The Carbon Sense Coalition today claimed that the emissions trading schemes proposed for the western world will guarantee another global financial crisis for tourism, transport and world trade.

The Chairman of “Carbon Sense” Mr Viv Forbes, said that the real global warming crisis, for tourism and trade, was being created in Parliament.

Read more here: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/climate-cools.pdf [PDF, 49KB].

There are two ways to cope with climate change – you can try to control the climate and thus change the future, or you can be prepared to adapt to or cope with whatever the future brings. The choice is “Climate Control” or “Be Prepared”.

“Climate Control” has a number of problems.

Firstly, there is no evidence that man’s activities do indeed control global temperature – all we have are unproven theories and computer model forecasts. Therefore whatever we do may have no effect on climate…

Read the full document [PDF, 46KB] including the press release “Politicians are Creating an Un-Natural Disaster”.

Viv Forbes

In a lifetime of observing and participating in politics, the world wide campaign by the international green movement (aided by the power-seeking UN bureaucracy) to monitor, control and tax every food, energy and transport business in the world is the most dangerous development I have ever seen. It has the potential to blight the lives and investments of the majority of Australians who are unable to find a safe place for themselves on the government payroll or in the protected Climate Change Industry.

Full article. [PDF, 87KB]

Viv Forbes

Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders; no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction.

Therefore everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle. None can stand aside with unconcern; the interests of everyone hang on the result. Whether he chooses or not, every man is drawn into the great historical struggle, the decisive battle into which our epoch has plunged us.

– Ludwig von Mises Socialism.

The above passage was written by the great economist and political philosopher, Ludwig von Mises, in German, in 1922. His massive book “Socialism” demolishes the whole idea that centrally planned economies can ever produce prosperity or freedom.

Read more. [PDF, 53KB]

The Government will probably reintroduce the Renewable Energy Targets Bill (The RENT Scheme) very soon. The Liberals are unlikely to stop it – they are too engrossed in considerations of survival, and too many are hostage to Green dreamers, Green Industry speculators and vested interests lined up to profit from suffering electricity consumers.

This bill has nothing to commend it.

Firstly, the whole idea of the Emissions Trading Systems beloved by the Lib-Lab party and the merchant banking speculators is that it allows the market to determine the cheapest way to reduce emissions. It is totally negated when politicians mandate or subsidise certain energy systems. Thus the Rent Scheme should be shelved until the fate of the Ration-N-Tax Scheme is finally decided.

Secondly, it would be foolish in the extreme to force Australian industry to pay elevated electricity costs before it is clear what is coming out of the IPCC talkfest in Copenhagen in December, and what our international competitors are doing.

Thirdly, there is no chance that a force fed program to force solar/wind to supply 20% of Australia’s power will succeed without the risk of disruptions to power supplies and rapidly escalating costs for electricity and gas (which will be needed to back up unreliable green power).

And finally, the environmental “benefits” are very doubtful. When the massive land dislocation, and the minerals, energy and emissions resulting from the manufacture and installation of thousands of wind towers and solar panels are fully accounted for, we may find that Green Power is not so green after all.

This bill should be postponed until a full sensible assessment is made.

Viv Forbes

PDF version of this article. [PDF, 29KB]

A statement by Mr Viv Forbes, Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition, Australia.

The Chairman of the Carbon Sense Coalition, Mr Viv Forbes, today called for an audit by the Productivity Commission into PM Rudd’s Green Jobs Plan.

Forbes explains:

“Whenever politicians claim to create jobs, close examination usually finds that the jobs were created in another country and their policies have merely created more welfare recipients.

“Much of the tax funded subsidy money being thrown at “alternative energy” is creating jobs in China making the hardware. Then it employs a few short term people installing the stuff. In the end, the only real jobs created are repairing wind towers and cleaning dust off solar panels. Even these are not real jobs because the moment the government stops forcing electricity companies to use their expensive and unreliable green power, these jobs will also evaporate.

“Real jobs are those that produce unsubsidized goods or services that can be sold in open
markets at a profit.”

Read the full statement. [PDF, 267KB]

[An abbreviated version of this article first appeared at Quadrant Online: http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2009/08/viv-forbes]

Most of human history has been a struggle for food and energy.

The abundance of food in the western world during the last century or so is not the normal human condition. Snow and ice, drought and famine have been regular and persistent visitors to mankind.

We are lucky to live in a time of recent natural global warming. Warmth increases plant growth rate, lengthens the growing season, expands plant habitat and makes more land arable. As the oceans warm, they expel some of their vast reserves of carbon dioxide, the essential atmospheric plant food. Warm oceans also produce more evaporation, and thus more precipitation for adjacent land masses. Man’s recent production of carbon dioxide from burning coal and oil and calcining limestone has also helped to unlock buried carbon and restore valuable carbon dioxide to the biosphere.

Warmth, water and more abundant carbon dioxide have been the main causes of the 20th century Green Revolution which has enabled farmers to feed the growing millions on earth.

All these beneficial developments are threatened by two things – the distinct possibility of a return to natural global cooling, and silly government policies all over the western world that will slash food production.

Read the full document here [PDF, 50KB]

The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, MP
Leader of the Opposition
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Sir:

Re: Global Warming and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)

In your statement regarding the ETS, you say that ‘The Coalition supports, and supported when in Government, an environmentally effective and economically responsible ETS being put in place in Australia as part of a co-ordinated global response to climate change’. You then set out nine points that define the Opposition’s policy on this critical question.

Missing from your list is recognition of a key alternative. Australia’s carbon footprint is about 1.0 percent of the global total. Accordingly, nothing that Australians do can have any effect on global warming. How then is it ‘economically responsible’ for us to incur the high costs of transition to ‘clean energy’ when it will have no effect on the reduction of global warming? Isn’t it, indeed, irresponsible to pursue this course?
(more…)

The Chairman of the Carbon Sense Coalition, Mr Viv Forbes, today called for a grass roots revolt by the real workers of Australia against the green militia and their socialite supporters who are leading the country into job cuts, power blackouts and poverty.

Mr Forbes claimed that only three brave and outspoken politicians understand the real threats facing Australia, both from natural climate change (probably cold and dry) and from the stupid policies supposed to stop global warming (it has stopped).

Martin Ferguson is in touch with real people who keep the wheels turning in the mines, factories and transport fleet. He knows that none of these industries could operate without using carbon fuels which all produce harmless carbon dioxide gas. He knows we need efficient reliable power stations, not wind and solar playthings.

Barnaby Joyce represents the farmers, foresters and fishermen who produce the food, fibre and building materials we all need. He also knows that none of these essential items can be produced without producing more harmless CO2 gas.

Steve Fielding stands up for all the Australian families hoping for jobs for themselves and their kids. He knows that every job in Australia depends on our basic industries making the minerals, food, fibres and processed goods the world buys from us.

Public opinion polls show that ordinary Australians are increasingly swinging behind these leaders while Mr Rudd trips the Climate Change Stage, and Malcolm Turnbull agonises over how to make a more comfortable green noose for Australia. The only people who support such nonsense are the huge Climate Change Industry and those trying to buy green votes in the leafy suburbs.

All real work produces carbon dioxide.

The only way we can quickly reduce production of CO2 is by reducing jobs or reducing our consumption of food, fibre and minerals – the Ration-n-Tax Scheme thus offers unemployment and poverty in real industry in return for more taxes to create make-believe green jobs.

Mr Turnbull thinks nine amendments will make the RAT scheme acceptable. Only three amendments are required: “Reject, reject, reject”.

Viv Forbes
Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition

Mr Rudd has woken up that Penny’s Ration-and-Tax (RAT) Scheme will destroy jobs.

But instead of killing the RAT Scheme, he proposes a massive carbon subsidy to offset the job destruction caused by the carbon tax.

Kevin and Malcolm need to make up their minds.

If they want to cut the production of harmless carbon dioxide, it MUST cause job losses in coal, power generation, cement, steel, farming and tourism.

But if job protection is important to them, they should abandon the RAT scheme immediately and concentrate on important matters.

Fiddling with it, achieves neither goal.

As for the subsidy, Kevin needs reminding that the money we get from Canberra is the money we sent to Canberra, less handling charges both ways.

A tax and subsidy policy always replaces real jobs in regional industry with fake jobs in the money laundering departments in Canberra.

Viv Forbes
Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition