method;

Affirming that global climate has always changed and always will, independent of the actions of humans, and that carbon dioxide (CO2) is not a pollutant but rather a necessity for all life;

Recognising that the causes and extent of recently-observed climatic change are the subject of intense debates in the climate science community and that oft-repeated assertions of a supposed ‘consensus’ among climate experts are false;

Affirming that attempts by governments to legislate costly regulations on industry and individual citizens to encourage CO2 emission reduction will slow development while having no appreciable impact on the future trajectory of global climate change. Such policies will markedly diminish future prosperity and so reduce the ability of societies to adapt to inevitable climate change, thereby increasing, not decreasing human suffering;

Noting that warmer weather is generally less harmful to life on Earth than colder:

Hereby declare:

That current plans to restrict anthropogenic CO2 emissions are a dangerous misallocation of intellectual capital and resources that should be dedicated to solving humanity’s real and serious problems.

That there is no convincing evidence that CO2 emissions from modern industrial activity has in the past, is now, or will in the future cause catastrophic climate change.

That attempts by governments to inflict taxes and costly regulations on industry and individual citizens with the aim of reducing emissions of CO2 will pointlessly curtail the prosperity of the West and progress of developing nations without affecting climate.

That adaptation as needed is massively more cost-effective than any attempted mitigation, and that a focus on such mitigation will divert the attention and resources of governments away from addressing the real problems of their peoples.

That human-caused climate change is not a global crisis.

Now, therefore, we recommend –

That world leaders reject the views expressed by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well as popular, but misguided works such as “An Inconvenient Truth”.

That all taxes, regulations, and other interventions intended to reduce emissions of CO2 be abandoned forthwith.

Agreed at New York, 4 March 2008.

See - Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change.

Also see - Qualified endorsers.

"If I flush at home, is this where it will all come out?"

Photo - www.couriermail.com.au

Anna Bligh's blatant lie on SEQ water grid ...

"The water grid will be finished on budget and on time before the next election," Ms Bligh said.

See - Courier Mail -Anna Bligh hints at election when water grid finished.

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said it was laughable for Ms Bligh to claim the water grid was on budget after a $2.4 billion blowout sparked residential water price rises.
...

The SEQ water grid is hopelessly over budget yet Anna Bligh seems to think the people of South East Qld are silly enough to believe her when she tells them the opposite.

It's Peter Beattie in a skirt ...

Anna Bligh to call early election - in PR overdrive as Labor stocks flag ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

11 August 2008

Premier Anna Bligh and her team want us to know they're all working terribly hard. Why else would they be sending out so many self-promoting media releases?

More than 15 a day at the moment, many of them backed up by an engineered photo opportunity.
...

See - Courier Mail - Anna Bligh in PR overdrive as Labor stocks flag.

Also see - Courier Mail - Anna Bligh hints at election when water grid finished.

K Rudd's ministers guzzle gas at taxpayer expense ...

Clearly not serious about environmental issues.

If they were, this is what they would all drive:

Photo image - www.carsales.com.au - Fuel economy - 4 litres / 100 km.

Excerpt from Sunday Telegraph:

Rudd ministers guzzle gas

3 August 2008

Rudd Government ministers are driving gas-guzzling V6s and four-wheel-drives that consume as much as three times more fuel than smaller hybrid cars.

A list of taxpayer-funded, private-plated cars chosen by ministers and parliamentary secretaries for their home base reveals most are family-sized sedans, V6s and wagons that are less fuel-efficient than environmentally friendly hybrids.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong and parliamentary secretaries Maxine McKew and Jan McLucas are the only four politicians who have chosen a hybrid Prius.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett has a VE Berlina 2007 model, but he has converted it to LPG, according to a list released by the Department of Finance last week.

Monash University motor car efficiency specialist, Associate Professor Damon Honnery, said Trade Minister Simon Crean and Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon were among the worst gas-guzzlers, driving Holden VE Calais-V 2008 models, which use 13.9 litres per 100kms.

"The Calais is one of Australia's prestige cars and has more power than the standard version and consumes more fuel,'' he said.

"Cars like the Berlina and the Calais represent the high end of the fuel consumption, up to three times more fuel consumption than for a Toyota Prius.''

Veterans' Affairs Minister Alan Griffin drives a Toyota Camry Sportivo 2007 while Mnister for Defence Personnel Warren Snowdon drives a 2006 Toyota Landcruiser.

Professor Honnery said most of the cars were V6s, which used twice as much fuel as the Toyota Prius, which used only five litres per 100kms.

Mr Garrett has converted his 2007 Holden VE Berlina to LPG and his spokeswoman said he would switch to a Prius after the contract had expired on his Berlina.

Opposition frontbenchers, who are also guilty gas-guzzlers, did not criticise Labor ministers' for their choice of vehicles, but said it was disingenuous to then ask Australian households to reduce their carbon emissions.

"It is gross hypocrisy for Labor ministers to lecture Australians on carbon emissions and hybrid cars from behind the wheel of their own gas guzzlers,'' Senator Mitch Fifield said.

MPs are able to select from a list of Australian-made vehicles and pay the difference from their electoral allowance for a V8 or hybrid car.

See - Sunday Telegraph - Rudd ministers guzzle gas.

Maxine Mcwho? The ghost of Bennelong ...

See - Daily Telegraph - Maxine Mcwho? PM slayer MIA.

Anna Bligh readies Gold Coast for recycled water ...

See - ABC News - Brisbane-Gold Coast water supplies linked.

Why CSG water should stand a better chance now former Mayor Thorley is gone ...

There is little doubt that progress at a local and State government level on coal seam gas water was harmed by the campaign by the former Toowoomba City Council to ignore any water source option that didn't involve recycling sewage.

As the coal seam gas companies pushed forward with their plans and offered to assist the region with water source problems, their comments fell on deaf ears down at City Hall.

The prospect of an abundant water source which could drought-proof the region would have meant disaster for the Toowoomba City Council's plans to force Toowoomba residents to drink recycled water.

The Toowoomba City Council was prepared to forgo investigating a rain-independent source of water so they could push forward with their ill-fated rain-dependent recycled water proposal - complete with the proposed multi-million dollar water-edutainment centre/public funded multinational sales outlet out at Wetalla.

The recent comments by QGC speak volumes:

“The water is plentiful and there will be a lot more of it as the coal seam gas industry grow[s].”

“We are simply saying ‘look at this water.’ It is [a] fantastic opportunity for Queensland.”

“We have already produced potable water in our own reverse osmosis trials. Let’s use this plentiful resource – not let it slip through our fingers.”

It is a serious indictment on the former Toowoomba City Council that they ignored this water source and did everything they could to dissuade people from believing it was a credible water source.

Why?

To pursue their recycled water dream at any cost and whatever they thought might follow.

The departure of former Mayor Thorley robbed certain elements within the Council of their public 'anti-CSG water' mouthpiece.

An attempt to draft Councillor Ramia into this role in the past few months failed abysmally.

And so it seems that the Federal and State governments are finally taking notice of CSG water as a potential water source for the region.

Toowoomba residents should, however, not fool themselves into thinking that Anna Bligh cares what water they drink.

She doesn't.

She's a politician and all she cares about are votes - for her.

The actions of the State government in recent weeks make this clear.

Some may say that the State government had little choice other than to announce the Wivenhoe-Cressbrook pipeline.

If Toowoomba dams are almost drained by the next State election, it would give the State opposition a free election kick - even though Toowoomba would still be able to draw on bore and GAB supplies.

Politics.

Some may draw comfort from the fact that, as Anna Bligh looks at the CSG industry, she sees jobs, economic development and votes.

By combining the resources of the Qld government and the CSG companies to deal with the water byproduct, the CSG industry will be able to expand more rapidly leading to more jobs, more prosperity and, by Anna's calculation, more votes.

Who knows - Toowoomba may ultimately end up with the water source it should have had right from the start - all because Anna Bligh wants to keep the economic boom in Queensland going ...

QWC Nosworthy's Commander Communications goes bust ...

See - Sydney Morning Herald - Commander surrenders, appoints administrator.

Deputy Mayor Antonio tries to blame public for water turn-off failure fiasco ...

See - Residents need to know the right procedure.

Amazing ...

Global warming hits Wollongong ...

See - Snow in Wollongong.

CSG extraction v. coal gasification - the latest battleground ...

Excerpt from The Australian:

State lets off steam in coal gasification plans

7 August 2008

The Queensland Government appears to be putting the brakes on its emerging coal gasification industry as it considers environmental concerns and whether the industry can co-exist with plans for a $20 billion LNG export industry.

Queensland's coal fields have attracted an investment bonanza in recent years as companies including Santos and Queensland Gas Company plan to use coal seam methane to develop a massive new LNG export industry, and other firms such as Linc Energy continue long-standing efforts to commercialise the entirely different coal gasification technology, which burns coal deep underground to extract a gas that can be liquefied into diesel and aviation fuel.

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has hailed both CSM and coal gasification as crucial to Australia's future energy security.

But the Queensland Government has realised that in several cases it has issued rights over the same tenements to companies pursuing each of the technologies -- even though most say they are incompatible because the coal gasification process burns the methane that the CSM producers are seeking to extract.

And the Government now believes that in the long run the market will support the full-scale development of only one of the technologies, with cost and greenhouse emission levels from the production process the deciding factors.

"I expect both will develop until the market works out which one is most cost effective, but at the end of the day only one of these technologies will emerge as the winner on cost and greenhouse grounds," Queensland Climate Change Minister Andrew McNamara told The Australian.
...

See - State lets off steam in coal gasification plans.

SEQ water grid problems continue - stuff ups over-chlorinate Brisbane residents ...

Excerpt from Courier Mail:

Brisbane residents get chlorine-heavy water

7 August 2008

Thousands of residents in Brisbane's western suburbs have been supplied with heavily chlorinated drinking water because of a stuff-up during the construction of the Southern Regional Water Pipeline.

Brisbane City Council alerted residents to the problem in a statement issued last night, August 6, but said there was "no health risk to the public".

The statement went on to blame the State Government-owned company Linkwater, saying it had "accidentally discharged water with higher than normal chlorine levels during construction on the Southern Regional Water Pipeline, downstream of the Cameron's Hill Reservoir."

A council spokesperson said the BCC would today seek urgent talks with the government to "improve interagency reporting requirements".

Affected areas include Bellbowrie, Anstead, Kenmore, Pinjarra Hills and surrounding suburbs.

See - Will SEQ water grid carelessness ultimately kill you?

Japan may export recycled water to Queensland ...

Excerpt from Sunshine Coast Daily:

Japan may export water to Queensland

7 August 2008

A Japanese company is looking into plans to export water to Australia in large ships for agriculture and industrial use, it has been reported.

Nomura Research Institute is exploring the idea and proposes delivering the water on ships that carry Australian coal to Japan's second-largest steelmaker, JFE Holdings, which has a mill in Kawasaki, near Tokyo.

US news agency Bloomberg reported that representatives from Nomura were to come Queensland next month to discuss the plan, as the state looked for ways to boost water supplies.

It said water shipped to Australia would be purified water recycled in Kawasaki after industrial use.

The report said bulk shipments could start in three to five years, and an announcement was expected on August 20.

But a spokesman for Queensland's Minister for Water Craig Wallace said there was no planned deal to import water from Japan.

Japan is the second most water-affluent country behind Canada in the developed world, and is in the process of expanding water exports to take advantage of the growing demand as a result of climate change.

See - Japanese recyled water bound for Qld.

It would be sheer lunacy to import recycled water from Japan and let the vast quantities of coal seam gas water evaporate ...

Arrow Energy invests in Dalby’s CSG water future ...

Since 2005, Dalby has shown leadership in looking at alternate water sources.

The contrast with the 'we must make them drink recycled water' approach of the former Toowoomba City Council and now the Toowoomba Regional Council is becoming ever more evident ...

Excerpt from Arrow Enegy media release:

3 June 2008

Des Houghton, Courier Mail

Arrow invests in Dalby’s future

Brisbane-based Arrow Energy has played a major hand in moving coal seam gas out of the shadows over the past five years. The company was first to sell coal seam gas from the Surat Basin and it’s four producing projects now account for more than 20 percent of the state of Queensland’s overall gas production.

In the same way that Arrow has been a first mover in developing an alternative fuel to power Queensland’s accelerating growth, the company is now leading the way in helping to ease the state’s water crisis.

Three of Arrow’s projects are located in the Surat Basin near Dalby which is currently experiencing one of its worst droughts on record. Dalby is struggling to obtain long term sources of water while local aquifers are depleting and have not been significantly recharged in over a decade.

Arrow draws water from coal seams deep underground below the local aquifer as part of the gas production process. This coal seam gas water has been filtered in carbon for generations and is about one-sixth the concentration of sea water.

Arrow Energy Chief Executive Officer (Australia), Shaun Scott said Arrow is committed to recycling this water for the benefit of the wider community.

Mr Scott revealed that Arrow was currently investing in eight projects centred on finding beneficial uses for coal seam gas water.

Current Arrow coal seam gas water recycling projects include:

1. Dalby Potable Water Supply (Reverse Osmosis plant upgrade)

Dalby Council, in conjunction with Arrow, has initiated the upgrade of an existing reverse osmosis plant at Dalby to treat coal seam gas water from its nearby gas fields at Tipton West, Daandine and Kogan North.

The company plans to supply up to 5 ML per day to the plant which will then be available to supplement the town water supply.

The $16 million plus plant is scheduled for construction in the second half of 2008 and is being jointly funded by the State and Commonwealth Governments, Dalby Town Council and Arrow Energy. Arrow will supply water produced from its coal seam gas operations to the plant at no cost.

2. Farming Irrigation

The development of a skid-mounted, re-locatable reverse osmosis (RO) plant is currently under construction at a grain property in Dalby owned by Arrow. The $1.5 million plant is due for completion later this year and will initially treat up to 1.5ML of water extracted from our surrounding gas fields. The treated water will be used for crop irrigation. If this trial proves successful, the company expects to deploy this technology throughout its operations.

3. Salt Water Fish Farm

Arrow Energy, in conjunction with the Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI) is currently conducting a research project to investigate the viability of farming salt water fish in its coal seam gas evaporation ponds. 15,000 fingerlings have been successfully raised over the
past 18 months by the DPI in coal seam gas water. The fingerlings comprise Mulloway species. The trial is continuing but represents a promising opportunity to utilise the water for large scale aquaculture.

4. Beef Feedlots

The Guidelines to the Australian Water Standards specifies that raw water to be used for stock water should not contain salt greater than 8,000 ppm salt for non-pregnant beef livestock and 6,000 ppm for pregnant beef livestock. Up to 4ML of untreated coal seam gas water, which has a salt concentration less than 6,000 ppm, is currently being supplied to two local feedlots – Grassdale Cattle and Wambo Cattle.

5. Municipal Waste Water Treatment

Arrow is investigating the use of coal seam gas water as a replacement for potable water used in municipal sewerage treatment systems.

6. Coal Washing

Coal seam gas water drawn from Arrow’s production fields in the Surat Basin are currently being used by Peabody’s Wilkie Creek Coal Mine to wash coal.

7. Emergency Water Supply

Arrow is currently negotiating the supply of coal seam gas water to both the Braemar Power Station and Origin Energy Power Station (Kogan) for emergency fire fighting purposes. The water is to be contained within a pipe and emergency water storage tanks on site.

8. Power Station Cooling

Arrow is currently negotiating the supply of coal seam gas water to both the Braemar Power Station and Origin Energy Power Station (Kogan) for use in cooling.

Mr Scott said Arrow took its community and environmental responsibilities very seriously.

“We are committed to working with all stakeholders towards win-win outcomes as is evidenced by the multiple proactive project investments we are currently pursuing,” Mr Scott said.

See - Arrow invests in Dalby’s future.

Australian first - development approval refused due to global warming ...

See - ABC News - Climate change ruling threatens coastal property prices.

K Rudd's smug problem ...

See - News.com.au - KRudd smug problem.

TXT2PIC.com

QWC to Toowoomba Regional Council - it's in the annual report stupid ...

Excerpt from WIN News:

Water Revenue Threat

5 August 2008

The Toowoomba Regional Council won't reveal how much money it makes from its water assets, now that the state government's considering taking control of them.

Negotiations are poised at a delicate stage, and council's mindful ratepayers may be forced to pick-up the slack if the revenue stream runs dry.

See - QWC is dumb but not that dumb.

Does the Toowoomba Regional Council really think that its revenues from water assets are a secret?

Particularly when the revenues are laid out in each year's annual report ...

Qld Health rocked by new scandal ...

See - ABC News - Qld Health rocked by another doctor scandal.

... and this is the Department which will oversee Anna Bligh's recycled water testing regime ...

QGC Managing Director Richard Cottee commits until 2014 ...

See - QGC media release - QGC Managing Director Richard Cottee commits until 2014.

Also see - Sydney Morning Herald - Cottee QGC's boss for six more years.

Anna Bligh's Australian Story fluff piece ...

See - ABC - Anna Bligh reinvented on Australian Story.

A part of Anna's life seems to have been swept under the carpet (although Eugene O'Sullivan drops some decent hints).

And perhaps someone should tell Anna's husband that it has been quite some time since Kampuchea was the official name of Cambodia:

OLIVER FRANCES, SON (to his father and brother): Kampuchea is now the official name of which country?

JOE FRANCES, SON (to Oliver Frances): Cambodia?

GREG WITHERS, HUSBAND: (to Oliver Frances): Cambodia.

And we pay this guy how much to run Anna's climate change department ...

How the Bligh government makes up statistics - example no. 364 ...

Excerpt from ABC News:

4 August 2008

Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts says the number of Queensland house fires dropped dramatically this winter.
...

"Currently in Queensland we have around about 97 per cent of households with smoke alarms but only about 89 per cent of those are operational, which means they've got flat batteries or they're simply not working," he said.

See - State government makes up numbers.

Without doing a house to house audit of whether smoke alarms are operational, the Minister is just pulling the numbers out of his ...

Toowoomba water main bursts ...

... and no-one turns it off for hours.

This occurred on Sunday morning and received airtime on Channel 9 news.

Apparently the police couldn't find anyone to turn off the water.

Where is the Toowoomba Regional Council on weekends ...

Why there will never be world consensus on carbon emission reduction ...

See - Sheikh flies Lamborghini 6,500 miles to Britain for oil change.

Victorians to learn to drink recycled water before Melbourne does ...

See - ABC News - Nationals claim Govt in 'panic mode' over water policy.

QWC's Nosworthy continues the lies about support for potable reuse ...

QWC head and frequent pillar user Nosworthy repeats the often used propaganda:

The commissioner said 74 per cent of people in South East Queensland supported the use of purified recycled water.

She conveniently omits whether this support is for potable reuse or whether this statistic has any basis whatsoever.

It's a tried and tested formula - from the Toowoomba City Council to the State government - throw out a statistic and constant repetition in the media gives it credibility. That's the theory anyway.

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Commissioner: Anti-recycling thoughts water under the bridge

2 August 2008

Toowoomba residents will be drinking purified recycled water from January 2010, says Queensland Water Commissioner Elizabeth Nosworthy.

That's when the pipeline will be complete and water from Wivenhoe Dam will start flowing into Toowoomba's Cressbrook Dam.

The water will top up our rapidly dwindling dam reserves and will be mixed with water from local bores.

Speaking in Toowoomba yesterday, Ms Nosworthy told business leaders and Toowoomba regional councillors that without good rains, the Garden City's water supply would run dry by March 2010.

"Other options are just not realistic," she said.

"Water from coal seam gas may be an adjunct later, but given the cost and the timeframe, it's not a solution for Toowoomba."

The commissioner said 74 per cent of people in South East Queensland supported the use of purified recycled water.

"The only reason the $187 million pipeline is being constructed is to secure Toowoomba's water supply and underpin the region's future sustainability," she said.

Ms Nosworthy said last week's relaxation of water restrictions elsewhere in South East Queensland had been taken into account and would not affect the ability of the water grid to meet Toowoomba's needs.

It is not yet clear how much residents of Toowoomba will pay for the water.

Ms Nosworthy suggested the cost would be less if it was part of the grid servicing 2.4 million residents of the region, but Toowoomba Regional Council deputy mayor Paul Antonio, who also spoke at the meeting, said he was a strong believer in local ownership.

"We can do it better than a big corporation," he said.

See - Anti-recycling thoughts water under Nosworthy's bridge.

Nosworthy is keen for Toowoomba's water assets to form part of the SEQ water grid corporate assets as it will make it more appealing for privatisation ...