Public acceptance of carbon dioxide capture and storage in a proposed demonstration area

With the rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, low-emission technologies with carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) provide one option for transforming the global energy infrastructure into a more environmentally, climate sustainable system. However, like many technology innovations, there is a social risk to the acceptance of CCS. This article presents the findings of an engagement process using facilitated workshops conducted in two communities in rural Queensland, Australia, where a demonstration project for IGCC with CCS has been announced. The findings demonstrate that workshop participants were concerned about climate change and wanted leadership from government and industry to address the issue. After the workshops, participants reported increased knowledge and more positive attitudes towards CCS, expressing support for the demonstration project to continue in their local area. The process developed is one that could be utilized around the world to successfully engage communities on the low carbon emission technology options.

Wet potential

Water is so fundamental to everything that it is almost impossible to meaningfully conceptualise it, which is why it forms the basis of pretty much everything. To suggest that landscape architecture has some sort of privilege with it would be deluded. But, as alchemists of “the world”, we are both expected to deal with it professionally, as well as being forced to do so practically in making anything real, built in that same “world”. When people use words too much, that is the signifiers of things in sound, they become a kind of conceptual short hand to what they are referring to. You can hear this short hand when they use the word, as it gets grammatically dealt with differently – it becomes a conceptual object – a different type of noun. Water is one of these words, and as a supervisor I have almost universally seen students refer to it like this, by the end of their projects, and then have to force themselves to reconsider what it was about water that made them interested in water in the first place. This process is a transition of ideas and technology and technique, and will be the subject of this essay, tracking students responses to the weird substance in design subjects I have taught or projects I have supervised at RMIT since 1997, to and from and then again back to the qualities and issues of water for people generally, and landscape architecture in particular.

Service quality in Hong Kong : wet markets vs super markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine consumer perceptions of service quality in wet markets and supermarkets in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was developed and distributed via a convenience sample to consumers in shopping malls in Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan. Findings – The study finds that supermarkets outperformed wet markets across all aspects of service quality as measured by SERVQUAL-P. Research limitations/implications – Implications suggest that wet market vendors are not providing the level of service quality demanded by their customers. In particular, findings suggest that wet market vendors need to improve the visual attractiveness of their stalls, work on making them look more professional and start using more modern equipment. Practical implications – Wet market vendors in conjunction with government representatives need to develop standards of service quality for wet markets across Hong Kong. This is imperative if the wet market model is to survive in what is a highly competitive food retailing industry. Without action, it appears that the supermarketization of the Hong Kong food retailing industry will continue unabated. Originality/value – This paper adds to a small but growing research stream examining service quality in the food retailing industry in Hong Kong. It provides empirical results that guide suggested actions for change.

Deeply divergent mitochondrial lineages reveal patterns of local endemism in chironomids of the Australian Wet Tropics

The Wet Tropics bioregion of north-eastern Australia has been subject to extensive fluctuations in climate throughout the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. Cycles of rainforest contraction and expansion of dry sclerophyll forest associated with such climatic fluctuations are postulated to have played a major role in driving geographical endemism in terrestrial rainforest taxa. Consequences for the distributions of aquatic organisms, however, are poorly understood.The Australian non-biting midge species Echinocladius martini Cranston (Diptera: Chironomidae), although restricted to cool, well-forested freshwater streams, has been considered to be able to disperse among populations located in isolated rainforest pockets during periods of sclerophyllous forest expansion, potentially limiting the effect of climatic fluctuations on patterns of endemism. In this study, mitochondrial COI and 16S data were analysed for E. martini collected from eight sites spanning theWet Tropics bioregion to assess the scale and extent of phylogeographic structure. Analyses of genetic structure showed several highly divergent cryptic lineages with restricted geographical distributions. Within one of the identified lineages, strong genetic structure implied that dispersal among proximate (<1 km apart) streams was extremely restricted. The results suggest that vicariant processes, most likely due to the systemic drying of the Australian continent during the Plio-Pleistocene, might have fragmented historical E. martini populations and, hence, promoted divergence in allopatry.

Data collection, storage and retrieval with an underwater sensor network

In this paper we present a novel platform for underwater sensor networks to be used for long-term monitoring of coral reefs and �sheries. The sensor network consists of static and mobile underwater sensor nodes. The nodes communicate point-to-point using a novel high-speed optical communication system integrated into the TinyOS stack, and they broadcast using an acoustic protocol integrated in the TinyOS stack. The nodes have a variety of sensing capabilities, including cameras, water temperature, and pressure. The mobile nodes can locate and hover above the static nodes for data muling, and they can perform network maintenance functions such as deployment, relocation, and recovery. In this paper we describe the hardware and software architecture of this underwater sensor network. We then describe the optical and acoustic networking protocols and present experimental networking and data collected in a pool, in rivers, and in the ocean. Finally, we describe our experiments with mobility for data muling in this network.

The determination of three selected sites for the construction and operation of a low level radioactive waste storage and burial facility

Radioactive wastes are by-products of the use of radiation technologies. As with many technologies, the wastes are required to be disposed of in a safe manner so as to minimise risk to human health. This study examines the requirements for a hypothetical repository and develops techniques for decision making to permit the establishment of a shallow ground burial facility to receive an inventory of low-level radioactive wastes. Australia’s overall inventory is used as an example. Essential and desirable siting criteria are developed and applied to Australia's Northern Territory resulting in the selection of three candidate sites for laboratory investigations into soil behaviour. The essential quantifiable factors which govern radionuclide migration and ultimately influence radiation doses following facility closure are reviewed. Simplified batch and column procedures were developed to enable laboratory determination of distribution and retardation coefficient values for use in one-dimensional advection-dispersion transport equations. Batch and column experiments were conducted with Australian soils sampled from the three identified candidate sites using a radionuclide representative of the current national low-level radioactive waste inventory. The experimental results are discussed and site soil performance compared. The experimental results are subsequently used to compare the relative radiation health risks between each of the three sites investigated. A recommendation is made as to the preferred site to construct an engineered near-surface burial facility to receive the Australian low-level radioactive waste inventory.

Assessing wet crashes for the skid resistance management of road assets

Australia, road crash trauma costs the nation A$15 billion annually whilst the US estimates an economic impact of around US$ 230 billion on its network. Worldwide economic cost of road crashes is estimated to be around US$ 518 billion each year. Road accidents occur due to a number of factors including driver behaviour, geometric alignment, vehicle characteristics, environmental impacts, and the type and condition of the road surfacing. Skid resistance is considered one of the most important road surface characteristics because it has a direct effect on traffic safety. In 2005, Austroads (the Association of Australian and New Zealand Road Transport and Traffic Authorities) published a guideline for the management of skid resistance and Queensland Department of Main Roads (QDMR) developed a skid resistance management plan (SRMP). The current QDMR strategy is based on rationale analytical methodology supported by field inspection with related asset management decision tools. The Austroads’s guideline and QDMR's skid resistance management plan have prompted QDMR to review its skid resistance management practice. As a result, a joint research project involving QDMR, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Corporative Research Centre for Integrated Engineering Asset Management (CRC CIEAM) was formed. The research project aims at investigating whether there is significant relationship between road crashes and skid resistance on Queensland’s road networks. If there is, the current skid resistance management practice of QDMR will be reviewed and appropriate skid resistance investigatory levels will be recommended. This paper presents analysis results in assessing the relationship between wet crashes and skid resistance on Queensland roads. Attributes considered in the analysis include surface types, annual average daily traffic (AADT), speed and seal age.

Carbon capture and storage laws in Australia : project facilitation or a precautionary approach?

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered to be an integral transitionary measure in the mitigation of the global greenhouse gas emissions from our continued use of fossil fuels. Regulatory frameworks have been developed around the world and pilot projects have been commenced. However, CCS processes are largely untested at commercial scales and there are many unknowns associated with the long terms risks from these storage projects. Governments, including Australia, are struggling to develop appropriate, yet commercially viable, regulatory approaches to manage the uncertain long term risks of CCS activities. There have been numerous CCS regimes passed at the Federal, State and Territory levels in Australia. All adopt a different approach to the delicate balance facilitating projects and managing risk. This paper will examine the relatively new onshore and offshore regimes for CCS in Australia and the legal issues arising in relation to the implementation of CCS projects. Comparisons will be made with the EU CCS Directive where appropriate.