Radio New Zealand - November parched, particularly in South Island

Farmers could be facing a drought as devastating as in 1988/89, according to the climate outlook. NIWA agricultural climatologist Alan Porteous says the problem farmers currently face is that soil moisture levels in the east of the country and parts of Otago have already reached summer deficits.

Federated Farmers says a predicted drought for parts of the South Island could be a disaster for the industry. Its Otago president, Richard Burton, says its members are already facing rising costs for fuel, resource consent and power. ...

Meridian Energy says the predictions of a dry summer for the South Island prove its proposed wind farms are needed. Meridian manages several hydro electricity stations linked to lakes in the Otago region, where conditions are already dry. Spokesperson Alan Seay says it is used to managing low lake levels, but the forecast shows the need to explore other sources of energy.

Stuff.co.nz - Pine trees could fuel New Zealand's future

New Zealand could become self-sufficient in sustainable fuel, heat and power by 2050, according to state science company Scion. The forestry researcher is preparing to release a document proposing radiata pines be used as a bio-ethanol crop.

The document is understood to say plantation forestry could provide ethanol to add to the three billion litres of petrol New Zealand motorists use each year. If New Zealand planted 3.5 million hectares of the species - turning the celluose in the trees into sugars that can be fermented and refined into ethanol fuel - "we could become fuel, heat, power self-sufficient by 2050," the company's general manager of biomaterials research, Elspeth Macrae, said.

NZ Herald - Climate talks 'last chance' to avoid catastrophe

SMH - Bali talks to seek global climate deal

Stuff.co.nz - Govt to reap $5.6b carbon trade windfall

SMH - Land biobanking will push ecology over the edge, critics fear

A NSW scheme that puts a dollar value on trees and animals could push more endangered species towards the brink of extinction, say critics of the State Government's so-called "biobanking".

Regulations released last week for the controversial scheme, which allows property companies to offset or trade environmentally sensitive land for developments, have allegedly been watered down to allow areas previously considered no-go zones to be cleared.

Critics of the scheme are also worried a less stringent set of land-clearing rules are being applied to mining companies and coastal developers than to farmers.

TVNZ - More companies going green

SMH - Business backs green push

The Age - Carbon consultant moves through the new frontier

Eco-Frontier's other activities include work on a 50-megawatt power plant using gas recovery from what it claims is the world's largest landfill, near Seoul. Mr Lim is also working on building two biomass-powered generation plants — one in China and the other in Malaysia.

The plant in Malaysia will burn oil palm residue, which would otherwise rot and release methane gas. The $100 million plant would have a payback period of seven to nine years, a rate that will be cut by about half once the derived carbon credits are sold.

SMH - NSW Premier woos MPs to sell off electricity

The Australian - Foreshore land in short supply for resource infrastructure developments

Stuff.co.nz - Govt calls for Taranaki petroleum block bids

The offer of the onshore Taranaki blocks was being supported by a large and modern technical data package which would be made freely available to explorers from today.

While the New Zealand Energy Strategy emphasised a renewable energy future, it also recognised that more gas needed to be found to fuel current thermal baseload and peaking plant for electricity generation, as well as industrial and residential uses, he said.

The Australian - AED earns reprieve with Puffin order

AED maintains that when commissioning is completed, 20,000 barrels a day output is considered achievable.

While the market was absorbing the news that oil production was not as high as forecast and the oil/water contact in the field had been achieved somewhat earlier than expected - not an unusual event on Australia's northern coast - an exploration/appraisal well, Puffin 10, was being drilled in the southwest portion of the permit near Ashmore Reef.

"The well encountered more complex geology than expected," AED told the stock exchange last week while announcing that two sidetracks had been drilled.

The sands encountered by Puffin 10, while oil bearing were thin, which led analysts to suggest its failure raised a question on the existence of an estimated 40 million barrels in the Puffin southwest region, which still remains AED's objective.

The Australian - Roe targets international exploration for Target Energy

SMH - Sydney Buses celebrates 75th anniversary

SustainaBundy - Managing waste: there's no such thing as away

Our rubbish is buried in the earth, left for future generations. The landfill at University Drive is nearly full, and the new facility 20km outside of Bundaberg on the Isis Highway is expected to last 30-35 years - which isn't very long in the greater scheme of things, particularly with a growing population.

Recycling is very energy intensive. Australia has no recycling facility for plastic so all recyclable plastics are sent to China. We're happy to use the stuff, but we don't want to deal with it here when we're done - we pollute China instead, with it's looser environmental restrictions.

Remember that there's no such thing as "away" when we throw something away - every place is someone's backyard.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. It's not just a catchphrase!

Eat The Suburbs - Friends in print - urban food production in The Age

Eat The Suburbs - Making the most of Australia’s disappearing backyards