Tag Archives: australia
Boeing, SAA Launch Sustainable Aviation Biofuel Effort
By Boeing | October 14, 2013 Boeing and South African Airways have announced that they will work together to develop and implement a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa, a first for the continent. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain development at The Corporate Council on Africa’s 9th Biennial U.S.-Africa Business, attended by executives from leading U.S. and African firms and government representatives from several countries. This collaboration between Boeing and SAA is part of the companies’ broader efforts to support environmental sustainability for the airline’s operations and the commercial aviation industry overall, in addition to advancing South Africa’s social and economic development. “South African Airways is taking the lead in Africa on sustainable aviation fuels and, by setting a best practice example, can positively shape aviation biofuel efforts in the region,” said Ian Cruickshank, SAA head of group environmental affairs. “By working with Boeing’s sustainable aviation biofuel team, which has a history of successful partnerships to move lower-carbon biofuels closer to commercialization, we will apply the best global technology to meet the unique conditions of Southern Africa, diversify our energy sources and create new opportunities for the people of South Africa.” Boeing has collaborated extensively with airlines, research institutions, governments and other stakeholders to develop road maps for biofuel supply chains in several countries and regions, including the United States, China, Australia and Brazil. The aerospace company’s plan to work with SAA is the first such project in Africa. “Sustainable aviation biofuel will play a central role in reducing commercial aviation’s carbon emissions over the long term, and we see tremendous potential for these fuels in Africa,” said Julie Felgar, managing director of environmental strategy and integration, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Boeing and South African Airways are committed to investigating feedstocks and pathways that comply with strict sustainability guidelines and can have a positive impact on South Africa’s development.” Flight tests show that biofuel, which is derived from organic sources such as plants or algae, performs as well as or better than petroleum-based jet fuel. When produced in sustainable ways, biofuel contributes far less to global climate change than traditional fuels because carbon dioxide is pulled out of the atmosphere by a growing plant-based feedstock. Boeing and SAA believe that new developments in technology will enable the conversion of biomass into jet fuel in a more sustainable manner without competing with other sectors for food and water resources. The World Wildlife Fund-South Africa will monitor and ensure compliance to sustainability principles that would ensure that fuel is sustainable and would lead to genuine carbon reductions. Aviation biofuel refined to required standards has been approved for a blend of up to 50 percent with traditional jet fuel. Globally, more than 1,500 passenger flights using biofuel have been flown since the fuel was approved. Continue reading
Agriculture – Food Production
Experts believe that the globe will see the demand for food rise by at least 70% in the next half century. Food production must rise by 70% A report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation predicts that the production of food must increase by 70% by 2050. This has sparked interest in Brazilian agriculture as an asset class. Just ten years ago, the Matopiba region of Brazil was totally unproductive and unusable for large scale farming operations. More recently, with the addition of lime and phosphorus to the soil the region has become responsible for producing 12.2 million tonnes of Brazil’s grains and oilseed crops, which is 8.2% of the whole country’s production. The Matopiba region has the perfect climate for farming, and boasts a further 2 million hectares of fertile, productive land that will benefit from future investment into farmland infrastructure and machinery. This is leading to wide interest amongst foreign investors hoping to benefit from the growth in Brazilian agriculture and the ever increasing price for crops, as the demand for food outweighs the current and on-going supply of productive, fertile land with which to grow them in, agriculture and farmland investments remain strong alternative strategies to help diversify your portfolio and hedge inflation. DGC Asset Management have been involved in the acquisition and development of farmland in Australia, and has part-funded the developments of greenfield sites in Latin America for five years; returning yields of between 8 and 16 per cent, with additional upside in the capital value of underlying farmland assets. David Garner, Partner at DGC said, “Agricultural land represents one of the most attractive investments for the long-term investor seeking a stable yield and capital appreciation. I think we will continue to see institutional Investors increases their allocations to the agriculture sector in order to reduce equity exposure and correlated their portfolios with rising food and land prices against a backdrop of increasing demand and resource scarcity”. Whilst equity markets continue to deliver hitherto unseen volatility, Investors will continue to seek out real asset investments that are unlikely to depreciate to nothing overnight, and where the underlying assets deliver a cash flow to replace the income lost in an environment of low interest rates. With such Investor interest offering short term price support for good quality agricultural land, investing in farmland and agriculture is likely to feature in more investment portfolios throughout 2013. – See more at: http://www.dgcassetmanagement.com/news/agriculture-food-production#sthash.piYd60Z1.dpuf Continue reading
Serena Williams beats Azarenka in US Open final
Serena Williams beats Azarenka in US Open final (Reuters) / 9 September 2013 Serena Williams repeated as US Open women’s champion by holding off a battling Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-5 6-7(6) 6-1 in a windblown final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday. Serena Williams of the US holds her winner’s trophy as Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (L) holds the runner up trophy after Williams won their women’s singles final match at the US Open tennis championships in New York on September 8, 2013. – Reuters Williams bounded in a series of joyous jumping jack leaps after Azarenka’s backhand sailed long on the second match point of a thrilling, two-hour 45-minute final that earned her a fifth US Open singles title that took her total to 17 grand slams. The big-hitting American, who turns 32 later this month, became the oldest US Open women’s winner since tennis turned professional 45 years ago, eclipsing Australian Margaret Court, who was 31 years and 55 days when she won the title in 1973. The triumph moved Williams to within one grand slam singles crown of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for a tie for fourth place on the all-time list behind Court (24), Steffi Graf (22) and Helen Wills Moody (19). Serena Williams of the US raises her trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in their women’s singles final match at the US Open tennis championships in New York on September 8, 2013. – Reuters It had looked like it was going to be plain sailing for Williams after she won a difficult first set, boosted by a late break in the 11 th game for a 6-5 lead and then served out a love game before racing to a 4-1 second-set lead. Williams, who earlier looked confounded by the gusty wind that affected service tosses and the direction of bounces off groundstrokes and was muttering to herself between points, finally settled into a rhythm in the second set. “The wind was unbelievable,” said the champion. “And it just got worse and worse and it never let up. But at this point you have to play under any circumstance.” She claimed the 4-1 lead after Azarenka double-faulted three times in the fifth and her US Open repeat looked a certainty as she begun to find her range on her imposing service game that saw her serve broken only twice in six previous matches. But Azarenka was not ready to capitulate. “I think it was raising from the first point, the tension, the battle, the determination,” the second seed said about the quality of the match. “It was really kind of like boiling the water. It felt from every point, it was rising the level.” ‘Great match’ The Belarusian showed her fight and took advantage of a string of Williams errors to break right back for 4-2 and rode that momentum. Twice Williams served for the match, at 5-4 and again at 6-5, but Azarenka rose up to break the American’s serve and force a tiebreaker. Williams took a 3-1 lead but Azarenka won five of the next six points to seize a 6-4 advantage and sent the match to a third set when Williams belted a backhand long to lose it 8-6. Serena Williams of the US celebrates after defeating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in their women’s singles final match at the US Open tennis championships in New York on September 8, 2013. – Reuters “I think I got a little uptight,” Williams said about squandering her chances. “I wasn’t playing smart tennis. (But) you have to keep fighting for everything.” The third set stayed on serve until the fourth game when another double fault, her seventh of the match, sank Azarenka and handed Williams a 3-1 lead. With the stadium crowd roaring their support for the home favorite, the American broke Azarenka two games later for good measure to make it 5-1 before she claimed victory when the Belarusian sent a backhand long on the second match point. Williams blasted 36 winners in the match against 17 for Azarenka, and blasted nine aces against just two for the Belarusian, who won an impressive 10 of 15 points at the net when she stepped up the pressure on Williams. “Victoria, you played unbelievable,” said Williams at the trophy ceremony. “What a great match and what a great person. Vika is such a great opponent, she’s such a great fighter. It was never over until match point,” added Williams. The top seed collected the $2.6 million top prize and pocketed an addition $1 million bonus for having won the US Open run-up series of tournaments. Azarenka said she had been beaten by the better player. “It is a tough loss. But the best player deserves the win today. I gave it all again this year,” said Azarenka, who lost 7-5 in the third set to Williams in last year’s final. “We gave it everything we got.” In the men’s doubles final, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek were convincing winners over Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares. The India-Czech pairing of Paes and Stepanek dominated the title match to record a 6-1 6-3 victory over their Austria-Brazil rivals. Paes, 40, won his third US Open doubles title and eighth major doubles title of his career. It was Stepanek’s second major doubles win after claiming the 2012 Australian Open with Paes. Stepanek, 34, said the win enabled them to qualify for an important goal. “There is one thing we would like to achieve, and that’s winning the world championships at the end of the year, because that’s the trophy which is missing in Leander’s showcase,” the Czech said. Croatia made a clean sweep of the junior singles titles when Borna Coric and Ana Konjuh posted victories at Flushing Meadows. The fourth-seeded Coric beat Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis 3-6 6-3 6-1 in the boys’ final before second-seeded Konjuh beat US wildcard Tornado Black 3-6 6-4 7-6(6). Coric, 16, said the US Open would be his last junior tournament. “I’ve won the slam” he said about his Sunday victory. “That was the goal at the beginning of the year.” Coric has been named to Croatia’s Davis Cup team for the tie next week against Britain at Umag. Continue reading
