The first seminar in the Energy Futures series “Climate Change” was held last night at the University of Adelaide. The seminar was well attended and comprised of four speakers: Prof. Peter Dowd (Exec Dean, Faculty of ECMS), Prof. Bob Hill (Exec Dean, Faculty of Sciences), Prof. Alan Cooper (ACAD Director) and Dr Peter Hayman (SARDI).

Click HERE to download podcasts from this event.

Hosted by the Centre for Energy Technology, this series focuses on its research and technology development activities to identify and implement novel clean energy solutions.  Suitable for anyone with an interest in research taking place to address the challenges posed by anticipated climate change. These seminars are free of charge and registration is not required.

For further information please visit the Environment Institute’s website.

Participants will hear from inspiring speakers, participate in interactive workshops, meet like-minded young people and plan how to create positive social change in communities around South Australia.

Being run by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Power Shift Adelaide is happening from the 31st of July to the 1st August at Adelaide University.

Speakers confirmed so far include

• Julie Pettett- CEO of the South Australian Conservation Council
• Senator Nick Xenaphon
• Viv Benjamin- National Campaigns Director at The Oaktree Foundation
• comedian Claire Hooper, with more to be announced in the coming weeks!

For more information and to register, go to the Power Shift website at:

http://www.aycc.org.au/projects/power-shift-2010-2/

To celebrate National Science Week, the Big Blog Theory acknowledges the Australian science bloggers making a contribution to science communication and understanding. This year Corey Bradshaw’s blog Conservationbytes.com and Barry’s blog bravenewclimate.com are two of the ten finalists.

For a list of the other finalists go to the Big Blog Theory page.

Professor Andy Lowe is a finalist for “Excellence in Research Collaboration” for linking the science of climate change and the loss of species to policy makers.

Professor Barry Brook is a finalist for “Community Science Educator of the Year”

Congratulations to both Andy and Barry for this recognition of their work.

Other University of Adelaide members were recognised for their contribution to science including Professor Tanya Monro and Professor Anthony Thomas, both finalists for the “South Australian Scientist of the Year.” Professor Zbigniew Michalewicz, Dr Lisa Jamieson, Professor Simon Pyke and Mr Doug Bardsley are also finalists.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Gala Dinner to be held at the Hilton Adelaide on Friday, August 13.

The aims of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society include,

• develop and use environmental modelling and software tools to advance the science and improve decision making with respect to resource and environmental issues. This places an emphasis on interdisciplinarity and the development of generic frameworks and methodologies which integrate models and software tools across issues, scales, disciplines and stakeholders with respect to resource and environmental issues;
• promote contacts among physical, social and natural scientists, economists and software developers from different countries and coordinate their activities;
• improve the cooperation between the sciences and decision makers/advisors on environmental matters;
• exchange information in the field of environmental modelling and software among scientific and educational organizations and private enterprises, as well as non-governmental organizations and governmental bodies.

The medal one of three is awarded every two years and Holger is only the second Australian to receive the honour.

Congratulations to Holger for this international recognition of his achievements.

The first seminar in this series “Fossil Fuel Future” was held last night at the Science Exchange. The seminar was well attended with Professor Barry Brook heading an expert panel to discuss our fossil fuel future.

Professor Bassam Dally (CET, University of Adelaide) discussed the potential for next generation combustion systems to burn fossil fuels in cleaner and more efficient ways. Professor John Kaldi (Chief Scientist, CO2CRC) explained options available for the geosequestration of CO2 and how these carbon capture and storage mechanisms will work within our existing infrastructure.  Susie Smith (SANTOS) gave an industry and policy perspective on the future of energy from gas.

Click HERE to download audio visual material from this event.

Thinking Critically About Sustainable Energy is a 6-part public seminar series organised by The Centre for Energy Technology at The University of Adelaide and The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus). Moderated by Professor Barry Brook, the Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change at University of Adelaide, this timely series will be hosted in central Adelaide at the home of the RiAus, the Science Exchange.

This series is free but booking is essential.  Visit the EI website for more information.

Buy the book here.

May saw the release of WHY vs WHY Nuclear Power by Professor Barry Brook and Professor Ian Lowe. The book released by Pantera Press examines the contentious issue of nuclear power from either end of the spectrum. Barry puts forward the case for the adoption of nuclear power in Australia in the Yes section, Ian from the Australian Conservation Foundation supplies the No arguement.

“WHY vs WHY is a unique series of small books that tackle both sides of the hot topics that confront, confuse or trouble most people. Making sense of everything. This series aims to present everything you need to know about a complex topic in an easy-to-read, jargon-free, 2-books-in-1 format… all in one handy, & pocket-sized place. Uniquely, this book presents both sides of the battle with equal prominence & space. Each side has its own front cover. But it’s you, the reader, who chooses who goes first. It’s part of Pantera Press’s push to foster debate in this rapidly changing & confusing world, covering a wide range of big issues… topics which for most of us have no simple, easy answers.

“In WHY vs WHY Nuclear Power, experts, Barry Brook & Ian Lowe, go head-to-head, each presenting 7 key reasons why you should say yes/no to nuclear power. After each author presents his arguments, his opponent tries to tear each of them apart, both in the book & on this website (with further rebuttals). For readers, this book aims to leave nothing unanswered. Barry & Ian are good writers with strong, well-argued opinions. Who will you agree with? Will one of them change your mind? Read the book & find out. In WHY vs WHY, you get both sides, so you can decide for yourself… The books are also a great tool to help you convince others, people who don’t see the light the way you do.”

Product Description – Amazon.com

At first glance it may seem like a good idea to be a fish living the quiet life on a small and isolated reef. But a team of researchers has found that the opposite is the case on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Using 15 years of long-term monitoring data collected from 43 reefs by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the researchers from AIMS and the University of Adelaide have found that fish living on small, isolated reefs face a greater risk of local extinction. The results have been published in Ecology, the journal of the Ecological Society of America.

“Our results support the idea that small and isolated reefs are more susceptible to local species extinctions because of the tendency for their fish populations to be more variable,” says project leader Dr Camille Mellin, a Postdoctoral Fellow from AIMS and the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute.”Isolated reefs receive relatively fewer ‘immigrant’ fish from adjacent reefs. If there is a disturbance to the population, such as a cyclone or coral bleaching, fish species on isolated reefs are much slower to recover. These populations are not as resilient to changes and are not easily replenished, increasing their probability of extinction.” By contrast, larger, more populated reefs see fewer large fluctuations in the fish population. This is partly due to the increased competition between species, and partly because of predators, which keep the population size in check.

“Our research suggests that conservation resources might be better allocated to the protection of large, connected habitats,” Dr Mellin says. As a result of the research, a map has been produced predicting the patterns of variability of coral reef fish species on the Great Barrier Reef. “This new map is a potential new tool for the managers of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, but it’s important to emphasise that it is just one tool. When making management decisions for the Reef, a whole range of issues needs to be taken into account,” Dr Mellin says.

Professor Corey Bradshaw, Director of Ecological Modelling at the University of Adelaide, says the research is “an essential piece in the marine planning puzzle”. “If data for other reefs around the world become available, it would be possible to assess threats to species in those parts of the world using the same techniques,” he says. “Our research also demonstrates the need for long-term data sets,” says Dr Julian Caley, Principal Research Scientist at AIMS. “This work would not have been possible without AIMS’ commitment to the long-term monitoring of the Great Barrier Reef. This dataset is unique in the world and the only one that would have made this study possible.”

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system, composed of more than 2900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for more than 2600 km.

Yet is storm water flowing to the sea really wasted? Freshwater flows into marine environments provides connectivity between marine, estuarine and freshwater systems. It’s important to maintain salinity gradients, transport nutrients and maintain productivity.

However for a city that is facing increasing water scarcity, storm water is an important resource to ensure water supplies. Some of the advantages storm water reuse include, reduced flow of pollutants into the Gulf, it is less susceptible to climate change effects and is more energy efficient that desalination.

The first Water Wednesday forum for 2010 examined whether or not storm water flowing to the sea is really wasted. If you would like a detailed explanation, you can download the podcasts and pdfs from this forum here. Experts on storm water use like Professor Graeme Dandy, Alan Ockenden and Chris Bice gave their perspectives on the engineering, infrastructure and ecological aspects of storm water reuse.

For more information the Engineers Australia report visit adelaidenow

This week’s topic was “Accounting for uncertainty when estimating Pleistocene megafauna extinction times.” The seminar was presented by Corey Bradshaw, Director of Ecological Modelling with the Environment Institute.