Showing posts with label primary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label primary. Show all posts

Ships' Ballast Water Spreads Marine Creatures

As international trade continues so does "equalization" of the planet. Many marine species are now found in all waters of the world. This is because transport ships literally hoover up animals in ballast water, which is released at any time, any place, when it is no longer needed.
Ship releasing ballast into a port
All ballast water is released into a port when cargo is taken onboard. Marine survivors of this rough treatment give the local environment a go. Some are successful and multiply to epidemic proportions. Zebra mussels and Pacific seastars in particular are a major problem.

An Australian study gathered data such as ports where ballast was likely to be taken on and where it would probably be released. Marine species spread this way were identified and it was predicted how long they would survive. This data was fed into a computer.

It was noticed that shipping volume was increasing mainly in the transport of primary products. Most of this Australian export was delivered to Asia and Southeast Asia. This meant that marine species from this region were unloaded into Australian waters.

New laws were introduced in 2001 to ban the emptying of Asian ballast water into Australian seas. The new rules have been totally ignored. Furthermore, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWMC) directed ballast water be unloaded into holding tanks. Shipping is not complying.
✴ Environment by Ty Buchanan ✴
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Australia is Heading for Economic Disaster

The Australian economy is heading southward and this does not mean we are moving closer to Antarctica. Our financial health is still in primary products. The price and demand for iron ore and coal still drives the economy. At the moment the foot is really off the accelerator and we are idling downhill. We will eventually reach the bottom. Then the country will have big problems.
Tax revenue is already falling due to lower demand by China. US demand for Chinese good remains sluggish. As the world economy falls it impacts strongly on Australia. We have not made the move away from agriculture and manufacturing. This is mainly because our resource bowl has kept wages high. Manufacturing countries always have a wage differential advantage. In time, wages will rise in China as they have in Japan. Then companies will probably move to Southeast Asia.

The hope that Australia will have a increase in IT start-ups to offset the fall in resource exports is not well founded. Products in the Internet sphere have short lives, a few years at most. IT moves on the initiative of individuals. It never will be a mass employer. We need to forget this pie in the sky and concentrate on something else.

It will cost to improve employment. Government will have to subsidize companies to keep jobs here. Politicians make the same incorrect assumption over and over again - the free market will solve all economic problems. The free market has never done much without human input.  International trade exists due to comparative advantage. If a country does not have this in a sector, other sectors that do must pay.

A start would be tax breaks for enterprises who bring home their support services from India and the Philippines. To allow mining employment to fall without stimulation elsewhere is economic suicide. The country will fall into a very deep hole down the track. Opening more shopping centres is not the way go. This is not increasing the capital base. It is dividing up the market between too many sellers.
✴ Economics by Ty Buchanan ✴
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Russia Seeking Australian Mining Technology

Being a primary producer means Australia leads in mining technology. Russia wants to get its hands on some of this high-tech to mine its vast resources.

Companies such as MBC Resources, Noritsk Nickel and Russian Platinum welcomed the Australian XT business into its new office in Moscow. There is also interest from neighboring countries with huge untapped resources in neighboring countries: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Projects have already begun in these nations. Australian know-how is eagerly sought after.

Australian mining is becoming a major service provider overseas as exports continue to rise. South Africa, Canada and Chile also consult XT; it has established offices in these countries.
Technology by Ty Buchanan
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Revolutionary Mineral Drill Rig Announced

Drilling techniques in industry have not changed for decades. Oil rigs are built in he same old way. Now something has come along that will improve drilling enormously. The Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre based in Adelaide has announced a new type of drill. It is constructed with coiled tubing.

Costs will fall dramatically as drilling is faster.  Australia's mines are mostly over 30 years old. New mines have to be established. We can only rely on the old mines for another 20 years.

No longer is it necessary to keep stopping to add a new drilling section. The new drill is a continuous coil of tubing. Being smaller and lighter transportation is easy. The motor is at the bottom of the shaft, not at the top. The tubing no longer twists during drilling. Any twisting will occur in the other direction as the motor pulls the tubing around.

Less drilling power is needed as the tubing is being pulled around in already drilled space. A lot of torque was lost with the old system as the engine had to force the whole length of the drill around. Drilling will continue with fewer drill breakages. Thus, downtime will be reduced.
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Technology by Ty Buchanan
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We Have Never Had It So Good - Maybe

According to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey we have never been able to buy so much with our income. Over the last decade income inequality has hardly changed, Wages have risen faster than inflation. Of course, we know that announced inflation is lower than real price rises.

Although Australia's debt is low compared to other developed countries, less than half of Australians believe this. Despite the good times, many are feeling down and depressed feeling that the country is not doing well economically. This is probably due to the negative political arena at the moment with any bad news being blown out of proportion, with political blame and counter denials being kept uppermost in people's minds.

We should be happy but the minority, politicians, are pulling us down. Things are certainly changing now with Chinese demand for primary products falling as well as prices producers receive. The new government, in September, will have to deal with rising unemployment. There isn't much doubt about this. Pressure to reign in national debt will mean job cuts in the public sector, and reduced government spending will push up unemployment.

The job market has structurally changed over the last 10 years. More people are in part-time and casual employment, good for business bad for job security. Welfare is being cut and will fall further as politicians take larger income rises for themselves and a "couldn't care less" attitude to the poor. Charities are feeding more of the less well off than they ever did before.

While incomes have remained the same, wealth inequality has risen. This continues as wealth is solidly held and increased by a few. The top 1 per cent have assets of $5 million. The bottom 10 per cent enjoy less that $10,000. Some of these have no assets at all.

Good times are not for everyone apparently.  We should be laughing or at least smiling.  If you are poor and without a job or assets you have to grin or grimace and bear it.  No help for you mate either today or in the future.
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