Safety jackets for motor cyclists and horse riders: the new debate?

An I&I reader has reported that a new safety air jacket is available for motor cyclists and horse riders to protect them from injuries if they are thrown off. By connecting the jacket to the cycle or horse the air bag is triggered inside the jacket as soon as the rider is thrown from the cycle/horse.

This would seem to be a sensible idea following on from car seat belts and air bags but it has triggered plenty of debate as many riders do not want to have them as a compulsory item because of the current cost ($600 – 1000).  What price safety?

A recent Melbourne Age article indicates the issues involved: http://bikes.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=57009 .

For more details on the idea and product go to www.hitairaustralia.com.au  or contact info@hitairaustralia.com .

If you have comments on this idea please send them via the feedback section below.

Believe it or not – running a car on air!

A new US-based carmaker, Zero Pollution Motors, is planning to make cheap, environmentally-friendly, air-powered cars that will cost about US$20,000 ($28,800) to buy. The compressed air vehicle (CAV), invented and developed by French company MDI, can chug along at a top speed of 56km/hr for some 96km or so on a tank of compressed air, enough for an average daily drive to work and the shops, the carmaker said.

The CAV can cruise for an estimated 1,300km on highways, with a small motor that compresses outside air to keep the tank filled. Drivers could also choose to fill up with petrol, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol or vegetable oil. It isn’t clear whether the car will pass US crash tests, but Shiva Vencat, CEO of Zero Pollution Motors, says it is not a problem because “the requirements can be modelled (on a computer) before anything is built and adjusted to ensure that the cars will pass”.

The vehicle is based on existing technology, compressing air to power old-fashioned car engine pistons instead of combusting other fuel. Indian carmaker Tata has already bought the rights to produce the CAV for the Indian market, while production is expected to fire up in the US in 2011.

Story sourced from www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net

Believe it or not - Microbes: Fuel of the Future?

A reddish microbe found on the inside of a tree at a secret location in the rain forests of northern Patagonia could unlock the biofuel of the future, say scientists. Its potential is so startling that the discoverers have coined the term "myco-diesel" -- a derivation of the word for fungus -- to describe the bouquet of hydrocarbons that it breathes.

"This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances," said Gary Strobel, a professor of biology at Montana State University.

"The fungus can even make these diesel compounds from cellulose, which would make it a better source of biofuel that anything we use at the moment."

The study appeared in a peer-reviewed British journal Microbiology. Strobel, a 70-year-old veteran of the world's rain forests, said that he came across Gliocladium roseum thanks to "two cases of serendipity."

The first was in the late 1990s, when his team, working in Honduras, came across a previously unidentified fungus called Muscodor albus. By sheer accident, they found that M. albus releases a powerful volatile -- meaning gassy -- antibiotic.

Intrigued by this, the team tested M. Albus on the ulmo tree, whose fibres are a known habitat for fungi, in the hope that this would show up a new fungus.

"Quite unexpectedly, G. roseum grew in the presence of these gases when almost all other fungi were killed. It was also making volatile antibiotics," said Strobel.

"Then, when we examined the gas composition of G. roseum, we were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives. The results were totally unexpected and very exciting, and almost every hair on my arms stood on end."

Strobel's team put the G. roseum through its paces in the lab, growing it on an oatmeal-based jelly and on cellulose. Extractor fans drew off the gases exuded by the fungus, and analysis showed that many of them were hydrocarbons, including at least eight compounds that are the most abundant ingredients in diesel.

"G. roseum can make myco-diesel directly from cellulose, the main compound found in plants and paper," said Strobel. "This means that if the fungus was used to make fuel a step in the production process could be skipped."

Instead of using farmland to grow biofuels, G. roseum could be grown in factories, like baker's yeast, and its gases siphoned off to be liquefied into fuel, he suggested. Another alternative, he said, would be to strip out the enzyme-making genes from the fungus and use this to break down the cellulose to make the biodiesel.

Strobel said Montana State University had filed patents for the fungus, proceeds of which would be shared with local people. G. roseum is a variant of a known fungus species called Gliocladium. "It might be" common in some forests, said Strobel.

Asked where the fungus had been found, he pointed to the experiences of the 1848 gold rush and said the location had to be protected: "The answer to that is, what if we pushed ourselves back about a hundred and fifty years and you heard a story about a guy finding gold out in California?"

Story extracted from an article by Richard Ingham of AFP and provided to I&I by Glen Moore, Director of the Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium (http://sciencecentre.uow.edu.au)

Roofs fail to defend against frequent hailstorms

The University of Western Sydney reports that a new study of hailstorms in Sydney has found many of the city's roofs are unable to resist the large hailstones expected to hit every 10 years.

For more information go to: http://pubapps.uws.edu.au/news/index.php?act=view&story_id=2323

Innovation Grants

Ausindustry is calling applications for Grants for Climate Ready Projects. Applications can involve topics including:

• Water recycling, waste recovery or small scale renewable energy technologies
• Products, processes or services to monitor emissions or power usage using biotechnology or nanotechnology to address the effects of climate change on humans and the environment
• Information systems for businesses or consumers to compare the carbon footprints of different activities
• Green buildings that make homes more efficient.

Round 2 closes on 4 December 2008, Round 3 on 12 March 2009 and round 4 on 25 June 2009. For more details go to: www.ausindustry.gov.au or call 132846

Targeting Skills Needs in Regions (TSNR)

The Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA) is running the TSNR project in November. It is putting the spotlight on the latest technologies and world’s best practice

The Targeting Skills Needs in Regions project is part of an initiative taken by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The project aims to provide training, and up-skilling at an international standard level to RTO advisors/trainers. 

All workshops are from 8am to 12.45pm and dates and locations are as follows: Sydney - Thursday, 13 November 2008, South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, Granville College; Wollongong - Wednesday 12 November, Illawarra Institute of TAFE, Wollongong Campus; and Gosford - Friday 14 November, Hunter Institute of TAFE, Gosford Campus.  To register for any workshop call 9748 4443 or email events@wtia.com.au

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