Appalled at theft
THE Rathmines Catalina Association committee and members are appalled at the recent theft of flowers from the memorial garden (“Thieves target war memorial”, Lakes Mail, November 15). The lack of respect is mind numbing.
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A far more positive note is the on-going support for our projects from your readers, the local community. That support is appreciated and invaluable. Thank you.
The next Rathmines Catalina Festival is booked for Sunday, May 19, 2019. Our association is the organiser of this significant event. Should you wish to engage with us in respect to the festival or our restoration of the Catalina flying boat, please contact me (email info@rathmines-catalina.com or visit the website rathmines-catalina.com) and I would be more than happy to elaborate on our activities.
- Bill Anderson, Rathmines Catalina Memorial Park Association president
What was movie about?
WENT to the movies with the wife to see a big production and enjoyed the action, but didn't have a clue what it was all about.
Movies these days - unlike news and TV presenters who speak clearly and are easy to understand - use background noise to enhance the scene but this muffles the voices.
For people of my age, and others now with hearing difficulties, it’s not so much the volume that is the problem - its the clarity of the spoken words. Even though l wear hearing aids, it's difficult to follow or understand the words, and therefore the story, when they use background noise.
When big movies come to town and are screened at all cinemas over three or four sessions a day, for a week or more, it would be great for people like myself if one session had subtitles.
They may not fill all the seats, but it would be a good public relations exercise. So how about it? Because one day you, too, will be one of us, and like us, you’ll look forward to the movies.
- Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek
‘Green’ hydrogen fuel
The RenewEconomy website reports Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel, the CSIRO and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), are working on the emerging opportunities for Australia to produce hydrogen fuel using our enormous potential for wind and solar power.
The fuel could be produced when excess renewable energy was available, liquefied and stored. It could then be used locally to supplement renewables when required, or exported to countries like Japan, China and Korea. Japan, keen to close down their nuclear power plants and reduce their dependence on coal but lacking renewable potential, is seen as the key customer.
Up to 10 per cent hydrogen can be simply added to our existing natural gas networks, and a five-year trial of this is planned to commence in 2020. It is estimated this could lead to exports worth up to $1.7 billion to Australia by 2030.
Hydrogen produces only water vapour and energy when burned. It is worth a read.
- Richard Mallaby, Wangi Wangi
Coal a 24-hour emitter
I REFER to Carl Stevenson’s letter (“Bushfires verses coal”, Lakes Mail, November 15) where he again asserts that bushfires produce more carbon dioxide than coal-fired power stations.
His assumption would appear to have overlooked one minor but very important point, namely that bushfires occur mainly in the hot part of the year and are thankfully of relatively short duration; whereas coal fired power stations operate 24 hours per day, year in and year out.
Also, when trees and other foliage are not burning, they are absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and emitting oxygen via photosynthesis, partially offsetting some of the effects of bushfires – a feat of which power stations are incapable.
- George Aungle, Morisset Park
