Sustainable and unsustainable streets
A flooded street For some reading about recent thinking about how our climate is changing, this is a useful article: http://www.economist.com/node/17572735 The photo above is from that article. It shows an unsustainable street, and it seems how we live here in Chippo, and Australia generally, is partly the reason there are streets like those. Hopefully, the work being done to trial sustainable streets in Chippendale will reduce the number of unsustainable streets elsewhere. Read More
Floods, droughts and coal
For a discussion about the links, consequences and finance relating to coal, droughts and floods you may wish to have a look at my article in The Fifth Estate, here: http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/19455 Time to turn off the coal, methinks, Michael Read More
Understanding water: the developer and the elder
Here, in her own words, is a story my friend, Fran Bodkin, an elder of the Dharawal people, told me yesterday as we walked back from the opening of the garden for the Asylum Seekers Centre, Redfern, where Fran had advised on plants to provide food, and I’d provided a native stingless bee hive.. “ Okay, It was in the 1960s, the exact year I can’t remember, but it must have been before 1967. His name was Mr. Thomas. He was into transport. Can’t remember his first... Read More
Burst water main today
Pine Lane water main floods From the mountains to Chippo to the sea Water bypassing trees, verge It was a strange sight in this early morning to see a torrent of water from a burst water main in Pine Lane. So much water wasted. If all the water that falls in our streets in a year were to fall in a couple of days this is how that water would look. The photos demonstrate how water is denied to trees, verge gardens and anything planted above the level of the gutter. On this hot day... Read More
Gas drilling and fracking
Amidst the gas drilling frenzy across Australia and the limp coverage of it by our media I’ve found this recent blog by one of my favourite energy writers, James Kunstler, and some of it is here: “• The fracking fluid is a secret proprietary cocktail formula amounting to 5 percent of the liquid injected into the earth. It’s composed of: sand; a jelling agent to suspend the sand because water is not “thick” enough; biocides to kill bacteria that... Read More
When your pump runs dry
No, this is not a song. But it can help to sing when your pump runs dry; who knows, it may bring peace to your otherwise un-abluted flesh and grumpy heart, and distract you from the debris of a shower that won’t work in the morning. Pumps are pretty simple creatures but can put a Buddhist monk back years on the path to simplicity and inner peace. For now, let’s list how to fix one type of pump, the self-priming pump: - to prime the pump’s belly undo the largish... Read More
Stormwater control on billion dollar project
Billion dollar stormwater control Walking back down Broadway today I checked the stormwater pond on the north western corner of the billion dollar Frasers’ Broadway project. The photo shows world best practice stormwater control which is directing muddy water off site to Blackwattle Bay. A pit in the centre of the muddy pond has some fabric pinned into the mud by four star pickets and the water in the pond fills and enters through the fabric to the stormwater pipes... Read More
Brown muddy stormwater in Broadway
Brown mud in grate from Fraser's building site, Broadway On Saturday, yesterday, I took a photo of brown muddy water in the stormwater grate on the southern side of Broadway at the intersection with Abercrombie. The pollution was from the rain last week. Now the stormwater from the Fraser’s site has been piped underground along the footpath to discharge into the grate below ground we will no longer see this pollution when it happens. From here the stormwater runs... Read More
All drains lead to Chippendale
Another day another drain, more digging, more diesel and petrol and silt and dust into the air and the drains and Sydney Harbour. ‘What is it now?”, you ask? The circular through my door today, announces “Night works in Abercrombie Street from Irving to Broadway”. For the next six months + – yes, ’ 6 – 7’ – the diggers, trucks, sludge, shouts, groans and tra la la-ing will happen seven night a week there. It’s about 100 metres of Abercrombie that’s... Read More
