Top tech for a cooler planet (journal article)
by Jessica Griggs, Phil McKenna and Maggie Koerth-Baker.
from New Scientist, 03/10/2009, Vol. 203 No. 2728, p36-39
"The article features several environmental friendly products from research laboratories and start-ups. Magnetic refrigeration developed by Camfridge subjects metal alloys to a magnetic field, which causes them to cool down. A superconducting wire was developed by American Superconductor that cuts transmission line losses. Flybrid Systems has designed a flywheel that uses carbon fibre and spins at over three times the speed of conventional flywheels. "
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
An analysis of the relative efficiency of wastewater utilities in non-metropolitan New South Wales and Victoria (journal article)
by Joel Byrnes, Lin Crase, Brian Dollery and Renato Villano
from Australasian Journal of Regional Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2009
"A recent policy issue in Australian local government has centred on a so-called ‘skills shortage’ in the sector, particularly in regional jurisdictions. In this paper, we estimate the relative efficiency of non-metropolitan water utilities in New South and Victoria and consider the role of divergent governance structures in order to measure the impact of unique managerial factors upon relative efficiency in wastewater service delivery. We find that larger utilities, governed by skills based boards, are relatively more technically efficient than those operating as a business unit of local government. We argue that this is partly explained by the ability of those utilities to attract and retain relatively more skilled staff. A number of policy recommendations are advanced."
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Friday, 13 November 2009
Author: Thomas Su / Money Cat Consulting
"Guide for companies and professionals in the fast growing cleantech, environmental, green, renewable energy industries seeking to raise investments from global markets." - publishers website. This directory contains the contact details of more than 500 global investment institutions which provide capital for start-ups, middle stage business, expansion capital, infrastructure and other purposes.
Author: Great Britain. Office of Government Commerce
"Brings together a set of principles, processes and techniques to facilitate effective portfolio management, programme and project management by proposing proven support structures, roles and responsibilities. ... Draws on real-life experiences from both public and private sector organisations to produce guidance that will help senior management make informed decisions on strategic alignment, prioritization, risk management and optimization of resources to deliver business objectives." - foreword.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Author: Christopher Hire / 2Thinknow
"Analyses the global context for cities, identifies where innovation out-performance is occuring and provides a detailed set of indicators to measure and improve performance. ... Draws on leading thinkers, professors, and ideas and compiles them into an analysis, and an easy-to-understand framework of 162 indicators to measure a city." - publisher's website.
Australia on the move 2009 [online]
Authors: Property Council of Australia. Residential Development Council / Matusik
"Identifies population forecasts over the next 20 years with a focus on the next five year cycle. This report covers the key hotspots to watch as well as highlights the housing needs and shortfalls of the key 42 capital and regional centres around the country." - executive summary.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Voluntary carbon markets : an international business guide to what they are and how they work [book]
Written and edited by Ricardo Bayon, Amanda Hawn and Katherine Hamilton
"Draws together all the key information on international voluntary carbon markets with commentary from leading practitioners and business people. It covers all aspects of voluntary carbon markets around the world: what they are, how they work and, most critically, their business potential to help slow climate change." - publisher's website.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Logistic regression models [book]
Author: Joseph M. Hilbe
"Presents an overview of the full range of logistic models, including binary, proportional, ordered, and categorical response regression procedures. It illustrates how to apply the models to medical, health, environmental / ecological, physical, and social science data." - cover.
Friday, 30 October 2009
Authors: Ronnie Harding, Carolyn M. Hendriks & Mehreen Faruqi
"Contemporary environmental decisions are made within the context of sustainability aimed at meeting integrated ecological, economic and social goals. ... This book explores these processes and context and the influences which affect them. For example: How do different value systems influence what environmental issues come onto the public agenda, and their management? What institutions and actors are involved in the processes and how? What tools are available and what are their limitations? How should we deal with uncertainty and risk? How do we incorporate relevant but very different forms of knowledge, and how do we manage the information 'explosion'?" - cover.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Authors: Robert Steuteville & Philip Langdon
"Helps architects, planners, urban designers, landscape architects, builders, developers, public officials, students, and citizens understand one of the most vital planning movements of our time - a movement that is reshaping cities, suburbs, small towns, and neighborhoods." Chapters include: Architectural styles and building types; Land development; Health and aging; Shaping the region; Revitalizing cities and towns; Urban retail; The Human-scale workplace; Planning and transit; Civic buildings and spaces; Affordable placemaking; and Building community.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Author: Rory Sullivan
"Analyses current business practice and performance on climate change, in the light of the dramatic changes in the regulatory and policy environment over the last five years. More specifically, it examines how climate change-related policy development and implementation have influenced corporate performance, with the objective of using this information to consider how the next stage of climate change policy - regulation, incentives, voluntary initiatives - may be designed and implemented in a manner that delivers the real and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that will be required." - cover.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Authors: Garth W. Paltridge ; with a foreword by Christopher Monckton
"Professor Paltridge shows that the case for action against climate change is not nearly so certain as is presented to politicians and the public. He leads us through the massive uncertainties which are inherently part of the 'climate modelling process'; he examines the even greater uncertainties associated with economic forecasts of climatic doom; and he discusses in detail the conscious and sub-conscious forces operating to ensure that scepticism within the scientific community is kept from the public eye." - cover.
Capturing power (journal article)
by Matthew Ogg
from Brisbane Business News, Vol 2 No 9, October 2009
"CARS and electricity - two inventions that propelled the world into the modern age, but with finite resources and growing concerns over climate change, they are also destroying the planet. As part of this month's eco feature, Brisbane Business News profiles two companies driving the current change to help reduce pollution from fuel and energy."
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Theory and Practice in Metropolitan Strategy: Situating Recent Australian Planning (journal article)
by Raymond Bunker and Glen Searle
from Urban Policy and Research, Volume 27, Issue 2, June 2009 , pp. 101 - 116
"Over the last several years, metropolitan strategies have been produced for the five mainland state capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The distinctive characteristics of Australian urban planning mean that they can be shown to reflect an Australian paradigm of planning. However, this paradigm is rewritten in different ways in each strategy reflecting the particular institutional circumstances and political culture of each state. In doing so there is some strong reaffirmation of this paradigm, but also indications of a more relational and transactive manner of planning adding further process to product. Here there is some resonance with recent developments in planning theory and to some extent in practice, largely in Europe. "
Deindustrialisation, Gentrification and the Re-invention of the Inner City: London and Melbourne, c.1960-2008 (journal article)
by Seamus O'Hanlon and Chris Hamnett
from Urban Policy and Research, Volume 27, Issue 3 September 2009 , pp. 211 - 216
"This special issue examines some of the major changes that have taken place over the last
40 years in the economy, social structure, housing markets and physical character of the
inner areas of London and Melbourne. Although the two cities are very different in terms
of their size and global economic position—London having a population of 7.5 million at
the 2001 Census compared to 3.7 million in metropolitan Melbourne in 2006, and London
with New York, emerging as one of the two major world financial centres in the 1980s and
beyond—they have historically shared many economic, social and cultural ties, largely as
a reflection of their common British and Victorian heritage."
See the whole issue of this journal here
Friday, 16 October 2009
Author: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
"Gives a broad description of the shift in governments' focus on e-government development - from a government-centric to a user-centric approach. It gives a comprehensive overview of challenges to user take-up of e-government services in OECD countries and of the different types of approaches to improving it." - abstract.
Author: Patrick M. Condon & others / Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
"Reviews the relationship between urban planning and GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions as a key component of climate change, provides characteristics of GHG decision support tools, and evaluates the strengths and limitations of a cross section of existing tools using those characteristics." - page ii.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Authors: International Energy Agency (IEA) / Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
"Industry accounts for one-third of global energy use and almost 40% of worldwide CO2 emissions. Achieving substantial emissions reduction in the future will require urgent action from industry. ... [this publication contains] detailed sectoral and regional analyses ... It contains new indicators and methodologies as well as scenario results for the following sectors: iron and steel, cement, chemicals, pulp and paper and aluminium sectors. The report discusses the prospects for new low-carbon technologies and outlines potential technology transition paths for the most important industrial sectors." - abstract.
Author: Ian Plimer
"The Earth is an evolving dynamic system. Current changes in climate, sea level and ice are within variability. Atmospheric CO2 is the lowest for 500 million years. Climate has always been driven by the Sun, the Earth's orbit and plate tectonics and the oceans, atmosphere and life respond. Humans have made their mark on the planet, thrived in warm times and struggled in cool times.The hypothesis that humans can actually change climate is unsupported by evidence from geology, archaeology, history and astronomy. The hypothesis is rejected. A new ignorance fills the yawning spiritual gap in Western society. Climate change politics is religious fundamentalism masquerading as science. Its triumph is computer models unrelated to observations in nature. There has been no critical due diligence of the science of climate change, dogma dominates, sceptics are pilloried and 17th Century thinking promotes prophets of doom, guilt and penance. When plate tectonics ceases and the world runs out of new rocks, there will be a tipping point and irreversible climate change. Don't wait up.." - from publisher.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Authors: Arnaud Brohé, Nick Eyre and Nicholas Howarth
"A comprehensive and accessible guide to understanding the opportunities offered by regulated and voluntary carbon markets for tackling climate change. Coverage includes: An overview of the problem of climate change, with a concise review of the most recent scientific evidence in different fields; A highly accessible introduction to the economic theory and different constitutive elements of a carbon allowances market; Explanation of the Kyoto Protocol and its flexibility mechanisms; Explanation of how the EU Emissions Trading Scheme works in practice; Ongoing developments in regulated carbon markets in the US; Up-to-the-minute coverage of regulated carbon markets in Australia; Developments in New Zealand and Japan [and] Carbon offsetting and voluntary carbon markets." - cover.
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