tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74037355954510115902024-02-21T14:03:47.756+11:00Thisness of a thatMetaphors for the world ahead – science, climate, and the low carbon future.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-74987940121082479732015-08-19T12:00:00.000+10:002015-08-19T12:03:38.786+10:00Going to Work or Staying Alive - which would you chose?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjjkkyteW6WxpZ94FOYtx9d3F9Ks2bPr5ShLan_ua3iVQUBl4A-A4oG7pkQ7Bj4xclRAd6gCw0UJ82xzOxplkCevA4Lf0gisbBIaeXvcxt_z-DUBEsS-SH73Cw40ymvGwq-oLIeSGTeh4/s1600/2womanworker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjjkkyteW6WxpZ94FOYtx9d3F9Ks2bPr5ShLan_ua3iVQUBl4A-A4oG7pkQ7Bj4xclRAd6gCw0UJ82xzOxplkCevA4Lf0gisbBIaeXvcxt_z-DUBEsS-SH73Cw40ymvGwq-oLIeSGTeh4/s320/2womanworker.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
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<br />
The very excellent <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/economists-concerns-with-emissions-reduction-target-not-what-youd-expect-20150818-gj1h98.html" target="_blank">Ross Gittins </a>is keeping the spotlight on Australia's shabby climate policies by noting that most economists dismiss them as ineffective and inefficient.<br />
<br />
He criticises Tony Abbott for saying he'd never put the environment ahead of the economy and jobs. Gittins says,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This separate-box thinking is like saying you'd never put staying alive
ahead of going to work. Lose your life and whether you get to work or
not hardly matters.</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
Economists recognise that the economy is a "wholly owned subsidiary of the environment" as noted by Professor Herman Daly of the University of Maryland.</div>
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Gittins spells it out.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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The point is, all human activity - all our producing and consuming - depends directly on the natural environment. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the shelters we build and the energy we use all come from the ecosystem that surrounds us.</div>
</blockquote>
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Why is this hard to understand for political leaders like Tony Abbott? How can he not see that going to work can't happen if you're not alive. The economy can't happen if the environment is trashed. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-17999672468021923722014-09-25T10:38:00.001+10:002014-09-26T08:48:27.198+10:00Electic Cars Spreading Faster Than Ebola<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbFXpnPeH7eEA76Mf8dBwXHK7T6Ockh8g58dHMBhMbdrhewMacJ9P7NbSVakt7yGCAXr9egzo1HhK9n73GF_Y1SUxrKeBqdNHXqvZ6L_IqvfVvO6bD_9hRn5a0S8emW_6huHVrjZWHRzY/s1600/Toyota-plug-in-Prius-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbFXpnPeH7eEA76Mf8dBwXHK7T6Ockh8g58dHMBhMbdrhewMacJ9P7NbSVakt7yGCAXr9egzo1HhK9n73GF_Y1SUxrKeBqdNHXqvZ6L_IqvfVvO6bD_9hRn5a0S8emW_6huHVrjZWHRzY/s1600/Toyota-plug-in-Prius-007.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
There are now more than 100,000 electric cars on America's roads. Two and a half years ago that number was just 345. That's an increase of 28,986% - a faster growth rate than Ebola which is currently doubling every 2-3 weeks.<br />
<br />
This is a game-changer for transport and for electricity generation. Suddenly everyone realises that Elon Musk isn't in the transport business - he's in the battery business. His Tesla car was just a stepping stone to a much bigger idea - the idea that storage is the holy grail of clean energy. <br />
<br />
Canny financial analysts can see this coming. <a href="https://www.platinum.com.au/Journal/Views/The-Battery-Boom-Begins/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Fry writing for Platinum Asset Management</a>, says <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Elon Musk’s plans to develop the Gigafactory are one of the most exciting stories around. He's putting himself front and centre of this move to use solar as a reliable source of power for everything from cars to aircraft. Everyone is going to need batteries. Tesla's plans to disrupt a trillion dollar car industry as well as a trillion dollar electric utility industry, stops and starts with producing cheap battery packs that allow solar energy to be discharged at night. No question, Musk has his eyes on more than cars. The car market is just the first hurdle.
</blockquote>
Until now, discussion about the transition to clean energy has mostly been locked up in the domains of environment or science/technology, so it's great to see it spreading to the area of finance and investment. Now I want to see these discussions spread further and occupy space in domains like health, justice and economics. <br />
<br />
As they say, the Stone Age didn't end because they ran out of stones.
Right now the Age of Coal is ending - and it's not because we've run out
of coal. It's because something better has come along. <br />
<br />
How do we stop things that spread exponentially? Governments are committing a lot of resources to stop the spread of Ebola. Similarly, incumbent industries are trying to hold back the flood of clean energy technology. Smart governments need to prevent this.<br />
The US government worked with the car industry to announce policies that will limit CO2 emissions from cars. With the car industry onside and sensible policy settings, electric vehicles are thriving in America.<br />
<br />
In Australia it's a very different story. Australia's clean energy uptake is struggling against the headwinds created by incumbents supported by national and state governments that prefer to stay in the Stone Age. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-67072614296903038682014-03-31T16:47:00.000+11:002014-03-31T17:25:44.501+11:00Noah acted on flood warnings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUopzKeD6szJYQDhUXgmanJDYiJoLKHeyA_jvPj7__c1eV4bF6ZLt7ExFJqYuRk4QcKZCe6i18WmyxWX5vZ1Iyxliz6A18Kl-55DJJObCdinFXFdYtRAE1fDHSpIpY6VBp8Js0hMKCLXAB/s1600/noah_movie_poster_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUopzKeD6szJYQDhUXgmanJDYiJoLKHeyA_jvPj7__c1eV4bF6ZLt7ExFJqYuRk4QcKZCe6i18WmyxWX5vZ1Iyxliz6A18Kl-55DJJObCdinFXFdYtRAE1fDHSpIpY6VBp8Js0hMKCLXAB/s1600/noah_movie_poster_1.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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<br />
The IPCC's warning rings loud and clear in their report on the impact of climate change. They find that climate change is already being felt in all corners of the globe and
some parts of the natural world may already be undergoing irreversible
change.<br />
<br />
The prudent response is to reduce the risk of further damage, get out of harm's way, or prepare for the worst. <br />
<br />
Noah prepared for the worst, but most of our leaders can't quite get their heads around the problem. Progressives are moving forward timidly, conservatives prefer to look to the past rather than the future, and those in thrall to fossil fuel incumbents are busy denying there's any problem at all. <br />
<br />
Instead, the incumbents have managed (quite successfully) to cast doubt over specific and detailed forecasts to suggest that the risk either does not exist, or can be safely ignored - as though people should decide not to insure their house because the insurer couldn’t tell them when and how damage might occur.<br />
<br />
As the effects of climate change begin to bite more sharply, perhaps we'll all move along the spectrum – progressives will adopt urgency, conservatives will move forward carefully, and the fossil-fuel incumbents will do an about-turn and cast about for a way to be relevant in the new clean energy future.<br />
<br />
The sooner we all act like Noah and take the warnings seriously, the less damage we'll cause. And that will be good for the millions who live in low-lying river deltas. Millions of Bangladeshis who have nowhere else to go will be able to stay home. And wouldn't that be a good thing, especially for governments who are allergic to the thought of a million little arks sailing in their direction.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-48782065354221676412013-12-15T13:40:00.000+11:002013-12-15T13:40:50.276+11:00What's under the Christmas tree for good boys and girls?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.musicshop.com.au/a-history-of-classical-music-various-artists-cd-100-disc-set.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B5erEbYAvElu2hzSRV6f_RoYYTG7kDBJbDhUUSzxWlnkzBm6BmcDEiblHQrc78h9blDiBQCTBL3eHfb5Oug13odRYZhZHJUDFV79N2uwRSBvOAF977Vln81gKESTnm5MP2VMkjEDpLMe/s1600/History-Of-Classical-Music-100-CD-Box-Set-15531302-7.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
On Friday, our quarterly electricity bill arrived. I ripped it open and pored over the pages. Studied the numbers and the graphs. I discovered that we used 25% less electricity than in the comparable period last year. So our bill was only $210.<br />
<br />
Our bill tells us that our average daily consumption was about half that of comparable households. High five! Way to go, us! <br />
<br />
The bill also told us that our hard-working solar panels generated 85% of the electricity we consumed. Whoo-hoo!<br />
<br />
The icing on the cake of all this wonderfulness is that we get paid 60c kWH for the electricity we generate - for every last kWH. That added up to a very cheerful $300.<br />
<br />
Over the last billing cycle, we earned $90 more than we spent on electricity. With Christmas around the corner, that sounds like an extra $90 for Christmas goodies. Oooooh. I wonder what we'll get? <br />
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The moral of the story is that if you want extra treats under YOUR Christmas tree, invest in solar energy now!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-45606774762524848622013-11-20T18:42:00.000+11:002013-11-21T08:01:50.734+11:00Chasing Will-O'-The-Wisps<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">Has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/climate-change-dear-grandchildren-i-can-only-say-sorry-20131119-2xt90.html" target="_blank">Ross Gittins</a> been chasing will-o'-the-wisps? <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/climate-change-dear-grandchildren-i-can-only-say-sorry-20131119-2xt90.html" target="_blank">Today</a>, he is full of regret that he has indeed been wasting time while the climate change elephant in the room got bigger and stronger. He concludes today's article:</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">Did I ever doubt that climate change represented by far the greatest
threat to Australia's future economic prosperity? Never. Should I have
said this more often, rather than chasing a thousand economic
will-o'-the-wisps? Yes.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh, yes, Ross, we wanted you to speak up more than you did, even though we enjoyed and appreciated everything you wrote. For me, you're the full monty, nothing less than a National Living Treasure. But still, we wished you would be more forceful about the impacts of climate change. I even wrote you a Twitter message about it, and your gracious reply agreed with me.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">Suddenly, I'm seeing a shift in opinion across the whole spectrum of climate change opinion. Everybody is moving to the 'more concerned' end of the spectrum. Not only are deniers becoming harder to find, but mild-moderates, like Ross Gittins and <a href="http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/20/economy/australias-lng-nuclear-bomb" target="_blank">Alan Kohler</a>, are becoming more serious and more vocal.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps it's the zeitgeist. Or the effects of extreme weather events like Australia's recent floods, fires and heatwaves, or superstorms like Sandy (USA), and super-typhoon Haiyan that devastated the Philippines.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">There's no doubt that the efforts of Australia's new conservative government to undo current policies (policies that are <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/carbon-price-achieves-emissions-well-ahead-of-target-20131120-2xvup.html" target="_blank">already beginning to constrain carbon emissions</a>) are causing the mild-moderates to speak out. Winning three <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/aus-govt-mocked-by-ngos-at-climate-summit/story-fn3dxiwe-1226761116478" target="_blank">'Fossil of the Day'</a> awards in the first week of the UN climate talks in Warsaw has also drawn attention to the bizarre policies of this government.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/20/economy/australias-lng-nuclear-bomb" target="_blank">Alan Kohler </a>sums up current government policy succinctly:</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">In essence, Australia’s LNG export boom and high domestic gas prices
will make it very difficult for the Coalition to get re-elected if it
sticks to current policies.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, while deniers have been denying, moderates have mostly ignored the problem and got on with regular activities. Suddenly, things have changed. Abbott has won an election and whipped effective policy out from under us. Now moderates are worried. They realise that regular activities aren't so very important after all. They're distractions – will-o'-the-wisps that vanish in the clear light of day.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">I look forward to reading Ross Gittins in the weeks and months ahead. What will it look like when he's no longer chasing will-o'-the-wisps? </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-22958340168397289282013-11-15T12:11:00.000+11:002015-08-19T12:02:00.444+10:00Work Makes You Free<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9ACHFCpi1mXZNu6IMkncpr0VJq_XtJsNU3GioqAkFRY4y7BIBuSUiHeIlHG6K65e0fOIgfucjbvTC5FLrb5OJnmQd0fyiDtZRHFOQXJH9bLjk4xzDsBC7JTiTCEPRnEf2de3I3_HrVGw/s1600/worksetyoufree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9ACHFCpi1mXZNu6IMkncpr0VJq_XtJsNU3GioqAkFRY4y7BIBuSUiHeIlHG6K65e0fOIgfucjbvTC5FLrb5OJnmQd0fyiDtZRHFOQXJH9bLjk4xzDsBC7JTiTCEPRnEf2de3I3_HrVGw/s1600/worksetyoufree.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
Satirising the blatant upside-down statements of Nazi Germany, where the gates to death camps were signposted "Work makes you free", George Orwell's famous book, "1984" (published in 1949) includes the line, "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."<br />
<br />
The power of the spoken word to contradict actions is nowhere more obvious than in pronouncements of the current Australian government.<br />
<br />
In action, the Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, is busily dismantling policies like carbon pricing that has begun to reduce Australia's carbon emissions. He wants to defund renewable energy initiatives and dismantle climate policy advisory bodies. He has already dumped the Climate Commission – <span class="field-content">an independent body set up to provide
reliable and authoritative source of information on climate change, and
help inform the debate on this issue of national significance. <br />
<br />
His Direct Action alternative policy reverses the widely accepted “polluter pays” policy to “pay the
polluter”. It fails to focus on fossil fuels (responsible for
three-quarters of Australia’s emissions plus exports), is inequitable,
unworkable, limited by the available budget, may encourage inflation and
manipulation of abatement cost, and is difficult to quantify. This
increases uncertainty and ramps up the potential for political games. <br />
<br />
While he takes a wrecking ball to effective policies, he repeats the mantra, "Climate change is real and we should take strong action against it."<br />
<br />
What to believe? Words or action?<br />
<br />
Few people who entered Auschwitz believed the words over the gate. The activities inside the camp belied those words profoundly.<br />
<br />
Similarly, Australians can't believe Greg Hunt's words because they are so dischordant with his actions. He's practising the upside-down communication that leads to nonsensical pronouncements like "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." <br />
<br />
In this case, our ignorance is the Coalition government's strength. That's why they are clamping down on information flows in every way they can. It's much easier to govern an ignorant population.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-54780973891691211882013-11-13T10:44:00.003+11:002013-11-13T10:44:55.098+11:00Monsters - Bigger, Stronger, More Dangerous<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlrzgvQ35L1Yvxw0iq4DjM8YFo2k4UE4m8h0NqYdLYDpwj4jTvU2jwfi3Mfj8Dm5zZ_hmv2nJivetWQzlyUpo0J13xybjFgCh89jBj66_axnoC3hC9thWzT_1iX4070-qZmONjAAOWoy3/s1600/SMH-Tuesday,12Nov2013-Page15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlrzgvQ35L1Yvxw0iq4DjM8YFo2k4UE4m8h0NqYdLYDpwj4jTvU2jwfi3Mfj8Dm5zZ_hmv2nJivetWQzlyUpo0J13xybjFgCh89jBj66_axnoC3hC9thWzT_1iX4070-qZmONjAAOWoy3/s400/SMH-Tuesday,12Nov2013-Page15.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Climate Change is making our familiar monsters bigger, stronger and more dangerous.<br />
<br />
Supertyphoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines) blew past the definition of a Category 5 storm. It looks like it's time to create a new category, just as Australia has created a new category for fire alerts - we now have 'Catastrophic' sitting above the old 'Extreme' Fire Warning.<br />
<br />
The diagram above shows how warming oceans provide the energy that makes cyclones/typhoons/hurricanes bigger, stronger, and more damaging.<br />
<br />
Professor Will Steffen, a researcher at the Australian National University, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/typhoon-haiyan-influenced-by-climate-change-scientists-say-20131111-2xb35.html" target="_blank">says </a>scientists understand how a hotter, moister climate is already affecting storms such as Haiyan. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Once cyclones form, they get most of their energy from the surface waters of the ocean. We know sea-surface temperatures are warming pretty much around the planet, so that's a pretty direct influence of climate change on the nature of the storm. <b>Prof Will Steffan.</b></blockquote>
<br />
Data compiled from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows sea temperatures were about 0.5 to 1 degree above normal in the waters to the east of the Philippines as Haiyan began forming. The waters cooled in the storm's wake, an indication of how the storm sucked up energy.<br />
<br />
So, when someone says, "We can't say that climate change made that storm worse," you can reply, "We can say that climate change is making tropical storms worse. It's a brave person who would claim that doesn't apply to this particular storm. Especially when, like Haiyan, it is the biggest storm ever to make landfall." <br />
<br />
Without strong action to reduce emissions, we are ensuring there will be ever-bigger monsters battering our children.<br />
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________________________________<br />
<br />
News from the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab.<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><br />
Apple has <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/11/04/apple-will-open-a-manufacturing-plant-in-phoenix-suburb/">announced</a> plans to open a new factory in Mesa, Arizona — a facility that will run on 100 percent renewable energy from day one. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-56467613393980202212013-06-24T09:54:00.000+10:002013-06-24T14:42:40.920+10:00Four Hiroshimas Every Second<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
The heat contributed to the atmosphere over the past 15 years due to rising CO2 levels is equivalent to four Hiroshima atomic bombs per second. So <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national-news/earth8217s-temperature-building-at-rate-of-four-hiroshima-atomic-bombs/story-fncynjr2-1226668001612" target="_blank">said John Cook </a>at the Climate Action Summit in Sydney this weekend. <br />
<br />
That puts it in context, doesn't it?<br />
<br />
It doesn't leave me feeling relaxed and comfortable. Not at all. Most of this added heat has gone into the oceans rather than into the atmosphere, land, glaciers, ice sheets or sea ice.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNS3bp6K0321Eys1RWZxtJF8BCd5ciFYuRdcSpUHNUvqQmP2ehSHR0a-Gilc-Gg25J75Du3qtXRmlrzhnsJlz8UEVYV8uKVd4_wsqa3sY-FrtIwZnqwtDvx9xiZmWfwY72VlIBJSR7Ddfp/s1600/where-is-global-warming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNS3bp6K0321Eys1RWZxtJF8BCd5ciFYuRdcSpUHNUvqQmP2ehSHR0a-Gilc-Gg25J75Du3qtXRmlrzhnsJlz8UEVYV8uKVd4_wsqa3sY-FrtIwZnqwtDvx9xiZmWfwY72VlIBJSR7Ddfp/s320/where-is-global-warming.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Ocean temperatures affect world weather patterns because they drive ocean currents. It's one big planetary system, and we're pumping an extra four Hiroshimas of heat into it, every second.<br />
<br />
There's no time for complacency, no time to be relaxed and comfortable. You're not sitting on the sidelines. You're right in the middle of this big planetary system. It's time to tell policy-makers that we want strong action to cut back from four Hiroshimas every second to zero.<br />
<br />
Send your elected representative a letter today telling her/him that you care. If <b>YOU</b> don't speak up, they'll never know you care. Instead, they'll only hear the loud and persistent voices of oil, coal and gas businesses telling them that this isn't happening and people don't care anyway.<br />
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Coal India, the largest coal mining company in the world, will invest in
solar power in order to reduce energy bills and to diversify. Unlike <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/no-succession-plan-for-exxonmobil.html" target="_blank">ExxonMobil</a>, Coal India is preparing a succession plan for the post-carbon world.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-12401903810574223372013-04-24T15:19:00.001+10:002013-06-24T09:54:28.167+10:00Cheap as Chips Renewables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SwOHLM0WNyeAaYkNiKtZgQWIe8SlQAfZK208uL8qK6_d7PSe_2lKpvBmGyZb6QIvt_l15HzIqb39Lf_cKc4jOnScl7X5x5jiGnu4e1dpYJMF-4Hxi6HwbFVXx3OJzsyfxiwbbgnNtBqu/s1600/hot-chips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SwOHLM0WNyeAaYkNiKtZgQWIe8SlQAfZK208uL8qK6_d7PSe_2lKpvBmGyZb6QIvt_l15HzIqb39Lf_cKc4jOnScl7X5x5jiGnu4e1dpYJMF-4Hxi6HwbFVXx3OJzsyfxiwbbgnNtBqu/s320/hot-chips.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
“Three years ago, we thought wind and solar would be cheap as chips, and they’ve even gone below that,” <a href="http://grist.org/news/falling-renewables-prices-could-treble-investment/" target="_blank">said Michael Liebreich</a>, chief executive officer of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.<br />
<br />
The plummeting price of renewable energy has bankrupted more than two
dozen wind and solar manufacturers, but BNEF analysts say these lower prices could
lead to a tripling of investment in the sector over the next 17 years. The collapse of companies appears to be little more than
natural attrition in a fast-evolving industry with an extremely bright
future. <br />
<br />
This is comparable with the car industry where just a handful of major players emerged from the hundreds of small companies that started up from the 1880s onwards.<br />
<br />
While suppliers are suffering from falling prices, those lower prices are making more
projects profitable to develop and advancing the day when renewables can
rival coal and oil on cost. <br />
<br />
Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that renewables will account for half of all generation capacity by 2030. They predict that much of the future market growth will be driven by low-cost attractiveness rather than by the government subsidies that have supported renewables markets so far. As costs fall, countries are paring back subsidies.<br />
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Carbon trading in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI),
involving nine states in the U.S. Northeast, has produced $1.6 billion
in economic value added to the region. They have been so successful at
reducing emissions that they plan to tighten the cap. <br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-75763307608843790232013-04-04T19:19:00.000+11:002013-04-05T11:22:46.392+11:00Now you see it, now you don't<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYOjIJKX6ifVIpYygVcg2k4RiqxXcha7TCeKJ-0S4GA7QFHQOkIUVJKi0JWgQjUObu-S1PbWgoSMijP4dOpaCJWteHfvVfH5gHjx2y0TzFYKgm95X-lZQ9w7D8kXubDzSTUFAwNnzadTv/s1600/magican.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYOjIJKX6ifVIpYygVcg2k4RiqxXcha7TCeKJ-0S4GA7QFHQOkIUVJKi0JWgQjUObu-S1PbWgoSMijP4dOpaCJWteHfvVfH5gHjx2y0TzFYKgm95X-lZQ9w7D8kXubDzSTUFAwNnzadTv/s320/magican.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<br />
When the stage magician makes the bird appear the audience gasps because he has conjured a bird where there was no bird before.<br />
<br />
In the same way, a new carbon tax evokes gasps of shock as opponents complain that it is a new expense that didn't exist before.<br />
<br />
Nonsense, of course. The magician's bird existed all along but was hidden from sight. In the same way, the cost of carbon pollution existed all along but was hidden from sight. The costs include threats to food production and water supplies; damage caused by heatwaves that are more extreme and more frequent; droughts that come more often and last longer; more severe storms and flooding; loss of habitats, plants and animals; and worsening ocean acidification.<br />
<br />
Carbon taxes don't magically add new costs, they reveal the costs that already exist. With these costs out in the light, there's a better chance that they'll be contained so we can avoid the worst damage from dangerous climate change.<br />
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Consumer goods manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble is now sending
zero waste to landfill at 45 of its sites across the globe. Procter
& Gamble says less than 1% of its waste currently goes to landfill
worldwide. The company has reduced the amount of waste it produces by
68% since 2008. It aims to achieve zero waste at all sites.<b> </b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-85404799070342577252013-02-20T16:57:00.000+11:002013-02-20T16:57:12.180+11:00Do what you can<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IGMW6YWjMxw" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Listen to this wonderful storyteller showing that every action counts.
No action is too small.<br />
<br />
Now get out there and do it! <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/17/forward-on-climate-rally_n_2702575.html">Feet on the ground</a> are tipping the balance right now! <br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Germany installed 7.6 GW of photovoltaic power plants in 2012, a new record. </span> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-74914005540363850042013-01-27T09:31:00.004+11:002013-01-28T14:54:31.633+11:00Much Ado about Nothing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When people set their minds against something, they'll use any excuse to pull it down. Even the smallest molehill is blown out of proportion to become a mountain. In "Much Ado about Nothing" Shakespeare poked fun at protagonists who duelled over a verbal insult. They were ready to risk their lives for something Shakespeare saw as little more than nothing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkAhHB6XFaSW2hr-7ZEisOQb1D4Pi0cV0GjfQMQ8hBJoOnTw_BxDnNHQiRiZ8BmAC5JIqz0auRcXmwbF55gNsFdEN1UHdqu6cwjlB1kFNPCMXmLb_LDyrOTm0RgIDijI85mjZUgpDQzzs/s1600/Much_Ado_Quarto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkAhHB6XFaSW2hr-7ZEisOQb1D4Pi0cV0GjfQMQ8hBJoOnTw_BxDnNHQiRiZ8BmAC5JIqz0auRcXmwbF55gNsFdEN1UHdqu6cwjlB1kFNPCMXmLb_LDyrOTm0RgIDijI85mjZUgpDQzzs/s320/Much_Ado_Quarto.JPG" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Similarly today, climate change deniers make a big fuss about little more than nothing. They exaggerate the importance of small differences to deny the broad consensus that exists among climate scientists.<br />
<br />
This NASA graph shows global temperature anomalies 1880-2012 according to four main agencies (click to enlarge).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfefm_2B7Ok9KLPxm66nD3C3JZpU9M6buF0URY_tNhv7-fq5w1iRgaImcmrW2X8RwkCO5syRaR6_X3-FJ6PSj8NI0IQ-QiKMLjtlUo1OLZfFqFNlbWgswG53kBpeuv2qKEy6TobWvuMHRy/s1600/NASAtempgraphs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfefm_2B7Ok9KLPxm66nD3C3JZpU9M6buF0URY_tNhv7-fq5w1iRgaImcmrW2X8RwkCO5syRaR6_X3-FJ6PSj8NI0IQ-QiKMLjtlUo1OLZfFqFNlbWgswG53kBpeuv2qKEy6TobWvuMHRy/s320/NASAtempgraphs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The agencies are NASA GISS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center, the Japanese Meteorological Agency, and the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom. All four institutions tally temperature data from stations around the world and make independent judgments about whether the year was warm or cool compared to other years.<br />
<br />
Though there are minor variations from year to year, all four records show peaks and valleys in sync with each other. All show rapid warming in the past few decades, and all show the last decade as the warmest.
<br />
<br />
Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) say 2012 was the ninth warmest year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. The ten warmest years in the 132-year record have all occurred since 1998. The last year that was cooler than average was 1976.<br />
<br />
Contrarians and deniers who have their minds set against climate change pretend that the overall pattern isn't real, instead they make much ado about minor differences. <br />
<br />
No wonder they are regarded as figures of fun who can't be taken seriously.<br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Australian carbon emissions fell 8.6% in the first six months after the introduction of a carbon price in July 2012. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-8146266018924596132012-11-27T15:40:00.000+11:002012-11-29T10:55:28.994+11:00Discount for up-front payment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEayTS8KVSgXJraQnholiby3Vd26Ov3NSrcgJkm9UxfLLUR7Gloy08_S5HzHBs5es1ZLJF6cVdNvB68_13PLF2ZWsxy4vcNFy-iSQl_8sGGB2E1HXS5UmbtA7gMs_FDPiF3dMA1Xmdd3lM/s1600/money_2042199b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEayTS8KVSgXJraQnholiby3Vd26Ov3NSrcgJkm9UxfLLUR7Gloy08_S5HzHBs5es1ZLJF6cVdNvB68_13PLF2ZWsxy4vcNFy-iSQl_8sGGB2E1HXS5UmbtA7gMs_FDPiF3dMA1Xmdd3lM/s320/money_2042199b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
You need a new washing machine and you need it now! Who is offering the better deal - the guy who says you can pay the full price on delivery, or the girl who offers a 20% discount for cash payment upfront?<br />
<br />
If you don't have the cash, you might think that you have no option but to pay the full price on delivery. Or you might figure that you could borrow the money, pay cash, collect the 20% discount, then repay what you borrowed, and still be ahead. If you actually have the cash on you - it's a no brainer!<br />
<br />
When ExxonMobil boss, Rex Tillerson, acknowledged man-made global warming but said society will adapt, he was selling the line that paying for goods after they are delivered is a good idea. This is a line that benefits ExxonMobile because it lets them keep making money selling fossil fuel while the cost of dealing with the consequences is borne by society.<br />
<br />
The costs of paying for the consequences of climate change became more apparent this year as we counted the cost of recovering from drought, storms and flooding. For example, Superstorm Sandy caused an estimated $50 billion worth of damage to the New York region.<br />
<br />
Economists say that whatever happens we can't escape the costs of damage caused by rising CO2 emissions. The stark benefit of paying upfront is that this is the only way to avoid the worst extremes of climate change. If we don't pay upfront, we risk average temperature increases of 4-7C by the end of the century. The World Bank warns - <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A global temperature increase of about 7 degrees will lead to
“unprecedented heat waves, severe drought and major floods in many
regions, with serious impacts on human systems, ecosystems and
associated services.” </blockquote>
So, how much is the upfront payment option? About 0.1% of GDP over 40 years, according to Treasury modelling for Australia's carbon price legislation.<br />
<br />
Worldwide, the IPCC (2007) report said keeping greenhouse gas concentrations low
would cost less than 3 percent of world gross domestic product by 2030. <br />
<br />
That sounds like a deal you'd want to snap up.<br />
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<b>Abu Dhabi</b>: The largest single-unit solar power plant in the world
is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and officially open in
the first quarter of 2013.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-8120159241072037452012-10-08T14:51:00.000+11:002012-10-09T15:28:44.111+11:00Ducks in a row for retrofits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb0HnVTUs4wX4fO99A8ujxAMTUt5CnrsBLx2X00oqFcgckdUQzVLDBhWwpnuVU1kjbZLmF0QJtsGuPNZjr4_SbmKf2rdajVRKBbsTDYRkmturiT5A0LIXPhDozALa-pvziejiAsLU0LKx/s1600/ducks-in-a-row.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihb0HnVTUs4wX4fO99A8ujxAMTUt5CnrsBLx2X00oqFcgckdUQzVLDBhWwpnuVU1kjbZLmF0QJtsGuPNZjr4_SbmKf2rdajVRKBbsTDYRkmturiT5A0LIXPhDozALa-pvziejiAsLU0LKx/s400/ducks-in-a-row.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
When you get all your ducks in a row things go swimmingly. You can hit the sweet spot. That is exactly what is happening in Victoria where the State government is retrofitting government buildings to improve their energy efficiency.<br />
<br />
Under the program, taxpayers will save around $1 billion in energy and water bills for their public buildings over the next 25 years. The government has invested $100 million so far and expects to invest $400 million in total.<br />
<br />
Why has this project gone swimmingly when so many other programs have gone belly up? The reason is that it got all its ducks in a row. The ducks were the client (the government), the project parameters, and the contractors who carry out the work.<br />
<br />
Both the client and the contractors (through their industry body the Energy Efficiency Council) researched programs in other countries and identified four best-practice principles for retrofits.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Financial model</b>. The program requires service providers to design and install
energy and water saving solutions, and to guarantee annual cost savings. Winning contracts are those that guarantee the highest level of savings in a seven-year pay back period.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Whole of government</b>. The administrator gives individual government departments the tools and templates for managing projects. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Project administration</b>. A central project facilitation group sets mandates for agencies to achieve retrofit targets, and guides tenders to a panel of pre-qualified service providers.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Targets </b>were set as a percentage of energy consumption. Victoria’s target required each department to retrofit sites accounting for 20% of energy consumption by 2012, which was achieved, and 90% by 2018. Energy savings were anticipated to be 25 per cent but some buildings have doubled that outcome and the average is 42 per cent.
</li>
</ul>
<br />
The central administration of projects across all government departments means that projects have been tendered in stages to avoid boom and bust cycles, ensuring a steady stream of work. Contractors know there is a stream of work stretching out to 2018, and they have been able to build a skilled workforce to meet the demand. This enhanced capacity will, in turn, multipy benefits across the whole property sector.<br />
<br />
The program might be called the <a href="http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/CA25713E0002EF43/pages/dtf-projects-greener-government-buildings" target="_blank">Greener Government Building</a> program, but it is not run by the Environment agency, it is run by the bean counters in Treasury. In a curious reversal, this is the opposite of greenwashing, where products and programs try to look greener than they are. In this case, the environmental benefits are underplayed and the program is run mainly as a cost-saving exercise. What do you call that? Dollarwashing?<br />
<br />
The Victorian program is a shining success and other State governments are following suit. They are working to get their ducks lined up so they can reap the benefits of energy efficiency retrofits.<br />
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<b>China </b>plans to build 3GW of solar thermal power stations by 2020.
By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), China’s
installed capacity of solar thermal power will exceed that of
photovoltaic generation. The 2000-MW in Shaanxi by Shandong Penglai
Dianli and eSolar is the biggest project on the drawing board. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/30/china-to-have-3-gw-of-concentrated-solar-thermal-power-csp-by-2020/" target="_blank">CleanTechnica</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-70822068876188695472012-09-29T17:47:00.000+10:002012-09-30T11:15:34.577+10:00The meek shall inherit the earth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoVwuMb4xdcvfGsonU4idGMQrKMKGeHLqS0AE1ff-RSfAX96IDeuvLsMybmhfBZBcCgOP5RruEMGBTKKMst93OGv5BLhWglgOf0R6yxFdqveeXWQiGEHpEWovHAqyo96Xh2GC1p2yOMMB/s1600/bangladesh-cyclonepixl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoVwuMb4xdcvfGsonU4idGMQrKMKGeHLqS0AE1ff-RSfAX96IDeuvLsMybmhfBZBcCgOP5RruEMGBTKKMst93OGv5BLhWglgOf0R6yxFdqveeXWQiGEHpEWovHAqyo96Xh2GC1p2yOMMB/s400/bangladesh-cyclonepixl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Maryanne is the wife of a friend of mine. A few years ago, she and her sister were deeply affected by the death of their mother. Although they had children of their own, they seemed to mourn their mother for years. I wondered what kind of woman she was and began to picture a person with special qualities, a paragon of virtue - love, charity, generosity? Or maybe she was eloquent, or gifted, or a passionate activist?<br />
<br />
Some time later I had the chance to ask my friend about his mother-in-law. He said she was a rather meek woman who was bullied by her husband.<br />
<br />
Suddenly I saw that this was a case where enduring love and commitment were aroused by frailty not by strength.<br />
<br />
This got me thinking. We look for leaders who are strong and confident, and we forget that the most powerful moral force is exerted by the frail and the weak. They arouse our protective love.<br />
<br />
Right now, the world looks to rich and powerful countries to lead the way on climate change. We have applauded European countries for their clean energy initiatives and we desperately want the U.S. to step forward and lead us to the new clean energy future. <br />
<br />
Our disappointment in their recalcitrance feels like ashes in the mouth. <br />
<br />
But how uplifting to see that the poorest countries are speaking out. Listen to this bold promise from Bangladesh. It promises unilateral action with no caveats, no ifs or buts. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Let me affirm that Bangladesh, as a responsible member of the international community, will never exceed the average per capita emission of the developing countries. This is our commitment to a low carbon development path.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We expect such commitments and responsible behavior from those who have contributed most to climate change crisis over decades. It is time for them to act positively in the interest of present and future generations. </blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://asiasociety.org/new-york/bangladeshi-prime-minister-sheikh-hasinas-remarks-climate-change" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina</span></a> </div>
<br />
More than most countries, Bangladesh knows the impact of climate change. They have 100 million people who will be homeless when sea levels rise by one metre in the next 1-2 generations. They're not standing back helpless, they are demonstrating the kind of action that is needed from all of us.<br />
<br />
They are offering their widow's mite. If we count the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back we see the generosity of Bangladesh in promising to limit their per capita carbon emissions to the average of developing countries. <br />
<br />
We open our hearts to the fragility of life in Bangladesh. Their honest promise calls us to action so that 100 million peaceful Bangladeshis can have some land to inherit. <br />
<br />
_________________________________<br />
<br />
News from the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab. <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><b>Australia </b>will join the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, a
U.N.-led initiative to cut short-lived climate pollutants such as soot
and methane. <span id="articleText">Other countries that have joined the
initiative include major emitters such as Germany, Japan, the UK and
the U.S, and developing nations such as Bangladesh, Ghana and Nigeria. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/28/us-australia-climate-idUSBRE88R0ZQ20120928" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-26566497640356833532012-09-18T11:14:00.000+10:002012-09-22T10:38:01.452+10:00Shell pisses in the swimming pool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjDRVwdrnWyGyTgKleABUGVUdAezFf2EPZABdrjGr58yg81aXjx_SadHgayyqlTHaETGhI4qtIdJ65KW8umN5w1FOFJJCSNoA-iKLky4pYY6U3e7yI8mMAmFnQqLj_CZg1-rL7Wzbmso3/s1600/ShellPissesinPool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIjDRVwdrnWyGyTgKleABUGVUdAezFf2EPZABdrjGr58yg81aXjx_SadHgayyqlTHaETGhI4qtIdJ65KW8umN5w1FOFJJCSNoA-iKLky4pYY6U3e7yI8mMAmFnQqLj_CZg1-rL7Wzbmso3/s400/ShellPissesinPool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Public swimming pools are used by everybody. Bad behaviour by even one person spoils the pool for everyone.<br />
<br />
It's the same with the atmosphere. It is used by everyone and bad behaviour by a few are spoiling it for all.<br />
<br />
We are <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/stockholm-are-we-there-yet.html" target="_blank">travelling</a> to our apres-carbon future and many of our good citizens are working to clean up the atmosphere at considerable personal expense and inconvenience. We are learning new habits, installing insulation, solar PV, putting on an extra jumper in winter, using the car less, trying <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/search/label/meatless-monday" target="_blank">Meatless Monday</a>, and doing a thousand other things. <br />
<br />
So it's not surprising that good citizens shake their fists at dirty corporates who piss in the pool. We won't be sedated with their platitudes because we are looking at actions not listening to lies.<br />
<br />
And what do we see? We see oil companies rushing to drill for oil in the Arctic Sea now that global warming has cleared the summer sea ice. We see ExxonMobil spending $100million a day looking for <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/stranded-whales.html" target="_blank">new oil and gas reserves</a> in hard-to-reach places.<br />
<br />
They are looking for even more oil and gas that will pump heat trapping gases into the atmosphere. They're pissing in the pool.<br />
<br />
One day, this will be illegal. Right now, perpetrators can piss in the pool with no cost other than occasional outbursts of scathing fury or a small levy in those jurisdictions with carbon pricing.<br />
<br />
The pool is getting skanky and becoming a health hazard.When it gets to be a festering swamp of disease, perhaps legislators will declare it illegal to piss in the pool, and we'll be willing to pay any price to purify the water so it is safe again.<br />
<br />
_________________________________<br />
<br />
News from the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab. <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><br />
<br />
<b>Netherlands</b>. Researchers at Utrecht University have
developed a catalyst that enables the production of plastics from
wood-based biomass using waste such as branches, plant stalks and
prunings. They have produced bioplastics with the same characteristics
as
petroleum-derived plastics. No special facilities or technology are
needed to
produce biomass plastic as it uses current technology. The new catalyst
sets the stage for plastics manufacturers to produce no-carbon plastics.
<b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.iom3.org/news/petroleum-plastics-thing-past-1?c=575" target="_blank">PackagingProfessional</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-53963785773976663662012-09-13T18:39:00.000+10:002012-09-14T12:20:54.122+10:00Stockholm - are we there yet?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Y264QudFQuCNWsr3Awfpm9AT2M8F2O52uF0OIa_4u388mUPSt2JT6P-D_a-5Kd6PNK9LMGQ8JdTz8PAd_OtUEVnln6Erg05sHZ5um5_HBlyu-PW8zeQl4scuvQyIKHuC8v994UK6ybt2/s1600/kidsincar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Y264QudFQuCNWsr3Awfpm9AT2M8F2O52uF0OIa_4u388mUPSt2JT6P-D_a-5Kd6PNK9LMGQ8JdTz8PAd_OtUEVnln6Erg05sHZ5um5_HBlyu-PW8zeQl4scuvQyIKHuC8v994UK6ybt2/s400/kidsincar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Remember when car trips seemed endless? Remember when you couldn't tell the difference between two hours and ten hours? Remember when you were the whiney kid in the back asking, "Are we there yet?". Maybe you have also been the adult in the front seat desperately fending off "Are we there yet?" with sing-a-longs, I Spy, and Animal, Vegetable and Mineral.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I remember being that whiney kid as we drove over dirt roads on our annual pilgrimage from Kingaroy to the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast. The four or five hour drive was eternity to me. Now, the dusty country roads have been paved with bitumen, and kids are easily entertained with portable DVD players. Even the 12 hour trip from Sydney to Brisbane doesn't generate quite the same bored queries about arrival. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">These days, my impatience is about the journey to the new Clean Energy Economy. Our whole nation is on a decades-long journey from the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/waste-not-want-not.html" target="_blank">Dinosaur Economy,</a> based on fossil fuels, to the new Clean Energy Economy. Oh! I'm so impatient to get there. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">We creep, creep, creep along, hampered by billionaires protecting their dinosaur assets. I have to keep reminding myself that we will get there eventually. We have no choice but to make this journey. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">The journey seems so fragile when leaders say we don't really need to go, or they make blood promises to dismantle the moderately effective vehicle we're travelling in, to replace it with a cobble-de-fudge of tokenism. </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span>
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Then a government minister, <a href="http://www.alp.org.au/blogs/alp-blog/september-2012/climate-change--a-critical/" target="_blank">Greg Combet</a>, comes out with both guns blazing and stands up for this journey and the vehicle his government has crafted, and my hopes lift again. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Not that they lift to the point of asking, "Are we there yet?" I'm just pitifully grateful that the rickety vehicle is still lumbering forward. </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span>
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">So, I go and check out the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformations </a>tab to take heart from the vigorous actions that are underway worldwide. Once again, I see that we're not the only vehicle lurching along the pot-holed road. Instead I see hundreds of other vehicles of all shapes and sizes making the same journey. Countries, provinces, cities, corporations, individuals - it's an exodus, a flood of refugees abandoning the old dinosaur economy. </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span>
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Some vehicles are bruised and battered, tied together with string, crammed with occupants arguing with each other. Others are robustly confident, cruising with aplomb towards their goal. Many are inward-looking, taking care of their own, but a few have tow-lines attached to little clusters of vehicles that have wheels but no engines. Not everyone has a tow line. Now and then, you see broken down vehicles on the verges. These poor vessels have no chance of making the journey. Will their passengers transfer, eventually, to other vehicles? Will someone take them in?</span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span>
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">One of the most confident vehicles cruising in the vanguard of this cavalcade is <a href="http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/feature/2204326/stockholm-a-green-beacon-for-other-cities-to-follow?WT_rss_a=stockholm%3A+a+green+beacon+for+other+cities+to+follow" target="_blank">Stockholm</a>. It is
awash with advanced green technologies deployed to meet the long term target of carbon neutrality by 2050. It is well on the way to the first milestone in 2015 when it will use 100% renewable electricity and have per capita carbon emissions of 3 tonnes (c.f. USA at 22 tonnes).</span><br />
<br />
Are we there yet? Already 80 per cent of all the buildings in Stockholm are connected to a district heating system largely fueled by burning the city's combustible waste.<br />
<br />
It's funny. Stockholm is already so sure of the journey and so far along the track that they hardly need to ask, "Are we there yet?". On the other hand, Australia is so uncertain about the journey and so tentative about the vehicle, that it is not yet ready to ask, "Are we there yet?".<br />
<br />
But I'm ready. I'm making the journey. I'm asking, "When will we get there? Are we there yet?". I'm decarbonising. Got the solar panels. Got the greenpower. Replacing gas heater with heat pump. I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely on the road.<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">What about you? </span><br />
<br />
___________________________________________<br />
<br />
News from the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab. <span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><b>Stockholm </b>is a low-carbon leader with strong initiatives across
many areas. By 2015 electricity will be 100% renewable and CO2 emissions
will be 3 tonnes per capita (c.f. USA at 22 tonnes). Most (80%)
buildings have district heat mostly fueled by the city's combustable
waste. Sewage plants provide biogas for 6,000 cars, all municipal waste
vehicles and some 300 buses. Stockholm is well on the way to being
carbon neutral by 2050. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/feature/2204326/stockholm-a-green-beacon-for-other-cities-to-follow?WT_rss_a=stockholm%3A+a+green+beacon+for+other+cities+to+follow" target="_blank">BusinessGreen</a>.
<br />
<br />
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-3177813886625060222012-09-08T11:49:00.000+10:002012-09-13T07:24:40.279+10:00Self proclaimed climate agnostic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUPnrVvZ4KUwCarMuNcQk4kFcfBBO192lbdjy-V4phOwunMKUma_zzQb5bv7ftlG6EKBUGD1qunPEuYnBW5eLLQRYXZR9sOriJs8HVmbt6vRgwqll-cWGSFWYcDyoUriXGSSdvdAvpmuf/s1600/agnostic5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUPnrVvZ4KUwCarMuNcQk4kFcfBBO192lbdjy-V4phOwunMKUma_zzQb5bv7ftlG6EKBUGD1qunPEuYnBW5eLLQRYXZR9sOriJs8HVmbt6vRgwqll-cWGSFWYcDyoUriXGSSdvdAvpmuf/s400/agnostic5.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
"I'm a climate agnostic", he said smoothly. It sounded so reasonable. Who is this guy, I wondered. Then I looked at his blogroll. It featured Bishop Hill, Watts Up With That, Jo Nova, Jennifer Marohasy, Climate Audit and a few other stalwarts from the AGW denier echo chamber.<br />
<br />
That didn't add up, so I pointed out that a genuine agnostic would have a few reputable science blogs on his blogroll. His response was to round it out with credible blogs like SkepticalScience, Real Climate and Tamino, and write a blog post showing that he has read them.<br />
<br />
Of course this window dressing doesn't actually MAKE him agnostic on the topic. <br />
<br />
The only people who can honestly claim to be agnostic on the topic of global warming are those who aren't familiar with the subject and don't give it much thought. You know the ones - they're the people who are busy juggling work and study and family, caring for loved ones, or deeply interested in other things. Maybe they can tell you the history of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the breeding line for Crufts champions, but they don't pay much attention to climate change.<br />
<br />
Anyone who looks honestly at the evidence will accept the basic facts: <br />
<ul>
<li>The temperature record (land, sea and satellite) shows that the planet is warming - it was up 0.7C in the twentieth century. (What credible scientist claims that this isn't true?)</li>
<li>Physics shows the mechanism by which greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. (Is anyone out there denying the fundamental physics?)</li>
<li>Evidence that a doubling of greenhouse gases will result in estimated 3C warming (estimated range is 1.5-4.0C). (The range is widely accepted.)</li>
<li>The data shows that atmospheric CO2 levels have risen dramatically since the industrial revolution - from 280 ppm to 392 ppm. (Who questions these straightforward measurements?)</li>
<li>The predicted consequences of global warming are unfolding as expected: sea levels are rising, oceans are more acidic, glaciers and ice sheets are melting, Arctic sea ice is thawing, summers are longer, biological and physical systems are changing, and weather extremes are more frequent.</li>
</ul>
<br />
An honest agnostic will quickly conclude that human activity is lifting CO2 levels and causing global warming. When they have decided this, they aren't agnostic any more. <br />
<br />
When people who are familiar with the wide range of evidence for AGW call themselves 'agnostic', they are claiming to be flying pigs - a logical impossibility. Perhaps they have an agenda and are wolves in sheep's clothing. Or perhaps their personal vanity simply enjoys the noble and expansive domain of 'agnostic' and they can't allow themselves to make a decision because they don't want to give up being so high-minded. <br />
<br />
Agnostics are fence-sitters. They say they can't make up their minds. They tick the DON'T KNOW box on surveys. The words of Churchill before WWII apply to climate change agnostics,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent. </blockquote>
<br />
Climate change deniers who adopt the agnostic position are often militant agnostics who say that NO ONE knows. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-l_zoSV96pdOimgQmSQjfRMKXF-y57nd2QurmRxhFHqfKQiAlRj6-s64RjcoTGOHmfcghdbr7klJRbMlHgUwIPSRXpIChfUJBE58na1QvcjcTsFJ5lkWm8Kt8TzfpOmb6FESaHaino5l6/s1600/agnostic-militant.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-l_zoSV96pdOimgQmSQjfRMKXF-y57nd2QurmRxhFHqfKQiAlRj6-s64RjcoTGOHmfcghdbr7klJRbMlHgUwIPSRXpIChfUJBE58na1QvcjcTsFJ5lkWm8Kt8TzfpOmb6FESaHaino5l6/s320/agnostic-militant.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Being genuinely agnostic is an open-minded position, but it is very different from good faith scepticism. Good faith scepticism includes a readiness to engage with the data, whereas agnostics seem to stand back from meaningful engagement - maybe they are simply more interested in the pedigrees of spaniels. <br />
<br />
A persistent agnostic or militant agnostic adopts a determinedly static position. It's a do-nothing stance taken by those who don't want to see action.<br />
<br />
Some long-time climage change agnostics and sceptics do move on, but, like children who are late for school, they <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MichaelMannScientist/posts/404262676296607" target="_blank">never seem to catch up properly</a>. They seem to become 'luke-warmists' who accept that the globe is warming but claim that it's not happening quickly and we don't need to inconvenience ourselves by reducing carbon emissions. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9pVPcfh0BZtsIZkXJUi5Xg7jJW-sMDvbrUP-zGZdiXcuumwYPVGPw84gq7D-eIvZTk3YLY007yObqes_9Hhdpqw2qDEt7Vr6JcR7bVANA52wOWjiIo5Zmd7SOU48OlQS14SpYfcQ30Ac/s1600/late_for_school.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9pVPcfh0BZtsIZkXJUi5Xg7jJW-sMDvbrUP-zGZdiXcuumwYPVGPw84gq7D-eIvZTk3YLY007yObqes_9Hhdpqw2qDEt7Vr6JcR7bVANA52wOWjiIo5Zmd7SOU48OlQS14SpYfcQ30Ac/s1600/late_for_school.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Late for school</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
People may like to call themselves agnostic because it gives them a noble respectability, but if they continue to spread
misinformation under the heading "I'm a climate agnostic" it is a sly deceit.<br />
<br />
Let's call a<a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/calling-spade-spade.html" target="_blank"> spade a spade</a>. If it walks like a denier and talks like a denier, it is not an agnostic.<br />
<br />
_________________________<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab reports examples of progress towards a low-carbon future. Here is a recent snippet.<br />
<br />
<b>Private investors</b> are putting almost $1 trillion annually
into green
businesses and technologies, bringing the total invested worldwide since
2007 to $3.6 trillion as of July 2012. Germany, Japan and the US lead
in private green investments and China, Brazil and India lead among
emerging nations. R&D investments are strongest in the automotive,
semiconductor, and electrical components and equipment sectors. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24035" target="_blank">SustainableBusiness</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-11665139083326096952012-09-01T15:32:00.000+10:002012-09-13T18:43:49.651+10:00No Succession Plan for ExxonMobil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKS1WmxlyxZtXojiFZprd14Kd7IvBm75rNVvjYNSM7KTJ3S5kPs0WW7drNJS56Mkz0PFrdnKkBK4DLAjqBpgaMTnbw-VbL7EZoyqtZYVCAbFj_qo_aG1kY09B_E9rWxr_9KvPn3ULVjjIE/s1600/biggestcorporations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKS1WmxlyxZtXojiFZprd14Kd7IvBm75rNVvjYNSM7KTJ3S5kPs0WW7drNJS56Mkz0PFrdnKkBK4DLAjqBpgaMTnbw-VbL7EZoyqtZYVCAbFj_qo_aG1kY09B_E9rWxr_9KvPn3ULVjjIE/s400/biggestcorporations.jpg" width="391" /></a></div>
<br />
These are the 12 biggest corporations on the planet according to <a href="http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/" target="_blank">Forbes</a>. You'll notice that 6 of the 12 are oil companies. There is no clearer picture of the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/waste-not-want-not.html" target="_blank">Dinosaur Economy</a> than this list. In 40 years time, none of these oil companies will be in the top 12. Even if they manage to make the transition to clean energy, I doubt if they'll be in the top 12. In 40 years time, with most coal, oil, and gas phased out, world energy markets will look very different. <br />
<br />
The dominant form of energy will be electricity generated by a combination of rooftop solar PV, utility-scale solar thermal, wind generators and hydro. Ownership of the utility-scale solar and wind generators will be a combination of public and private. I wonder whether a handful of global corporations will come to dominate electricity generation as they have dominated oil and gas? Somehow I think not. In order to dominate they would have to control all the various forms - hydro, wind, solar PV and solar thermal - each of which has very different constraints.<br />
<br />
Even if an oil company got big in wind generation by dominating engineering, manufacture, building and running wind farms in dozens of countries, could they be similarly big in PV, solar thermal and hydro? Not a chance.<br />
<br />
The other major energy source in 2050 will be biofuel though it is unclear how big this sector will be. I suspect that markets in sunny climes will promote EVs over internal combustion engines running on biofuel, because solar power will be more cost-effective than any of the biofuels. Biofuel will be attractive for specialty uses (aviation, oils, plastics) and will, in effect, be too valuable to be used for transport that can be electrified. There is a chance that oil companies could dominate the biofuel market, but it will be a tiny market compared with the current oil/gas market. Biofuel suppliers are not likely to be among the biggest corporations in the world.<br />
<br />
I used to think the oil companies were securing their future by beginning the transition towards post-carbon corporations. Reports like this from <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/big-oils-big-in-biofuels" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a></span> (May 2012) support the notion.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
BP
has invested $7 billion in alternative energy since 2005. ExxonMobil is
spending $600 million on a 10-year effort to turn algae into oil. And
Royal Dutch Shell has invested billions of dollars in a Brazilian
biofuels venture, buying up sugar cane mills, plantations, and
refineries to make ethanol. In the U.S., Shell produces small lots of
so-called drop-in biofuels—engine-ready products that can replace
gasoline—from a pilot plant in Houston that uses sugar beets and crop
waste.
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/big-oils-big-in-biofuels" target="_blank"> </a></div>
<br />
BP is the company that has been most explicit about positioning itself for the post-carbon world. Their <a href="http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9038318&contentId=7019491" target="_blank">Beyond Petroleum</a> slogan signalled a clear intent to be a long-term contender. However, they are finding it a rocky road. It's not easy to leap from drilling,
pumping, refining and selling liquids and gases, to running factories
that make photovoltaics. They had a go at it, but they withdrew in the
face of strong competition from China. They still have investments in a couple of wind farms, and they're big in ethanol with a 10% share of the world market. So perhaps you could say they're still in the game and have a chance at being somebody in 2050.<br />
<br />
The Royal Dutch Shell investment in Brazillian biofuel looks serious. Maybe that is the core of their succession plan, so perhaps they'll still be somebody too.<br />
<br />
But ExxonMobil? I don't think so. Last week, I <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/connect-dots.html" target="_blank">connected some dots</a> that seemed to show that they have no succession plan.<br />
<br />
I discovered that ExxonMobil spends <a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/exxonmobil-spends-100-million-every-day.html" target="_blank">$100 million every day</a> trying to find more oil and natural gas in increasingly inaccessible places like deep oceans, Siberia and now the Arctic. How does $100 million a day compare with $600 million over 10 years on algae development mentioned by Bloomberg? It looks like this - the $600 million for algae doesn't even register on the graph compared with $365 billion for oil and gas.<br />
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<br />
Does this look like ExxonMobil is serious about having a post-carbon future? Does this look like a succession plan? If they were serious about having a Plan B, they'd be partnering with the Pentagon to put $100 million a week into biofuel, instead they're spending $100million a day looking for more oil and gas that will end up as <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/stranded-whales.html" target="_blank">stranded assets</a>.
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
No wonder the oil companies are fighting tooth and nail to preserve and extend their current activities. They see that the post-carbon future does not have a big role for biofuel where they have relevant expertise, and they can't find a way to dominate the markets for PV, solar thermal and wind turbines. In those markets, they are bit players.<br />
<br />
Without an effective Succession Plan, ExxonMobil is wringing as much as it can out of current operations. When the carbon party is over, it will join the rest of us on the sidelines watching the new kids strut their stuff on Forbes Biggest Corporations list.<br />
<br />
__________________________<br />
<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab reports examples of progress towards a low-carbon future. Here is a recent snippet. <br />
<br />
<b>India</b>'s government has approved a $4.13 billion plan
to spur electric and hybrid vehicle production over the next eight
years, setting itself an ambitious target of 6 million vehicles by 2020. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/66388" target="_blank">PlanetArk</a>.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-22746096986830934782012-08-24T14:29:00.000+10:002012-08-31T08:19:33.617+10:00The Economy is the Pied Piper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yk-6N1e3qgpOKC1QMppTkV80hKbrFCZY-ujaueevmsWAMFetSaJxxufFbr6wvvm3FdHZ-y1yEKN8hAT66ZaABTt11s0nY_tnI3SJIo1mzjXRkLLeljwwZNl74sLRYHU4JNRzyqDEdBSX/s1600/pied-piper-of-hamelin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yk-6N1e3qgpOKC1QMppTkV80hKbrFCZY-ujaueevmsWAMFetSaJxxufFbr6wvvm3FdHZ-y1yEKN8hAT66ZaABTt11s0nY_tnI3SJIo1mzjXRkLLeljwwZNl74sLRYHU4JNRzyqDEdBSX/s400/pied-piper-of-hamelin.jpg" width="326" /></a></div>
<br />
Those who claim that our economy can't afford to replace fossil fuels with renewables are mesmerising us with lies and leading us to a wasteland, just as the Pied Piper led the children of Hamelin off into the wilderness.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For he led us, he said, to a joyous land,<br />
Joining the town and just at hand,<br />
Where waters gushed and fruit-trees grew,<br />
And flowers put forth a fairer hue,<br />
And everything was strange and new;<br />
The sparrows were brighter than peacocks here,<br />
And their dogs outran our fallow deer,<br />
And honey-bees had lost their stings,<br />
And horses were born with eagles' wings.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Robert Browning</span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
The glittering promises of a joyous future based on coal, oil and natural gas are as real as the Piper's promise of sparrows as bright as peacocks.<br />
<br />
Every credible economic advisor says that tip-toeing around carbon emission reduction will cost more in the long run. Here's what the very excellent Australian Treasury (the guys whose advice has made Australia the stand-out OECD economy) says. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Early global action is cheaper than delayed action. For economies like
Australia, deferring action on climate change will only lead to higher
long-term costs as emission-intensive technology, processes and outputs
are locked in.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://archive.treasury.gov.au/carbonpricemodelling/content/overview/page1.asp" target="_blank">Australian Treasury</a></span></div>
<br />
Nevertheless, we have governments that seem to be mesmerised by a magical Piper as they continue to <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/33917803414730286/" target="_blank">subsidise fossil fuel industries</a> and give permits to new coal mines, oil wells, and gas wells
as though fossil fuels are not destroying our future with their carbon
emissions.<br />
<br />
In Australia, we have a government that brought in a carbon price of $23/tonne based on a world where CO2-e emissions can rise to 550ppm. Yes, 550ppm, not the 450ppm that gives a 75% chance to keep average global warming within the 2°C guardrail, and not the 350ppm that many credible scientists recommend as the maximum for a safe climate.<br />
<br />
When will they wake from sleep and understand that countries can't be run to the misbegotten tunes of economists? As we come ever closer to the absolute resource limits of a finite planet, some economists are beginning to realise that growth economics is a fantasy.<br />
<br />
Tim Jackson, economics commissioner on the UK government's Sustainable
Development Commission says,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The idea of a non-growing economy may be an anathema to
an economist. But the idea of a continually growing economy is an
anathema to an ecologist. </blockquote>
<br />
So, don't be taken in by those who say that the 'joyous land' of the future will be based on coal, oil and natural gas. Recognise them for what they are - persuasive folk who spin yarns about horses born with eagles' wings.<br />
<br />
.............. <br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/%7Elibrcsd/etext/piper/text.html" target="_blank">Pied Piper of Hameli</a>n, Browning describes how government officials responded when the Piper claimed his fee for ridding the town of rats. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A thousand guilders! The Mayor looked blue;<br />
So did the Corporation too.<br />
For council dinners made rare havoc<br />
With Claret, Moselle, Vin-de-Grave, Hock;
<br />
And half the money would replenish
<br />
Their cellar's biggest butt with Rhenish.
<br />
To pay this sum to a wandering fellow
<br />
With a gipsy coat of red and yellow!
</blockquote>
They refused to pay the thousand guilders and ended up paying a much higher price when the Piper led all their children away. Right now, we're acting like that Mayor and Corporation. We're not willing to pay the price of an immediate transition to a low-carbon economy. Our children and grandchildren will pay a very heavy price. As extreme weather events become daily fare, oceans acidify, and sea levels rise, many will pay with their lives. <br />
<br />
We have to pay the piper, <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/youve-got-to-dance-with-one-who-brung.html" target="_blank">dance with the one who brought us</a>.<br />
<br />
We <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/mother-nature-does-not-negotiate.html" target="_blank">can't argue with Mother Nature</a>, but we can, and must, side with ecologists against economists.<br />
<br />
........................... <br />
<br />
H/T <a href="https://www.facebook.com/david.oertel2" target="_blank">David Oertel </a>for noting that the economy is the Pied Piper.<br />
<br />
__________________<br />
<br />
Snippet from the Transformation tab.<br />
<br />
<b>China</b> estimated it may spend $373 billion on projects for conserving energy and reducing
emissions in the five years through 2015. The State Council announced a plan to reduce by 2015 the amount of energy it
uses to produce every unit of gross domestic product by 16
percent from 2010 levels. In the five years through 2015, China is aiming for energy savings equal to 670
million tons of standard coal equivalent energy. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-22/china-may-spend-373-billion-for-energy-savings-emissions-curbs.html" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-36058437267765391752012-08-22T19:01:00.000+10:002012-08-23T08:49:32.502+10:00Gas reserves give us enough rope to hang ourselves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXtRdVykRu0LW8vNHSa6xh5EZN8ubB98hpTW_xzBHYwMeejDWpFWEVocgK-k7RcmUWGJmZboHBx59LVrn0vbP2Dtz1kbivAFgeLXGO3lxU1i4kwTEBUSVmAHgjw0P4n4DaSzMOGhip-Eq/s1600/gaspowerplant-pixl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXtRdVykRu0LW8vNHSa6xh5EZN8ubB98hpTW_xzBHYwMeejDWpFWEVocgK-k7RcmUWGJmZboHBx59LVrn0vbP2Dtz1kbivAFgeLXGO3lxU1i4kwTEBUSVmAHgjw0P4n4DaSzMOGhip-Eq/s400/gaspowerplant-pixl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Like many other countries, Australia is in the thrall of gas. The Australian government identified gas as a stepping stone on the path to decarbonising our economy when it was believed that replacing coal generators with gas would be an effective interim measure in decarbonising our economy.<br />
<br />
This position comes from politicians practising the art of the possible and throwing the fossil fuel industry a bone. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
OK boys, we can't have as much coal, but, look!, we'll have gas instead. </blockquote>
It's a clever move because it pits one fossil fuel (coal) against another (gas). That makes it one set of guys in hard hats against another, which is much better than pitting the hard hats against the beanie-capped renewable brigade, or the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/stick-to-your-knitting.html" target="_blank">Knitting Nannas</a>, who can call upon moral principles that are more powerful than crude commercial arguments.<br />
<br />
The art of the possible is modest. It lacks ambition and is hobbled by caution. It won't rouse us to the <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/dont-ask-little-of-me-you-might-get-it.html" target="_blank">national effort</a> that is needed for the energy revolution that lies ahead. So it is entirely deserving that the 'gas as transition' strategy has come unstuck in all kinds of ways.<br />
<br />
The deep unpopularity of coal seam gas projects in local communities has unleashed a groundswell of local action expressed powerfully in the<a href="http://lockthegate.org.au/" target="_blank"> Lock the Gate </a>campaign. <br />
<br />
Another major problem with the 'gas as transition' idea is that emerging evidence shows that gas won't cut the mustard when it comes to reducing carbon emissions.<br />
<br />
As the International Energy Agency <a href="http://www.iea.org/press/pressdetail.asp?PRESS_REL_ID=415" target="_blank">says</a>,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The high gas scenario shows carbon emissions consistent with a long-term temperature rise of over
3.5°C. A path towards 2°C would still require a greater shift to
low-carbon energy sources, increased energy efficiency and deployment
of new technologies including carbon capture and storage (CCS), which
could reduce emissions from gas-fired plants.</blockquote>
If coal generators are replaced by gas generators that endure for 30-40 years, they will be emitting carbon dioxide for decades to come. This won't meet the timetable required to keep average global temperatures below the 2°C guardrail for a safe climate. <br />
<br />
Yet another difficulty is the <a href="http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/green-deals-csg-cleaner-coal?" target="_blank">emerging data </a>that gas is no cleaner than
coal when things like fugitive emissions are taken into
account.<br />
<br />
No wonder that the hard-nosed Jeremy Grantham, former chairman and chief investment strategist for the $100 billion funds manager GMO Capital, recognises additional gas reserves as a trojan horse - beguiling but dangerous.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The major disadvantage of all of these extra (oil and gas) reserves,
though, is that they will give us more rope with which to hang ourselves
by frying the planet.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/welcome-to-dystopia-the-dangerous-food-and-energy-crises-87683" target="_blank">Jeremy Grantham</a> </span></div>
<br />
If we are to prevent dangerous global warming and keep the planet within the 2°C guardrail for a safe climate, 80% of gas, coal and oil reserves will need to be left alone. They will be <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/stranded-whales.html" target="_blank">stranded assets </a>unless/until carbon capture and sequestration becomes commercially viable.<br />
<br />
What to do?<br />
<br />
Be informed. Have a questionning mind. Support the <a href="http://lockthegate.org.au/" target="_blank">Lock the Gate</a> campaign and the <a href="http://100percent.org.au/" target="_blank">100% Renewables</a> campaign. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-16506961050657878162012-08-20T09:40:00.000+10:002012-08-21T05:50:45.415+10:00Don't ask little of me - you might get it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicoNcneiJLPzDi1z1uby1sLfylD0xug3yPAt8tBm_7r7s4mMZbftOEg-qPoK-r4AGbhyYpG6IP3nnLPW6-yfdbPPOL-xm90VNvsLkOEwL3rPwCZ2SS0xu5K105pPiBb3INkcTmLmcZPNXQ/s1600/churchill-radio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicoNcneiJLPzDi1z1uby1sLfylD0xug3yPAt8tBm_7r7s4mMZbftOEg-qPoK-r4AGbhyYpG6IP3nnLPW6-yfdbPPOL-xm90VNvsLkOEwL3rPwCZ2SS0xu5K105pPiBb3INkcTmLmcZPNXQ/s400/churchill-radio.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
We are a lucky generation – we're living at the dynamic beginning of massive global transformation. It's a time to ask big things of ourselves and of each other – just as Winston Churchill did in a speech to the British people at the beginning of WWII. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history. ... I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. </blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Winston Churchill</span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Nothing calls the human spirit to effort better than the promise of great difficulty. The comprehensive energy revolution that lies before us is a massive task and this is the <a href="http://climatecommission.gov.au/report/the-critical-decade/" target="_blank">critical decade</a>. <br />
<br />
This is the decade when Australia needs to make a serious start on a national plan to shift electricity generation from 8% renewables to 100% renewables.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://beyondzeroemissions.org/" target="_blank">Beyond Zero Emissions</a>, a climate policy think tank, has produced a <a href="http://beyondzeroemissions.org/zero-carbon-australia-2020" target="_blank">roadmap </a>that shows how Australia can do this over just 10 years, at a cost of 3% of GDP. The Zero Carbon Australia plan involves approximately 6,400 wind generators (7.5 MW capacity) and nearly 200 Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) plants spread across Australia's best solar and wind regions. Here's how it looks.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPU71C8xj-hmazHeHvLZ8ggqQ-cqqgKY1r-VV1dq_ip9flerkVFygUPGE7eaB6Fr4IVog5PZrzBaYJ7ls_jyFR1usYt9YKFrRD4qKW0PpGLoVPCOJN8qNT3JXd4sMut_uHCIS9ufDQpQQ/s1600/Aust-ZCAplan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPU71C8xj-hmazHeHvLZ8ggqQ-cqqgKY1r-VV1dq_ip9flerkVFygUPGE7eaB6Fr4IVog5PZrzBaYJ7ls_jyFR1usYt9YKFrRD4qKW0PpGLoVPCOJN8qNT3JXd4sMut_uHCIS9ufDQpQQ/s400/Aust-ZCAplan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The new CST plants and wind farms would be built in clusters and joined to the national grid that will be enhanced with additional HVAC lines as well as some HVDC lines for longer distances. HVDC power lines lose only 3% of power per 1,000 km.<br />
<br />
The focus on two technologies, CST and onshore wind turbines, is a result of several factors.<br />
<ul>
<li>CST and wind turbines are <b>commercial off-the-shelf technologies</b> so there is no delay in getting started.</li>
<li>Australia has <b>excellent solar and wind resources</b> (e.g. we have plenty of room for onshore wind turbines so we don't need any of the more expensive offshore wind farms).</li>
<li>Together, CST and wind can deliver <b>reliable baseload power</b> that is sufficiently flexible to dispatch power at short notice and cope with variability of demand and changing weather conditions. CST with salt storage delivers electricity 24 hours a day because the molten salt stores heat from the sun to keep the turbines turning through the night. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Australia is not alone in planning continent-wide electricity grids that rely on renewables. Desertec has done similar planning for a grid that encompasses Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Like Australia, deployment is at an embryonic stage. A CST plant has been commissioned in Tunisia while Saudi Arabia and UAE are rolling out ambitious programs for utility scale solar power. They are positioning themselves for the post-oil era so they can continue to be energy exporters. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEges97oBjKo7lYmY1dgU65dy0kQG3u6hUIhTLzH8icPuS3DBb5jhfQRdJSzP6yNXHSoOkFa_xNAatKmiCpLL9CXWP8YjimRXDkith9j9oH5w2IadZKeSEr9PxfWOKdTsJP0AQ6VW1l71tLl/s1600/DESERTEC_EU-MENA_map-sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEges97oBjKo7lYmY1dgU65dy0kQG3u6hUIhTLzH8icPuS3DBb5jhfQRdJSzP6yNXHSoOkFa_xNAatKmiCpLL9CXWP8YjimRXDkith9j9oH5w2IadZKeSEr9PxfWOKdTsJP0AQ6VW1l71tLl/s400/DESERTEC_EU-MENA_map-sml.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
In the US, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/" target="_blank"><i>Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures)</i></a> demonstrates that the US (lower 48 states) could be 80% renewable by 2050.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyWxHrUcSfDMgcZEzXMugF_R0c2yBB8iC4anYE96mpaPIsWGMaHX8tQnnFSWcV9vT1EBMYvxzF6vsxkORV0srmulD14MizC7cn1IIJXuPa7AZrI_e0AhDaP004VFYPD0_59o8U4R0Oc7R/s1600/NREL-US80%25renewable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyWxHrUcSfDMgcZEzXMugF_R0c2yBB8iC4anYE96mpaPIsWGMaHX8tQnnFSWcV9vT1EBMYvxzF6vsxkORV0srmulD14MizC7cn1IIJXuPa7AZrI_e0AhDaP004VFYPD0_59o8U4R0Oc7R/s400/NREL-US80%25renewable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The Australian government is <a href="http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/aemo-100-per-cent-renewables/aemo-scoping-document.aspx" target="_blank">comissioning its own study</a> to show how Australia's electricity could transition to 100% renewables by 2030 or 2050.<br />
<br />
So now the thought has been thought, it's hard to unthink it. We are at the beginning of an energy revolution. The transition to 100% renewables will be a battle, tooth and nail, with wealthy and powerful fossil fuel interests. They will oppose every step that reduces markets for their coal, oil and gas.<br />
<br />
Churchill was lucky, the European theatre of war in WWII lasted only five years. In contrast, our battle with fossil fuel interests will last for decades. It will take toil, tears and sweat, and even blood. Plenty of blood has been spilt defending oil resources, and it is likely to happen again.<br />
<br />
That's why I say we are a lucky generation. We live in times that ask a lot of us. Can we rise to the challenge?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Don't ask little of me, you might get it.</blockquote>
<br />
__________________________________________<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab reports examples of progress towards a low-carbon future. Here are recent snippets.<br />
<br />
<b>Morocco, Saudi Arabia, UAE and South Africa </b>are building utility-scale solar generators using Concentrated Solar Thermal technology. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-17609-2012-sees-327bn-power-and-water-projects-in-mena/" target="_blank">ConstructionWeek</a>. <br />
<br />
<b style="color: #990000;"></b><b>Morocco </b>maintains a national renewable energy and energy efficiency strategy that
includes renewable energy sources meeting 42% of electricity demand by
2020. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2012/07/18/morocco-stays-renewable-energy-course-amidst-arab-spring/" target="_blank">Cleantechnica</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-11910193614037503742012-08-17T09:27:00.000+10:002012-08-17T10:01:01.543+10:00Superhero Costumes Optional<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBiRX83LBayOuIoW4qwyP-ecHGnGmvLdGB9aEC_3E5Um41n3NiKv0GJXtPpR5Rj8NfZ72f8aalMt23FnVk2rh7CSSOGiQacFImxyqOtm-JmqUmLTDvPKMiydTbbghM09Mk0Khrer7XfsB/s1600/superhero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBiRX83LBayOuIoW4qwyP-ecHGnGmvLdGB9aEC_3E5Um41n3NiKv0GJXtPpR5Rj8NfZ72f8aalMt23FnVk2rh7CSSOGiQacFImxyqOtm-JmqUmLTDvPKMiydTbbghM09Mk0Khrer7XfsB/s1600/superhero.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/climate-activism-with-tattoos.html" target="_blank">Climate Haka</a>, <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/stick-to-your-knitting.html" target="_blank">Knitting Nannas</a> and now <a href="http://www.dosomethingaboutclimate.com/" target="_blank">Don't Just Sit There, Do Something</a>. There are hundreds (thousands? millions?) of authentic voices calling for action on climate change. They come in every accent and flavour, and each one has its tribe of followers.<br />
<br />
Joylette Portlock's voice blends her solid science background (PhD in Genetics) with a sense of fun and the down to earth practicality of raising two small boys. The result is <a href="http://www.dosomethingaboutclimate.com/" target="_blank">Don't Just Sit There, Do Something</a> – a series of videos where Joylette plays multiple roles to present climate change issues.<br />
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The six-minute videos showcase reliable information with lots of humour and, best of all, each video ends with two recommended actions – one personal and one aimed at systemic change. For example, Episode Six about air quality ends with a personal recommendation to set your airconditioner a little warmer, and a systemic recommendation to sign a petition to support safer limits on particle (soot) pollution.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hCheGK7a3jI" width="560"></iframe>
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For me, the best thing about these videos is that they pull no punches about the impact of climate change AND the actions they recommend match this level of seriousness. The actions are very do-able, and the systemic actions are especially important for driving large-scale change.<br />
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I don't know about you, but I find it mind-numbing to sit through presentations that warn that 100 million Bangladeshis are likely to be displaced by rising sea levels and then to be told that I can help prevent it by sharing my lawn mower with my neighbour. It feels like a woefully inadequate response. Individual actions are important, but we also need radical reform of energy systems at the global level. <br />
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If you like a little humour with your climate messages check out the inspiring videos from <a href="http://www.dosomethingaboutclimate.com/home" target="_blank">Don't Just Sit there, Do Something</a>. They'll put a smile on your face and inspire you with hope.<br />
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Then share them with everyone you know!<br />
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Yep - that's a recommended action. <br />
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The <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab reports examples of progress towards a low-carbon future. Here's a recent snippet.<br />
<br />
<b>US Wind</b> capacity has reached 50GW and will hit 60GW by end of
2012. 50 GW of wind power capacity represents the generating power of
44 coal-fired power plants, or 11 nuclear power plants. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/12/08/wind-power-marks-50-gw-milestone" target="_blank">RenewablesBiz</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-81849971899909105792012-08-15T11:31:00.000+10:002013-02-20T17:05:43.167+11:00Stick to your knitting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayzBBHJZ8NQ4L8XH5AjpG4eKPA0tTpfL8m6AtTIrdYZvyUDKjJzDCBjLeU3RcTeoew-HtMvY4E9gvHJedB-bGyq152DcFiyPhSDZsFkbnKWoA0j1nEkFkaHk3jFS7miq_pGN_pEstApUc/s1600/knittingnannas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayzBBHJZ8NQ4L8XH5AjpG4eKPA0tTpfL8m6AtTIrdYZvyUDKjJzDCBjLeU3RcTeoew-HtMvY4E9gvHJedB-bGyq152DcFiyPhSDZsFkbnKWoA0j1nEkFkaHk3jFS7miq_pGN_pEstApUc/s400/knittingnannas1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Stick to your knitting" is good advice for modern distracted minds. When we stick to our knitting, we mind our own business and stay on task.<br />
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In Australia, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KnittingNannasAgainstGas" target="_blank">Knitting Nannas Against Gas</a> are minding the business of farming women and focusing their efforts in a campaign against the Coal Seam Gas wells that are damaging Australia's farmland. A convoy of women (calling themselves Knitting Nannas Against Gas) is visiting Queensland farming properties where gas wells and pipelines cross the countryside. At one farm they say:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
They talk about not making judgements until you've walked a mile in
someone's boots. Celia Makay doesn't have a lot, and certainly not
shoes to spare. Today, Nannas and others walked a mile in the unnatural
mud of the CSG pipeline dividing her property. I tremble with
indignation.</blockquote>
A few days ago, I wrote about <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/climate-activism-with-tattoos.html" target="_blank">macho climate activists</a> with visible tattoos and quoted Bill Clinton's call for salt-of-the-earth working men to stand up for renewable energy. Strong and energetic men are a powerful force in any community, and once they are roused to action they can move mountains.<br />
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Women have a different kind of power that is just as effective. When those patient women who knit intricate clothes, shawls, blankets and toys for their loved ones are roused to action, we REALLY take note. It takes a lot to stir our Nannas to hit the campaign trail. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrY4j6nGP5mN_cCkowXoC-CmpWBN5bsvgrPiQ3KF9dQLY9DxFs3jVnd3JMHReoNtaXgqys4qfvdtNdt8RSJLPgMOB0pXTcNcjoVEJwueGfneyB6ebdvpIWYeI-ZeKIJzm6JEa0ywfEcbx/s1600/KnittingGrandma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrY4j6nGP5mN_cCkowXoC-CmpWBN5bsvgrPiQ3KF9dQLY9DxFs3jVnd3JMHReoNtaXgqys4qfvdtNdt8RSJLPgMOB0pXTcNcjoVEJwueGfneyB6ebdvpIWYeI-ZeKIJzm6JEa0ywfEcbx/s320/KnittingGrandma.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knitting Grandma by Antonia Lanik-Gabanek</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Each of the 'tribes' that make up our community – macho workers, loving Nannas, students, tech geeks, policy wonks, minorities, parents, educators, hobbyists/club members and more – has its own style. Climate activism and environmental protection needs all of these different styles, from Knitting Nannas to Climate Haka and all the hybrids in between.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwI5uNR7WISnakbsR-vzT60fXVOTw7gMglx7R4_yY9E05lbJDmfHawHb559cXun2DhLVwJnJcArLGF0G7Pqi5J-7OrdS6vbuisoqB0rDXkuteDT_3BfkitX5qJmsg234fx8hCgTsKLOXF/s1600/Knitting-Bonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwI5uNR7WISnakbsR-vzT60fXVOTw7gMglx7R4_yY9E05lbJDmfHawHb559cXun2DhLVwJnJcArLGF0G7Pqi5J-7OrdS6vbuisoqB0rDXkuteDT_3BfkitX5qJmsg234fx8hCgTsKLOXF/s400/Knitting-Bonds.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, ask yourself, what is YOUR tribe? What is your style of activism? Who will you team up with to counter the lobbying dollars of the fossil fuel incumbents?<br />
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It is not <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/not-my-grandmothers-weather.html" target="_blank">our grandmothers' weather</a> any more, fossil fuels will be <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/stranded-whales.html" target="_blank">stranded assets</a>, and our governments need to hear from all the tribes in society.<br />
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<b>UPDATE: 20 February 2013. </b>Knitting Nannas had a big win this week when the State government announced new restrictions on CSG. The new rules will protect homes and some agricultural activities, but the Nannas won't give up till the rules also protect water. <br />
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The <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab reports examples of progress towards a low-carbon future. Here's a recent snippet.<br />
<br />
The <b>US
Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank</b> has signed an agreement with South Africa's Industrial Development Corp. pledging <b>$2 billion in finance</b> for solar, wind and other clean-energy projects that
use U.S. technologies products and services. South Africa has set a target to reduce carbon emissions
by 34% by 2020 and by 42% by 2025. <b>
Source</b>: <a href="http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/23957" target="_blank">SustainableBusiness</a>. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7403735595451011590.post-22747340293596791802012-08-11T08:07:00.001+10:002012-08-13T08:07:06.169+10:00Climate activism with tattoos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzh_55jSB3itmCn9q1Pgalru0HNiKAid7-ietVl7WT9bavUI40wbsMtZRXAGPnhIj6uP-gIojXLCVgfCPbprQTfk859n1lIwEPFVsDA3M9o2td2jNa9MJ0W3m0KrZctElyKbvtsEpDJAh/s1600/fuifuipixl-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzh_55jSB3itmCn9q1Pgalru0HNiKAid7-ietVl7WT9bavUI40wbsMtZRXAGPnhIj6uP-gIojXLCVgfCPbprQTfk859n1lIwEPFVsDA3M9o2td2jNa9MJ0W3m0KrZctElyKbvtsEpDJAh/s320/fuifuipixl-2.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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Are renewables too girly? Is energy efficiency too tame? Are EVs for milksops? Where's the challenge for the testosterone-endowed warriors in the silent acceleration of an electric car? What is big and bold about recycling and using LESS of something?<br />
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Social responsibility doesn't usually jive with a macho image and <span class="author-name">Edwin Stafford</span> and <span class="author-name">Cathy Hartman argue <a href="http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/1128" target="_blank">here </a>that climate communication needs to be more macho if it is to reach new audiences.</span><br />
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<span class="author-name">As an example, they note the success of the <a href="http://dontmesswithtexas.org/" target="_blank"><b>Don't Mess with Texas</b></a> anti-littering campaign that reduced roadside littering by 72% in the first two years and went on to become </span> a cultural phenomenon. The slogan has been popularly appropriated by Texans, appears on memorabilia merchandise and is even the official motto of the <i>Virginia</i>-class submarine USS <i>Texas</i>.<br />
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In my part of the world, tattooed <a href="http://www.nrl.com/" target="_blank">Rugby League</a> players are the epitome of macho. When tough Rugby League players like Tongan Fuifui Moimoi or Samoan Frank Puletua are aroused to defend their families they can wear shell necklaces and feather skirts and no one messes with them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5pCMX2gjpITDIUB71IIx7x7QyXsIkOwompCXZvqMRlq1iLs_S-jIcpcpJaFy1_pTsw9CMojxGv33OaM6dKKLuPouwxMhu8VAxGmtjxve7IqkU9w1kvlaSAG3M-X-VtQfmwFoevWmdO2p/s1600/frankpuletuapixl-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5pCMX2gjpITDIUB71IIx7x7QyXsIkOwompCXZvqMRlq1iLs_S-jIcpcpJaFy1_pTsw9CMojxGv33OaM6dKKLuPouwxMhu8VAxGmtjxve7IqkU9w1kvlaSAG3M-X-VtQfmwFoevWmdO2p/s400/frankpuletuapixl-2.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
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With his ever-accurate social radar, Bill Clinton put his finger on it recently<a href="http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Bill-Clinton-on-Visibly-Tattoed-Solar-Workers-Unions-and-Wind/" target="_blank"> when he said</a> -<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The more people with visible tattoos who advocate for clean energy, the
more success it will have in Washington. You win the
tattooed vote and we’ll have the damnedest environmental policy anybody
ever saw.</blockquote>
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While Texans are tough, nobody does 'don't mess with me' better than New Zealanders. The ancient Maori haka is presented before every Rugby Union game - check out this 2010 international game.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ofj3dCKyI38" width="560"></iframe>
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It's time for a climate haka. <br />
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It's time for machos with tattoos to carry green shopping bags with attitude.<br />
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It's time for tough men to stand up to defend their homeland so that no one messes with the future of their children and <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/youve-got-to-dance-with-one-who-brung.html" target="_blank">grandchildren</a>.<br />
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The <a href="http://thisnessofathat.blogspot.com.au/p/transformation.html" target="_blank">Transformation </a>tab reports examples of progress towards a low-carbon future. Here's the latest snippet. <br />
<br />
The <b>Chinese government</b> has confirmed it has increased its target for
solar energy by 40 per cent, pledging to deploy 21GW of capacity by
2015. The move is is accompanied by new minimum targets for renewable energy use that will
be imposed on energy firms and grid operators, and means that renewables will
account for 9.5 per cent of the country's energy mix by 2015. <b>Source</b>: <a href="http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2197892/china-confirms-40-per-cent-increase-to-solar-target" target="_blank">BusinessGreen</a>. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3