• ECOS - Towards a Sustainable Future
Ecos Issue 155 - Table of Contents

 

Spotlight on CSIRO

Solar air-conditioning research facilities

Conserving nature and dollars: delivering cost-effective biodiversity protection

 

News

Major wetland restoration underway in Victoria

The biggest wetland restoration in the Southern Hemisphere will soon get underway, with the Victorian Government handing over Lake Mokoan in the north of the state to the local Winton Wetlands Committee of Management.

GPs can help ‘close the gap’ in Indigenous health care

Better identification of Indigenous patients in general practices would improve their access to Medicare benefits such as health checks that could help ‘Close the Gap’. Yet, a study from the Australian National University says that many GPs don’t consider ethnicity to be relevant to quality of care.

Major new glass reprocessing plant opened in WA

Glass recycling will get a major boost in Western Australia with the recent launch of a new reprocessing plant – the first of its kind in the state.

Pilbara invertebrate project to help miners

A project investigating the habitat of creepy crawlies – such as trapdoor spiders, millipedes, land snails and pseudoscorpions – which are found only in small, confined areas of the Pilbara, will help mining companies determine suitable protocols for targeted fauna surveys.

Converting biomass into clean biofuel

Curtin University researchers have made a breakthrough in converting biomass, such as mallee, into “clean” combustible gaseous fuel that can be used to generate a continuous source of electricity, commonly referred to as baseload electricity.

Climate change hits SE Australia fish species

Scientists are reporting significant changes in the distribution of coastal fish species in south-east Australia, which they say are partly due to climate change.

Country´s largest commercially funded panel installation

SANYO has unveiled Australia´s largest commercially funded solar panel installation, a 200 kilowatt SANYO solar panel system on the roof of Johnson & Johnson Medical’s Sydney headquarters.

Biodegradable nappy outlets wrapped up

An Australian company has signed national retail distribution agreements its range of biodegradable disposable nappies. Perth-based EcoQuest Limited claims its environmentally friendly “Little Takas” nappies are more than 90 per cent biodegradable.

Innovative centre to reduce manufacturing´s impact

The Victorian Direct Manufacturing Centre has been established in Melbourne by a consortium led by CSIRO to help make the state’s manufacturing industries more environmentally friendly, productive and globally competitive.

New university hub for climate science research

Monash University, and its partner universities in the ARC Centre for Excellence for Climate System Science, have been awarded $21.4 million over seven years to form Australia´s largest university climate research centre.

News Feeds

Opinion: Out of Water: From Abundance to Scarcity and How to Solve the World's Water Problems

Colin Chartres argues that meeting competing demands from agriculture, industry, cities and the environment will require a substantial overhaul in the way we manage the world’s water resources.

Feature: Shellfish make fantastic plastic

Plastic bags could soon be compostable and made from renewable resources such as shellfish waste.

Math explains water disasters

Using optical fibre technology and a mathematical theory, researchers are able to explain disasters from financial crises and rogue waves.

Supplied By: Science Alert News

Oceans on brink of mass extinction: study

Climate change, over-fishing and other human impacts have pushed the oceans to the brink of a mass extinction that could take tens of millions of years to recover from, an Australian scientist says.

Ant nav relies on a point of view

Ants travelling along a familiar route use their photographic memory to calculate how to stay on track say British researchers.

Tiny creatures reveal ancient sea levels

Tiny marine creatures found on the seabed on opposite sides of West Antarctic give a strong hint of the effects of sea level rise, say scientists.

Supplied By: ABC Science Environment and Nature News

UNEP Goodwill Ambassador among stars to lead fight against poverty

Hollywood star and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Don Cheadle is among several high-profile celebrities appointed by the UN to lead the global fight against poverty and the push to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Search begins for the 2011 Champions of the Earth

Nominations are now officially open for the 2011 Champions of the Earth; the United Nations' flagship environmental award. The award recognises inspiring leadership from those who are helping to create today's green economy.

UNEP welcomes review of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

UNEP's initial response to this thorough report, conducted by the leading body representing many of the world's distinguished scientific academies, is that it re-affirms the integrity; the importance and validity of the IPCC's work while recognizing areas for improvement in a rapidly evolving field.

Supplied By: United Nations Environment Programme

 

Feature Product

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

A beautifully illustrated overview of the biological and physical attributes of the Great Barrier Reef.