Mother Nature 3 – NZ 0
Posted by feww on May 27, 2008
Electricity Shortages in New Zealand
New Zealand is facing electricity shortages unless sufficient rain recharges its hydro catchments, the government [sic] said.
“Unless we have some increased inflows in the South Island hydro catchments in the next three weeks, further conservation measures will have to be looked at,” the Energy Minister [sic] said.
South Island hydro power facilities provide about two thirds of New Zealand’s electricity. According to a wholesale electricity market operator, storage in hydro-electric lakes is about 40 percent below average. As a result the price of electricity jumped by 30.6 percent to $215.26 per megawatt hour.
Location map of Taupo, New Zealand
In the 2003 power crisis, the government had planned to cut residential hot water supplies, followed by rolling power cuts for residential users, and blackouts.
Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminum smelter, located in New Zealand’s South Island, consumes about 15 percent of the country’s electricity.
Farm Produce
Earlier this month Bloomberg reported that the prolonged drought in New Zealand, the worst in 20 years, had cut farm production and more than doubled the power prices this year. New Zealand’s energy demand peaks June through August during the hemisphere winter months due to heating use. Hydro-power lakes have been below average since November 2007.
In April 2008, lake Taupo was 18 percent below average. Lake Pukaki was 40 percent below average. Lake Manapouri, which is used to supply Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminum smelter, was 45 percent below its usual levels.
Continuing drought in New Zealand and Australia, as well as a falling production in the UK and a weak dollar, are raising the prices of milk and dairy products globally. In the past 12 months the price of milk has increased by 32 percent, eggs by 40 percent and wholewheat bread by 26 percent.
Earthquake hit south of Macquarie Island
Meanwhile, in a triple whammy, a 5.9-magnitude quake hit 2100 km (1300 miles) S of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, earlier today close to a major fault line. Recent increased seismic activities N, NW and SE of New Zealand do not bode well for the country. The earthquakes may result in a period intense volcanic activity in New Zealand in the coming weeks.
Related links:
- NZ govt eyes power-saving measures after dry spell
- New Zealand Rain Fails to Ease Risk of Power Shortage (Update1)
- Volcanoes, Santorini Eruption and Crops Failure in China
- Mt Ruapehu Eruption Alert
santorini
Fire Earth 
feww said
The ubiquitous, unsustainable lifestyle that is destroying the world resembles the Iraqi occupation: It started on a false premise; it has consumed more than 1.3 million lives, and permanently scarred another half a million. Our elected politicians [sic] insist on perpetuating the carnage. Unlike politicians, however, mother nature is not on the payroll of Big Money, Big Oil or the Arms industry.
See related links:
http://edro.wordpress.com/rcm-image/
http://edro.wordpress.com/collapsing-cities/
http://edro.wordpress.com/nuking-earth/
Englandsno1 said
I hope people of this planet will take a serious look at what is happening accrosss the planet.Half the world is in danger of starving. The other half are going to run out of renuable energy in the next ten years.
There must be desalination plants built accross all the continents to supply water for drinking and irrigation of crops.Here in England we can expect large loses of land on Coastal plains and Upstream in Tidal Rivers.If sea levals rise 3 feet at high tide you will get a back up of water going up the River. In years gone by the Rivers had their flood plains. Most of them are now built on. Mother Nature will not worry about that.It will just send the water round or under or over wha ever is in the way.