looming agricultural battle

As a growing number of countries contemplate mandating the use of bioethanol in petroleum (the UK announced in November 2005 that 5% of fuel sold by petrol stations would be from renewable sources by 2010), the conflict between food and non-food agriculture is going to heat up.

Farmers, unsurprisingly, see the trend as a lifeline for farms that are struggling. According to an article in BBC News, the UK's National Farmers' Union also claims that the UK produces 3 million tons of food surplus a year - enough to produce 5% bioethanol for the country. It's not clear from the article where that surplus goes right now, nor how it would be replaced if it were diverted for use as a fuel feedstock.

green roofs not only for new buildings

Arup has shown that green roofs, which contribute to a better quality urban environment, can be viable as retrofits on existing office buildings. A green roof has been installed on an Arup office building in London to test the logistics of a retrofitted green roof and the use of recycled materials as an alternative to commercially available green roof products.

Green roofs generally help with water retention; reduce dust, smog and noise levels; add thermal insulation and provide a natural habitat for animals and plants. Arup's roof was designed for biodiversity and tailored to enhance local ecological value, particularly in the provision of a habitat attractive to black redstarts - a protected bird species present in the local area.

Illustrating another retrofit of a green roof on an office building, this one in Canary Wharf, here's more discussion of how biodiversity can be important in an urban area.

land shortage has an upside

South Africa is experiencing a property boom, and developers say that municipalities are not keeping up with spatial planning to guide development.

The shortage of land zoned and ready for development has implications for urban sprawl and the ability of authorities to achieve planning objectives. Cape Town has done strategic planning, but economic development chief Steve Boshoff says the City has very little interaction with developers, or coordination between municipalities.

The good news is that the shortage of rising cost of land has supported brownfield development and urban regeneration of inner cities in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town. The downside is that there is inadequate control over development of affordable housing and mixed-use development; and the pressure for sprawl continues.

[reported in Financial Mail, 31 March 2006]

power from black gold

Eskom is only just managing to keep up with surging demand for electricity in South Africa. Power outages in February and March 2006, blamed on inadequate capacity in production and transmission, cost the Western Cape nearly R10 billion. But Eskom has delayed making decisions to commission new power stations, and will rely heavily on coal, given the relatively short lead time to build a new coal-fired power station (5 to 7 years) and the abundance of coal in the southern Africa region.

Eskom currently burns 112 Mt of coal a year, nearly half of the country’s total coal production, and there’s plenty left to extract. The Waterberg coal field in Limpopo province, on the Botswana border, is estimated to hold 75.7 bnt, or 40% of South Africa’s total remaining reserves. How much of this is exploited depends largely on where Eskom sites new stations, and on expansion of rail lines in Limpopo.

South Africa is the world’s fifth-largest producer of coal, mining 238 Mt on 2004. The World Coal Institute lists the top five as:

• China 1956 Mt
• US 933 Mt
• India 373 Mt
• Australia 285 Mt
• South Africa 238 Mt

[reported in Financial Mail, 31 March 2006]

one potato, two potato

The average American eats nearly 61kg of potatoes a year. Fuel is the main expense in planting and harvesting, and the country's potato heartland, Idaho, is far from the big coastal markets. So fuel prices are a Big Deal for this crop. The American demand for spuds has been going down, causing a decline in production. The resulting rise in prices has partly, but not fully, offset the increased costs of production and transport.

[Source: The Economist, March 25-31 2006, page 51.]

What happens to potatoes in Idaho will have far-reaching impacts. According to the Idaho Potato Commission:

Idaho grows more potatoes than any other U.S. growing region, annually producing about 30 percent of U.S. fall production. The state's production total is 12 billion pounds. Potatoes contribute $2.5 billion or 15 percent of Idaho's gross state product. Potatoes contribute 6.8 percent of southwest Idaho economy, 27.4 percent of south central Idaho's economy, and 32.8 percent of eastern Idaho's economy. SOURCE: University of Idaho