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Powerful Choices: transition to a biofuel economy in Australia

The Powerful Choices study uses a biophysical-economics model of the Australian economy to explore the capability of discrete low-carbon technologies to maintain economic growth, ensure energy security and reduce CO2 emissions out to 2051. The approach applies physical laws of thermodynamics and mass balance to established economic structures to ensure that financial dynamics are constrained by physical reality. Renewable electricity (bio-electricity, wind, solar thermal and (more)...

Improving Soil Health in Western Australian Farming Systems

The crop yields in many shires within Western Australia yield below expectation. Often, this is due to soil contraints. So in order to better-manage soil resources, the severity and extend of underlying soil health problems must first be identified.

Polyacrylamides in Irrigated Agriculture

Polyacrylamide (PAM) has been sold in the United States since 1995 for reducing irrigation-induced erosion and enhancing infiltration. PAM’s soil stabilizing and flocculating properties have also substantially improved runoff water quality by reducing sediments, N, ortho and total P, COD, pesticides, weed seeds, and microorganisms in runoff. The first series of practical field tests of (more)...

Open Hydroponics: Risks and Opportunities

Open Hydroponics Ecological Risk Assessment

The purpose of this component of the research was to develop a method to identify likely ecological risks associated with Open Hydroponics (OH) in the Mallee region, using an ecological risk assessment approach. Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) is the process of defining and assessing the risks to ecological resources of anthropogenic hazards and determining the acceptability of those risks. The hazard(s) can be any chemical, physical or (more)...