Moving from Agenda to Action
During the Local Government Session at the World Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa (August 2002), local government leaders from around the world, as well as representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UN-HABITAT and the World Health Organization (WHO), joined ICLEI in launching Local Action 21 as the next phase of Local Agenda 21 (LA21).

 
Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post

“Only an insignificant fraction of scientists deny the global warming crisis. The time for debate is over. The science is settled.”

Project Overview (Pdf)

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Smart water project developed by Unique Planet. This project is focused on constructing an innovative large-scale freshwater collection and storage system. By utilising renewable energy and collecting water from multiple sources, Aquadams will have the potential to supply a greater quantity of freshwater to Australia’s ever-increasing population and are planned to take over the current role of inefficient river-based dams.

The project has received interest from the CSIRO department of Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology in Victoria, Griffith University Gold Coast campus, and several other companies and organisations involved in the water industry. We have also had general discussions with individuals in the farming and mining industries who are interested in receiving freshwater supply from the Aquadam.

It is imperative that Australia rises to the challenge of securing our precious water resource. Councils and governments must search for better long-term solutions for guaranteeing the supply of more freshwater to the population, rather than restricting the current supply.

Unique Planet Website: www.unique-planet.com.au

“We call it alchemy - converting wind to water”

The plant is one of the newest in a rapid spread of desalination plants in countries that can afford them. Though the plants are expensive to build, water from them costs only $3.50 per 1,000 gallons. (about $1/Kl). They are commonplace in the Middle East, where oil pays for water, and Southern California is home to many smaller plants. What sets the Perth plant apart is not only its size but its engine —wind power. The plant is driven by power from 48 turbines in the Emu Downs Wind Farm, about 100 miles to the north, with a capacity of 80 megawatts of electricity, more than three times the needs of the plant. That avoids the trade-off at most desalination plants, which are powered by fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases.

Some of Australia’s leading scientists have joined forces to find a more energy efficient way of converting salt water to drinking water. While desalination might be easier for many voters and politicians to swallow than the prospect of recycled sewage, converting salt water to drinking water is expensive and energy-hungry. But a new project involving scientists from the CSIRO and nine Australian universities aims to vastly improve the efficiency of desalination methods and cut the costs - both financial and environmental.

PowerPoint Presentation

Prepared by Martin Essenberg, Darren Edward and Steve Burgess