Christmas brings out those water raiding crazies

Crazy can be the only way to describe those misguided individuals who, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, still maintain that damming and diverting the Clarence River will save the Murray Darling Basin from continued unsustainable water extraction, environmental degradation and, subsequent commercial agricultural decline.

Here is the latest person to raise the subject, the former West Australia Water Minister and self-proclaimed founder of the Watering Australia Foundation (WAF), Ernie Bridge who apparently wants to take all the major East Coast rivers and turn them inland.

Here is Ernie in 2004 speaking on the subject with George Negus.

Here is Ernie in December 2011 speaking with Farm Weekly:

"The Clarence River in northern NSW has more than enough water to spare for the job (to flush the Murray).

Water from the Clarence could be diverted into the Darling River and then it would flow into the Murray”

The Grim Reaper's preferred walking speed while on the job is 3 km per hour. So walk faster this Christmas if you want to see New Year!

Aussie researchers with a typically morbid sense of humour produced this just in time for The British Medical Journal’s Christmas 2011 issue:“How fast does the Grim Reaper walk? Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis in healthy men aged 70 and over.”

Introduction
“The Grim Reaper, the personification of death, is a well known mythological and literary figure. Reported characteristics include a black cloak with cowl, a scythe, and cachexia. High quality scientific research linking the Grim Reaper to mortality has been scarce, despite extensive anecdotes
Walking speed is a commonly used objective measure of physical capability in older people, predicting survival in several cohort studies. A recent meta-analysis found that being in the lowest fourth of walking speed compared with the highest was associated with a threefold increased risk of mortality. Moreover, the association between slow walking speed and mortality seems consistent across several ethnic groups and shows a dose-response relation. Although the association between walking speed and mortality has been well documented, the plausible biological relation between the two remains unclear.
We assessed whether the relation between slow walking speed and mortality results from the increased likelihood of being caught by Death. By assessing this relation using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, we hypothesised we would be able to determine the walking speed of the Grim Reaper—information of importance to public health.”

Discussion
“Based on receiver operating characteristics analysis and estimation of the Youden index, a walking speed of 0.82 m/s (2 miles (about 3 km) per hour) was most predictive of mortality. Therefore, we predict that this is the likely speed at which the Grim Reaper prefers to ambulate under working conditions. Older men who walked at speeds greater than 0.82 m/s were 1.23 times less likely to encounter Death. In addition, no men walking at speeds of 1.36 m/s (3 miles (about 5 km) per hour) or above were caught by Death (n=22, 1.4%). This supports our hypothesis that faster speeds are protective against mortality because fast walkers can maintain a safe distance from the Grim Reaper. Interestingly, the predicted walking speed of Death estimated in the present study is virtually identical to the gait speed (0.80 m/s) associated with median life expectancy at most ages and for both sexes in a recent meta-analysis of gait speed and mortality using data from diverse populations. This indicates that the preferred walking speed of the Grim Reaper while collecting souls is relatively constant irrespective of people’s geographical location, sex, or ethnic background.”

Conclusion
“The Grim Reaper’s preferred walking speed is (2 miles (about 3 km) per hour) 0.82 m/s under working conditions. As none of the men in the study with walking speeds of 1.36 m/s (3 miles (about 5 km) per hour) or greater had contact with Death, this seems to be the Grim Reaper’s most likely maximum speed; for those wishing to avoid their allotted fate, this would be the advised walking speed.”


The bad news oozing out from this study is that the infamous lycra-clad fitness freak, Opposition Leader Tony Look at my Box Abbott, is bound to make it through to polling day in 2013.

Lismore Council blocks CSG testing and calls on other north coast councils to do the same

Today's Northern Star reports:

Lismore City Council has received unprecedented community support for its popular, though legally uncertain, moratorium on coal-seam gas activities on all council-controlled land.

Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell said she had been flooded with emails and phone calls from a wide range of community members who were "one-hundred per cent supportive" of the council's controversial decision.

At its final meeting for 2011 last week, the council rejected initial legal advice and voted six to five to reject a seismic testing application by Metgasco along up to 14 kilometres of council road reserves at Rock Valley, before imposing a full moratorium (nine to two) pending further legal, community and industry consultation.

"It is now up to Metgasco to decide if they want to override council's refusal of this application, and our decision to impose a moratorium on further applications," Cr Dowell said.

"If they choose to go to a higher authority, they do so in the knowledge that not only is council against their activities, but so is the community at large."

Metgasco chief Peter Henderson was fiercely critical of the council arguing it had no authority to block the company and the action threatened to deprive the Northern Rivers of "a significant and environmentally attractive source of gas (and) infrastructure needs".

"In opposing our activities and incurring additional legal costs in challenging its own staff's advice, Lismore Council might wish to question if it is spending rate-payers' money in a responsible manner," he said.

"We aim to be a long-term participant in the Northern Rivers region and would still prefer to have the support of council for our activities. As such, Metgasco is reviewing its position in regard to the proposed seismic activity in Lismore Council areas."

Lismore City Council's decision follows a similar moratorium at Moree Plains Shire Council and preceded another at Gloucester Shire Council last Thursday.

Cr Dowell said the pressure was now on other councils to act, particularly those on the Northern Rivers, in order to send a strong message to Macquarie Street.

Read the full report here.

Source: The Northern Star, 19/12/11

Another perspective on Anchor Resources' antimony mining proposal

The 101 year-old Don Dorrigo Gazette ran this letter to the editor by Jacqueline Williams on its front page in December 2011:

Mining in Dorrigo: another perspective

The article appearing in the Don Dorrigo Gazette 16/11/2011 under the heading ‘Mining in Dorrigo’ presents information that appears to be directly from an Anchor Resources brochure on the Bielsdown Project.  It would seem appropriate to question and challenge this article and highlight perhaps what we the community haven’t been told.

Anchor Resources is one of three companies holding mineral exploration licences on the Plateau and is currently the most active. Anchor Resources activities include drilling for gold at Dundurrabin, proposed drilling for antimony/gold at Wongwibinda (Fishington Mine) and further drilling at Bielsdown. This flurry of activity in our region reflects the rising price of antimony, gold and other metals and I question whether this is due to resource scarcity or market manipulation? China produces 90% of the world’s antimony, and we have seen the price of antimony skyrocket from $4K per tonne to $16K per tonne in the last two years.  This price increase has largely been associated with the closure of a number of large producing antimony mines in China due to human health/safety and environmental concerns. It is pertinent to add here that Anchor Resources is now at least 96% owned by the Chinese company Shandong Jinshunda Group as of mid 2011.

I note that Anchor Resources refer to the exploration licence process, however it is difficult to find the latest approval for their Bielsdown project with the Government gazette showing an application to renew the licence in February 2011, however this licence doesn’t appear to be granted as yet. Also of concern is that a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has not been undertaken for any of the exploration licence applications submitted by Anchor for the Bielsdown project since 2007.  My understanding is that a REF is a requirement of all exploration licence applicants to undertake an environmental impact assessment of the proposed activities so that NSW DPI can make an assessment under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 prior to granting the licence. Given that the Bielsdown project location has state and national significance as habitat for threatened species I question the currency of the exploration licence and how the NSW government has overlooked an important part of the approval process. This is not to mention the requirements under the Commonwealth legislation that the location triggers. It is unclear whether Anchor Resources have notified the Commonwealth government to determine if their exploration activities are considered a ‘controlled action’ under the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 requiring further environmental impact assessment and approval. Many farmers have shared with me their frustration about their efforts and sacrifices in conserving native vegetation and habitat for the public good only to see mining companies given open slather.

I don’t wish to dwell solely on the environmental issues surrounding the potential of mining on the Plateau, as there are other issues that need to be considered. It seems that Dorrigo is not immune to the unprecedented mining expansion in regional Australia where the potential social and economic impacts need to be considered by the communities faced with these challenges. As the current legislation has been identified as inadequate to accommodate the risks, new policies are being developed and proposals to change legislation under debate. In the meantime, mining activities continue to expand.  In considering the full impacts of mining, the concerns of landholders and rural communities should not be dismissed as simply ‘alarmist’.....

Read the full letter here.