Geek that I am, I truly know that spring has sprung not because of the budding blossoms or swooping magpies, but because my solar electricity generation has begun to exceed our electricity usage.
Spring has sprung
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Category Archives: Environment & Nature
Snake surprise
Our family went to our church’s weekend away last weekend at Tahlee, Port Stephens. On Saturday afternoon as I was sitting outside our accommodation unit reading, I glanced to my left and saw this little beauty slithering by – a 2 metre diamond python!
I was pretty excited and pleased. The photo is a nice addition to the diamond python page on the SOFAR website.
New SOFAR website goes live
After much work, I’ve finally got the old website for the Society of Frogs and Reptiles migrated to its own domain name and a brand new website platform that supports any size browsers, including smart phones.
The site is now live at http://sofar.org.au
Roads to now where?
The coalition has just announced that if elected it will cut 4.6 billion dollars from Australia’s foreign aid budget, and divert the money into “infrastructure” projects in Australia, where “infrastructure” is code for more roads! In the Infrastructure section of their policy costings document there is 11.5 billion dollars across 31 line items – 30 road/bridge projects, and just one rail project (and funding for 5 rail projects abolished). Oh, and they also want to spend 1.8 billion dollars propping up the car industry by reversing recent fringe benefits tax changes.
I’m sure the millions of people in developing countries lacking clean drinking water and basic sanitation, subject to the vicissitudes of climate change will understand the need for Australians to drive on new 6 lane expressways in new cars bought from a government subsidised local car industry, burning fossil fuels in a carbon tax free economy, within an automotive friendly fringe benefits tax regime. Surely they’ll understand that we must do that? Surely?
Turtle gymnastics
Turtle gymnastics in the fish pond at the Butterfly Effect cafe, in Wallsend Community Nursery. Great coffee as well as athletic turtles!
Foaming Eucalypt
I recorded this video of a foaming tree in my backyard earlier this year. I had seen it do this once before. On both occasions it happened when it rained after a prolonged period of very hot days.
In investigating this phenomenon, there seems to be two theories as to what’s going on.
- The foam the tree is producing is a natural “wetting agent” that improves the penetration of water into the soil around the tree.
- The foam has anti-bacterial or anti-fungal properties, and is protecting the tree from infection.
If anyone has any definite information on what’s going on here, I’d love to hear from you.
“Invisible” does not equal “not real”
Given that politics is often subjective and contentious I don’t often comment on political matters here, but sometimes such stupid things come out of politicians mouths that I can’t help commenting.
Today, Tony Abbott in response to Labors announcement that the fixed carbon price will be transitioned to an Emissions Trading Scheme a year early said of the ETS …
“It’s a so-called market in the non-delivery of an invisible substance to no-one.”
Firstly, an ETS involves buyers, and sellers, and the exchange of money, and the transfer of rights – that sounds like an actual market to me, not a “so called market”.
Secondly, the fact that someone pays for “non-delivery” doesn’t mean its not a market. When you pay an organised crime boss money, to not deliver you a violent beating, that’s a real transaction, with real benefits. Extortion may be be hideous, odious and evil – but it is nevertheless very real.
Thirdly, just because the thing being traded is invisible, doesn’t make it not real. If I buy helium gas for my party balloons – that’s an “invisible substance”, but its still a very real and useful element in party making.
So from start, middle, to finish Mr Abbott’s statement is just foolish. But more importantly in making a statement like this he is completely evading the real question : Will an emissions trading scheme result in a reduction of CO2 emissions?
It seems that economic analysis of the real question is beyond Mr Abbott and he has to fall back to childish ‘proofs’ that ‘invisible’ = ‘not real’.
June Report Card
Its mid year, and the kids half year reports have come home. I thought I’d share my own half year report on how I’m doing riding to work. I’ve been riding to work for 4 and half years now, and each year I set myself a target of a percentage of work days that I aim to ride to work, and each year I’ve increased the target. This year my target is 75% and, it looks like I’ve set the bar way too low.
