A world-first research program, led by CSIRO, is monitoring honeybee populations by tracking the insects with tiny sensors - a technique known as 'swarm sensing'. With 5000 bees taking part in the program, this is the first time such large numbers of insects have been used for environmental monitoring. [ + ]

Totally Environmental (Australia) has recently launched a food and green waste composting technology that could stop the millions of tonnes of food waste ending up in Australian landfill sites every year. [ + ]

For more than a century, the quantity of electricity consumed in Australia was more than the year before. That all changed in 2010, as explained by Hugh Saddler, Principal Consultant, Energy Strategies, pitt&sherry, in The Australia Institute report 'Power down: Why is electricity consumption decreasing?' [ + ]

Although biofuels can clearly contribute to energy security and resource efficiency, they can also be sometimes considered controversial. This is primarily because the raw materials used in their production are grown using land that could have been used for food crops. Another issue revolves around the environmental impact caused by certain by-products. Weber Ultrasonics in Germany has developed a process that could provide a solution to these problems. [ + ]

Latin American beer-brewing company Compañía Cervecera de Nicaragua (CCN) is employing technology which can convert food and beverage wastewater to green energy. [ + ]

Cogeneration is not a new concept, yet many cogeneration plants perform at a suboptimal level because of sizing issues which determine the utilisation, potential heat recovery and ultimately the return of investment of the cogeneration plant. Many consider sizing a cogeneration plant a 'black art' and relegate it to the equipment suppliers. However, it is the customer who has to make the final, informed decision. [ + ]

In water treatment plants, the quality of water output is determined by how well the filtration system is operating. A key ingredient in keeping the filtration system working at its best is the frequency and quality of backwashing processes. [ + ]

Water usage is a major consideration within manufacturing and many are searching for sustainable processes to minimise the use of this precious resource. The answer may lie in the industry's willingness to embrace the use of sustainable technologies. [ + ]

Sirromet Wines has installed a 200 kW solar power system at its headquarters near Brisbane. A total of 800 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, each rated 250 W, have been fitted in separate arrays to the roofs of the two largest buildings at the Mount Cotton winery. [ + ]

Manufacturing changes made to the latest version of Colorbond steel have produced substantial environmental improvements. [ + ]

Scientists at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have developed agricultural waste blends which can be used in a process that literally grows custom packaging products, providing a cost-effective and green alternative to extruded polystyrene foam packaging. [ + ]

Thermal imaging cameras are a welcome technology in the aluminium production industry. India's JNARDDC institute is using thermal imagers to help aluminium production companies across the country save energy and find faults at a very early stage. [ + ]

Engineering consultancy pitt&sherry, in conjunction with Swinburne University, is working with key stakeholders from Australia's building industry to deliver recommendations for the National Energy Efficient Building Project (NEEBP) following a national review. [ + ]

When solar energy panels threaten to fail, defects will usually generate heat. Carlill Energy has successfully adopted the use of thermal imaging cameras to detect and identify problems with photovoltaic (PV) cells, junction boxes and grid network connections at a very early stage. [ + ]

The CDP Australia and New Zealand Climate Change Report 2013, released on 4 December, has shown that most ASX 200 companies' carbon reduction targets are short term and do not sufficiently acknowledge the scale and long-term attributes of climate change. [ + ]