News & Discussion: Adelaide City Council

[Howie]

Have you checked these out Stephen?

Mitsubushi iMiev... all electric vehicle, will be on sale in Japan by the end of 2009. With plans to come to Australia next year.



Around the $30k mark, it has a range of around 160kms. It's slightly quicker than a petrol powered Mitsubushi Colt, but with the advantage of course it doesn't guzzle fuel.

Although one car that does impress me is the new Toyota Prius that'll be going to market. It's still a hybrid, but puts out a decent 100kw of power ... and drinks around 5.7L/100kms.




Then of course, if you like the EV sports cars...



Shelby plans on making the worlds fastest production EV sportscar. A single electric motor putting out 500hp of power, and they're looking at the possibility of bolting a second motor for 1000hp instant power.



Still... my only argument against buying new EV cars is, that the input required to produce them will far exceed the pollution it will put out in it's lifetime. If you're really keen on saving our environment, instead of junking that old tired car you've got... put it back into good use. I've seen lovely Datsun 240z's thrown on the scrap heap over a blown head gasket.. that's terrible waste. You could convert something like that to fuel injection and breath new life into it, whilst doing your bit for the environment.

[Cruise]

and here is a video showing the TRUE future of automobiles.

[Howie]

I'd have to seriously disagree with that Top Gear episode. I think they've got Hydrogen all wrong. There's the massive input required to make Hydrogen for automotive applications, so when they talk about "there's hydrogen all around us", they neglect to say what the environmental consequences for making it are. Then there's safe storage of Hydrogen, which has three times the energy output of gasoline. How do you transport it. Then there's the infrastructure... you won't see hydro stations pop up over night, it'll take billions upon billions to build the infrastructure. Then there's service life of fuel cells.

And... all this for what? 130hp at the flywheel in a four door honda. Sorry but they lost me there.

Electric vehicles however, shifts the load back to the grid.. so no infrastructure required. Charging time range from 6hours, right down to 20 minutes with proper three phase power installed into your house. Puts out massive amounts of torque (as shelby and tesla demonstrated). EV's still have the upper hand IMO.

[Wayno]

you're wrong - here's the future:

flintstones-car.jpg (34.92 KiB) Viewed 2968 times

there's only minor and occasional methane emissions, depending upon diet...

[Norman]

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Shouldn't this be in The Pub?

[Pikey]

Good to see that yesterday and last night's rain has totally refilled the torrens. It was good seeing it back to it's former state this morning.

[Howie]

And I think the water actually looks cleaner... or perhaps it's just my imagination.

[Norman]

And I think the water actually looks cleaner... or perhaps it's just my imagination.

According to Harbo on the news last night, the water quality is actually rather good.

[Cruise]

Then there's the infrastructure... you won't see hydro stations pop up over night, it'll take billions upon billions to build the infrastructure. Then there's service life of fuel cells.

Im sure people had the same worries about LPG 30 years ago.

And... all this for what? 130hp at the flywheel in a four door honda. Sorry but they lost me there.

And electric vehicles are renowned for their outputs?

Electric vehicles however, shifts the load back to the grid.. so no infrastructure required. Charging time range from 6hours, right down to 20 minutes with proper three phase power installed into your house. Puts out massive amounts of torque (as shelby and tesla demonstrated). EV's still have the upper hand IMO.

Yeah lets live off the electrical grid. All those gas and coal power plants are great for the enviroment.

[AtD]

Im sure people had the same worries about LPG 30 years ago.

Hydrogen is far more volatile than LPG, it can seep through smaller gaps due to it being the smallest molecule in nature, it can activly degrade the majority of metal alloies and requires 30% of its energy output just to compress it into a liquid for storage.

And electric vehicles are renowned for their outputs?

An electric motor has more torque than a comparable combustion motor.

Yeah lets live off the electrical grid. All those gas and coal power plants are great for the enviroment.

Even if the power grid is run on coal, the CO2 per watt at the wheels is less for an electric motor charged off the grid than a conventional combustion motor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy

[Howie]

Yeah lets live off the electrical grid. All those gas and coal power plants are great for the enviroment.

Even if the power grid is run on coal, the CO2 per watt at the wheels is less for an electric motor charged off the grid than a conventional combustion motor.

Exactly ^^


Trust me Cruise, i'm a self-confessed petrol head.. (300hp weekender sitting in the garage right now) i've looked at every current and potential platform for next generation vehicles and EV's are still by far the best solution.

[AtD]

Online plan for council meetings
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 512785.htm
Adelaide City Council meetings could soon be online.

The council has voted to consider installing a webcam to beam its meetings over the internet.

Deputy Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood says a webcam would make the council proceedings more available to the community.

"The community should have access to Adelaide City Council accountability. Not everyone wants to come out to the town hall on a Monday night to listen to an entire council debate," he said.

[Wayno]

Adelaide City Council meetings could soon be online.

good plan!

[Clr Yarwood]

Cheers – I also got a resolution to have staff work harder on assisting councillors in becoming paperless and joining the 21C. We get around 30 000 pages of paper a year and it drives me nuts!

I have been the double sided print paper Nazi since being elected too…

I am very keen on changing the culture of the organisation to become more progressive and experimental when it comes to technology.

[Clr Yarwood]

Nathan Paine of the Property Council was not accurate in last weeks Messenger when he stated the guidelines for heritage listing have not changed “in recent times”. The last heritage survey was undertaken in 1992 and the Development Act was introduced in 1993 with guidelines to redefine heritage identification, registration, conservation and development.

Furthermore he suggests the global financial crisis is not a good time for listing, yet I am sure the past or future boom times would have resulted in the same assessment - so when is a good time when all you are interested in is immediate financial opportunity?

The reality is that the State Government and Adelaide City Council have together agreed to list city heritage assets together via a “Statement of Intent”. Both have been advised by their planning departments to do this confidentially so buildings are not demolished in haste; a standard planning practice administered via Development Act rules set up for this very purpose.

What is the point of flagging a heritage listing only to see it demolished before the debate is actually had? Once listed, owners of buildings will have more than one chance to argue their case to influence the final outcome.

The political landscape is littered with attempts to finalise heritage listing in Adelaide, unlike Melbourne where this matter was resolved 20 years ago. The result is a beautiful, economically successful and highly respected city - all done whilst protecting the heritage fabric that provides a point of difference in a world dominated by cost effective homogeneous high rise architecture.

The fact is labour costs and accountability to shareholders means we will never again see architecture with such exceptional detail – once gone they will never ever be repeated. Throw away lines about being “anti-progress” are ill informed and lacking the foresight that reflects the very reason we are having this Global Financial Crisis – the “here and now syndrome”.

Heritage listing should not be labelled “anti progress”, it is good for business because it recognises why people like coming to Adelaide. If we want to be an international tourist and business destination, visitors need to remember Adelaide as beautiful place; not “just another city that looks like any other”. The new rules will provide opportunity for contemporary architecture to merge with the old and even at times rise out of their core, with a number only having their façade protected.

Heritage listing also provides access to the single largest heritage incentive scheme in Australia, with Adelaide City Council offering owners a share in $1 million per year to restore or maintain their properties – that’s council putting their money where their mouth is.

As a community we have to protect our past to create a future with style; hence I ask that people take a balanced view and don’t believe the single sided hype about listing this never to be repeated architecture.

It seems a shame to spell out the facts and in doing so deflate yet another opportunity to bash Adelaide City Council. Our heritage should be a big part of our future and that is why your State and Local Government is working together to ensure it is a strategic advantage that makes our future prosperous