A very interesting article regarding massively increasing the use of renewable energy.
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The alternate view point per the article heading, “Exciting Plan” might be equally applicable.
The article itself is very superficial. It gets caught between emotive tag lines (perishing Koalas) and some big numbers (US$73Trillion). It’s possible the same headline uses disappearing Raccoons or something similar if you have a USA IP address.
As useful as the analysis might be, it is missing some key facts:
- Firstly a direct comparison between the plans estimated cost and the financial capacity of each nation to fund the plan.
- Secondly an assessment of the resources and manufacturing capacity required to achieve the target GHG emissions.
- A third not readily apparent is a comprehensive schedule of the capital expenditure commitments sufficient to identify who is paying.
(Please seek these out if you can find them in the links?)
I’d call the wet tissue paper report sourced from MSN more a two line assessment.
P.S.
On the positive side, look beyond MSN’s misleading attention grabbing hype and there are some interesting concepts. Dig deeper into the referenced Stanford report. There are hundreds of links to information that may or may not stand more rigorous examination.
What is in it for Australia?
I found this suggestion the simplest summary.
https://thesolutionsproject.org/why-clean-energy/#/map/countries/
Note this is just one vision. It assumes we are limited to current technology, but not resources or financially.
Australia’s future “Primary Energy” needs might be Solar PV 47.7%, Wind 42.1%.
P.P.S. (Added note edit on costings).
The report relies on 2013 estimates in US$.
This does open up the question of just how current the thinking or even source data really is.
The proposed budget for Australia is just US$800B.
Compared with a current national GDP of US$1,500B
The payback period is as little as 1.6 years.
Is this really a plan or just a pipe dream?
Looks like the pressure is working.
But pity no one was smart enought to get some extra help.
US$800 Billion over 30 years is about $27 Billion a year so a much lesser figure in comparison to our yearly GDP. Spending that money in Australia a year would increase employment, sales, etc so GDP would also likely increase. Technology in regards to Batteries etc has improved in the last 6 years eg the SA Tesla Battery would have been more a pipe dream back then. Larger commercial Solar Farms have come online so the growth is happening.
What we really face is a State and Federal Govt reluctance, a population disconnect with what is happening (we keep voting for parties who don’t address the issues). It remains a pipe dream when faced with those obstacles.
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Cognitive dissonance is the term that covers this quite well. I have a cousin who must suffer a severe case of this, given how he votes, and also how he recognises the significant environmental issues we currently face.
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An article regarding Sir Dvid Attenborough joining forces with Greta Thunberg.
Where’s @Drop_Bear? He should be happy about this.
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I think many including me are happy for the united front not just @Drop_Bear . Many including me are also dissatisfied by the World Political & industry responses we get. Will the joint effort bear fruit, perhaps but my thinking is that it will create more noise but still there will be many deaf ears.
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The ACT reaches 100% renewable electricity use.
Or
An alternate headline might say.
“ACT Offsets 100% of it’s Average Electricity Demand with Renewable Investments”
A good outcome, but as the ABC correctly points out, the ACT is still relying on more local sources of electrical generation. This includes coal fired generation feeding into the grid. It is also an assessment of average energy usage, and not necessarily peak demand.
Note:
The ACT-contracted solar and wind farms cover 77 per cent of the capital’s electricity consumption.
The shortfall is made up by the ACT Government’s mandatory contribution to the national renewable energy target, where it buys the equivalent amount of renewable power for 21 per cent of its total consumption.
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Even Canberra is covered in smoke.
What a shame that the pollies are on holiday and will miss out on sharing the effects of the bushfires.
http://satview.bom.gov.au/ … select the layers you are interested in, zoom in and hit play …
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Kind of preoccupied. Major fire, far too close for comfort. Relatives on the south coast, trapped between fire and sea when communications went out for a while. All safe now, thank heavens.
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LandLine is always worth the time. From it I have learned many things including how many of our farmers are using cutting edge technology for animal welfare and production. The farming practises and the water issues I have been following for years thanks to this show.
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Another disturbing article regarding 2019 being the hottest and driest year on record.
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How can the PM be so fond of such simplistic straw-man arguments?
The Prime Minister said of the current bushfire crisis:
“The suggestion that there is a single policy, whether it be climate or otherwise, [that] can provide a complete insurance policy on fires in Australia, well I don’t think any Australian has ever understood that was the case in this country.”
None of the real authorities on the subject have ever suggested that only one factor was responsible for this problem or that it was climate change, nor that attention to GHG emissions was a panacea. However they all say that over time events like these will become more frequent and more severe due to climate change.
I am very distressed that time and again it is impossible to tell if leaders worldwide are actually as stupid as they seem to be or if they understand the issue and are just playing the people. What ever happened to kings, presidents and ministers who were intelligent, honest and wise, who planned ahead?
Before anybody pings me for making a partisan comment I don’t see the Opposition saying very much that is constructive either. The PM has a bigger microphone so his foolishness is more obvious. It’s a world problem: short term thinking, opportunism and spin.
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It’s not partisan if it is a critique of our political system. Or a question as to whether any politician acts as directed by the electors, or alternately the party.
How each party functions and the real deals behind candidate selection remain mysteries to most of us?
Does the PM really lead and decide key policy?
Perhaps in the olden days?
Today, ‘The Party Decides’. It’s a very simple system.
The parliamentary leader/PM is arguably the Sales Team Manager.
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An interesting question:
While there might not have been criminal intent, there was definitely criminal negligence. Criminal in character, if not in law.
For more than three decades, with a high degree of certainty, we’ve known the risks. Everyone who has failed to act or impeded action, directly or by misleading publicity, is to blame and should be made to pay.
Assets of individuals and corporations who profited should be forfeit. The culpable should be imprisoned.
[edit]
A handy infographic for the doubtful:
And how we got into this mess:
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A very unflattering article regarding Australia and the bushfire crisis.
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One simple summary of the fires to date.
To give some scale to what has happened here so far, international media outlets have been reporting the 2018 California fires burnt 2 million acres; the 2019 Amazon fires 2.2 million; and the 2019 Siberian fires 6.7 million.
So far Australia’s 2019/20 fires have burnt 12 million acres.
From one of the ABC’s hardest working. Excuse the added political commentary. It’s the work of the ABC which has a charter to remain unbiased in it’s reporting.
It is estimated that the fires to date represent between half to two-thirds of Australia’s annual emissions budget.
Buried in the fine print of the National Green House Gas Accounting, CO2 from bush fires is considered a natural event and is not counted in the national emissions. Lucky one for ScoMo, although there is much more at stake with these fires for those affected.
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