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Salient: At Victoria University College, Wellington, N. Z. Vol. 24, No. 10. 1961.
Science Column
Science Column
Harnessing Natural Resources
In the harnessing of water power, a project is under way utilising a 240-mile stretch of the Lower Vistula from Warsaw to the sea. The fall is only 870 feet, but nine power stations generating a total of 1,120,000 kw. are involved. It will pay to draw water upwards from the sea to the higher dam reservoirs for generation oi the extra power needed during peak load periods.
A fascinating way of putting the Sun to work is being developed in Egypt by utilising the Quattara Depression as a gigantic evaporating pan. Water is to be piped 43 miles from the Mediterranean to a depression (150 miles west of Cairo) 5200 square miles in area. Valuable chemical by-products as well as irrigation water will be able to be provided.
A Spanish scheme involves the Sebja Tah, in the Western Sahara. Here the evaporating surface and fall are much smaller but the intake from the sea is of only eight miles. It will be able to provide about 30,000 million units of electricity yearly as well as about 8,000,000 tons of salt.
How Well-Fed O'Reilly?
If there is such a thing as an average Irishman, he has a larger food intake of calories per year than any other nationality, according to F.A.O. statistics. An average of 3500 calories per head per day are available to the Irishman as against 3430 to the New Zealander (the second largest eater), 3350 to the Dane, and 3260 to the Englishman. The Australians average 3200, the Swiss 3180 and the U.S.A. and Canadians 3110. Statistics are not available from U.S.S.R., Red China and a number of underdeveloped countries.
The F.A.O. figures on net food supply per head have been calculated by adjusting national food productions for in and out trade, stock changes, animal food, seed and non-food purposes, the whole being divided by population estimates. It is far from clear what validity such figures have since there are such wide extremes in a country like Ireland.
Cereals are the largest single calorie supplier in all national diets. Next on the Irish list are milk, fats and oils. (In New Zealand meat is the second largest supplier of calories).
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