In this issue

	ECOS Issue 135

Editorial: Power in your hands
Good progress was made at the recent COAG meeting on 10 February with state and federal ministers agreeing to improve energy price signals for consumers and investors, including committing to a progressive national rollout of 'smart meters' to facilitate daytime electricity price monitoring, allowing users to better manage their peak and most costly demand.
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Historic biodiversity case outcome On 19 December 2006, Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown won a Federal Court case that has been welcomed by environmentalists as an historic precedent for threatened-species conservation, but criticised by the Tasmanian forest industry as being a 'significant threat' to its future. Download Article

States have big plans for smaller footprints The Western Australian and South Australian Governments recently highlighted their intentions to actively reduce their states' environmental impacts through enhanced renewable energy commitments. Download Article

Spray-on protection reduces water loss An Australian company has developed a new product which it claims can significantly reduce evaporation from water storages. Download Article

Top spot for organic farming Australia has the world's largest land area under organic agriculture with 11.8 million hectares certified to international organic standards, according to a study by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Download Article

Loophole closed to keep out plant aliens Biosecurity Australia recently completed a review of the list of plant species that can be legally brought into the country, closing a critical loophole in national quarantine law. Download Article

COAG adopts a new national Climate Change Action Plan The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed on strong forward steps on central key sustainability issues, including climate change mitigation and future energy supply, at its latest meeting on 10 February. Download Article

Our offices far from the green ideal A recent Newspoll phone survey of almost 400 office workers has revealed that most Australian offices are not implementing simple practices to reduce energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and landfill waste. Download Article

Forgotten treasures Native grasses, maligned by pastoralists since colonial times, are showing their remarkable pedigree and potential for Australian conditions. Download Article

Smart approaches to electricity use Forecast increases in electricity demand pose a dilemma for the electricity industry, which will need to cap or reduce its greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. A new approach, already proving successful, is to make consumers more aware of their hourly usage with smart metering and staggered pricing, to discourage usage peaks. Download Article

21st century city challenges Urban sustainability experts believe that formidable challenges confront our cities and that there is an urgent need for an Australia-wide urban sustainability framework. Download Article

Gaining ground - Debating the growing impact of GM agriculture A decade on since the advent of genetically modified (GM) crops, their environmental and production credentials are able to be better assessed. But the role of GM agriculture in the 21st century is still being fiercely debated. Download Article

Outflanking the Laotian rice thieves CSIRO scientists' research on mouse plagues in the Australian wheat belt is helping farmers in Asia reduce rice losses and other damage from local rodents. Download Article

Venturing out in Dreamtime business Aboriginal communities are embracing the opportunities presented by the new international interest in cultural tourism. But can Aboriginal people maintain a viable tourism product while protecting their cultural independence and the sensitive ecosystems that exist in their homelands? Download Article

Herd about New Zealand's eco cow shed? An innovative 'kiwi' stock shelter could have as revolutionary an effect on cattle farm management as herringbone dairy sheds did in the 1950s. Download Article

A new tool brings the triple bottom line into focus The quality of corporate environmental reports is patchy - they often lack hard data and key triple bottom line indicators of social, environmental and economic performance. Download Article

Review - A case for kicking the habit Is petroleum bad for our health? Yes, as bad as cigarettes according to US author Terry Tamminen, Special Advisor to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a Secretary of California's Environment Protection Agency, in his new book Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction. Download Article

Putting a thin lid on evaporation losses Farm dams and larger water storages around Australia lose as much as 40 per cent of their water to evaporation. Research is now concentrating on a safe, cost-effective and innovative way of reducing this loss using a liquid surface layer. Download Article

Community engagement for the reef's sake The community of the Tully region in far north Queensland has teamed up with scientists from CSIRO's Water for a Healthy Country Flagship to create a leading example of participatory research in action. Download Article

Investigating mining's social values Research to map the social landscape of the minerals industry will help inform the sector's efforts towards a socially sustainable future. Download Article