NBN to sing, dance – Minchin
Apr 30, 2009 Australia, Enviroment, Internet, Telco
According to The Australian, shadow communications minister Nick Minchin has been quoted as saying: “Senator Conroy is claiming this all singing, all dancing NBN is also going to save the planet.” I’m taking his quote out of context, but it goes to show how petty and soundbite-driven politics can be at times.
The article I am linking to (well, until it link-rots away) actually raises some of the advantages the proposed NBN could bring to the country. I think once the network is built people will come up with all sorts of amazing high-bandwidth applications to use on it. Many of these will reduce the need to travel, bringing convenience and environmental benefits for most of us, but could be of huge importance for people with mobility challenges.
Premium SMS scam from 19900025
Dec 24, 2005 Australia, Enviroment, Telco
A lot of Australian mobile phone users have been the recipient of a premium SMS scam from the number 19900025. The message received is a really bad Christmas joke which you are charged up to $3.50 for receiving. A lot of information on the source of these messages has been uncovered at the whirlpool forums, but if you have received this message you should contact your phone company immediately to report the scam and dispute the charge. Hopefully if enough people complain quickly the scammer will be shut off before too many more people are caught.
Update: I called the number Juz gave below and left my details. A refund cheque arrived in the mail just over a week later.
Melbourne grinding to a halt
Nov 5, 2005 Enviroment, Melbourne
Melbourne grinding to a halt (The Age / Dan Silkstone)
The Age today is carrying a set of stories related to the public transport woes Melbourne is currently suffering from. The government has commissioned a report titled “Most Liveable and Best Connected?” which confirms what commuters already know – the current system doesn’t work. Also revealed is the fact that the privatisation of the system has not delivered any improvements to commuters and may actually be costing the public more money than if it was still government run.
Personally I would love to be able to take public transport to work, but for double the travel time at almost the same cost as driving I don’t consider it to be a reasonable option.
Property purchased for Solar Tower
Feb 25, 2005 Australia, Enviroment
Solar Tower of Power Finds Home (Wired News / Stephen Leahey)
A good article by Wired News gives a quick overview of how the solar tower works as well as some of the history of the technology. The company building the tower, EnviroMission Limited, has purchased a $1million property near Mildura to build the tower on. Total costs for the project is expected to fall between $500 and $750 million.
Bottled water bad for the environment?
Nov 4, 2004 Enviroment
Anger over bottled water (The Scotsman / Russell Jackson).
From the article: “BOTTLED water was criticised by campaigners yesterday for having a damaging impact on the environment.
Friends of the Earth said it was “environmental madness” to transport vast qualities of water often hundreds of miles when essentially the same product was available out of the tap.“
Makes sense when you think about it.
Hotter nights ahead for city dwellers?
Jun 17, 2004 Enviroment
Global warming tipped to produce hot city nights (ABC News)
Bummer, I don’t sleep well on hot nights.