The Australian Minister for Promoting Useless Energy thinks that hydrogen fuel, carbon capture and storage, soil carbon and biofuels are priorities for energy policy and greenhouse gas reduction.
If that’s the best our leaders can come up with, Australia should have voted Green last election to speed the inevitable recession and blackouts that will eventually kill this tsunami of energy nonsense.
“Hydrogen” does not supply net energy – burning it can return some of the energy used to produce it from hydrocarbons or electrolysis of water. It is an expensive explosive gas that makes less sense than Snowy 2 – more energy in than out!
Moreover, we have no infrastructure that can safely store, distribute or use hydrogen in our transport fleet, energy network or smelters. Governments should not force energy consumers or tax payers to promote Canberra’s thought bubbles – let the “green hydrogen” entrepreneurs risk their own or shareholders’ money.
“Carbon capture and storage” is another dumb idea. To capture CO2 emissions from coal, gas or biomass power stations consumes a lot of energy to separate, store, pipe and pump it underground (hoping it will stay there). It would be far better leave non-polluting CO2 in the lower atmosphere and surround every power station with crops and forests hungry for the CO2 plant food so essential to their growth.
Trying to extract CO2 from the atmosphere is even dumber because the mighty oceans will quickly release CO2 from their huge stores to restore equilibrium between atmosphere and oceans. Even if it could be done, it is a bad idea – why steal plant food from grass, crops and forests?
“Soil carbon” is green-speak for what every sensible pastoralist tries to do – increase the humus and biological activity in soil. The quickest way to do this is via keyline/contour ripping to retain water in the soil (as shown in Australia by P A Yeoman), and by managed periodic heavy impact of grazing animals to promote pasture growth (as shown in Africa by Alan Savory). But it is total nonsense to turn “carbon farming” into a costly rural rort run by a bureaucracy of soil samplers and modellers who think it will cool the climate.
“Biofuels” are another way to waste energy, food crops and trees to do jobs better done by coal, gas and oil – a crime against humanity and the environment.
If our Minister for Promoting Useless Energy is determined to sequester and store carbon, there is only one sensible way – restore the forestry industry. Harvest mature forest trees for poles, posts, sleepers, paper, cardboard or dance floors. Then replant with new trees. Young trees grow rapidly and extract much CO2. But old trees reach a stage of carbon equilibrium when the CO2 they extract in summer is equal to what they lose as leaves, branches and trunks fall to frosts, droughts, bushfires and termites.
P A Yeomans, 1965: “Water for Every Farm”, K G Murray Publishing.
“The fundamental reason why carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is critically important to biology is that there is so little of it. A field of corn growing in full sunlight in the middle of the day uses up all of the carbon dioxide within a metre of the ground in about five minutes.” Freeman Dyson – a prominent scientist specialising in physics, mathematics and astronomy.
Viv Forbes is a geologist, financial analyst, weather watcher and pastoralist with long experience at maintaining the health of pastures and soils. He and his wife have used a Yeoman ripper for about 30 years and have studied and practiced Savory animal management techniques for a similar time. He is Executive Director of the Saltbush Club.
I note that your review has been commissioned to “examine the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy, and recommend medium to long-term policies and policy frameworks to improve the prospects for sustainable prosperity”.
As written, this is a straightforward if challenging task. Unwritten, however, is that the term “climate change” today carries connotations of human causation, thanks mainly to lobby group pressure and media propaganda. This transforms a straightforward task into one of immense complexity, because of the existence of both many unresolved, controversial scientific issues and the fierce environmental politics that becomes involved. (more…)
Touring politicians have a habit of making wild promises in international forums, leaving the difficult engineering consequences to overloaded power engineers and the unpalatable cost consequences to the suffering consumers.
Peter Lang is a professional with more than 40 years experience in the energy industry. His experience includes coal, oil, gas, hydro, geothermal, nuclear power plants, nuclear waste disposal and energy end use management.
Now he looks at some inconvenient realities concerning the consequences for electricity generation if the government tries to achieve their unrealistic and pointless cuts in carbon dioxide emissions.
The paper compares five “energy mix” options with a “business as usual” case for electricity generation in Australia from 2010 to 2050. The options involve mixes of coal, gas, nuclear, wind and solar thermal technologies. The analysis indicates that continuing with the current mix of electricity sources (mainly coal) will provide the cheapest electricity. Gas, the other carbon fuel, has the next higher cost. All of the non-coal options (nuclear, solar and wind) will substantially increase electricity costs with solar being the most expensive.
Nuclear power is the only feasible option that could achieve the promised cuts in emissions. Wind and solar are very high cost options with little hope of achieving the emissions cuts promised, either alone or in combination.
Complex computer models are continually being used to generate incessant alarms about the future for our environment and resources – climate, weather, minerals, oil, food, water, pollution and the oceans.
Every year the computers get more expensive, and the models more complex, but their doomsday forecasts still fail. (more…)
There is a persistent green myth that coal-fired power generation causes city smogs. It does not.
City air pollution is nothing new. King Edward I complained about London pollution in 1306, as did Queen Elizabeth I in 1578, long before the first steam engine operated.
Let’s look at the causes of some famous smogs – London/Pittsburgh, Los Angeles/Santiago, the Dust Bowls and the Asian Smogs.
The London smogs were caused by open-air combustion of newspapers, wood and cheap high-sulphur unwashed coal in domestic fires, stoves and boilers; by coal-burning blacksmiths, brewers and ironworkers in smoky forges, furnaces and coke plants; and by many smoky steam locomotives; all with inefficient combustion and no pollution controls. The smog was slowly eliminated by clean air regulations and by changing to “clean coal by pipe” (town gas) and “clean coal by wire” (electricity).
The Los Angeles smogs were caused mainly by backyard incinerators, vehicle exhausts and natural air inversions. They were reduced by using cleaner fuels, better engines and compulsory pollution-control equipment. Santiago has undergone a similar clean-up.
The Dust Bowl conditions of the Great Plains in USA were caused by drought and wind erosion of newly cultivated soils. Gobi Desert storms produced the Yellow River and the Yellow Sea and contribute to the Asian Brown Cloud today.
Today’s Asian smogs have many sources – forest fires in Indonesia; open air cremations in India; dust from volcanic eruptions and desert storms; soot, ash and other pollutants from millions of domestic rubbish fires, mosquito fires, cooking fires and heaters using anything combustible – cow dung, wood, paper, cardboard, plastic or cheap unwashed coal; and soot and unburnt hydro-carbons from millions of vehicles, many with engines needing maintenance and no pollution controls. Beijing today combines the 1950’s problems of both London and Los Angeles.
The Asian smog is NOT caused by producing electricity in modern power stations with closed boilers, pollution controls and using high-quality washed coal such as exported by Australia to Asia. The “power station pollution” pictured so eagerly in ABC and Green propaganda is actually steam from the cooling towers.
The main products released by modern coal-fired power stations are water vapour and carbon dioxide – both are essential life supporters. Neither one is dangerous. Both make our climate more liveable, but the contribution of carbon dioxide to climate is tiny. And the carbon dioxide produced by burning coal has done more to encourage the growth of plants and the greening of planet Earth than Greenpeace will ever do.
“Clean coal by wire” into every home is the one thing that could solve much of the Asian air pollution.
Disclosure: Viv Forbes has a science degree and long experience in Australia’s primary industries. He is self-employed, owns a farm and holds shares in a small Australian coal explorer which will benefit when Asia decides to solve their energy and pollution problems using “clean coal by wire”.
It’s the electoral season for green-money showers in Australia – the Coral Community got one billion dollars of green bribes from PM Morrison (this after $141M from ex-PM Turnbull just over 3 years ago). Koalas got $50M from Morrison whilst the Queensland Government bought a huge grazing property for yet another national park. And of course the Green Broadcasting Commission got an extra $3.3Billion over 3 years to promote their green agenda.
This flood of green graft aims to bribe green voters by molly-coddling trees and corals, both of which are among Australia’s long-term survivors. However, today’s greatest environmental destruction is being inflicted on Australia’s once-magnificent grasslands by those same urban greens. (more…)
Cosmic Cycles, not Carbon Dioxide, Control Climate
This cartoon may be used freely providing the author, Steve Hunter, and the source is acknowledged: www.carbon-sense.com
Those who think the political war on carbon will lower Earth’s temperature or keep climate stable need to study climate history.
Temperatures on Earth dance to a cyclic rhythm every hour, every day, every month, every season, every year, and to every beat of the sun-spot and glacial cycles.
The daily solar cycle causes continual changes in temperature for every spot on Earth. It produces the frosts at dawn, the mid-day heat and the cooling at sunset. It is regulated by rotation of the Earth.
Superimposed on the daily solar cycle is the monthly lunar cycle, driven by the orbit of the Moon around the Earth. These two cycles interact to produce variations in atmospheric pressure and tides, and currents in the oceans and the atmosphere. These are the daily weather makers. (more…)
At last the tide seems to be turning. Businesses and consumers are coming to realize that the whole Emissions Industry is designed to deliver money and power to the government. There is nothing in it for taxpayers, consumers or the climate. Even some in the media are becoming sceptics.
For a year now, almost no media was interested in our story. But recently we have had TV, radio and newspaper reporters seeking comment from the Carbon Sense Coalition, and often the interviewers were friendly or at least open minded.
A few other developments.
1. John Coleman, the weatherman who started “The Weather Channel,” has become one of the most prolific opponents to the theory of man-made global warming. Here he reports how the whole thing started… http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/38574742.html
2. Here is a petition you should sign. Go to: http://listentous.org.au/
Dr Dennis Jensen MP will be presenting the petition to the House of Representatives.
5. Another Australian, David Archibald has released a very informative book on the solar links to world climate changes: “Solar Cycle 24”. See: http://www.davidarchibald.info/
6. Last but not least, The Lavoisier Society has released Thank God for Carbon, the latest booklet by Ray Evans. See: http://www.lavoisier.com.au/articles/climate-policy/science-and-policy/TGFC-Overview.php. You may order copies of the book by e-mail from the Society order@lavoisier.com.au. Please include your name and postal address and the number of copies you would like to receive. The Lavoisier Group would be grateful to receive donations to cover postage and printing costs.
This is a critical year in the battle for Carbon Sense. All over the world the Warmists are becoming desperate as skepticism grows and voters are diverted to real problems like jobs and financial security.
Any help you can give us in this battle of our times is appreciated.
Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (Christopher Lord Monckton) has agreed to come on a lecture tour in Australia in late January 2010. Professor Ian Plimer will accompany Christopher Monckton on a whirlwind tour of the mainland capital cities starting in Sydney on January 25th and finishing in Perth on February 9th. Unfortunately we cannot fit in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Lady Juliet Monckton will come as well, in part to monitor Lord Monckton’s health.
Prof. Plimer says the following of Lord Monckton: “although I modestly state that I am a good performer, he is superb and I have seen him fielding a very hostile BBC and other networks. He has the ability to change thinking…”.
Given the now generally-acknowledged lack of understanding among the Australian general public of the underlying reasons for a “Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme” and the likely effects thereof, it is critical that the public gets a chance to hear a globally-recognised presenter to explain the rational understanding of the whole issue. Lord Monckton is the ideal person to carry out this task and to also put it to the mass media.
There are still details to be finalised for the tour, but basically the program for Lord Monckton’s public lectures is:
The response to this tour has been amazing which underlines the timeliness of it. We would stress that it would be good to get as many “agnostics” and “true believers” along to Monckton’s lectures. So if you have any such friends, please persuade them to come along.
Seeing we had not enough time to have tickets printed and sold, admission to each event will be by a donation of $20 at the door ($10 in Perth).
As you can understand, the cost of this exercise will be very substantial and if you have not as yet made a donation and wish to do so, your donations should be directed to:
Westpac Bank – Lord Monckton Tour account
Bank BSB: 035612
Account: 253068
Thank you in advance for your support of this nationally important project.
Case Smit BSc CIH(ret) CP(Env) FAusIMM
Noosaville Qld. 4566 (currently in Melbourne)
0418 521 304 case.smit@gmail.com
John Smeed D.MechE FIEAust CPEng RPEQ
Noosa Heads, Qld. 4567 (currently in Sydney)
0417 269 216 johnsmeed@adna.com.au
DATE: Wednesday, 3rd February 2010
VENUE: National Press Club of Australia,
16 National Circuit, Barton ACT
TIME: 3.00pm – 5.00pm
Afternoon tea & light refreshments will be available
COST: $20 per head
Solar power fails every day from sunset to sunrise as well as during rain, hail, snow or dust storms. No matter how much land we smother in subsidised solar panels, they will still fail.
Wind power fails often and unpredictably, sometimes for days, especially in quiet cold winter weather. It also shuts down during cyclones, heavy winds or icy conditions. No matter how many hills we uglify with their subsidised roads, transmission lines and bird-slicers, they will still fail.
No one notices when green energy fails (as it often does) because coal, gas and hydro keep our lights and heaters on, trains running, petrol pumping, batteries charging and dairies, abattoirs and hospitals operating. (more…)
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