Why Australian Troops Are Flying Overseas
In some massive news, the Australian Defence Force is deploying troops to the United Kingdom. 70 individuals are being sent to Europe to train Ukrainian soldiers to protect their homeland against Russia’s illegal invasion. The name of this mission is Operation Kudu, and it is set to begin sometime this week.
In a statement, the Australian Government said; “The training conducted under this operation will generate additional capacity within the armed forces of Ukraine and will focus on basic infantry tactics for urban and wooded environments.”
Meanwhile, our Minister for Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh, said; “Our people are our greatest defence capability. That’s why it’s so important that our soldiers, alongside a number of partner nations, will provide essential skills to the armed forces of Ukraine, supporting Ukraine to end the conflict on its own terms.”
As of January 18, Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has been going on for 328 days.
Should Abandoned Aussie Mines Become Power Banks?
A group of international scientists have proposed turning the planet’s abandoned mines into “underground gravity energy storage” (UGES) centres. This sounds pretty neat but we should probably unpack what exactly a UGES centre is and then make an informed decision about whether or not to simp them.
UGES consists of sand, generators, and old mine shafts. Basically, a bunch of sand will be dropped down our old mine shafts, past a bunch of generators, to fill in the pits left behind after digging material out. The weight of this falling sand should be enough to rotate turbines attached to the generators, creating electricity as it passes through this advanced system.
“When a mine closes, it lays off thousands of workers,” said Julian Hunt, the lead author of a study into UGES centres.
“This devastates communities that rely only on the mine for their economic output. UGES would create a few vacancies as the mine would provide energy storage services after it stops operations.”
Related: Why the Australian Solar Boom Might Be Finally Here
Related: In a First, Our Environment Minister Might Reject a Coal Mine
Women Around the Planet Break Beekeeping Record
Thanks to the organisational efforts of Tassie’s Sister Hives Australia, 1,300 women have created a new world record. These 1,300 individuals are now the title holders of publishing the highest volume of women beekeeper pics online in a 24-hour period.
This record was broken in order to promote the diversity of women in the beekeeping profession.
“It has just been astonishing. It was so exciting to see photos going up,” said Jenni McLeod, who co-organised this event.
“Not just from Tasmania, not just from Australia, but at least 25 countries from all over the world. We had women from Mongolia, Moldova, Japan, all over the USA, all over the UK, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and one woman from Ukraine, who’s also going to be part of our documentary.”
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