Well, if you feel like you’ve suffered enough, and pretty much all of us feel like we’ve endured enough daily tribulations in the “Lucky Country” about now, there’s always the grand escape. The cruise industry is booming. Punters are cashed up after the years of Covid restrictions forced them to save, whether they wanted to or not. And instead of worrying about the cost of the cruise, they’re going top drawer. Peter Lynch, the editor of the leading Australian travel magazine Cruise Passenger, said business was up some 20 percent on 2019 levels, particularly at the luxury end of the market. “The perceived wisdom is that after Covid we went on a revenge spending free, and we decided to trade up and spend it now, rather than wait. And also people felt they wanted smaller ships, with fewer passengers. Again a throwback to Covid.”Mr Lynch said the days when cruise ships had a well-earned reputation as floating casinos were well and truly over. “There is big growth in luxury cruises, but there has also been lots of growth in the premium or middle market, which is the Princess, Norwegian, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean lines.“The strongest value proposition is Viking, which runs ships of 920 passengers. They have only been available in Australia for seven years, but have carved a very big share of the market. They offer unlimited drinks and food, free on shore tours. “And their advertising insists there are no kids, and no casinos, which makes them very popular with the over 50 demographic.“They are very classy, with specialty restaurants, fine dining and celebrity chefs.”The days when cruises were also regarded as the expensive way to travel Europe, for example, are also well and truly over. As Mr Lynch explains it, if you’re travelling on the Regent Seven Seas, for example, which is around $700 a day, or the Silver Sea, which is around $600 a day, that might sound expensive. “But here’s what you get: transport, service, a room, as much food as you can tuck in, plus afternoon tea. Viking, Regent and Silver Sea, you get all your drinks and onshore excursions. And you only have to pack and unpack once. Because your hotel travels with you”If you’re travelling overland on your own, you have to pay something in the order of $500 a night for a hotel, plus the costs of flights and taxis, plus the costs of food, breakfast, lunch and dinner, wine, along with the cost of local guides and entry fees to historical sites. And so, the reverse of what one might think, luxury cruising is the cheaper option. With the cruise industry booming, and both White Bay and the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney booked solid, one move which might change the entire cruise experience for south coast residents is talk of establishing a cruise facility at Port Kembla. The boss of the NSW ports is pushing to make Port Kembla Sydney’s “third” cruise terminal, allowing overseas cruisers to enjoy the Opera House and Harbour Bridge views while Aussies sail out of the Illawarra.Port Authority of NSW chief executive and director Phil Holliday is gathering support for the plan among political leaders and state bureaucrats so he can prepare a business case.Holliday admits it is early days. But he has received some support.“There’s a process for us to follow as a government entity to take others on the journey and say to people: we think this is a strong option. And if there’s agreement on it being the lead option, then we start to do a bit more or spend a bit more money, do a full business case on it and take it to its conclusion.”Peta Godfrey, owner of Travel Focus Group Gerringong, confirmed the trends outlined by Cruise Passenger Magazine.  “I don’t think anyone was expecting the market to come back so quickly because of the troubles during Covid,” she said. “We are doing a lot of the smaller cruises, to the Arctic, Antarctic, the Kimberleys. People are looking for more of an experience than just going for the cheapest option. “It’s been interesting in seeing the shift to the smaller ships, rather than the larger 3-500 ships. “Opening up a terminal in Wollongong would bring a lot of tourism to the South Coast, create more jobs for onshore excursions, and open up the region to international and national cruise passengers. It would be great for business.” Australia is expected to have 1.2 million cruise passengers this year, with the industry worth some $5.7 billion.

In its 39th year, the Shoalhaven Dressage Club proudly maintains its status as the South Coast of NSW's largest Official Dressage Club. Throughout its rich history, the club has consistently drawn in top-tier riders, many excelling at State, National, and even International levels. The past year has been no exception, accomplished equestrians such as Alycia Targa, Pamela Bice, James Collin, Catherine Chittenden, and Charlotte Phillips represented the club and the region with distinction at numerous major competitions across the country.The club recently hosted its 39th Annual Awards ceremony—an anticipated evening announcement of the Completely Equine Horse and Rider of the Year. The deserving recipient of this award was James Collin, demonstrating his exceptional riding atop Bellissimo Stud & Agistment Centre’s Horse, Bellissimo Laurenzo. The memorable moment was captured in a striking photo by B M Photography. The event also celebrated other riders, with Abigail Kus winning the Nowra Coaches Junior Rider of the Year title riding CP Lord Alfred. Tanya Lekluse secured the Bishop’s South Nowra Preparatory Champion of the Year award riding The Mockingbird.Further acknowledging excellence in various categories, the club honoured the following individuals and their equine partners:Bellissimo Agistment Centre Preliminary Champion of the Year: Teale Drummond riding GeorgeIllawarra Equine Veterinary Novice Champion of the Year: Linda Elkins riding FlokiSalway Rural Development Elementary Champion of the Year: James Collin riding LaurenzoNeversfelde Medium Champion of the Year: Catherine Chittenden riding Bluefields BelliniJervis Bay Stockfeeds Pony of the Year: Kaleena Matthews riding Kirrang RosewoodPB Dressage Veteran Horse of the Year: Carolyn Hartley riding Mister PipsterThe Shoalhaven Dressage Club continues to be a thriving hub for equestrian excellence, fostering a legacy of skilled riders and their exceptional equine partners.

Most people would be familiar with the astonishing and even disturbing advancements in robotics over the last few years, notably the walking dog-like robot seen in films made by Boston Dynamics. Luxury hotels are starting to regularly use robots to guide you to your room after checkout.The latest advancements are making robots better at imitating human-like movements, invoking the ‘Uncanny Valley’ effect where robots evoke fear of being too similar to humans. Some may envision scenarios similar to the ‘Terminator’ films or similar science fiction ideas where robots take over from their human masters.A much less frightening and more local application for robots is on dairy farms, with Camden-based group Future Dairy developing robots that can replace humans for many tasks.Future Dairy is based out of the University of Sydney’s Camden campus and is focused on its Automatic Milking Systems, which includes single box robots, multibox robots and is the only dairy robotic system in the world that can replace the process of humans fetching the cows and for onsite supervision.Future Dairy has been active for 20 years and in 2013 it conducted an in-paddock experiment in Kiama by herding cows using a robot. The Dairy Research Foundation at its Symposium held at the Kiama Pavilion on 4 and 5 July 2013 demonstrated Rover the robot, a wheeled unmanned ground vehicle which successfully herded cows out of the paddock to milking.Dairy Researcher Associate Professor Kendra Kerrisk said at the time: “They weren’t at all fazed by it and the herding process was very calm and effective.” The main problem Rover had was negotiating the terrain (a problem that could be solved if it had legs). Also in 2013, Kiama Primary School students were one of the first to remotely view the National Museum of Australia using telepresence to control a robot’s movements and camera from a computer in Kiama. Robotic competitions have been held at the University of Wollongong since 2010.Dr Kerrisk said “its programming would have to be customised for dairying applications.”However, Future Dairy lost funding this year and is now replaced by Dairy Up, a more generalised dairy research program with 20 different areas of research.Now at the end of 2023, and ten years later, robotics has advanced by leaps and bounds, and has reached the point where some robots can perform tasks requiring fine motor skills as easily as a human.Swiss Robotics Day is held every 3 November in Zurich. Swiss company Robotic Systems Lab is the main European rival to the much more well-known Boston Dynamics. The Swiss Robot called ANYmal looks like a dog on wheels, but it has the additional capability to stand and use its forelimbs for manipulation tasks, such as opening a door. Robotic Systems Lab has developed one robot that can stand and use its front legs as hands for such balancing tasks as opening doors and even catching a package and placing it in a receptacle.One hopes as the whole world starts to feel like the world science fiction predicted for so many decades, we keep in mind not to lose our own sense of humanity.

The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre hosted its 2024 Season Launch on Wednesday, 6 December, giving punters a sneak peek at next year’s lineup of performers. The night started off with a “Welcome to Country” speech by Aboriginal elder for the Shoalhaven Aunty Ruth Simms, touching on the beautiful landscape of the region, reminding us that it is up to us to keep it looking beautiful. Hosted by Abby Hopkins from Nowra’s Power FM, and Karen Patterson, Manager of the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, the night was full of anticipation as the hosts announced the upcoming shows. “We’ve searched the Nation and Beyond for stories, dance, drama, physical theatre and music that is in tune with our audience and will ensure you feel the power of connection.” Karen said.Here’s a list and a short summary of what's to come from The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre:“Lost in Shanghai” - Written by Jane Hutcheon, Co-Directed by William Yang and Tasmin HossainTuesday, 27 February 2024, at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre“The Story that’s Haunted me and that I keep coming back to is much closer to home” - Jane HutcheonJane's story of her Mother Beatric’s turbulent childhood in pre-communist Shanghai has always stayed in the back of her mind, despite her adventurous journalism career keeping her busy. After visiting Shanghai in 2018, Jane began to search for the truth about her mother being a journalist at the South China Morning Post in the 1950’s.Jane Hutcheon, and Abby Hopkins -Tracey Leigh Images“Yuldea”- From the storytellers Bangarra Dance Theatre. Wednesday, 6 March at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre.“At Yuldea, the stars reveal a divine Songline, stretching between earth and sky.”This story of the Aṉangu people of the Great Victorian Desert highlights the intersection between their traditional lifestyle and the growing industrial aspirations of a developing nation. In 1917, a significant moment between the two halves of the Transcontinental Railway met at the precious water soak on the edge of the Nullab unfolded as the Transcontinental Railway's sections converged at a crucial water source on the outskirts of the Nullabor.Yukdea features original music by Leon Rodgers and guest composers of the multi-award-winning electronic pop duo Electric Feild.“27 Club”- presented by Amplified House Friday, May 10 2024, at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre“The rock, grunge and soul supergroup that will get you praying to the rock gods for more” This captivating live rockumentary showcases music and narratives from iconic figures such as Joplin, Winehouse, Cobain, Morrison, and Hendrix, each the voice of their generation. “Bulla Midhong -1 and 2 is 3” Album Launch and ConcertCreated in partnership with communities in Eden, Wallaga Lake and Nowra.Showing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre 28 June 2024Bulla Midhong - 1 and 2 is 3 - Celebrates its deep connection to place and continues a lineage of story-telling across Yuin Country. Live performances by contributors from each community will be accompanied by immersive audiovisual storytelling. Sivan Agam, Kiara Edwards and Mick Robinson perform 'Mothers Calling' from Bulla Midhong - 1 and 2 is 3.-Tracey Leigh Images“The Lark Ascending”- Directed by Helena Rathbone, presented by the Australian Chamber Orchestra. May 15 & 16, 2024, at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre.“A concert that will set your hearts soaring with music full of beauty and spirit” Ralph Vaughan Williams creates a radiant portrait of a lark in flight, trailing a silver chain of sound as it rises. This performance spans five centuries, from Henry Purcell’s ‘Fantasia Upon One Note’ to Max Richer’s cinematic ‘On the Nature of Daylight’. “Dear Diary”- Written and performed by Kay Proudlove. June 19 2024, The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre.“She’s whip-smart, hilarious and with the voice of an angel, but seeing Kay turn her own life into a theatre show, I saw the depth she has as a writer and performer.” Lindsay McDougall, ABC Illawarra. After winning the hearts and minds of audiences in her 2022 debut, phenomenal South Coast local singer and songwriter Kay Proudlove brings her one-woman show “Dear Diary” to Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre as part of her Australia-wide tour. Kay’s performance of “I Love You Elijah Wood” from the depth of her 15-year-old diary had everyone in hysterics. This performance is nostalgic, empowering and painful, with plenty of wry humour as Kay explores her teenage years. Kay Proudlove performs a song from Dear Diary-Tracey Leigh Images“Our Place” - by Sharon and Slava GrigoryanSaturday, August 24 at The Shoalhaven Entertainment CentreTwo of Australia’s finest classical musicians performing works for cello and guitar.Slava Grigoryan is an acknowledged guitar master on the world stage. Sharon Grigoryan has forged a well-known career throughout Australia, performing with all major symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles. Their performances are deeply emotional, passionate and sensitive. “The Visitors” By Jane Harrison. Directed by Wesley Enoch. A Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company production. Showing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on 20 August 2024“Visors leave…Right?”“The Visitors”, is directed by one of Australia’s most celebrated directors, Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch. The story starts on a sweltering summer day in January of 1788, as seven clans gather on the Harbour of Botany Bay. Decisions are waiting to be made. “Augustin Hadelich and The Sydney Symphony Orchestra” Showing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on 18 August 2024 “A Violin masterclass of glowing warmth and complex depth”Grammy award winner and internationally renowned violinist Augustin Hadelich, one of the most sought-after musicians, is coming to The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre to showcase his incredible performance. See Augustin Hadelich's expressive, and moving showcase. The Shoalhaven is one of only a handful of audiences who will get the pleasure of experiencing Augustin Hadelich.A Midsummer Night’s Dream - By William Shakespeare, directed by Peter Evans.“Lord, what fool these mortals be!” Puck, Act 3 Scene 2Showing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre 20 June 2024Shakespeare’s classic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is reawakened in this production, exploding with magic and mayhem.Destined to be together, Hermia and Lysander meet in a beautiful moonlit forest with plans to elope, but of course, love isn’t always easy as they navigate a love triangle. The three worlds collide in an explosion of comic confusion. Bell Shakespeare Artistic Director Peter Evans tells the audience about A Midsummer Night's Dream“Momenta”- Presented by Sydney Dance Company. Choreography by Rafael Bonachela“A World where raw expression meets refined technique.”Showing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre 3 JulySydney Dance Company brings its newest work to the Shoalhaven, Momenta is a journey into the poetry and physics of human connection. From skillfully trained dancers of The Sydney Dance Company, to the carefully choreographed acts by Rafael Bonachela, this performance is an invitation to rejoice. Finally, something for the whole family to enjoy. For kids, teens and families, The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre has the following shows for their upcoming 2024 season. “The Peasant Prince”- Based on the book by Li Cunxin. Adapted for the stage by Eva Di Cesare, Sandie Eldridge and Tim McGarry. Showing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on September 6 2024“You have your secret dreams. Follow them. Make them come true.”Making a return to the stage, The Peasant Prince is an exceptional production and a remarkable story of a young boy turned Dancer. The story is of 10-year-old Li, plucked from his village in rural China and sent to a ballet academy in the city.Emma Khamis (Monkey Baa Theatre Co) talks about The Peasant Prince-Tracey Leigh Images“The Listies: Make some Noise” - Written and performed by children's group The ListiesShowing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on 24 July “Nobody else does kids comedy this brilliantly; what’s more astonishing is that adults have just as much fun.” The AgeMake Some Noise is a hilarious comedy for the whole family, with an age range of 4-400 years old. For over a decade, the award-winning Lisites have toured the world, bringing side-splitting laughter to all. For teens, tweens and young adults:“SLAP. BANG. KISS.” - Written by Danh Giovani, presented by Melbourne Theatre Company. Showing at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre 14 September“... the work races along in a gripping, always entertaining hour.” - Time Out. SLAP. BANG. KISS. tracks three young people's stories, following a series of events none of them could be prepared for. Transforming them into global symbols of revolution. The show is guaranteed to engage young audiences and those eager to understand innovative theatre.With more to come, the lineup at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre is overflowing with choice. With something for everyone. To find out more information or to become a member of The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre for 2024, you can check out their website here.

Shellharbour and Wollongong councils have made a major move towards renewable energy by introducing one of the world's first hydrogen-powered garbage trucks.The REMONDIS waste services' Hyzan Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) runs on hydrogen which reacts with air to produce electricity, emitting only harmless water vapour into the environment.On October 17, 2023, following extensive trials, the carbon emission-free Hyzan Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) truck successfully completed its first scheduled residential waste pick up in the Illawarra.REMONDIS Australia CEO Björn Becker said the truck going into formal operation was historic.“We’re demonstrating that carbon-free transport can and does work in industrial settings,” Mr Becker said.The hydrogen-powered vehicle can now seamlessly integrate into normal fleet operations with the addition of more trucks.“This should be likely as economies of scale take effect, making the take-up of such technology the norm and not the exception.”Launch of Remondis Hygrogen Waste Collection truck Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery said.“This is a really exciting development and is a proactive step forward in adapting to new technologies that can help reduce our city’s emissions,’’ Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer said “I applaud REMONDIS and Hyzon for their initiative on this project, which will help us prepare for a low carbon future.”Hyzon Motors' President of International Operations, John Edgley, stated that the Illawarra developments were being closely monitored by global industries.Mr Edgley stated that today's announcement is a "game changer" for the world's journey towards decarbonisation.“We’re making it very clear that we’ve got a product now, the first product that’s been designed locally, that’s ready to go into the market.“This step forward will give more confidence that as a trucking sector, we can start transitioning larger fleets in companies that have thousands of vehicles.”The Hyzon Motors heavy-duty waste collection truck outperforms the industry standard with a range of 200 kilometers (125 miles) and the ability to lift 1500 bins per working day. The truck is expected to be further improved through a collaborative effort between Hyzon Motors and REMONDIS NSW South Coast Region Manager, Chris Wade, over the course of the next few months.According to Mr. Wade, the goal is to make the hydrogen truck equivalent to our current diesel trucks in every aspect. This includes completing around 1,000 bin lifts in approximately eight hours. The truck refuels at the Corega H2 Hub situated at Port Kembla.Hyzon developed its Heavy Rigid truck in Australia as a global platform, adaptable for international markets with a multitude of vehicle use cases, such as garbage compactors, tilt trays, and flatbed trucks. Development of the Heavy Rigid program in Australia has allowed Hyzon to tap into highly skilled local engineering and technical knowledge to build a team, process and product for Hyzon's targeted U.S. and global markets. Building on the back of this ISO-certified Australian developed platform, the first U.S. FCEV waste collection vehicle is in assembly, readying for expected customer trials in the U.S. in early 2024.The truck will result in 25,000 litres of diesel fuel being saved annually – the amount a conventional diesel-powered waste collection truck of this size uses. Up to 75 tonnes of carbon emissions would also be eliminated each year. Heavy-duty transport is known to cause about a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions globally.The truck is also significantly quieter than diesel trucks.Exciting times!

Australia's inaugural anthropometry dataset has unveiled a concerning trend: an average weight gain of approximately 3 kilograms every decade. This revelation carries significant ramifications for transport design, particularly in the context of accommodating larger body sizes in features like airline seats or even the local action park rides. The research was conducted by the University of South Australia in collaboration with Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and the Department of Transport and Planning Victoria. Anthropometry is the science of measuring human body dimensions and served as the focal point of this research. In the context of developed countries, the dataset underscores a concerning rise in obesity and weight gain among adults since the 1960s and children since the 1980s. For Australia, the data suggests a continued increase in adult weight, ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 kilograms per decade. The researchers anticipate that over the next two decades, Australia may see no significant change in stature but an expected weight gain of 2 to 3 kilograms per decade. A more conservative scenario, which would favour accommodating larger body sizes in designs, involves a 10mm increase in stature per decade and a 3-kilogram weight gain per decade.The study also highlights the connection between expanding body sizes and airline seats, citing studies revealing that changes in body dimensions over the past three decades have made airline seating dimensions inadequate for up to 68 percent of males and 22 percent of females.Historically, commercial airline seat dimensions were based on passenger weight data from the 1950s to 1970s. However, as today's travellers become significantly heavier, airlines are grappling with the challenge of accommodating a growing and heavier passenger base. Is a weight measurement of passengers and bags in our future?This trend in weight gain obviously carries substantial implications for aircraft design and fuel efficiency. Heavier planes consume more fuel, leading to increased operational costs and environmental concerns. In recent weeks, this issue has garnered significant media attention, with financial analysts suggesting that United Airlines could save USD $80 million annually if the average passenger lost about 4.5 kilograms.But the impact of weight gain extends beyond airlines. Trains, buses, and various modes of transport will also need to adapt to accommodate evolving body sizes. The newly created dataset offers valuable insights for industries to address these challenges effectively. Understanding changes in body size over decades is vital to ensuring that designs, equipment, and layouts remain suitable for use by their intended users throughout their lifespan.Ian Christensen, Managing Director of iMOVE CRC which funded the study, emphasised the study's significance in addressing the evolving needs of the population and ensuring transport systems are designed with human-centred principles. The data from this study provides a roadmap for creating inclusive, sustainable, and forward-thinking transport solutions.Christina Kirsch, Senior Human Factors Specialist at TfNSW, stressed the importance of designing public transport tailored to the unique shapes and sizes of the Australian population. Such designs directly influence passenger comfort, safety, accessibility, and overall user experience. Incorporating anthropometric data into the design process is crucial for enhancing the efficiency, safety, and comfort of work and transport systems for both staff and customers.The study's methodology involved sourcing primary data from National Health Surveys in 2014 and 2017, which included height and weight data from approximately 20,000 Australian adults. Advanced statistical modelling, including a "skew normal bivariate distribution," generated synthetic individual datasets, resulting in a detailed dataset comprising 105 anthropometric measurements for Australian adults. 

What if a wind farm was built off the Illawarra coast that wasn't visible because it did not have giant blades on a 260-metre steel pole?What if the wind farm had VAWTs (Vertical Axis Wind Turbines) rather than the HAWTs (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines) we are so familiar with with the slowly rotating giant blades?Studies have shown that in large offshore wind turbine farms, the back row has much-degraded efficiency because of turbulence, while paired vertical or hybrid wind turbines increase performance by up to 15 per cent. A recent Forbes article stated HAWTS are known to create turbulent wake issues which can decrease the output of turbines behind them by up to four per cent. With VAWTS, this problem is not only eliminated but when paired would enhance each other’s performance and make a much denser field.The research was conducted at Oxford Brookes University in 2021. Research lead Professor Tzanakis said: “This study evidences that the future of wind farms should be vertical. VAWTs can be designed to be much closer together, increasing their efficiency and, ultimately, lowering the price of electricity.”VAWTS also have advantages for offshore wind farms as their centre of gravity is much lower and their internal mechanics less complex. A Norwegian company called Worldwide Wind Company makes a hybrid wind turbine. After being contacted by The Bugle, CEO of World Wide Wind, Bjørn Simonsen stated: “We are currently in dialogue with key stakeholders in the most promising markets globally and are also open to discuss opportunities with Australian developers and suppliers.”While World Wide Wind has not announced they are making a proposal yet to apply for a seven year Feasibility License to build in the Illawarra REZ (Renewable Energy Zone), it is very early days in the first consulting period.The Bugle is yet to find VAWTS currently built as part of an existing offshore wind farm. Hydro, a major Norwegian aluminum and energy company, announced in January 2023 it is partnering with World Wide Wind to develop floating wind turbines for offshore conditions. Hydro was very critical of the fact that a land-based technology with wind turbines was simply being moved offshore. The partners now plan to move into manufacturing prototypes and building a consortium of industrial partners.The community response to the offshore proposal for wind farms has been focused on the size of the blades, both for their visibility, but also such issues as bird strike and effect on whales. A Vertical Wind Axis Turbine would address many of those concerns.One of the advantages for the Illawarra is the plan to manufacture locally. The statement says: "We have developed a turbine that can be constructed at suitable manufacturing yards locally. We have done this deliberately to secure local content and work locally."Arthur Rorris, Secretary of the South Coast Labor council has indicated in a number of forums his strong preference for local jobs building and maintaining offshore wind turbines, while many in the anti-wind farm discussion groups on Facebook have indicated their strong opposition to wind turbines manufactured and assembled in China.Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips has pointed out the benefits for the Illawarra region. These include 2,500 construction jobs and 1250 ongoing jobs and the power generated will power 3.4 million homes and each rotation is equivalent to the average rooftop solar installation output for one day. 

Innovative solutions are crucial in a world where the demand for freshwater and food is rapidly increasing due to a projected population of 10 billion by 2050. Researchers from the University of South Australia have introduced an unprecedented concept – floating sea farms that harness the power of the sun and sea to produce freshwater and crops.To ensure freshwater and food supplies in the decades ahead as the world's population grows and available agricultural land shrinks, a unique project creates vertical sea farms floating on the ocean that can produce fresh water for drinking and agriculture. How it works:The vertical floating sea farm developed by Professor Haolan Xu and Dr Gary Owens from UniSA’s Future Industries Institute comprises two chambers: an upper layer similar to a glasshouse and a lower water harvest chamber.This could help address looming global shortages of fresh water and food in the decades ahead, with the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050.Innovative technology:“The system works much like a wicking bed that household gardeners might be familiar with,” Dr Owen says.“However, in this case, clean water is supplied by an array of solar evaporators that soak up the seawater, trap the salts in the evaporator body, and, under the sun’s rays, release clean water vapour into the air, which is then condensed on water belts and transferred to the upper plant growth chamber,” he adds.Crop Growth and Sustainability:In a field test, the researchers grew three common vegetable crops – broccoli, lettuce, and pak choi – on seawater surfaces without maintenance or additional clean water irrigation.The system, which is powered only by solar light, has several advantages over other solar sea farm designs currently being trialled, according to Prof. Xu. “Other designs have installed evaporators inside the growth chamber, which takes up valuable space that could otherwise be used for plant growth. Also, these systems are prone to overheating and crop death.” Floating farms, where traditional photovoltaic panels harvest electricity to power conventional desalination units, have also been proposed, but these are energy-intensive and costly to maintain.“In our design, the vertical distribution of evaporator and growth chambers decreases the device’s overall footprint, maximising the area for food production. It is fully automated, low cost, and extremely easy to operate, using only solar energy and seawater to produce clean water and grow crops.” Prof. Xu says.Scalability and Future Prospects:Their design is only proof-of-concept at this stage, but the next step is to scale it up, using a small array of individual devices to increase plant production. Meeting larger food supply needs will mean increasing the size and number of devices.“It is not inconceivable that sometime in the future, you might see huge farm biodomes floating on the ocean or multiple smaller devices deployed over a large sea area,” says Owens.Water Purity and Global Impact:Their existing prototype is likely to be modified to produce a greater biomass output, including using low-cost substrate materials such as waste rice straw fibre, to make the device even cheaper to run.The researchers have shown that the recycled water produced this way is pure enough to drink and has less salinity than the World Health Guidelines for drinking water.The United Nations estimates that by 2050, approximately 2.4 billion people will likely experience water shortages. In the same period, the global water supply for agricultural irrigation is expected to decline by around 19 per cent.Dr Owens says, “Freshwater accounts for just 2.5 per cent of the world’s water and most of this is not accessible because it’s trapped in glaciers, ice caps or is deep underground,” adding, “It’s not that freshwater is dwindling either, but the small amount that exists is in ever increasing demand due to population growth and climate change.”The fact that 97.5 per cent of the world’s water is in our oceans – and freely available –is an obvious solution to harness the sea and sun to address growing global water, food, and agricultural land shortages. Adopting this technology could improve the health and welfare of billions of people globally.The design experiment is published in the Chemical Engineering Journal.Floating sea farms represent a beacon of hope in a world facing imminent challenges in freshwater and food supply. As we look ahead to 2050, the integration of this technology could not only alleviate global shortages but also improve the well-being of billions of people worldwide.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) raises a pressing question in the legal world: will AI eventually replace human lawyers?Regulations of the legal profession are clear that the practice of law is limited to those admitted as licensed legal practitioners in the jurisdiction. It has been this way for centuries. However, today some AI systems like ‘Chat GPT-4’ are competent enough to pass a bar examination. While legal practice involves much more than knowledge of the law itself, as AI continues to evolve, it is fair to wonder if it is simply a matter of time before it’s representing us in court?An expert in legal innovation from the School of Private & Commercial Law, UNSW Law & Justice, Professor Michael Legg says AI will disrupt the legal profession and raise questions about who, or what, can be a lawyer.(Professor Michael Legg pictued above) “Anybody, any entity, can provide legal information, including AI systems,” says Prof. Legg. “But the provision of legal advice needs to be done by a lawyer because it’s not just enough to get the law right, it needs to be applied to a client’s circumstances and needs.He also points out that AI doesn’t have to comply with ethical responsibilities like a duty to act in the client’s best interest that sets lawyers apart.Prof. Legg says we can be quick to celebrate the potential cost-savings from automation and overlook the other costs of replacing human lawyers that may harm society.“There are very good reasons why we have the legal profession and why we limit the practice of law to lawyers who are qualified to do so,” Prof. Legg says. “Part of that is to protect the client and ensure the quality of legal services, but lawyers also play a critical role in upholding the rule of law and maintaining a just society.”Advances in artificial intelligence will change the nature of legal work for lawyers, helping to make them more effective and efficient. Prof. Legg recognises that AI can speed up legal research and help draft contracts and other legal documents, plus review huge numbers of documents for discovery in litigation or for due diligence in a transaction. He also acknowledges that a lower cost base will be needed for lawyers to remain competitive. “AI can save the lawyer time and the firm money.”The rise of AI may also make access to certain legal services more cost-effective or, at the very least, shake up the billable hour model. Lawyers may find themselves selling a product for a flat fee rather than a service. Prof. Legg suggests that for dispute resolution, like small claims, particularly those where the cost of accessing legal services would be disproportionate to what is at stake, people may be able to interact with a chatbot that provides legal information at little-to-no cost.The cost saving would also benefit lawyers, enabling them to spend more time on higher-level work and advising and advocating for their clients. So, it’s likely that more law firms will adopt proprietary AI systems tailored to their needs. However, Prof. Legg says that lawyers must also learn how these systems work to be able to use them effectively and manage risks.“From the consumer side, even though we’re likely to see more low-risk self-serve style legal products become available, they will still require some level of oversight from a lawyer to manage the inherent risk of relying on an AI system when it gets it wrong,” Prof. Legg says.“From the lawyers’ side, if we look at generative AI like Chat-GPT, it can be trained to read legislation and judgments and draft documents, but it still needs oversight from a lawyer who effectively takes responsibility for what is produced,” he adds.There are still many aspects of the legal profession that no amount of AI development would likely be able to automate or replace. “There may be an AI-enhanced lawyer, who is more efficient and effective at their job, but it’s still the human skills that distinguish them from the machine and to continue to add value,” Prof. Legg says. “It’s the ability to address the novel and the uncertain problem through practical wisdom and judgement, but also to listen and provide empathy.While the legislation that deals with the practice of law could be amended to allow AI and machine-provided services to practice law, whether society would want that is another question. Society must also ask how AI would comply with ethical and professional responsibility requirements applicable to lawyers: “Can AI be programmed to advance the client’s interests but be independent and comply with a paramount duty to the court and the administration of justice?”The lawyer has an ethical obligation to their client’s best interests, but it is not just about serving a client. Prof. Legg reminds, “They’re also there to support the administration of justice and uphold the rule of law, and while not always perfect, those ethical obligations make human lawyers essential to a well-functioning society.”Prof. Legg says the profession needs to be more proactive in advocating for its role in the social fabric. Law is not just a business for making money. “If the profession wishes to remain of service, it can’t be complacent. It’s up to lawyers to continue demonstrating their value to society.”There is a call to action for the legal profession to proactively demonstrate its value to society and adapt to the changing landscape of AI in law.

The Bugle spoke to Neville Fredericks, who served for seven years as Mayor of Kiama from 1974-77 and from 1987-91. He was also the Director of The Housing Trust from 2007-12. He is widely credited for bringing Council back from the brink of insolvency and contributing to staving off amalgamation with Shoalhaven Council back in the day.Former Kiama Mayor, Neville Fredericks.Mr Fredericks has 14 years of experience as a Councillor and received the prestigious Emeritus Mayor Award in 2002. He has made significant contributions to local government, and his impact reaches beyond local politics.These days Mr Fredericks is a property developer focusing on sustainable futures for towns. He is committed to understanding how the layout of our community impacts the health of its residents.Two townships in the Kiama Municipality could be described as “walkable, mixed-use, relatively dense, diverse, sustainable towns,” Mr Frederics has told us. “This model of traditional urbanism has a very low carbon footprint per capita.”This can reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions by four tons a year, compared to living in an automobile-dependent suburb. The environmental advantages go well beyond greenhouse gases to address other pollutants, noise, water, land use, and more.He points out that Gerringong has a population of 4,100, and if including Werri Beach and Gerroa the 2001 Census says 5,000 people.“This is an optimum-sized community for a wide range of local commercial services,” he says.However, from a sustainability perspective, its disadvantage is that Werri Beach and Gerroa are far enough away from the centre of Gerringong that many residents of those areas are car dependent for every need.“Gerringong is close to the model size but lacks adequate housing diversity - especially near the town centre,” Mr Fredericks says.Census 2021 shows that 78.8 per cent of Gerringong’s dwellings are freestanding homes. This is high compared to the NSW percentage of free-standing dwellings, which is 65.6 per cent.“Not everyone wants, needs, or can afford a large freestanding home. Half the homes in NSW now have only 1 or 2 occupants, and Gerringong, like almost every regional town in NSW, has a shortfall of smaller homes to meet the needs of its changing population.“Enabling a mix of villas, townhouses and terraces to be built over time would begin to address this problem. Ideally, they would be located within walking distance of the town centre.”Fredericks also cites Jamberoo, with a 2021 population of 1910, “This is well below the critical population of 3,000 people needed for the support of a range of viable local retail and other services.”“The existing IGA manages to remain viable due to the skill of the operator,” citing Mike Cullen - Urban Economist. Over recent decades Jamberoo has lost its fuel station, bank, and general store/rural supplies. It does not have a pharmacy or many other retail and commercial services.”Census 2021 shows that the percentage of free-standing dwellings was 95.5 per cent. Again, Fredericks points out that “The town has a critical undersupply of smaller, more diverse housing options.”“This causes young people who grew up in the area to be unable to find smaller and more affordable homes. The same for service workers, singles, and renters,” he explains.In summary, Jamberoo needs another 1,000 people - around 450 dwellings - mostly smaller and more affordable for the town to be sustainable.Mr. Fredericks, a principal involved in the Golden Valley Road development in Jamberoo, is recognised by The Bugle. We featured an article about this development in the previous edition. Link to that story is below.

If Shoalhaven Marine Rescue has its way, an aquatic robot could be seen off the coast of Gerringong helping boaters in distress. Deputy Unit Commander Lynne Hocking revealed that the organisation hopes to raise $13,000 to purchase the Portugese-made self-propelled, remote-controlled robot buoy that can rescue conscious people in the water where a rescue vessel and its crew could be at risk.    “[The buoys] pay for themselves. You’d only have to have one of our rescue vessels do a ‘prop on a rock’ and that’s far more than $13,000, so this is a steal,” she says. Shoalhaven Marine Rescue covers as far north as Black Head in Gerringong and could see the self-propelled rescue device deployed.Supplied: Shoalhaven Marine Rescue Deputy Unit Commander Lynne Hocking  “There’s another unit that takes care of Kiama, they’re out of Shellharbour, but if they needed it, boy oh boy, would we be there with our robot.”  The idea behind acquiring the robot is to reduce the risk of harm to the volunteers on the water and quickly reach people in distress. “Picture this,” says Lynne, “Some boaters are driving out over the bar and their boat breaks down, very close to the rocks.  “Out comes Marine Rescue, thrashing through the swell and we think we can’t get in too close, but we need to save these people because that’s what we do; we save lives at sea.  “So, we’ll whip this little remote-controlled robot [to the distressed boat], zip it across with a line attached to the distressed vehicle, and [those in trouble] attach it to the front of their boat, and we drag them away into safety.  “We haven’t put our volunteers or vessel at risk,” says Lynne.Supplied: The self-propelled, remote-controlled robot buoy. Shoalhaven Marine Rescue is looking for donations to purchase the high-tech equipment. “This is a vision that our unit has of the first on the South Coast to have [an aquatic robot].” Last fiscal year, Marine Rescue NSW volunteers achieved a remarkable feat by conducting a high number of rescues. They saved 68 people in the Shoalhaven and 160 in Port Kembla, including two children and two adults from a vessel that was taking water off Scarborough on Saturday morning.

Kiama Council is charging through with plans to build public fast-charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in the LGA.Council participated in a NSW Government feasibility study conducted by contractor Chargeworks to find the best locations for fast-charging stations. Council will report its findings in the coming months.There are currently no public charging stations in the Kiama LGA, with the closest being Shell Cove. Woolworths has confirmed plans to build four EV chargers in the new Kiama development, but these are not considered public.Kiama Mayor Neil Reilly reconfirmed Council’s commitment to fund and deliver public EV charging stations in the LGA. Council has participated in several Expressions of Interest and submitted several applications for funding over the years but has been unsuccessful.“I am hopeful that the organisation continues to move more vehicles in the fleet to EVs and hybrids in the longer-term,” Mayor Reilly said.“I see this as a natural progression towards a more sustainable model of fleet and energy management, that aligns with our net zero targets. The Councillors and I will continue to advocate for additional EV charging infrastructure in our area. Change is coming. I’m proud to be part of it!”Kiama Council is also doing its part to reduce emissions as part of the Corporate Emissions Reduction Plan it adopted in 2021, which set a target to reduce emissions of all of its operations, facilities and services to net zero by 2031.The Mayoral vehicle assigned to Mayor Reilly was recently updated to an EV, a Hyundai Kona. The previous vehicle was five years old and had exceeded the replacement policy threshold.“Going fully electric supports our net zero goals and I wanted to lead by example,” Mayor Reilly said.While Kiama remains without a fast-charging power station, Council installed a power point near the Mayor’s assigned parking spot at Council Chambers so the Mayor can at least get from A to B!Council has also adopted a new electric waste truck for household bin collection that meets Euro V1 (6) emissions standards.

State agriculture ministers met on 13 July, to discuss the future of the country’s egg industry. The ministers endorsed an updated version of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry, which provides new guidelines, including a phase-out of conventional layer hen cages by 2036, ten years earlier than the previously stated phase-out date of 2046. A number of animal welfare advocates had said the 13-year phase-out was too slow. The decision about timeframe has been left to the state and territory governments to decide and finalise. Senator Murray Watt, the Federal Agriculture Minister said "for the first time, after several years of work, we've been able to reach a national agreement about new animal welfare standards."Senator Watt believes the earlier phase-out is good for both poultry farmers and consumers, because the market is already shifting, and many retailers and large manufacturing companies using eggs are already moving towards more humane methods of raising hens, while working towards achieving the quality and volume of eggs required.  Taking a different view, the Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud is calling on state governments to protect egg farmers, amid fears of rising egg prices. This already happened in New Zealand with the price of eggs rising by 50 percent, due to egg supply shortages. Mr Littleproud said the New South Wales Labor Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty and Queensland’s Labor Agricultural Industry Development Minister Mark Furner needed to step up for farmers in their states (most egg production is in New South Wales and Queensland). “The State Labor ministers need to have the courage and conviction to support egg producers and continue with the status quo” Mr Littleproud said. And further that “Farmers have made investment decisions worth millions of dollars, predicated on the current guidelines, believing they had until 2046.”“Our egg farmers deserve support, not surprises, from state governments,” he said. Mr Littleproud doesn’t believe the science in relation to caged eggs is conclusive. “We don’t need to rush this process,” he stated. “Any changes would effectively be a retrospective decision and farmers will have to bear the cost, which is unfair and un-Australian. The unintended consequences will also mean higher egg prices for consumers. “We can use common sense and have more consultation to ensure investment confidence for farmers, while also continuing to provide fresh and healthy produce to consumers.”

Could 3D printed homes, constructed in just a few days, be the answer to the Australian housing crisis?One NSW Council believes 3D printing may be able to relieve some of the housing tensions. Dubbo Council just rented a giant 3D printer and has already started printing an entire new toilet block.Dubbo Council is considering using the 3D printer to quickly build inexpensive tiny or basic homes as part of its response to the current housing crisis. Dubbo Mayor Matthew Dickson has already stated that four blocks of the next release of Kerwick Estate will be reserved for 3D printed housing.The toilet is being built by Australian company Contour 3D, which recently featured on reality TV show The Block, building Australia’s first 3D printed home in just three days. In 2022, Contour 3D printed a pool cabana under the supervision of the show’s resident architect Julian Blenchley.Nick Holden, founder of Contour 3D, says on his website the journey all started when he bought his daughter a 3D printer for Christmas. He stated that the material used in 3D printed buildings isn’t strictly concrete but a proprietary blend which is laid down in highly controlled layered curls.Contour 3D calls it ‘contourcrete’ and it was developed in partnership with UNSW. It is currently 40 per cent recycled materials but by the end of 2023 will be 75 per cent recyclable materials.Inside The JindiWhile the infrastructure for every building cannot be printed, normal installations using plumbers and electricians are required to fit out the building.Contour 3D are not the only ones printing houses in NSW. When it's not 3D printing giant dinosaur skeletons like Titanosaur for the Eromanga Natural History Museum, Studio Kite, located in the Byron Shire, has created a 3D tiny home called Jindi which is commercially available from its website.The Jindi is a modest 32m square tiny home, which takes 240 hours to 3D print and two to three weeks to assemble. It doesn’t include any internal or external work. The cost is approximately $3000 per square metre.Another exciting 3D house printing initiative comes from the University of NSW, which has been working on its new software to print 3D homes. In another development, Dr Kate Dunn from the University of NSW’s School of Built Environment is developing proprietary 3D house printing software which will also use robots as part of the assembly stage.Consumer-grade 3D printing has been generally available in Australia for a number of years. Wollongong Private Hospital installed a 3D printing lab in 2016 and used it to create a variety of prosthesis including skull implants. Kiama Library even has a 3D printer which members of the public are welcome to use, though they probably wouldn’t appreciate printing an entire house in the library!Could we see 3D homes propped up in the Kiama LGA some time soon? Only time will tell.

On behalf of the Australian Government, The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced yesterday a grant of $32.1 million for Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Corporation to trial hydrogen calcination technology at the Yarwun Alumina Refinery in Gladstone, Queensland.Australia is the world’s largest exporter of alumina, the mineral feedstock for aluminium production, with the industry contributing $7.5 billion to the nation’s GDP. The project is intended to reduce emissions in alumina refining, which currently contributes roughly three per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. If successful, the project will demonstrate the viability of hydrogen calcination and pave the way for adoption at scale across other alumina refineries. The $111.1 million ‘Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Corporation Yarwun Hydrogen Calcination Pilot Demonstration Program’ will be the first-of-its-kind deployment of hydrogen calcination in the world. Rio Tinto will conduct a series of tests of the hydrogen calciner under differing operating conditions to validate suitability and performance. The demonstration follows a successful feasibility study conducted by Rio Tinto, which ARENA supported with a $580,000 grant in 2021.The project will consist of a 2.5 MW on site electrolyser to supply hydrogen and a retrofit of one of the refinery’s calciners to operate with a hydrogen burner.Sumitomo Corporation will own and operate the electrolyser at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun site and supply the hydrogen to Rio Tinto directly. The electrolyser will have a production capacity of more than 250 tonnes of hydrogen annually. Calciners, which use high temperatures to extract chemically bound water from alumina crystals, traditionally use fossil fuels for process heat and contribute roughly 30% of emissions from alumina refining.Hydrogen calcination also produces high purity steam, which, unlike contaminated steam from fossil fuel calcination, can be recycled for use in other stages of the refining process. ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the project is an important step in the development for hydrogen calcination and the decarbonisation of the alumina production process. “This world-first pilot looks to prove a promising technology for decarbonising one of our most emissions intensive industries,” Mr Miller said.“Having already backed an encouraging feasibility study, we’re excited to be working with Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Corporation to build on that success and trial hydrogen calcination in the field.“If this pilot project is successful, it could be a game changer for Australian alumina production, paving the way for deployment across the industry and underscoring the importance of low-cost green hydrogen to decarbonise our largest industrial emitters. ARENA will continue to support projects at this scale as we develop other larger programs, such as Hydrogen Headstart.”ARENA’s Alumina Decarbonisation Roadmap (the Alumina Roadmap), published in 2022, identified hydrogen calcination as one of four technologies that could reduce emissions from Australia’s alumina refineries by up to 98%.ARENA has been investing in projects to reduce emissions from the aluminium value chain since 2021. This includes providing funding to Alcoa to investigate electric calcination and trial mechanical vapour recompression, two further technologies identified in the Alumina Roadmap.

Carolyn Lee of ‘The Energy Experts’, Kiama’s local solar, storage and EV charging experts is passionate about electric vehicles. Why wouldn’t she be? Like me, she’s got the ‘trifecta’ going on at home: solar panels, battery wall and an electric car! By doing this, homeowners can save an enormous amount by getting free power from the sun to fuel their cars. Not only that, EV’s are amazingly quick and great to drive, so it’s always a pleasure to get behind the wheel. "Who’d go back to an internal combustion engine vehicle after driving an EV?” Carolyn says.Now you have an opportunity to check out a broad range of electric vehicles and talk to the owners. On Saturday 9 September 2023, from 1pm-4pm, at The Pavilion Kiama you can satisfy all your questions and get some first-hand information from experienced EV owners. This low-key event is being organised by a local volunteer who’s passionate about inspiring others to join the EV revolution. Put this date in your diary!The plan is to have up to 15 EVs on display at the event. If you have an EV and you’re happy to share your experience with other locals by showcasing your car as part of the event on September 9, please contact Carolyn from The Energy Experts on 1300 516 474. booking linkUp to 80 people can also attend a dedicated 45-minute EV charging Info Session in The Pavilion, 2pm-2:45pm. There is limited seating, so bookings are essential. If you are interested in electric vehicles, you can satisfy your curiosity and learn:What they look likeTheir range when driven in a region like KiamaThe different types of chargersWhere to charge them locallyHow much EVs cost to purchaseHow much electricity is needed to charge them and how you can ‘drive on sunshine’I joined the EV revolution almost two years ago, when I bought a Tesla Model 3 and haven’t looked back. At that time to incentivise people to buy EVs the government was offering a cashback of up to $5500 (which included exemption from stamp duty). These grants are still available.Donna and her Tesla Model 3It’s funny how many people stop me in the street, or when I’m charging and ask me all about my car. As a highly satisfied and experienced EV owner I brim with enthusiasm whilst describing the technology assists and the comfort of the ride. I could never go back now. I’m a convert for life. Perhaps it’s the economist at my core, but it’s also the environmentalist.The Australian government recently released its long-awaited “Future Fuels Strategy & Vehicles Strategy” in a bid to tackle emissions targets by increasing funding for the uptake of new energy vehicles. The plan aims to make electric vehicles more viable and estimates that there will be 1.7 million electric vehicles on Australian roads by 2030.  Personally, I hope that they get a move on with the charging network infrastructure, which has lagged behind demand.  The Australian Government has announced its National Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy. The strategy paves the way for greater EV affordability, access to charging stations, and a massive reduction in emissions. Initiatives also focus on expanded EV availability and options for buyers.The strategy was informed by public consultation, with more than 1,500 individuals and over 200 organisations provided feedback. Next steps: The state and territory governments have agreed to 6 key areas of collaboration with the Australian Government to enable the transition to EVs:National standardsData sharingEV affordabilityRemote and regional EV charging infrastructureFleet procurementEducation and awareness.The NSW Government has said “NSW will be the easiest place to buy and use an electric vehicle (EV) in Australia, with a $149 million investment to develop a world-class fast charging network. Under the NSW Electric Vehicle Strategy, this investment will expand existing public fast charging across the State.”  From personal experience, I think that we need to get a move on with growing the charging infrastructure, as it does take some planning when you take a long trip to ensure you’ve got sufficient charge to get where you’re going. “The only way is up” so they say, so I am looking forward to the planned future improvements.Woolworths have confirmed that there will be four EV chargers included in the new development in Kiama, which will be great for the community and for visitors to Kiama.

A bold plan to grow seedlings on the Moon by 2026 has been funded by the Australian Government, in what could reveal a greater understanding of horticulture in extreme environments. The Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (ALEPH) project led by local start-up Lunaria One – with RMIT, QUT and ANU as the major Australian university partners along with industry bodies – has just received $3.6 million as part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Initiative.  Investigating whether seedlings can grow on the lunar surface is of fundamental biological interest and important to know for possible future space exploration, but it could also teach us more about growing plants in a changing climate here on Earth. Lunaria One co-founder and engineering lead for the project, RMIT’s Dr Graham Dorrington, said the seeds and plants will be transported in a specially designed and hermetically sealed chamber – equipped with sensors, water and a camera – aboard a lunar lander scheduled for a mission in 2026. “Our major challenge is designing the chamber to maintain suitable conditions to permit germination on the lunar surface, where the external surface temperature fluctuates from highs of 80°C to lows of –180 °C,” said Dorrington, from RMIT’s School of Engineering. The chamber also needs to be lightweight – no more than 1.5 kg – and able to operate on minimal power while transmitting data via the lander back to Earth, using data rates of less than 40 kb/s. The Aleph Capsule“These are considerable challenges, but we have the necessary staff and facilities here at RMIT to succeed," he said. RMIT will also contribute expertise in plant biology from the School of Science, led by Associate Professor Tien Huynh. “We know some plants grow differently in altered gravity conditions, but don’t yet fully understand how and why,” she said.  “In addition, the harsh lunar environment has a thin atmosphere, rapidly changing temperatures, and relatively poor soil properties, meaning that whatever we grow on the surface will need to be hardy.” One of the plants being considered for the mission is Rapeseed (Brassica napus), a yellow-flowered plant grown for a range of food production and industrial uses. “Preliminary results suggest this could be a good candidate as far as extreme temperature tolerance and germination speed for surviving a mission to the Moon or Mars,” Huynh said. After landing on the lunar surface, the plants' growth and general health will be monitored and data and images will be beamed back to Earth. RMIT will also be contributing computer science expertise for data compression to enable this part of the operation. RMIT Deputy Vice-Chancellor STEM College and Vice-President, Professor Ian Burnett, said the cross disciplinary research could provide valuable insights into how to support horticulture in extreme climates on Earth. "We view the development of this lunar payload as an excellent opportunity to tackle extreme engineering and biological challenges that will likely lead to terrestrial benefits as well as answers for space exploration," he said. Citizen scientists and school children from around the world will be invited to use this data to conduct their own experiments into which plant varieties have the best chance of growing on the Moon. Lunaria One Director, Lauren Fell, said the central value guiding this project was that space exploration is for everyone. “We don’t want a future where only autonomous and remote-controlled machines inhabit realms beyond earth, but where humans can live and thrive,” she said. “The key to this is to get humans involved and to give them a say in how we get there. The ALEPH project aims to open up the science and engineering behind growing life on the Moon so that anyone can be involved.”  The collaboration with Lunaria One will bolster RMIT’s growing space industry eco-system, united under the university’s Space Industry Hub.  In all, a dozen RMIT engineers, scientists, educators and industrial design students are contributing to the project. Ben Gurion University in Israel will contribute their expert knowledge to the plant biology team, coordinating the inputs of international experts. ANU will organise supporting workshops.  More information about the Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (ALEPH project) can be found at the Lunaria One website. 

On 8 June 2023, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared that an expected El Niño event was underway. An El Niño event occurs when the sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific are significantly warmer than average.This warming means these areas are more likely to experience cloud development and rainfall, resulting in a shift in rainfall away from the western Pacific and eastern Australia. An El Niño event therefore typically brings drier conditions to eastern Australia, along with higher temperatures.The key oceanic indicator for El Niño is the sea surface temperature across the central equatorial Pacific known as Niño 3.4. Based on this indicator alone, we are already experiencing El Niño conditions. A long-range sea surface temperature forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) indicates the temperature in this region is continuing to climb, potentially beyond anything observed in the past. This week, BoM will release its next climate update. As we await declaration of an official El Niño event for Australia - an event that scientists are tipping could be ‘the strongest El Niño ever measured, by far’ – a group of scientists from the Climate Council describe what the pending super El Niño might look like for Australia.Dr Simon Bradshaw, Director of Research at the Climate Council, says that climate news is “confronting”, and that we need to combat what is to come. He mentions driving down emissions to reach net zero as soon as possible and being prepared for the inevitable impact of climate change, for example learning from the past, supporting community resilience, and moving people to safer places.There has been an unprecedented rise in sea surface temperatures since 1880. In fact, two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975. In 2023, we have already witnessed extraordinary changes in our ocean, an alarming loss of sea ice and a slowdown in ocean circulation. Understanding these striking trends is crucial to understanding climate change and what lies ahead.There is likely prospect of a powerful El Niño effect forming this year. An El Niño typically brings warmer and drier conditions to eastern Australia. When a positive Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño occur together, this drying influence is typically stronger and more widespread across Australia. This ‘drying effect’ will mean drought for Australia.So what about the projected fire seasons in 2023 and 2024? Greg Mullins is an internationally recognised expert in responding to major bushfires and natural disasters, with more than 50 years’ experience as a firefighter and is the former Commissioner of Fire & Rescue NSW. He is also the founder of the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group. Mr Mullins informs “On the back of three El Niña rain events (in a row) the many fuel layers regrowing”, i.e. grasses. “Areas previously unaffected by fires could be vulnerable due to the soil and vegetation drying out and becoming fuel for fires. Fires used to occur from October, but they are happening already. There are simultaneous fires seasons now, and more days of serious fire weather ahead.”Are authorities prepared for future disasters? Mullins says “There have been big investments in response and recovery, but it still may not be possible to prepare adequately. We have to get ahead of warming or we are dooming future generations and the effects may be unrecoverable”.  So how we can make communities more resilient to climate change? And what sort of things should governments, communities or private sector, be looking at doing? Mullins suggested taking the recommendations of the many studies undertaken. “For example, we need resilient power supplies for communities, perhaps solar micro grids. People need to be relocated off the flood plains. Shelters need to be cyclone rated, and flood and fire rated so that people can be safe when evacuated. Rural communities need empowering, for example farmers can help themselves with tank and pump units to assist firefighting.” There are many recommendations.“We also need to share the knowledge we have gained from the past and educate and warn people about what’s coming.” Mullins’ says that “Victims of climate change need to prepare, and institutional support needs to change” and “we cannot continue to rely on the Australian Defence Force to prop up emergency services!”The authorities have been unable to cope with the enormity of re-housing those affected by disasters. More effort is needed, and more money needs to be spent to strengthen communities. Mullins suggests “The government need to stop approving mines and switch the focus to protecting the community.”  The National Emergency Management Agency held a summit in 2022 to create the Second National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction, involving all parts of the community and government to create a plan of actions needed to strengthen Australia against future disasters. It’s quite clear that we need resources to fund the solutions. Could this come from a levy on the fossil fuel industry?Rising ocean temperaturesTHE FACTS: The ocean covers 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface and is continually exchanging heat, moisture and carbon with the atmosphere, creating our weather patterns. Research reveals that around 93 per cent of the excess heat in our climate system from greenhouse gas emissions has been absorbed by the ocean. The rate of ocean warming has increased dramatically in recent decades (Cheng et al. 2023). Today, the upper 2000 metres of the ocean are absorbing over 10 zeta joules (that is, 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules) of energy every year - equivalent to 150 million Hiroshima bomb explosions. Rising greenhouse gases and escalating climate change are also changing the ocean’s chemistry, making it more acidic and less oxygen-rich. These ocean changes affect our weather and climate. For example, a warmer ocean surface means more energy for powerful storms. Naturally occurring climate drivers including the El Niño and La Niña events may also become stronger, amplifying drought and flood cycles. Change in ocean circulation will alter temperatures and rainfall around the world.Unfortunately, the ocean’s immense ability to absorb and hold heat may have lulled us into a false sense of security, masking the true scale of changes in our climate system. Essentially, the ocean has been storing a problem that is now coming back to bite us.Dr Joëlle Gergis is a Climate Council expert, author and award-winning climate scientist with the Australian National University. Dr Gergis is an internationally recognised expert in Australian and Southern Hemisphere climate variability and change. She informs that since 1980 the planet has warmed by 1.2 degrees. On the conditions and climate drivers behind a pending ‘super El Niño’, Dr Gergis says that “Australia is considered a hotspot!” She also cites the 2015/16 major impact of a strong El Nino on coral reefs worldwide where 75 per cent of the coral reefs were bleached and died off. “Australia – Great Barrier Reef – was on the front line.” “The warming of the Indian Ocean conducive to drying Australia and the changes in wind patterns, known as a positive dipole event and an El Niño, you get ‘a double-whammy’ of hot and dry conditions. It will have major impacts in our region.”“We face a dramatic season ahead. No one is sure what effects will occur - but there is likely to be substantial impact.” Extreme ocean temperature anomalies THE FACTS: Climate change is impacting ocean circulation and ocean currents, with potentially dramatic consequences. Recent observations show that circulation in the deep waters around Antarctica has slowed by around 30 per cent since the 1990s. Circulation is slowing and since currents regulate the distribution of heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients around the globe, this influences climate, sea levels, and the health of marine ecosystems. The slowdown in this circulation could accelerate ice loss and sea-level rise, reduce the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon (leaving more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere), shift tropical rainbands, and deprive ecosystems near the surface of nutrients, damaging fisheries. In June 2023, polar scientists sounded the alarm on rapid changes in the Arctic and Antarctic (WMO 2023). Sea ice is in decline, which can disrupt ocean circulation, with serious implications not only for polar environments but for global climate and weather and affecting marine ecosystems. Over the last three months, sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic have been the warmest on record for this time of year - almost a full degree above the mean. This extreme anomaly is part of a spike in sea surface temperatures globally.Ocean scientists have long warned of declines in ocean circulation due to climate change, and even feared some features may collapse altogether in coming decades. While models had predicted a decline in circulation in the deep waters around Antarctica these recent observations show it is happening faster than projected.Associate Professor Jan Zika is a leading Oceans, Water and Changing Climate expert at the University of New South Wales. He leads a team of researchers who use ocean observations to demonstrate that as the climate warms, wet parts of the globe are getting wetter, and dry parts are getting dryer. A/Prof Zika was a co-author on a recent Nature Reviews paper into rapidly warming oceans worldwide. He says that the surface temperatures are driving the weather. “The temps are the warmest ever seen – it’s crazy: they are double previous extremes. Sea Ice around Antarctica have hit the lowest amount ever seen. Greenhouse gases are causing the rate of increase of ocean warming up and up, steeper and steeper!” In light of the research, he also echoes Dr Bradshaw in saying “The only way to fix the escalating rate of ocean warming is to reduce greenhouse emissions.”Dr Bradshaw says that “The 2020s decade is critical to limiting future harm and slowing the acceleration of global warming by reducing emissions to protect communities”. He suggests that Australian needs to lead change by moving from being a large fossil fuel producer and exporter to a clean energy producer and exporter and spend more on promoting clean energy than subsidising fossil fuels.Dr Bradshaw also suggests that we also need to be investing more into building resilience in communities and listening to recommendations from the multiple royal commissions, ie. boosting emergency response capability. “There is a lot to do to address the issues” he says.Useful links: https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/second-national-action-plan-for-disaster-risk-reduction/ https://nema.gov.au/stories/Getting-Australia-Ready 

According to new international research co-authored by UNSW Sydney, Australia's most liveable town – and the rest of the planet – could have ceased to exist after a close call in space.Stars tend to get violent when they’re about to die, like our Sun – in about 5 billion years, after running out of hydrogen, it will become unstable and begin to collapse from the inside out.It’ll then expand, swallowing up any planet that happens to be orbiting nearby – Mercury, Venus, and potentially even Earth – before retracting into a smaller, cooler, and continuously fading version of its old self, now alone in a planetary graveyard of its own making.No nearby planet can survive this process – or at least, so we thought.A new international study, published today in Nature, has confirmed the existence of a planet more than 500 light-years away that seems to have survived this deadly expansion, against all odds.This planet, 8 Ursae Minoris b – also known as 8 UMi b or ‘Halla’ – is orbiting close to its dying red giant star, well within the zone that would have been wiped clean during the star’s expansion phase.“This is a planet that shouldn't exist,” says Dr Ben Montet, Scientia Senior Lecturer in UNSW Science and co-author on the paper.“It should have been ingested by its star.”Astronomers have known about Halla since 2015, when a study using the radial velocity method – a technique that analyses the slight gravitational tug a planet can have on its host star – suggested a planet was orbiting a star called 8 Ursae Minoris (also known as 8 UMi or ‘Baekdu’).New research led by University of Hawai’i and co-authored by UNSW confirms this discovery, showing that Halla’s 93-day, nearly circular orbit has remained stable for over a decade.These findings were based on observations made from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory, two telescopes on Maunakea, an active volcano in Hawai’i, over 2021-2022.The team also used asteroseismology – that is, the study of a star’s oscillations to uncover its internal properties – to show that the star Baekdu is burning helium in its core: a phase that red giants reach only after they’ve swelled up and consumed nearby planets.This makes Halla the only planet we know of closely orbiting a star in this late stage of life.“The fact that Halla has managed to persist in the immediate vicinity of a giant star that would have otherwise engulfed it highlights the planet as an extraordinary survivor,” says lead author Dr Marc Hon, a NASA Hubble Fellow based at University of Hawai’i’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA). Dr Hon was previously based at UNSW, where he both completed his PhD and taught in the School of Physics.The findings led the team to ask more questions. Is the planet breaking everything we knew about stellar-planetary evolution?Or could there be another, equally bizarre, reason behind its survival?Investigating the impossibleWhen peculiar things happen in space, astronomers try to seek answers by following the trail of weirdness, says Dr Montet.It didn’t take them long to spot something strange.“One of the weird things about this star is that it has a lot of lithium in its atmosphere,” he says.“This is unusual as most stars don't have lithium – it burns too easily in stellar atmospheres. Lithium is often seen in young stars, but only about 1 per cent of older red giants.”One of the leading theories to explain why some older stars are mysteriously lithium-rich is that they gained their lithium later in life, via some kind of interaction with another star.Could this same interaction have also happened to Baekdu?Survival scenariosThe team have pieced together several scenarios of how Halla might have survived – and the leading theories start with Baekdu.“We believe Halla exists today because its host star Baekdu was previously two stars – a binary system – that merged into one,” says Dr Hon.“The merger could have happened from several to tens of million years ago.”In one survival scenario, a merger between these two stars could have restricted either one of the stars from expanding wide enough to engulf Halla, helping the planet narrowly escape.Another scenario is that Halla wasn’t in danger in the first place, simply because it didn’t exist before the star’s expansion phase. Instead, it might be a second-generation planet, born from the ingredient-rich gas cloud created from the two stars’ violent collision.The team also found evidence there might be a third actor at play. A long-term trend in the star’s radial velocity signal suggests there’s another nearby object that has a slight gravitational pull on Baekdu – but whether it’s a star or planet, and if it played a role in somehow influencing Halla’s current orbit, is still a mystery.The findings wouldn’t be possible without stellar observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which helped the team use asteroseismology to ‘look inside’ the star, Baekdu, and confirm it was in the post-expansion phase of its life.“This astonishing result really hinges on the fact that we have been able to ‘see’ inside the star that it is now burning helium in its core,” says Professor Dennis Stello, co-author and previous PhD supervisor of lead author, Dr Hon.“The evidence for this is revealed through ringing sound waves inside the star that we have been able to measure and interpret using similar techniques as geoscientists use to learn about the Earth’s interior from studying earthquakes. However, we instead use star quakes.”What we know about HallaHalla is a Jupiter-like gas giant nestled in the Ursa Minor (or ‘Little Bear’) constellation, which is visible only from the Northern Hemisphere.If you caught a ride there on the Voyager 1, the fastest human-made object in the universe travelling at 61,500 kilometres per hour, it’d take about 9 million years to get there.Once you arrive, though, you’d probably want to stay on board. As Halla is made up of swirling gas, not only wouldn’t there be anywhere to land, but its surface temperature is also likely to reach about 1000 Kelvin, or 730 degrees Celsius – making it hotter than any planet in our Solar System.One of the reasons behind this heat is the planet’s closeness to its star, Baekdu. It orbits closely, at about half the distance between Earth and the Sun.“The star itself will be about 20 times the apparent size in the sky as our Sun,” says Dr Montet.“This is about the size of your fist held at arm’s length.”But if you visited the planet before the potential stellar merger, you would’ve had a much different sight: like Tatooine, the famous planet from Star Wars, there would have been two suns in the sky.Are there any other survivors out there?Halla is the first planet of its kind we know of to escape engulfment, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only one.This study suggests that more survivalist planets could be out there.“Planets are still surprising us with their apparent resilience by turning up in ‘forbidden’ systems,” says Dr Hon.“Our study shows that not all close planets are doomed at the hands of their host star when the star begins to grow old and swell.”Dr Montet says there are about 1000 other lithium-rich red giant stars out there that we know of – and an exciting opportunity now could be to search them for nearby planets.“There aren't that many of these stars that have been searched, simply because they shouldn't have planets,” says Dr Montet.“But we've been surprised before and we'll probably be surprised again.”