From mining to fishing marron
An aquaculture project in the Ngalang Boodja Mine Lake has won the Corporate Business Leading by Example Award at the WA Environment Awards 2009. The Ngalang Boodja Mine Lake Aquaculture Project will use treated mine lake water to farm marron, one of the largest freshwater crayfish in the world.
In addition Wesfarmers Premier Coal’s rehabilitated mine void will provide new employment opportunities through diversifying industry in Collie by further implementing rehabilitation technologies. The project has been in development since 2004 with research conducted by Curtin University of Technology through the Centre for Sustainable Mine Lakes.
Wesfarmers Premier Coal general manager Patrick Warrand said, “This project has demonstrated the potential to convert our former mining facility into a community asset.”
Chairman of Ngalang Boodja Enterprises, assistant manager of the new marron farm and 2009 Collie Citizen of the Year Phil Ugle said, “the project delivers benefits for the environment, the Collie community and the Western Australian aquaculture industry.”
The State Government’s Coal Futures Group committed $350,000 towards the project. For more information and other award winners go to: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1035233
Myths that keep you from landing the job
There are a number of common misconceptions related to interview best practice – according to an article by Kathy Noonan. For the article go to:
Story sourced via American Society for Quality: www.asq.org
OzHarvest founder recognised; Woolworths expands food recycling
Food rescuer, Ronni Kahn, founder of Oz Harvest was recognised as Australia’s local hero in the latest Australia Day awards. One of the organisations to support food rescuing is Woolworths which announced a new target to “rescue” two million meals this year to give to charity, up 33% on the year before. It will also help its goal to eliminate organic waste entirely by 2015.
In 2009 Woolworths provided 1.35 million kilos of consumable food to charities, the equivalent of 1.5 million meals, with 687 supermarkets participating in some kind of food rescue program. It aims ultimately to have all 810 supermarkets operating such programs in partnership with local food relief charities or soup kitchens.
In addition, under its Fresh Food Campaign 2010 it will contribute $2 million to help groups across Victoria and Tasmania collect and redistribute over 900 tonnes of fresh food this year. The organisations include Foodbank, OzHarvest, FareShare, Food 4 Life and SecondBite. FareShare CEO Marcus Godinho welcomed the move.
Story sourced from Environmental Management News. For more go to: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1035411
Volunteers and internet in Obama’s win over Clinton
David Plouffe, campaign manager for Barack Obama’s pre-selection for the Democratic presidential nomination discusses how volunteers and the internet were key factors in the win over Hilary Clinton. For the video of his interview go to international business school, IMD’s web site by clicking on:
Dying to be green? Try Bio-cremation?
Worried you haven't been green enough in life? Don't let death come in the way of a more eco-friendly you!
Planet Ark reports that from coffins made of recycled cardboard to saying no to embalming chemicals that seep into the soil, people are increasingly searching for ways to make their final resting place a more environmentally-friendly one. Now cremation, the choice today of a third of Americans and more than half of Canadians, is getting a green make-over.
A standard cremation spews into the air about 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of carbon dioxide -- a greenhouse gas blamed for global warming -- along with other pollutants like dioxins and mercury vapour if the deceased had silver tooth fillings. On top of that each cremation guzzles as much energy, in the form of natural gas and electricity, as a 500-mile (800 kilometres) car trip.
Enter alkaline hydrolysis, a chemical body-disposal process its proponents call "bio-cremation" and say uses one-tenth the natural gas of fire-based cremation and one-third the electricity. C02 emissions are cut by almost 90 percent and no mercury escapes as fillings and other metal objects, such as hip or knee replacements, can be recovered intact and recycled.
For the full story, visit PlanetArk http://planetark.org/wen/55734.
Waste banana tree trunks make their boat furniture mark
After impressing high-end buyers at the 2009 Monaco Yacht Show, Papyrus Australia (ASX:PPY) has received its first orders for veneer and fibre products made from waste banana tree trunks. MD Ramy Azer said super yachts were deliberately used to demonstrate the product because there is no harder market to crack and it shows the environmentally friendly, water resistant, fire resistant and attractive material can be used anywhere.
 While nominally a boat show, the Monaco event is also considered one of Europe’s top trade shows for furniture, internal fittings, flooring and other architectural products – all markets where Papyrus ultimately sees a demand for its Beleaf-branded banana veneer and banana fibre board products.
The company’s first commercial manufacturing plant opened west of Cairns in northern Queensland in 2008. Azer said the reason European markets are the initial focus, however, is because use of the material will quickly catch on across the world, including in Australia, once the best French and Italian designers start using it – “but unfortunately that process doesn’t work in reverse”.
Where is technology going? WATCH this sixth sense
World’s first Osmotic power plant
Norway has opened the world's first osmotic power plant, which produces emissions-free electricity by mixing fresh water and seawater through a special membrane.
Planet Ark reports that state-owned utility Statkraft's prototype plant, which for now will produce a tiny 2-4 kilowatts of power or enough to run a coffee machine, will enable Statkraft to test and develop the technology needed to drive down production costs.
The plant is driven by osmosis that naturally draws fresh water across a membrane and toward the seawater side. This creates higher pressure on the seawater side, driving a turbine and producing electricity.
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