Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Archives for July 18, 2009

Safe Portable Nuclear – Almost

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Nuclear Module“The future of nuclear energy could lie in plants that can be factory built, shipped to a site, and operated 30 years without refuelling…

“It has become commonplace to say that we are at the beginning of a global revitalization of the nuclear energy enterprise. The scope and timing of this “nuclear renaissance,” however, remain somewhat uncertain. What is known is that in countries around the globe, including the United States, significant numbers of new nuclear energy projects are under way or in various stages of planning, and this activity represents a departure from that of recent decades…

[Read more…] about Safe Portable Nuclear – Almost

What to Take Bushwalking?

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duffy bushwalk 051 blogA 19 year-old British tourist who went for a walk in rugged terrain not far from where I live in the Blue Mountains ended up lost for 12 days.

He claims to have survived the freezing conditions by sleeping in a log and eating leaves and seed.

His story has resulted in lots of advice in mainstream media articles about how to survive in the bush with some experts commenting that he should have taken his mobile phone, four litres of water, eaten insects rather than plants, worn a beanie and the list goes on. But I’m yet to read a story that explains the value of a compass.

I regularly bushwalk in the area and always take my compass, tucked in my camera bag. I’ve been temporarily lost before, not in the Jamieson Valley, but regularly when I did field work in the riverine forests of south west Madagascar. Without reference to a compass it is difficult to maintain a direction in forested areas.

Media reports explain that the 17 year-old Australian bushwalker who died in the same region a few years ago didn’t have a map. But I haven’t been able to determine from these same reports whether or not he had a compass. It would seem to me that a map, without a compass, would be of limited use.  [Read more…] about What to Take Bushwalking?