New Scientist pits Galileo against Darwin

TALK about a dilemma: next year has been labelled the Year of Astronomy (http://www.astronomy2009.co.uk/) because it marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first use of the telescope. Unfortunately, as it is the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, 2009 has also been appropriated as Darwin (http://www.darwin200.org/ ) Year. Both anniversaries have good claims on our attention, so at New Scientist they found themselves unable to decide which year matters most.

It's an unfair question, of course. Galileo and Darwin worked in different fields, in different eras and under different cultural pressures. But never ones to duck a challenge, New Scientist put the issue out for peer review.

The question is simple: who has done more to knock humanity off its pedestal? The man who showed humans to be the latest in a long line of animals? No, says Lawrence Krauss: anyone who was looking could have seen that humans were animals. So, then, the man who demonstrated beyond doubt that the Earth is not at the centre of anything? Not for Matt Ridley: "Who cares which ball of rock goes round which?" he asks.

If it were left to Darwin and Galileo to argue their supremacy, there is no doubt that Galileo would come out on top. His house arrest, which lasted his post-publication lifetime, was imposed after he defended his convictions before one of the most formidable authorities in Europe, the Catholic church's Inquisition, in 1633. A great polemicist, Galileo spent much of his energy on vigorous self-justification. Darwin, on the other hand, shrank from controversy, leaving others to argue his cause.

Was Darwin copping out, or letting the work speak for itself? His attitude to public pronouncements about his lost faith gives us a clue. Unwilling to offend his wife and family with his new-found disregard for God, he described his religious position using the newly coined term "agnostic". Darwin was a quiet pragmatist who was unwilling to knock anyone's pedestal from beneath them.

Having said that, Galileo's Catholic faith was completely unshaken by his discovery. Does that count against him when considering our question? Some will see it as a self-imposed "so what?" for the greatest astronomical discovery of all time.

Regardless of what each man believed, Galileo has had more impact in the long term. Far more people believe the Earth goes round the sun than believe people are descended from animals via natural selection: in the US, the figures are 80 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. But what is the true measure of scientific achievement? Pats on the back from peers, or a sea change in public perception?

It has to be admitted that Galileo has had an unfair advantage here - an extra couple of hundred years for his ideas to propagate. What's more, Darwin worked harder. Galileo saw the value of the telescope, built the best one in the world and made careful observations. But ultimately, he only used it to confirm what Copernicus had already suggested; Darwin spent years travelling and collecting specimens before he had to sit down and think about what it all meant.

In the end, New Scientist’s panel concluded (with two abstentions) that Darwin has done more to change our view of ourselves. For the rigorous peer reviewers, 2009 is Darwin's year! Article extracted from: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026877.100-who-did-most-to-knock-man-off-his-pedestal.html

I&I comment: Glen Moore of the Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium (http://sciencecentre.uow.edu.au ) drew I&I’s attention to this article in New Scientist and we thought it an interesting way to begin this column for the year – you certainly can’t scientifically prove the panel right or wrong! Any comments – serious or otherwise from readers welcome!

When bags “ain’t” bags! The SA ban.

Much has been made of the South Australian government’s ban on plastic bags. But this only applies to some bags. The ban will prohibit retailers from selling or giving away plastic bags with handles made of polyethylene polymer less than 35 microns thick. Lightweight plastic bags which are marked 'degradable' will also be banned because degradable plastics merely break down into smaller and smaller flakes which remain as damaging waste for many years. Only compostable bags that comply with Australian Standard AS4736-2006 will be permitted.

Which bags are allowed?

• Compostable bags that state they meet the Australian Standard AS 4736-2006.
• Biodegradable Bags
• Barrier bags, the type dispensed from a roll, typically for items such as loose fruit and vegetables. Fruit and Veg Bags
• Paper bags
• Brown Paper Bags
• Heavier retail (or boutique) bags, typically used by clothing and department stores.
• Department Store Bags
• 'Sturdy bags designed for multiple use such as the 'green' bags.

Article based on a story from the Resource Recovery Forum (www.resourcesnotwaste.org)

Using chickens for capturing carbon

On his farm in the hills of West Virginia, Josh Frye isn't raising chickens just for meat. He is also raising them for their manure. Through a process that some scientists tout as a solution to climate change, food shortages and the energy crisis, Frye is transforming the waste into a charcoal-like substance called biochar that in the long run could be far better for the world than chicken nuggets. "It might look like this is just a poultry farm," says Frye. "But it's a char farm too."

Burn almost any kind of organic material - corn husks, hazelnut shells, bamboo and, yes, even chicken manure - in an oxygen-depleted process called pyrolysis, and you generate gases and heat that can be used as energy. What remains is a solid - biochar - that sequesters carbon, keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere. In principle, at least, you create energy in a way that is not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative.

And the benefits only begin there. When added to thin and acidic soil of the kind found in much of South America and Africa, char produces higher agricultural yields and lets farmers cut down on costly, petroleum-heavy fertilizers. Subsistence farmers seeking better soil have traditionally relied on slash-and-burn agriculture, which generates greenhouse gases and decimates forests. If instead those farmers slow-smouldered their agricultural waste to produce charcoal - in effect, slash-and-char agriculture - they could fertilize existing plots instead of clearing more land. This in turn would reduce emissions in the atmosphere, and so on in a virtuous circle of environmental renewal.

Could it really be that simple? It appears to have been for the original inhabitants of the Amazon basin. In the 16th century, Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana wrote home describing the remarkably fertile lands he had discovered there. In the 19th century, American and Canadian geologists uncovered the reason: bands of terra preta (dark earth), which locals continued to cultivate successfully. Research revealed that the original inhabitants of the region had added charred wood and leaves - biochar - to their lands.

To read the full article and some challenges to the idea, visit Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1864279,00.html

Composting – not all a load of crap

Consultancy GHD is running a trial of urine separating composting toilets in a “waterless toilet” block at the Maryborough Education Centre in Victoria. The Rota-Loo technology has helped the school save 10,000 litres of water since the trial launched in April last year, with GHD explaining it collects and separates wastewater in chambers under the toilet pedestal, ultimately producing compost and fertiliser.

The first application of compost from the toilets to agricultural land was successfully carried out in September 2008, and GHD says is “believed to be the first of its kind in Australia … demonstrating that urine can be a safe alternative to chemical fertiliser”. The project is being funded in part by a $170,000 grant from the Victorian Government’s Smart Water Fund, which supports the development of water conservation, water recycling and sustainable biosolids solutions.

The technology, billed as “a sustainable alternative to conventional water flush toilets,” could cut water use in Maryborough, which has a population of almost 8,000, by about 20%.

“Equally, more than 50% of organic materials and nutrients discharged into the sewerage system would be diverted,” GHD said. “As well as saving precious drinking water, it would reduce the cost of transporting and treating sewage and lower the salinity of recycled water.”

“The agricultural potential is also significant, providing a safe and sustainable source of fertilizer in large quantities.”

The Rota-Loo assembles toilet pedestals that resemble regular household toilets over a composting chamber that holds eight composting bins. Waste and toilet paper are caught and gradually build up in these bins, which are rotated when they are full. It usually takes “several months” before all bins are filled up and the oldest is emptied – by which time the waste has composted.

“Provided the chamber is not too cold, aerobic composting can heat the composting mass to over 55˚C,” GHD said. “At this temperature any disease causing microorganisms are inactivated.”

Urine is diverted from the composting chamber through a design in the toilet bowl and drained into a storage tank in the basement of the facility. Waterless urinals in the men’s toilets are also connected to this tank. Any urine that falls into the composting bins drain out into a leachate storage tank, to allow the waste to decompose in as dry an environment as possible.

Electric fans draw air out of the toilet room to keep odours to a minimum. They are controlled by timers that ensure lower energy use at night. Story sourced from www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net

ACT to pay households and businesses for electricity!

The ACT brought forward the start date for a renewable energy feed-in tariff scheme to March next year, calling it a “top priority”. The gross feed-in tariff scheme, which will pay for electricity generated by households and businesses that have installed small to medium scale renewable energy generators, was due to start in July 2009.

“The ACT scheme will be the most generous in Australia. Our Feed-in Tariff will pay a premium price for all electricity produced, rather than just paying for excess electricity returned to the grid as in other jurisdictions,” said state energy minister Simon Corbell. “The scheme will also support local renewable industries and will help to reduce the ACT's carbon footprint.”

The state will release an information pack for residents, explaining the scheme and how to get involved. Story sourced from www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net

Event: Register now to exhibit at a 2009 UWS careers expo

University of Western Sydney has announced that registrations are now open for employers to exhibit at the 2009 UWS careers expos. It aims to allow businesses to connect with targeted final year students at the Business Careers Expo, EdFest or Engineering & IT Careers Expo.

This is an opportunity to showcase your organisation and its employment opportunities, to attract high achieving graduates.

“The majority of students I spoke to seemed excellent candidates for employment,” commented an employer representative
exhibiting at EdFest 08.

To book your space at a 2009 UWS careers expo, visit www.uws.edu.au/careers for registration details.

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