Sunday, 17 October 2010

French to bankroll music-buying

French people aged 12-25 are to be encouraged to buy music via a state-subsidised scheme.

The plan attempts to get young people into the habit of buying music rather than stealing it by file-sharing.

The scheme will revolve around pre-paid cards that have a face value of 50 euros (£43) but which will only cost 25 euros when bought.

The French government will pay the other half of the cost when a card is used to buy music on a download site.

The French government estimates that the two-year scheme will cost it about 25 million euros (£22m) if it reaches its target of selling one million cards. Consumers will be limited to one card each per year.

Restrictions will also apply to music download sites that sign up to accept the cards. They will be asked to cut the price of downloads, extend subscription periods and contribute towards the marketing campaign for the cards.

Individual sites will only be allowed to receive a maximum of 5m euros from the scheme.

The European Commission has approved the French plan saying it would not be anti-competitive.

"The scheme will contribute to preserving pluralism and cultural diversity in the online music industry," said EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia in a statement.

France has been among the nations taking the most extreme actions against those suspected of sharing music illegally.

It has enacted the so-called Hadopi law which will result in suspension of net access for those who ignore three warnings about illegally sharing copyrighted material.

Not every French ISP is complying with the law. Free has said it will not be sending out letters that tell people they have been spotted illegally sharing files.

@'BBC'

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Saturday, 16 October 2010

Pärt

The Sound of Spirit!

Birds, trees - and drillers: Miners shatter the 'tree change' tranquility

Western Downs Alliance Action Group co-founder Michael Bretherick.

Contaminated waste (driller's mud) allegedly from coal seam gas exploration on the Western Downs between Tara and Chinchilla.

A waterhole contaminated with heavy oil slick - allegedly from coal seam gas exploration on the Western Downs between Tara and Chinchilla.

Michael Bretherick and his family moved to Tara, about 400 kilometres west of Brisbane,four years ago for a tree change.

He said the mining company, BG Group – owners of QGC – moved into the area about 18 months ago and has been drilling night and day for coal-seam gas.

Coal-seam gas extraction requires the removal of large volumes of water from coal seams to release trapped gases.

He cited a litany of grievances against the company, including allegations of constant noise, adverse health impacts for humans and farm stock, potential damage and contamination of aquifers, polluted dams, and contaminated water in tanks.

“Our dreams have been turned into nightmares. I’m 64 and I came here to retire but because of the mining we want to leave but there’s no way anyone would want to buy here so we can’t sell,’’ he said.

Mr Bretherick said his youngest children, aged 7 and 9, had rashes and nosebleeds after playing near a dam. ‘‘A calf fell into the dam and only lived a couple of minutes; its skin peeled off,’’ he said.

Once the mining started, neighbour was pitted against neighbour, marriages have split, businesses have closed and many locals are suffering health problems including depression, he said.

Mr Bretherick helped set up the website Tarablockies.com and runs the Western Downs Alliance set up to fight the miners.

“They want to put gas wells 750metres apart, including compressors, through properties and we just won’t have it. We’ll either lock them in or we’ll lock them out,” he said.

Environmentalist Dayne Pratzky of Chinchilla said small groups around the country were joining forces to fight large-scale mining. He said 22 groups from Queensland, NSW and Victoria comprising thousands of members would have much more ‘‘clout’’ than isolated protesters.

‘‘The government has allowed the mining companies to have free rein for whatever they wanted to do because of the royalties they receive but this new group will be a force to be reckoned with,’’ he said.

The government insists it is striking the right balance between environmental sustainability and economic growth and is monitoring the mining.

A QGC spokesman said the company operated within an extensive code of conduct and regulations set by the state government.

He said QGC took precautions to minimise noise and to ensure water supplies were not impacted.

Kate Dennehy @'Sydney Morning Herald'

Thursday, 14 October 2010

Hemp homes are cutting edge of green building

Hemp is turning a new leaf. The plant fiber, used to make the sails that took Christopher Columbus' ships to the New World, is now a building material.

In Asheville, N.C., a home built with thick hemp walls was completed this summer and two more are in the works.

The hemp home was built for $133 per square foot, not including land and excavation costs, at the top of a mountain.

Dozens of hemp homes have been built in Europe in the past two decades, but they're new to the United States, says David Madera, co-founder of Hemp Technologies, a company that supplied the mixture of ground-up hemp stalks, lime and water.

The industrial hemp is imported because it cannot be grown legally in this country — it comes from the same plant as marijuana.

Its new use reflects an increasing effort to make U.S. homes not only energy-efficient but also healthier. Madera and other proponents say hemp-filled walls are non-toxic, mildew-resistant, pest-free and flame-resistant.

"There is a growing interest in less toxic building materials, says Peter Ashley, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.

"The potential health benefits are significant," he says, citing a recent study of a Seattle public housing complex that saw residents' health improve after their homes got a green makeover.

The U.S. government has not taken a "systemic approach" to studying chemicals in homes and instead addresses problems such as asbestos, lead, arsenic and formaldehyde only after people get sick, says Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a private research group.

She says green building so far has focused mostly on the environment, not the health of the people inside.

Ashley agrees that federal attention has been "sporadic", but says an interagency group began meeting last year to tackle the issue more broadly. He says HUD is funding more research on the health and environmental benefits of eco-friendly homes.

Some green-rating programs, such as the one run by the private U.S. Green Building Council, give points for indoor air quality.

"We are taking the next step in green-building, " says Anthony Brenner, a home designer with PUSH design, who created Asheville's first hemp home. "We're trying to develop a system that's more health based."

Brenner says he's been searching for non-toxic materials because he wants to build a home for his 9-year-old daughter, Bailey, who has a rare genetic disorder that makes her extremely sensitive to chemicals. "We have to keep her away from anything synthetic," he says, or she'll have seizures...

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@'US Today'