In Australia, as in other nations, scientists are taking steps to improve long-term estimates of changes in wind speed.
These estimates are vital to the rapid growth that is occurring in the use of wind power, serving to reduce the risk of building wind turbines in areas that later proved to be inadequate.
Some studies have predicted a decrease in wind speed in various parts of the world, including Australia. However, recent research results driven by CSIRO show that in fact, for practical purposes for wind, average wind speed in Australia is increasing.
A team of scientists dedicated to CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research has completed a thorough analysis of observations on the wind speed, in order to predict long-term trends in wind speed in Australia.
Alberto Troccoli's team has found that the trends in wind speeds in Australia are sensitive to the height of the measuring station.The winds measured at 10 feet show a tendency to increase speed, just the opposite from that indicated by a previous study in which only measured the wind speed at 2 meters high.
Light winds measured at 10 meters, a height that best represents the free atmospheric flow, tend to increase faster than average winds, while winds tend to rise more slowly than average winds.Light and strong winds measured at a height of 2 meters tend to vary in line with the average winds.
Wind farm.
Alberto Troccoli's team has determined that the average speed of the wind in Australia measured at a height of 10 meters has grown by 0.69 percent annually, while there has been a decline of 0.36 percent annually for wind speed measured at a height of 2 meters, in both cases during the period 1989-2006.
It is expected that wind energy production increase markedly in the coming years, and therefore the associated electrical system shall be subject to variations of hundreds of megawatts, depending on the availability of wind in each period.
The ability to accurately quantify long-term variations is essential for the wind sector from the economic point of view.
Australia's government responded to a call for help from the small island of Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean where the authorities have indicated that drinking water could end within days.
Australia sent hydration packs for hospitals and provided money and fuel to keep running desalination plants on the island.
New Zealand already sent supplies to Tuvalu where he wasdeclared a state of emergency.
Many Pacific islands have suffered from the lack of rains caused by La Nina weather phenomenon.
President Barack Obama will speak this week at a joint session of the Parliament of Australia, during a visit to the country to mark the 60th anniversary of the bilateral alliance known by its initials as ANZUS.
The security treaty signed by U.S., Australia and New Zealand (ANZUS) was signed in San Francisco in 1951, during the Cold War.From then until now, Australia has become one of the most loyal U.S. allies In fact, no other country has contributed more troops to fight shoulder to shoulder with Americans since the First World War.Although Obama's visit to the cities of Canberra and Darwin are expected to further strengthen the old friendship between the two countries, Geoffrey Garrett, chief of the U.S. Studies CentreUniversity of Sydney, believes that in addition set a turning point in American diplomacy."I think this trip will mean a strategic shift in U.S. foreign policy toward the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and beyond the war on terrorism," he said.The expert believes that Australia is taking a bigger role in trade and regional security, in addition to cooperation with U.S. is "more open, high-level than does any other country in the world, with the possible exception of the United Kingdom."Obama is expected to announce plans for the deployment of U.S. Marines in northern Australia, a presence that raised concerns in China.Tom Switzer, University of Sydney Australia believes that diplomacy needs to balance its military and economic targets for the U.S., "China's rise is a geopolitical rival, but for Australia is its largest trading partner."According to Switzer, Australia faces the option to accommodate the U.S. security umbrella while expanding trade relations with China."That can be very difficult if there are tensions in the South China Sea or the Taiwan Strait. That can not be ruled out, "he said.Although the war in Afghanistan is deeply unpopular with many Australians, opinion polls indicate that the U.S. has broad support in the country's population, as revealed by a resident in Canberra, who in referring to President Obama said he appreciated " a lot. "She also appreciated that if you re-think "in the Second World War, without the Americans we would not have succeeded. We need some help. We are 22 million people, a small dot in the South Pacific. I really want them here to the U.S., any base who wish are welcome, "he admitted.Another citizen asked, however, said the relationship between Australia and the U.S. is "a bit overrated." "We align ourselves too closely with the United States. Do not really know if you have some benefit to Australia."Australia retains close cultural ties with Britain and its wealth depends increasingly on China, but successive Australian leaders have said that the most valuable thing that the country is its security alliance with the U.S.Barack Obama is the fifth U.S. president to visit Australia.
Bill Gates says he is confident that Australia and other stakeholders would ensure the 3.700 million dollars to finance the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization
LONDON, GREAT BRITAIN (12/JUN/2011) .- Australia will commit to provide 200 million Australian dollars (220 million dollars) in an international donors conference on Monday to support a global alliance whose purpose is to save the lives of 4 million children in poor countries by 2015.
The Australian Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, said the aid would be provided over three years from 2011 to 2013 and would mark the highest standards for other donors conference in London.
In an exclusive joint interview with Rudd on Sunday, the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said he was confident that Australia and other stakeholders would ensure the 3.700 million dollars to finance the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI for short) to 2015.
"What I see in the international community is a growing commitment to (...) vaccination as one of the most effective ways to help," said Rudd.
"This is a great help," he said.
GAVI is a nonprofit organization which funds vaccination programs for poor countries who can not afford Western prices, says that if he can raise the additional $ 3.700 million needed could prevent 4 million child deaths by 2015 immunization campaigns covering more than 240 million children.
"These are vaccines that children receive and rich irony is that rich kids are less susceptible to these diseases," Gates said.
"However, success in the future we will have, I'm sure going to give us the money to buy vaccines for all children," he said.
Gates, Microsoft founder of the company rejected the criticism that GAVI pay excessively high prices for vaccines, raising the profits of big pharmaceutical companies.
"We worked very hard to know exactly what it costs to produce these vaccines, and the same kind of profit-centered approach that I developed at Microsoft is applied in an even more strict in this work - because every dollar affects many lives who save, "he said.
