Text 17448, 144 rader
Skriven 2007-06-30 14:11:09 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Hap Newsom
Ärende: E: FALAFEL - 70630
==========================
 -=> Quoting Hap Newsom to Glen Jamieson <=-

Hi, Hap,

 ->  -> The rainwater tank is only a nominal 1500 gallons, but if it could

 ->  -> gallons, not much.  If I had 6 tanks, like a house nearby has just
 ->  -> 
 ->  HN> Six tanks would certainly obviate your need for much of the
 ->  HN> water....there'd probably be no lawn left to need it! (grin)

I live on what used to be the standard suburban size quarter acre
block, so plenty of space.  These days these blocks are frequently
halved, with a house built on each half.  Maintenance is easier, and
the occupants prefer to work to earn money to buy their food, rather
than grow some of it, as used to be done when I was much younger.

 -> -> The government is now offering a $500 subsidy to householders who wish
 -> to install a rainwater tank or plumbing to re-use "grey" water.
 -> HN> Is $500 enough to make it cost effective?

With the increasing price of water, that subsidy, plus the consumer's
need to buy less water, is a great incentive to take water saving
actions.  It also enables the consumer to wash his car without being
arrested.  :)
 
 -> There are lots of them!  And they must be rich.
 HN> It certainly seems so doesn't it? California gets a large part of it's
 HN> water supplies from the Colorado River system in Arizona...unlike your
 HN> situation our National gov't supercedes the state governments powers
 HN> and the Californians get access to the waters of Arizona, even to the
 HN> detriment of the citizens of Arizona.

Are the Californicans favoured above the inhabitants of other states?
If so, why?  Because there are more of them?
 
 -> With the progress in construction of semi-permeable membranes, that
 -> method of desalination seems to have become the most popular, and has
 -> now become the preferred method in the recent development at Dubai, in
 -> the UAR, powered by their cheap oil and gas.  I was reading recently of
 -> an interesting $370 million solar energy installation to cover 2 square
 -> kilometres in the Mid-North of South Australia, which would produce
 -> electricity from steam from sea water, then condensed to fresh water,
 -> with the concentrated brine flowing to existing evaporation ponds to
 -> get the salt.  The solar power would be backed by a combined cycle gas
 -> turbine generator, using natural gas from a nearby field, with the
 -> waste heat from that used for more desalination.  It would supply power
 -> and water to the nearby city of Port Augusta.
 ->  
 HN> A very interesting proposition....and one that may be very viable. I'd
 HN> be interested in hearing more about it when it becomes more of a
 HN> reality! 

Likewise.  As expected in the driest state of the driest continent on
the planet, the investigation of ways of getting water is a top
priority, and many minds have been working on solutions.  Intermittent
sources of power like wind and solar are well matched to desalination,
where the product can be stored.

 ->  ->  ->  HN> which makes it a lot easier for many of us to refuse to
 HN> look at
 ->  ->  ->  HN> problem,  and continue to make self centered and selfish
 ->  HN> decisions.
 ->  ->  HN> Oh so true and even more sad for all that!
 ->  -> Which I am sure your daughter is only too aware of!
 ->  HN> She's been made aware of it from childhood.
 -> 
 -> Which very likely started her interest in environmental matters.
 ->  
 HN> I'm very proud of her as you might well imagine! 

I have noticed.  (grin)

 -> The next step is to close off some lakes alongside the Murray River and
 -> allow them to dry up, so keeping more water in the river until it
 -> reaches the point where it is pumped to Adelaide.
 -> 
 HN> What a drastic measure! Are the lakes man made or natural and what of
 HN> the environmental consequences of letting them dry up? 

They are natural lakes, covering quite a large area.  The grape growers
in the regions who have been irrigating from them are not happy at that
thought.  Likewise the owners of tourism businesses who depend on the
lakes to attract people who come for the water sports.  Many thousands
of local and migratory water birds use the lakes at present, and they
will be dispossessed.  All in all, a sorry prospect.  The whole region
around the mouth of the Murray was a complex combination of wetlands,
sand hills, lakes and salt water inlets, which used to be a major bird
habitat until many decades ago, when the swamps were drained and turned
into farmland, and the ecology of the area changed completely.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: SOUSED COORONG MULLET WITH MUNTHARI
 Categories: Aussie, Fish, Native food
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
    250 g  Coorong mullet fillets,
           -trimmed
    300 ml Cider vinegar
    1/2 c  Brown sugar, optional
      1    Chilli, chopped
     25 g  Munthari [*]
           Seasonings
           Fresh coriander
           Finely sliced vegetables,
           -for garnish
 
  Simmer the vinegar, sugar and chilli for 5 to 10 minutes. Take off
  the boil and pour over the fish and munthari. Leave for 3 to 4
  minutes until the fillets are cooked through. Plate up the fish and
  munthari and serve at once or refridgerate the fillets in the vinegar
  and serve cold.
  
  Garnish with coriander and a colourful mix of vegetables. Try this
  recipe with a native herb vinegar or a pre-prepared munthari vinegar.
  
  AUTHORS NOTE:  This recipe is parochially South Australian with the
  two principle ingredients from in and around the Coorong district [of
  south-eastern South Australia]. The method is an easy way to cook
  fish in a billy out bush and fragrant leaves or any local wild fruits
  can be used.
  
  MUNTHARI are small, fragrant, apple-flavoured berries from a beach
  creeper common on dunes in southern South Australia. Also called
  muntries, emu apples or native cranberries, munthari can be used in
  sauces, pies or eaten just as they come. [There is a note that a
  freeze-dried product may soon be available as a snack food.]
  
  Aborigines of the Sydney region also fished for mullet and used the
  Sydney golden wattle, ACACIA LONGIFOLIA, as a calendar plant. The
  plants were telling the locals that the mullet were ready to hunt.
  The fish could be found in large schools just off-shore and were at
  the peak of their life cycle. from UNIQUELY AUSTRALIAN by Vic
  Cherikoff Bush Tucker Supply P/L PO Box B103 Borinia Park, NSW, 2111
  Australia
 
MMMMM
 

___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]

--- FLAME v2.0/b
 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)