| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (27 min. 6 sec.) ; 163072940 bytes |
| Summary |
A special edition high on energy. Is the oil crunch imminent?; endless energy from hot rocks; could Australia go nuclear?; oil from algae; and energy saving houses.THE OIL CRUNCHIt's referred to as the oil crunch when global supply fails to meet demand. The International Energy Agency believes that the global supply of oil peaked in 2006 but went unnoticed due to the global financial crisis. But demand is on the rise again, thanks largely to the surging economies of China and India. Oil is now harder to source and companies go to extraordinary extremes to tap new supplies, such as deep sea, tar sands and natural gas liquids. Jonica Newby follows her report of five years ago into Peak Oil with astonishing predictions from researchers and the International Energy Agency that suggests a global oil crunch is imminent.KENYAN HOT ROCKSIn the great African Rift Valley, near Lake Naivasha in Kenya, the Earth's crust is a mere 6 8 kilometres thick. Here, the Olkaria Geothermal Power plant draws steam from deep below the ground to turn turbines and generate electricity. It provides base load renewable energy for Kenya without the bi product of greenhouse gases associated with coal power stations. Paul Willis visits the site and discovers that in transforming the lives of many Kenyans, it has also created a thriving flower industry exporting to Europe.AUSTRALIA'S NUCLEAR FUTUREAustralia is a leading exporter of uranium, helping power the 440 nuclear reactors in 30 countries generating 14% of the world's electricity. But what are the practicalities for building our own nuclear energy industry? Mark Horstman looks at Australia's preliminary courtship of constructing a nuclear power plant on the shores of Jervis Bay 40 years ago and, in today's terms, analyses the realities of importing the enormous components to build a plant, the massive volumes of water needed to cool the reactor and the ever present need to guarantee against radioactive leakage.SUSTAINABLE HOUSESTanya Ha visits a Melbourne 50's weatherboard home to see how its owners have transformed it into an energy efficient house that no longer costs them anything for electricity from the grid. Also, Graham Phillips meets a home owner who has designed an energy monitoring system for his home following his experience working on the building control systems at Casey in Antarctica. OIL FROM ALGAEUnfortunately, the wait for plankton to turn into oil is rather a long one. So other sources that are environmentally friendly and safe to produce are in hot demand. One proposal is to feed algae carbon dioxide and fish farm slurry to create the perfect little oil factory. Could it be that simple? |
| Event |
Broadcast 2011-04-28 at 20:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Architect-designed houses -- Design and construction.
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Geothermal resources.
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International economic relations.
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Nuclear energy -- Economic aspects.
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Australia.
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China.
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Kenya.
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Streaming video
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| Author |
Aleklett, Kjell, contributor
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Bea, Robert, contributor
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Birol, Fatih, contributor
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Green, Glen, contributor
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Ha, Tanya, reporter
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Hopkins, Emma, contributor
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Horstman, Mark, reporter
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Judkins, Darryl, contributor
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Karingithi, Cyrus, contributor
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Keogh, Daniel, reporter
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Leggett, Jeremy, contributor
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McHale, Jason, contributor
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Newby, Jonica, reporter
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Phillips, Graham, host
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Skrebowski, Chris, contributor
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Willis, Paul, reporter
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