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August 11 Conserve H2O Desal We Say No!Today was the youth organized Protest against Desalination Ironically we had wet weather! What better way to show Australia that water capturing methods rather then desalination is the way to go. The weather How ever did not deter a large group fired up locals from supporting our cause, the cause against desalination.
A massive group of people young to old assembled out side the whalebone signs and banners were distributed to everyone. The signs displayed messages that pinpointed our stance to desalination. Here are some of the messages displayed: Stop the horror Pass the salt Invest in conservation, not desalination Toxic shock Save the fish Say no to desal And quite humorously was this slogan: DESAL SUCKS
Before the group left on their march Jane cantwell and I were interviewed by a channel 10 news reporter. The reporter asked numerous questions about why we were against desal and what the march was about. However I don’t believe I was able to answer these questions to my best ability if I could turn back the clock there is so much more I would have said. Here is what I should have said: Desalination is not the answer to Victoria’s water woes the problems of desalination can be shown in a simple equation Desalination= High electricity use= Fossil fuel burning= Greenhouse gas emissions= Global warming= Climate change= Extreme drought= Desal? It’s obvious that desalination especially at the size of the plant that is proposed is not a good idea. The 3.1 billion should be invested in water conservation and water saving infrastructure rather then massive electricity guzzling desalination plant. Only after every possible option has been explored should we even consider desalination. Energy use is not the only problem with desalination some of the other concerns are: the high salt concentrated brime that is distributed back into the very water that will yet again be desalinated, the solid waste that is produced by the plant (4 truck lodes a day), the smell, the noise emissions, the effects it will have on the Bunurong marine park, its effects on local tourism and the effects it will have on locals. An Environmental Effects Statement (EES) must be done. We must lobby the government on this issue. The power is in our hands.
After the interview the group crossed the road to assemble in front of the big mine whistle (opposite Safeway). We then began our march up McBride Street, which had been closed off by the Wonthaggi police for us. While we marched the group chanted slogans against desalination. CONSERVE H2O, DESAL WE SAY NO! DESAL WE SAY NO! NO TO DESAL!
The group quickly marched out to the parkland in front of the council offices were we listened to locals air their concerns over desal. There was a great speech by a man from the Your Water, Your Say Action Group that was both inspiring and informative. All during the talk’s water pelted down upon us drenching us all and our signs, it was as if nature wanted to point out that desalination is a bad decision because rain is still largely evident in Victoria. Once all the talks were over locals hung around to chat to and congratulate one another. I would like to say a big thank you to all the dedicated protesters who braved the elements to stand up for their views, I would also like to thank all the great members of the Your Water, Your Say Action Group who helped the youth in organizing this great event. I suspect this protest is only the 2nd of many. August 10 The Nature Park ExcursionOn Thursday the 9th 21 students attended a water saving excursion. The excursion was to the Phillip Island Nature Park. The day was kindly organized by a lady called Katrina; it was an initiative to link schools up with industry on the topic of water saving. At 10am all students assembled at the bus loop and waited for our bus that was kindly driven by Mr.Tatts. When we arrived at the Phillip Island Penguin Park we were welcomed in and escorted to an auditorium room for a power point presentation about the Nature Park and its history of amazing efforts. The work that the Nature Park does is fantastic and a real inspiration for us all! It was very sad to hear what human settlement has done to the number of little penguins on the island. There is now only one penguin colony left from the original 9 that pre existed before human settlement on the island. The number of penguin’s now sadly only ranges from 400 to 500. The Philip Island Nature Park has been successful in obtaining numerous grants to help them with there water saving and conservation efforts. They have reduced there environmental impact in many ways. Three of which are; waste, energy and water. The Nature Park is an accredited sustainable institution and covers all the necessary guidelines for their sustainable title. Some of there water saving initiatives have been to install a number of enormous water tanks to be used for toilet flushing, weed spraying and car washing. The toilets of all the parks have all been upgraded to dual flush systems that only flush for as long as you have your finger on the button. The male toilets have been changed into waterless urinals and some of the toilets have been converted to composting toilets. All hot water in the toilet taps has been switched off to reduce the water used when people wait for water to heat up. Outdoor showers have also been turned off because the operators realized it is a waste providing this service as showers are again had at home so there is no point in doubling up. Water has also been conserved in the kitchens and cleaning processes of the park. The park has also become a waste wise organization, all gift shops now have stopped using plastic bags and instead use recycled paper bags. Email printing and photocopying have also heavily been reduced in the office sector. Energy use has also been targeted. The Nobbies center is completely solar powered. They have a vast array of panels on the roof with which they only utilize 10% of the energy the other 90% is sold back into the grid for others to use. After the speech we were invited to walk around the penguin park information complex for a while.
After the penguin parade we drove to the Nobbies to look around the new center. The group did a tour of the information sector before we went on a walk down to the blowhole. It was so windy! When we returned we had lunch, hot chips! At this time we had to farewell and thank our great tour guide.
We then got back into the bus and headed for Churchill Island. The farm was beautiful and all students had a ball exploring! The petting zoo was a big hit! We explored the farm for around a half an hour before we had to return to the bus for the trip back to school
I think I can safely say that all students enjoyed the day exploring the wonders of our region. I would like to thank all those involved in the day, Stevo, Katrina, Mr.Tatts, our tour guide, the nature park and the students.
August 06 Desal Protest!DESALINATION PROTEST MARCh SATURDAY AUGUST 11TH 10 am Organised by the youth of Bass Coast Starting at Miner’s Whistle (opposite Whalebone Hotel); marching up McBride Avenue to Bass Coast Shire offices. Dress in BLACK!!! Bring your banners!!! Bring your voices!!! Bring your friends!!! Spread the word!!!
HAVE YOUR SAY… IT’S YOUR FUTURE!!! www.yourwateryoursay.com Environment Week Finaly it's here! Environment week!
monday 6th - friday 10th
Events Kick starting the recycling program Monday: Guest speaker form the Your Water Your Say Action Group in the FLC Tuesday: Clean up the school lunch, Meet in the canteen at 1:10 Thursday: Water excursion to Phillip Island, see Stevo for more details friday: Multiple Choice Environmental Quiz in the FLC, Get into a team of 4 to win lollys! All week the canteen will be vegetarian There will be a quiz running in the bulletin Coloring in competition available from the general office Water saving poster competition Lots of environmentally friendly prizes
July 23 Desalination Information SessionsDesalination Information SessionsDATES FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT INFORMATION SESSIONSFRIDAY JULY 27th 7 - 9pm San Remo Recreation Centre MONDAY JULY 30th 6 - 8pm Wonthaggi Community Arts Centre WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1st 12noon - 2pm Kilcunda Community Hall WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1st 6 - 8pm Inverloch Community Centre
Please try to attend your local session, voice your concern and ask, ask, ask, ASK your questions Tree PlantingNational Tree Day
Tree Planting
Where: The Riffle Range, Reed crescent Wonthaggi (off Cameron Street) When: Saturday July 18th from 10am to 3pm What to bring:
Sausage sizzle lunch will be provided Organized by: Friends of Wonthaggi Heath land and Cape Paterson Coastal Plans Landcare For more info call: 56721066
July 22 updateThis is just a post to update everyone on some issues: Environment week at Wonthaggi secondary was supposed to be this week but has now been moved two weeks back. It starts on Monday the 6th of august and ends on Friday 10th. At the moment im in the process of sourcing prizes for the week.
The anti desalination group: the group that hosted the desalination protests meeting in Wonthaggi has a website that has lots of info on water the address is. www.yourwateryoursay.com visit the site and have a bit of a read.
At the moment i am chatting with some other teens who are against the desal plant we are thinking of setting up a youth group against the plant. July 12 desal meetingwell tonight the 12th of july was the public meeting on the proposed desalination plant. The wonthaggi town hall was pacced full of passionate people who feel strongly in their opposition to having a desalination plant situated in OUR coast. so many interesting points were raised in regards to the plant. eg. it is probosedthat the plant will be carbon neutral. it is curently stated that this will be achieved by erecting 150 wind turbines. at current rate the wonthaggi wind turbines supply about 18% of there total capacity if there reliability rate were to be taken into acount they would need to erect about 750 wind turbines to offset the emmisions. I wonder where they will be situated? apparently there will be about 4 big trucks coming to the plant daily to colect toxic waste from the desalination plant! how much toxic waste as well as salty brime will this plant produce? below is a quote from the book twenty thirst century by john archer
"All desalination plants generate a lethal by-product- a poisonous concentrated saltwater mixed with toxic chemicals. Chemicals are essential in order to prevent salt corrosion and the build up of scale in the plant. Acid is added to the incoming seawater to reduce its alkalinity and prevent the formation of calcium carbonate.
highly toxic scale- inhibiting chemicals are also used to protect the pre filters. for every litre of desalinated water, a litre of poison is pumped back into the sea."
Hmmm is this a fate we want to see for our precious coast? is this what we want to subject the ocean and its beautiful and precious dwellers too?
we are the youth of this coast its time we made a stand to those politicians who feel they can dictate our future just for a quick fix!
If you would like a copy of the chapter on desalination from the book twenty thirst century please email me on enviro-aware@hotmail.com and request the file. it is about 9 pages long well worth a read!
June 27 another info sheet on the desal plantMelbourne’s Desalination Plant A $3.1 billion desalination plant in the Wonthaggi region including an 85km pipeline to connect the plant to Melbourne’s drinking water supplies will provide an additional 150 billion litres of water each year by the end of 2011. The plant will provide additional water to Melbourne, Geelong, Westernport and South Gippsland, with further pipelines being built to allow these areas to access the water. This is the single largest boost to Melbourne’s water supply since the Thomson Dam was built 25 years ago. The plant will be the largest in Australia and will provide around a third of Melbourne’s yearly water needs without relying on rainfall into our catchments. Greenhouse emissions from the plant will be offset by the purchase of renewable energy, making the plant carbon neutral. Water scarcity is a key challenge of climate change – which is why the Victorian Government is continuing to deliver a secure, reliable and affordable water supply to meet current and future water needs. The next stage of the Victorian Government’s OurWater Our Future plan will see $4.9 billion spenton major water infrastructure projects to provide the biggest boost to Victoria’s water supplies in 25 years. The Government is building a diverse suite of water sources for Victoria to ensure we can continue to grow our economy and population across the State. Our Water Our Future – The next stage of the Government’s water planDesalination Plant Fact Sheet What’s new? A desalination plant and an 85km pipeline to connect to Melbourne’s drinking water supplies How much new water? 150 billion litres each year By when? End of 2011 Who benefits? Melbourne, Geelong, Westernport and South Gippsland Your Questions Answered What is desalinated water? A desalination plant turns sea water into drinking water by removing salt and other impurities through a treatment process. This water must meet strict Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and Department of Human Services requirements. Desalination does not depend on rain which is why it is being increasingly used to boost water supplies throughout Australia and around the world. How does desalination work? Sea water is piped to a desalination plant via an inlet structure out at sea. It draws in water at a low speed so as not to affect fi sh and other marine life. The sea water passes through a series of membranes in a process called reverse osmosis which lets water molecules through while stopping salt and other impurities. The desalinated water is then treated to drinking water standards Excess salt, or brine, from the treatment process will be piped back into Bass Strait through an underground and undersea tunnel approximately one kilometre offshore, where it will dilute quickly. How was the location of the plant decided? In the 2004 Our Water Our Future plan, theGovernment announced an investigation into the large scale application of desalination. The Wonthaggi region was chosen as the site for the plant following an extensive feasibility study which looked at a range of potential sites. This location had the best mix of features needed to build a desalination plant, taking into account environmental, economic and social factors. In particular, the region was favoured because water is drawn from the open ocean which provides the most suitable water quality for the treatment process. This location is better suited to fi t in with the existing water distribution infrastructure, which is designed to move water from east to west rather than vice versa. What environmental issues are there? Preliminary environmental risk assessments have been conducted as part of the feasibility study in selecting the Wonthaggi region. Environmental assessments will be undertaken to ensure that any impacts on marine life and nearby fl ora and fauna are addressed. Desalination Plant Fact Sheet Find out more For further information on the Melbourne’s Desalination Plant or other projects in the next stage of the Government’s Our WaterOur Future plan please visitwww.ourwater.vic.gov.au or call 136 186. Community information sessions will be held at a range of locations shortly. Visit the above website for details. Timeline frequently asked questions- desalination plant for wonthaggi fact sheet supplied by the Bass Coast ShireFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - DESALINATION PLANT FOR WONTHAGGI Where will the desalination plant be? An area on the coast south of Dalyston has been identified as a preferred site although there are other areas in Bass Coast that may be suitable. How big will it be? Initial advice is the plant will measure 400m x 100m and be18m high (4-5 storeys). Did Council give its approval for the plant? Council were not consulted and did not give approval for the project, as it did not go through the normal Council planning permit approval process. Will it help our water issues? Yes, the plant will be connected to both Westernport Water and South Gippsland Water supplies. Do the community have any say in what happens? The Government decision to locate the plant in our area is not negotiable, however, they have given assurances that community consultation will take place regarding how the project will move forward and its impact on our landscape and environment. What is Council’s role? Council’s role is to secure the best deal possible for our community and ensure that our community won’t be disadvantaged by this proposal. We have already raised concerns regarding impacts on local infrastructure, environment and residents and the Premier has agreed that these will be fully assessed. Council will hold the State Government to its promise to conduct appropriate community consultation and will assist them in providing information to our community. Who is running the project? The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) are handling this project. The Project Director is Mr Garry Seaborne and you can reach him on 9637 9148. When is it going to start? The State Government advised that the process will begin immediately. This means an assessment of the proposed site, as well as a study into the environmental impacts. We don’t have any firm dates yet. The proposed plant is due to be completed by 2011. Will it affect the value of my property? It is too early to predict the impact this proposal will have on land valuations and planning permits. Where can I get more information? From the Government’s Water Plan website – www.ourwater.vic.gov.au. This includes detailsof the project and a full copy of the feasibility study, which recommended Bass Coast as the best location for the plant. The Project Director at Department of Sustainability and Environment is Mr Garry Seaborne and you can reach him on 9637 9148. Visit our website at www.basscoast.vic.gov.au where you can see a statement from our CEO,as well as copies of media releases from the State Government and a link to the State Government’s water plan. Information is also available from our Customer Service Centres or by contacting Roslyn Jenzen on 1300 BCOAST (226 278) for the cost of a local call. June 21 20th of june environment meetingIn todays meeting we discussed the desalinisation plant that is proposed to be constructed in Kilkunda. The group have a negative veiw towards the plant due to its price and environmental impact. the salt that will come out of the plant will not be fit for human consumption so dont sugest we ship it to china for table salt. in reality the salt that comes out is a salty brime that will have a higher concentration of heavy metals.the reason for this is that sea water has a very low cosentration of heavy metals but when you take away the water you are left with the salt and everything else so yes the brime will be toxic. the plant is also bound to have a negative affect on our regions tourism industry. so as it will bring jobs to the region it will also take jobs away from what is currently here.
the group wants to take action on the proposed desalinisation plant the first though was a protest but were saving that for if worst comes to worst instead we have desined a petition that will be going around the school over the next week. please sign it if you are opposed to the plant on kilkunda.
i am interested to hear your oppinions on this issue so please reply to this blog if you wish to share your oppion. for or against i dont care as long as its valid and expresses your true feelings on the issue.
the group also discussed plans for next terms environmental week. the week will be on the 2nd week of next term. some activities that will take place are:
an op shop/ green out of school uniform theemed day with prizes for the best outfit
the film an inconvenient truth will be shown
there will be a quiz running throught the school builitin
and we will finaly implement the school recycling program! as well as the 12 bins the group helped to make there will also be 20 bigger bins for the classroom purchased and 4 sulo bins all for our paper recycling program!
well thats about all at teh moment stay tuned!  May 24 Environmental UpdateWell Unforchently things haven’t gone as planed. A few weeks ago we finished creating the new recycling bins but at the moment they are unable to be used as there is currently no service available to us to have our recycled rubbish taken away! at the moment there is 2 large recycling bins that are taken but this is done voluntarily. So we have written to council to see if we can do something about this major hitch. Hopefully the issue can be resolved ASAP.
In today’s meeting the group discussed some ideas on what we could possibly do for our next project. The meeting was very hectic with lots of talking but this is what we came up with: The group is looking into the possibility of producing an environmental book to be distributed around the Bass Coast region. The book will focus on environmental topics and straightforward ways that we can use to reduce our impact on the environment.
the next idea discussed was the possibility of crating the Bass Coast Schools recycling program. This is just an idea at the moment but it would entail getting in touch with schools all over the region and implementing recycling.
I have found on the internet an application for a 10thoudand dollar grant however we are in need or ideas what would be best to purchase with such money if you have any ideas please reply to this blog or email it to enviro-aware@hotmail.com
Next weeks meeting will be on Thursday the 31st of May in room 6. We will be
researching for the environmental book.
May 11 New Recycling BinsNext Week some time there will be new recycling boxes put into a number of classrooms. These boxes were painted last week by a number of helpful students. The boxes are for paper recycling only; therefore no plastic, wrappers or food are to be disposed of in them. April 19 Wonthaggi clean up dayOn Tuesday the 10th of April the Wonthaggi secondary Environmental Action Group organized for a clean up day. The clean up day began at 10.30 am at the Wonthaggi Guide Park. Eight high school students turned up to participate in the day they were: Emma, Jasmine, Beth, Hailey, Cassi, Amy, Sarah and Charli. A man from the council turned up to brief us on safety, he gave us all a pair of latex gloves and some big strong bags to put the rubbish in. after receiving all we needed we got to work. We worked on the Guide Park until 12.00 and then had a break for lunch. After lunch we took some bags and began walking down to the main street of Wonthaggi. From this area the rubbish that we found most was McDonalds packaging and cigarette butts. The recycling bag began getting very heavy so one of the girls solved the problem by placing it into a trolley. This proved much more efficient and allowed us to collect a whole lot more! We then walked over to Big W and began cleaning the drain between Big W and Safeway there was lots of packaging and plastic in this area! We then moved onto the front of Big W. Here we found mass amounts of cigarette butts in the gutters and outside the front entrance. By the time we had finished this area it was time to start heading back to the guide park. We pushed a total of two trolleys down the Rail Trail. On the way we collected even more rubbish from the drain by this time our bags were full to the brim. We did however have some difficulty pushing the trolleys to the Guide Park as we had to push them over small ditches and the grass but we got there in the end. When we finally reached the Guide Park we sorted the recycling bags from the rubbish bags and propped them up against the back of the toilet block so the council could collect them. By the end of the day we had filled three 25litre bags and three shopping bags with rubbish and recyclables. The clean up was an enjoyable experience. Lots of laughs were had during the process. In the future we hope to organize more of these events. WSC Environmental Group Meeting 19/04/07Hey Environmental Activists here is a quick blog on what was talked about at todays (19/04/07) meeting
Ideas for school changes to make this year:
Paper Recycling bins to be put in every class room
Dual flush toilet systems
A water tank to conect to the toilets
New taps in the toilet as the current ones are leaky and hard to turn off
Possible solar hot water system to instal in the cooking room as alot of hot water is used in this room for dishes and hand washing
More bins to be placed around the schoolgrounds so as to reduce the amount of litter in the schoool environment
Possibly get the school to change from normal cartridge paper to a recycled form of cartridge paper
Have rules set in place to limit electicity use eg. have monitors to turn all the unneeded classroom lights during recess and lunch
Limit the thermostats on the classroom airconditioners to a number that saves energy yet still does it job
Have the airconditioners regularly cleaned so as to keep them working at full eficiency so power is not wasted
At the end of the day have all computer and electrical appliances turned of at the wall as 10% of a regular power bill goes to standby power
posisble activies to undertake this year
the 40 hour drought
Guided tours of the wonthaggi wind farm
Link up with other primary and secondary schools to undertake days such as clean up day and tree planting day
possible activities to undertake on environmental week
proposed date to be the final week of term two
a global warming quiz to be run through the daily bulitin with a question to be answered per day prizes for the quiz could include; the cool new green bags that have pictures of much loved cartoon charactors, energy efficient lightglobes, green colored sporting equiptment, stickers ect...
a possible day of limited electricity no lights no computers no tv no heaters no library computer to borow on no photocopying no aircons will have to make alowances for the telephones, fridges and general office printers
during one day we could open up room 6 and have programs running to calculate your ecological footprint
things we could run through a student newsletter
competition for a design for tshirts to be printed on
facts on how to reduce your carbon emmisions and live a greener life.
monthly reports on what the group has done
so this is the curent list of inicitives that are on ofer to us.
its time we begun our quest to change the world! We may be a small group of individuals in a world full of billions but we still have the power to implement meaningful important change!
next meeting is thursday the 26th of april hope to see you there! bring ideas with you
Charli
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for the mean time keep the rain coming!
spread the word!
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