Don't you hate it when...

Don't you just hate it when you have information to share but you are not permitted by contracts and commercial in confidence so share it? Our society is more and more being constrained by bureaucratic regulations set up by people who are career managers but have very little understanding of the real world. Little understanding that science and engineering knowledge benefit all people and that some perceived public image issue is more important than the wider good. This means that innovation can be stifled... at least in my personal opinion. The perceived public perception of scientific discoveries hinders the development of knowledge from Climate Change to Panadol!


By way of one a specific local example, I was helping an environmental centre have a ground water bore installed. The Department of Education which runs the environmental centre put absurd restrictions on access to the groundwater. One such limitation was that school children had to wear gloves when touching the groundwater in case it was contaminated. After running some tests it is apparent that the groundwater is actually better quality than the filtered tank water that they are currently drinking... but still the safety controls need to be in place! I'm happy to drink the water but the children must still wear gloves... go figure!


Another example is a cutting edge research project in the Woodburn-Evans area. The information gained from this research is very important for most coastal sand groundwater systems in eastern Australia. Alas, the words from a senior manager in a NSW government department are that no scientific information gained from the research is to be released to the public in the short term. What a shame. I understand that people are risk adverse today especially with regards to perceived public opinion but I don't think scientific knowledge should not be hidden away.


On a slightly different note I have received a copy of an in-press paper on Coal Seam Gas monitoring in the Northern Rivers area. I provided some minor assistance in the paper and so an author kindly showed me before it was published. It is expected to be released in a few weeks and is likely to be in the newspapers too. Keep an eye out for those three letters C, S & G.