[Offtopic] galloping glaciers

Sat Apr 21 21:27:43 EST 2007

An old discussion thread but hey, I am going to push it along ..

 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/plakboek/466917666/>
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/plakboek/466917666/>
Challicum Hills Wind Farm is a wind power station near Ararat in western
Victoria, Australia. The wind farm complex has 35 wind turbines, with a
total generating capacity of 52.5 MW of electricity. The energy is produced
by Pacific Hydro for Origin Energy who pass on the electricity to our home
and this computer. It gets better :-)

Farming continues around and between the towers. It is a nice picture of
contrast of orange sand and blue sky, wood and steel, old and new
technologies that now try harder to be environmentally sustainable. At least
for my eyes, they are less of a blot on the landscape than a smoky, brown
coal fired power station.

With the family car tanked up with SAFF
Biodiesel<http://www.farmersfuel.com.au/SAFF%20Biodiesel.htm>,
this was a great stop over on the start of our greenhouse friendly holiday.
I hear you say Biodiesel? Well the fuel that my car now runs on comes from
canola oil plants, not fossil dinosaurs. This means that we didn't
contribute any more carbon dioxide or extra greenhouse gases on our holiday.
Our holiday, did something positive for the future and we didn't need to
procrastinate or leave global warming problems for our kids to solve.

Stephen, Biopetrol has added ethanol. Basically it is a better performing
premium fuel (racing cars add methanol) but sold at a standard fuel price.
No modification needed for most cars, my Subaru runs like a dream on it,
slightly higher octane and cleaner running.
      http://www.farmersfuel.com.au/BioPetrol.html

The biodiesel in my Toyota 4wd is 100% plant oil (mostly Canola) so there
are no net greenhouse gas emissions, runs better, further and cleaner. Its
slightly cheaper and the money spent stays in Australia too. In an
emergency, I could still tank up on petroleum based diesel although with the
current spread of stations (there are around four in Melbourne), I could
drive from Melbourne to Darwin and back on this fuel. :-)
      http://www.farmersfuel.com.au/SAFF%20Biodiesel.htm

Cameron is right .. there is little reason why schools should not insist
that their busses run on it. It is rather odd for us to take out this
environmental loan, drawing upon the future of our students to prepare them
for a world that they will inherit.

Regards Roland

On 25/02/07, Stephen Digby < digby.stephen.p at edumail.vic.gov.au> wrote:
>
>  What is "biopetrol"  is it ethanol ?
>
>
>
> ======================================================================================
> Stephen Digby, Learning Technology Manager
> mailto:admin at cheltsec.vic.edu.au <admin at cheltsec.vic.edu.au>
> Cheltenham Secondary College www.cheltsec.vic.edu.au Ph: 613 955 55 955
> Fx: 9555 8617
>
> ======================================================================================
>
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* offtopic-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:
> offtopic-bounces at edulists.com.au] *On Behalf Of *Roland Gesthuizen
> *Sent:* Sunday, 25 February 2007 5:18 PM
> *To:* IT Teachers' Offtopic Mailing List
> *Subject:* Re: [Offtopic] galloping glaciers
>
> Good point Stephen, last year we switched our home to electricity sourced
> from a wind farm and this year switched our two family cars to biodiesel and
> biopetrol (new servo in Boronia). Its something we can do now to make a huge
> impact on our family greenhouse gas production.
>
> Still, a friend was at pains to point out that not only do we need to make
> my life more sustainable and reduce our eco-footprint, we need to also think
> about reversing the debt made by ignoring the warnings for the past few
> decades. (sigh). If we think of the damage caused by all our schools, not
> just today but over the last couple of decades, then the mind boggles.
>
> Regards Roland
>
> On 25/02/07, Stephen Digby <digby.stephen.p at edumail.vic.gov.au> wrote:
> >
> >  The "inconvenient solution' to the planetary problems that beset us is
> > of course "sustainability".
> > The planetary problem lies in the cross-cultural pervasiveness of the
> > deadly enemies of sustainability -  "growth" and "development".
> > Unfortunately, the "haves" in all human societies preserve their
> > position only by encouraging the "have nots" to fantasise that they will
> > benefit eventually from growth and development.  The aspirations of the
> > common people in China and India are likely to accelerate this planetary
> > destruction.  The "developed" world is still in denial thinking of more and
> > more irresponsible ways to achieve the ludicrous goal of "sustainable
> > growth".
> > Politicians get ever more strident as they want you to accept props to
> > the continued insanity of growth such as nuclear power, recycled water, ever
> > higher density housing,   These "developments" are far more like a desperate
> > fix for a addiction, than ecologically desirable and sustainable
> > improvements from the planet.
> >
> >
> >
> > ======================================================================================
> > Stephen Digby, Learning Technology Manager
> > mailto:admin at cheltsec.vic.edu.au <admin at cheltsec.vic.edu.au>
> > Cheltenham Secondary College www.cheltsec.vic.edu.au Ph: 613 955 55 955
> > Fx: 9555 8617
> >
> > ======================================================================================
> >
> >
> >
> >  ------------------------------
> > *From:* offtopic-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:offtopic-bounces at edulists.com.au]
> > *On Behalf Of *Roland Gesthuizen
> > *Sent:* Sunday, 25 February 2007 1:37 AM
> > *To:* Information Technology Teachers' Offtopic Mailing List
> > *Subject:* Re: [Offtopic] galloping glaciers
> >
> >  Golly Stephen, also seems to be getting a lot thinner. I wish more of
> > our schools were sustainable and don't understand why we are not taking more
> > steps in that direction.
> >
> > On 24/02/07, stephen at melbpc.org.au < stephen at melbpc.org.au> wrote:
> > >
> > > A glacier in Norway ..
> > >
> > > <http://envisense.org/glacsweb/photos/briks-panos/index.html >
> > >
> > > Regards people
> > > Stephen Loosley
> > > Victoria
> > > Australia
> > >
> > > Message sent using MelbPC WebMail Server
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > offtopic mailing list
> > > offtopic at edulists.com.au
> > > http://www.edulists.com.au/mailman/listinfo/offtopic
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
> > http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
> >
> > "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> > change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
> > Mead
> >
> > *Important - *This email and any attachments may be confidential. If
> > received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening
> > or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any
> > loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender
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> > representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender,
> > and not necessarily those of the Department of Education.
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
> http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret
> Mead
>
> *Important - *This email and any attachments may be confidential. If
> received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening
> or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any
> loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender
> or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files
> our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any
> representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender,
> and not necessarily those of the Department of Education.
>

-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
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