New Zealand Herald - Place windfarms out of sight at sea, says engineer

"Wind turbine progress has been hindered in New Zealand mainly by complaints from residents about noise and the visual impact on outstanding landscapes," said Auckland University engineering researcher Hazim Namik.

But offshore windfarms could resolve all of these issues.

"The further they can be placed offshore, the better the winds and the less visual and noise impact they have on communities," he said.

On Line Opinion - Wither peak oil at Rudd's 2020 Summit?

It is only about five months since Australians elected Kevin Rudd's Labor party to lead the nation. I remember well the first working day after the victory. My colleagues all seemed to be in a good mood (Australia's universities had suffered a demoralising decade under the previous conservative government) and a weight of shame seemed to have been lifted from our collective shoulders. Australia would now ratify the Kyoto treaty, withdraw troops from Iraq and be rid of the very unpopular, anti-union and salary-suppressing "WorkChoices" legislation.

Australia has elected a nerd with verve to be its new leader. Devoutly Christian, Kevin Rudd is portrayed as "Tin-Tin" by one prominent cartoonist but speaks fluent Mandarin. And he set a cracking pace for his newly-elected federal Labor politicians by insisting they visit homeless shelters before showing their faces in parliament.

Infolink - DIY home made windpower systems from Your Green Dream - Alternative Energy Instructions

Your Green Dream - Alternative Energy Instructions also offers articles for do it yourself (DIY) instructions on home made windpower system. The wind powered system information includes generators, blades and other instructions on the ways and means to make wind systems at home.

ABC - IMF says US recession could go global

In its second report in two days the International Monetary Fund has painted a grim picture for the world economy.

Web Diary - Mass starvation: grinding grain for ethanol

Grain prices have suddenly doubled worldwide and are expected to remain at these levels. For the billions of people who spend a large percentage of their income on food, mostly the urban poor in developing countries, this is and will be a disaster. Starvation and misery, civil unrest, wars spilling across borders and environmental degradation as marginal land is forced into food production will result from this increase in grain prices.
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It is a matter of urgency that you or your organisation familiarise yourself with the details of first generation biofuels and its contribution to the disaster of high grain prices. Information is readily accessed by Google. A Victorian Parliament Committee released in Feb. 2008 the ‘Inquiry into Mandatory Ethanol and Biofuels Targets in Victoria’. This is essential reading to further your knowledge of biofuels from a domestic Australian viewpoint. Note their recommendation that Victoria does not mandate ethanol as proposed.

Herald Sun - Aussies should 'live in glass houses'

AUSTRALIANS could soon be living in solar-powered glass houses as part of the battle against climate change, a researcher predicts.

Professor John Bell, from the Queensland University of Technology's Institute for Sustainable Resources, today said houses made almost entirely of glass solar cells could become a reality within three to five years as homeowners looked for new ways to cut carbon emissions.

Stuff.co.nz - Texas oilmen aiming to drill in Wairarapa

Petroleum explorers are out to strike oil on a small block of Wairarapa farmland.

Crown Minerals has given permission to Texas-owned oil company Discovery Geo Corporation, which is based in New Plymouth, to explore 2481 square kilometres of the East Coast Basin in the next five years.