June 2010

Grant's Blog ETS - Too much "stick" and not enough "carrot" Although any strategy that targets reductions in carbon emissions should be applauded, I am not sure that an extremely complex theoretical modeling program such as the proposed ETS is the answer. After all, in terms of commercial buildings, shouldn't we start by turning the lights off? Drive through any capital city at night, and you have to ask yourself, how serious are we in reducing emissions? Really? The scary thing for me about the ETS is the complexity of the scheme and the tuning required to deliver the desired outcomes. Get it wrong and the economy could come to a screaming halt, but make them too soft and we will have created a costly paper churning burden without much benefit. The outcome would likely be the latter, given the soft approach required to sell such a system. Unfortunately the proposed ETS is all "stick" and not enough "carrot" - it's the carrot that's going to provide an incentive for the creation of new, clean technologies in creating sustainable growth. So here's a different approach - why couldn't energy be treated like water entitlements to farmers? Read more...
Legionella the ever-present danger Legionnaires' disease has hit the newspaper headlines again here in Victoria, following two recent outbreaks, with the latest in Doncaster resulting in the tragic death of one person, and the hospitalization of others. The source was traced by health officials last week to cooling towers located on commercial buildings at two sites within close proximity to the very busy Westfield Doncaster shopping centre, and also within metres of residential housing. It's a timely reminder that Legionella bacteria will never be eliminated from our environment, and that if anything, the risk is as big as it has ever been. "The latest tragedy adds to a shocking year for legionnaire's outbreaks in which 40 cases have already been reported, including three deaths - more than double the number of cases recorded last year, in which four people died," said a report in last week's Herald Sun newspaper. The numbers look bad. Read more...
The most successful ARBS ever ARBS 2010 proved to be a very successful event for the Australian HVAC&R industry, with more than 7500 people attending and a very strong turnout by almost 250 exhibitors building on the success of the industry's past exhibitions. We would like to thank those of you who took the time to stop by our Muller Industries exhibit. We received a lot of positive feedback, and were delighted to meet with many of you. We were also very pleased to have won the Refrigeration Product Excellence Award at the inaugural ARBS Awards, held on the Tuesday night of the exhibition. It was a memorable night hosted by George Negus, and offered attendees the chance to mingle in a more relaxed atmosphere. Read more...