Promoting Alternatives to Fossil Fuels

Pumping the Petrol thing 

Image "Pumping Fuel" courtesy Michelle Meiklejohn  freedigitalphotos.net

We all know with fossil fuels that if global production hasn't peaked it will do so shortly. Be very wary of so called reports that claim there are vast reserves enough to energise our world for hundreds of years more. Only a fool thinks fossil fuel has a future. It always pays to verify sources when data rolls off people's tongues like golden syrup. There is a limit to oil, gas and coal and when they peak, if it hasn't already in a number of countries, demand will outpace supply. The cost of production will rise and people will hurt at the bowser and their lifestyles will be affected, that's a given. Except for the player that moves post haste on to the new game in the early stages. Of course the player needs to be smart, and I expect competition to be rough. But there is no doubt the writing is plainly visible for all to see. Renewable energy is going to succeed with or without stimulation from the government. The masses just won't be able to afford living on extortionate oil. 

Prices are going to escalate according to supply and demand economics. Its doesn't get any simpler than that. As we read daily, our dependency on fossil fuels is causing the planet all sorts of grief from geopolitical wars, global warming, and pollution down to local environmental suicide, introducing toxic chemicals into our water systems. 

There is no contest, governments are heavily lobbied by the undisputed polluters like big Coal, Oil and Gas companies. Let's face it the average grassroots environmental advocate is up against these formidable money machines.  Trying to get ear with politicians is the proverbial uphill battle. Reform looks bleak. Despite all the grinding and head banging nothing really changes. It feels like being stuck in one hell of a rasping gear going nowhere.

One of the conundrums resides in revenue income governments need to stave their countries woes. Without significant tax revenues derived at the pumps some countries would find themselves in predicament of collapse. Possible a number of oil dependent countries would be heading toward failed statehood. We have already witnessed Western governments scrambling to stem likely domino repercussions from states on the brink of insolvency. Because we live in a global village, irregardless of borders, ones business is inescapably moored to everyone's business. 

Figure Japan. The recent tsunami decimated the nuclear plants and oil reserves.  No oil no transport, no transport no stores full of food and supplies, no food and water, people die. Japan, being one of the richest countries in the world is facing catastrophe on a scale beyond appreciation of the word. Now it would be foolish to blame oil for this disaster, but it doesn't take much effort to connect the dots. Oil is badly needed because the infrastructure in Japan relies on it, yet, it is also that substantial reliance which makes it such a concern. Without a more sustainable alternative the world looks very dark.

Sounds like we are doomed, doesn't it? Without consensus and practical plans available this quagmire will only get worse.

Well what if there was such plans, renewable efficient energy plans that could reduce our carbon output and remove our dependency on hazardous fossil fuels? What if those plans were fully costed and engineered, proven with present technologies, ready to go today? What if the costs were guaranteed to be less than the cost of doing nothing? Allowing the same old system to operate uncontested isn't smart. What if that costs were within budget? Would you be interested? Would you want to consider it? Would it at least be worth a look?

Surely. any reasonable person would say yes. 

Be assured there are such plans out there. Unfortunately, hopeful news of viable alternatives doesn't get noticed without publicity, usually spelt as m-o-n-e-y. Let's show money has a thing to learn about people power. In the next bog instalment I am going to posit a local Australian initiative called Beyond Zero Emissions. 

We need to demand that this debate goes front and centre in the community, because seriously, whether we like it or not, we can't survive being servile to ignorance and corporations that are more committed to profit than human beings. 

Email to PM Gillard

5/12/10

Dear Prime Minister Gillard

With respect I am deeply disturbed by Mr McClelland’s efforts to devise legal actions against Mr Assange, and your recent statement(s) that the leaking of alleged classified information (WikiLeaks) was a “grossly irresponsible thing to do and an illegal thing to do" (SMH, 2010).

As an Australian citizen myself, I am deeply concerned for Mr. Assange’s well-being and safety.  Regardless of what may be construed of Mr. Assange’ conduct he is foremost a national and as far as I know entitled to rights and protections afforded by Australia.

Australians place extreme value on our human rights record and protections as you well know. Perhaps I may have misunderstood, but in democracy we elect leaders and governments to put us first, to look after our survival and interests, diverse as they be, above and beyond the reaches of other nation states.

This is what we negotiate for, what we demand from our government in exchange for our loyalty and taxes. Alarm bells should ring when governments fail to defend their citizens.

Whatever may be said of US democracy a US citizen is under no misapprehension their government will ceaselessly strive to secure their sacrosanct freedoms should they be held in harms way in Iran and North Korea of all places. Retrieving fallen soldiers, leaving no one behind and defending their liberties in overseas situations are only some of the assurances the US government performs for their population. 

It still shames me to recall how our government behaved and treated Mr. Habib and Mr. Hicks. I hope I never forget how cruelly John Howard ignored them in their hours of unpardonable torture. With every catastrophe we need to be constantly reminded of the horrors, where we strayed, how easily we lost ourselves. I say ourselves because we are all Australians, together. The bombing of innocent Australians in Bali, demonstrates the notion that we as a whole bear the pain and suffering as a nation. What is done to one is done to all. I know empathy moves me when I try to imagine what they did to Mr. Habib and Mr. Hicks.  How could we have abandoned them?

This same country that now openly and proudly admits to torturing (water boarding) alleged terrorists is by their own judicial enquire adamant that they, the perpetrators of said abuse, are unaccountable to Geneva conventions and international war crimes courts. Condescension. Under the circumstances they are behaving rationally, protecting their interests. But this feels very wrong. Of course my suspicion levels are raised and my faith in democracy is disturbed.

I for one find justification based on the argument that national security is greater than individual security has little credibility. WMD, indeed! The number of lies our governments tell us and each other and this business of information classified off limits? One would think governments and their subalterns were laws unto themselves by the manner in which they patronize their subjects. The boy who cried wolf is all too familiar a story that I am often struck when an official begins a sentence, ‘In the interest of national security … blah, blah, (you know the spiel). I often wonder if they actually think I am that gullible.

Really, are we to trust implicitly in our governments? At what point does asking difficult questions and expecting truthful answers constitute treason? Is it illegal, for me to support human rights, for example?

Naturally, I am troubled when my trust in democracy and my government is conditioned by the principle of faith. So far I have been unimpressed with our record on climate reform, national security, and health reform to name a few. But aside from that what concerns me most, enough for me to spend hours composing this letter (not believing it will ever be read by you), is the point about Mr. Assange, our fellow Australian.

Please don’t take offense when I say that Mr. McClelland and you appear blatantly fawning to our US friends, and while you both and others seem quite prepared to throw our own to the wolves (metaphorically speaking) what is the gain if at the end of the day I lose confidence in my government to look after my family? 

If I can think this way then there are certainly others who will draw the same conclusion.

Additionally, how can I ignore habeas corpus when I know it was paid for with blood? It also happens to be an outstanding writ.

As there are real consequences to this farrago over WikiLeaks, and given that I suspect the motives of governments, does it not appear responsible to judge for myself whether or not the leaked information is important? Rather than put my head in the sand does it make me unAustralian to want access to information, which might affect my family, my world. What is my government so afraid of me knowing?

I believe it makes sense, and this is why I am so deeply affected when you uttered the words ‘grossly irresponsible’ and ‘illegal’ in the context of information that is alleged classified. I believe that analyzing and deconstructing the leaked information is a responsible act, surely a rational one, a strategy for survival. Many people will argue that WikiLeaks by circulating the documents was grossly responsible. I personally accept this interpretation.

In the background I hear Mr. McClelland scurrying to root out anything illegal he can nail Mr. Assange with. He like, Mr. Andrews appears to getting ahead of himself. But one thing for Mr. Andrews is his loyalty to Australia. It, at least, seemed genuine (despite his amnesia) whereas Mr. McClelland’s priorities, taken that he is Australia’s Attorney General, he seems rather obliging to the Americans and compliantly Amazonian and patently remiss of his paid duties to Australian citizens.

In closing, I am so unfazed by hyperbole, especially the fear mongering over WikiLeaks. Democracy isn’t likely to be toppled by openness and dialogue. Secrecy, however, is demonstrably poisonous and I imagine it is the real threat to reform.

People, I believe are desperate for strong leaders to sort out difficult problems. Conversely, leaders need support from their citizens to make significant advances, and that can only happen smoothly when people have trust in governments.

You will have your view on Mr. Assange. But in my view he has been open and responsible with the leaks. While his life is under undeniable threat I hope you reconsider and offer him a safe haven. To me Julian Assange is a very courageous person and I am proud to call him an Australian. It is my hope that you recognize his rights and give him protection.

Sincerely

Downunder the Weather

“WikiLeaks acting illegally, says Gillard.” smh.com.au.  2 Dec. 2010. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/wikileaks-acting-illegally-says-gillard-20101202-18hb9.htmlgive

Water, the most precious of all.

One hesitates to begin with, “I don’t want to sound alarmist, but…” But I will. No self-control, I wager. “Shout, shout” I order myself!  “Before the Siren’s exact their charm.”

If this is ever a “for the whom the bell tolls” moment this surely must be our wake up clang. For an international corporate coup d’état of Australian waterways is well upon us. If I hadn’t stumbled on this news article in the paper today I might have missed it altogether. Is it true? Are we so desperate that we have to sell our most precious birthright on the stock exchange?

Why? How is this possible that we failed to notice it happening? Who made it happen? Why do I feel angry?

This is no contest. Water is the most precious resource of all. Every living thing on this earth depends on it to survive. Tell me, what good should be more sacrosanct than public access to clean water and air?

How dare we disregard Bolivia’s story? At our peril, don’t begin to tell me it will never happen here. It is and it will escalate as long as we continue to remain naive and apathetic to our own highly publicised dry-bone continental supply. It just isn’t smart to trust that our governments are looking after our welfare when we have evidence, as this article demonstrates, to the contrary.

It is unfathomable to imagine we could simply surrender our most essential life-preserving constituent to overseas stakeholders. At its rudiment form corporations are cold-blooded abattoirs competing for earnings. For them profit is the only moral. If you don’t believe me do your own research, how they treat third world nations. Tell me, if you are not mortified by their exploitation and callousness for others. Look past the feigned rhetoric to their actions where greater truths are sure to be found in their alliances and conduct.

Water is too vital to claim ownership rights. It really belongs to no one or no thing. But since human kind insists on fingering every pie it can imagine we must ensure that it is shared at least fairly among all living things, entrusting with respect to scrutiny and rational courage.

References to Bolivia

http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/water/bolivia.html 

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/South_America/Bolivia_WaterWarVictory.html 

http://www.democracyctr.org/bolivia/investigations/water/

The Main Story

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/thirsty-foreigners-soak-up-scarce-water-rights-20100903-14uev.html

Thinking Like a Child

Thomas Friedman

While it feels slightly uncomfortable to draw attention to Thomas Friedman, the NYT's columnist, because I often find his views incompatible with my own, I am quite happy to bestow accolades to his excellent article which deals with the Gulf oil spill and Obama's opportunity to steer environmental policy toward renewable energy. In it he demonstrates optimism and compelling argument for common sense that we don't often find covered in mainstream media. If the children understand then why can't we? While it seems crass to capitalise on this tragedy I think one has to be resigned to mess, after all, disasters are ramifications of living in this universe. Whether they be natural or human-made, it makes sense to reduce the damage and learn how to survive future events that are surely bound to occur. Click on the link below to access the full text that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday, June 1, 2010. Here are a few bites of text which I heartily endorse.

".... the most important thing Obama can do is react to this spill as a child would - because it is precisely that simple gut reaction, repeated over and over, speech after speech, that could change our national conversation on energy...

I am glad the President passed healthcare for the nation. But healthy to do what? To go where? To grasp what dream? Answering those questions is the President's great opportunity here, but he has to think like a kid.

Kids get it. They ask: Why would we want to stay dependent on an energy source that could destroy so many birds, fish, beaches and ecosystems before the next generation has a chance to enjoy them? Why aren't we doing more to create clean power and energy efficiency when so many others, even China, are doing so?
And, Daddy, why can't you even mention the words "carbon tax", when the carbon we spill into the atmosphere every day is just as dangerous to our future as the crude oil that has been spilling into the Gulf?

That is what a child would want to know if he or she could vote. That is the well of aspiration for a game-change on energy that Obama can tap into. And he could even rip off BP for his moon shot motto: Let's get America "Beyond Petroleum". As you would say, Mr President, this is your time, this is your moment. Seize it. A disaster is an inexcusable thing to waste."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/obamas-chance-to-salvage-some-good-from-the-oil-spill-20100601-wrod.html

Worst US Oil Spill Since Exxon Valdez

Here we go again. Another oil spill. another coast line, more dead species and the cost - not only to our planet, but to our economies. What gives?

Last year in the sea between Timor and Australia a similar offshore oil rig disaster spewed slick into the sea. The devastation covered measured at least 85 kilometres.

A month ago a Chinese freighter crew tried to save some time by straying off course through the Great Barrier Reef. From its ripped open hull on the coral floor, two tonnes of Texas tea poured into the world heritage treasure. The year before Queensland endured a 230 tonne mishap.

This latest fiasco off Louisiana has some way to go before it reaches the 35,000 tonnes loosed in the Exxon Valdez incident. Still, eighty miles of greasy, life killing sludge isn't easy to dismiss. Sooner or later it will wash ashore and the people will be wondering if it is really worth it to take that kind of risk.

At the end of April it is expected to arrive on prime coastal wetlands landing wave after wave of petroleum tribute. Out of sight, out of mind. In a measure to minimise damage authorities have burned off some surface oil. Polluting the air, apparently, is not good. I suppose there will be plenty of accusations to throw around and some political anxiety to expect when the people actually start shampooing sea animals and counting the dead when they wash up on the beaches.

Surely, there will be other future environmental-economic disasters to cope with. Some probably much worse in terms of negative impact. Just how many more catastrophes can we absorb before it gets too unmanageable? When will we say enough of this "drill, baby drill" oil roulette mentality and really change to earth friendlier energy infrastructures?

I still find it unfathomable why Obama gave his blessing to increased offshore drilling when the answer is to put our labour into making renewables a reality as quickly as possible.

Without being too optimistic it is quite possible that the answer my friend it is literally and metaphorically blowing in the wind. There are a number of available local sources of potential energy to tap into, waiting for us to work out how to make it work. Self-sufficiency means we do not have to invade other countries to ensure sufficient supply of energy.

Is it me... I just don't understand, do I?

About the Massachusetts GOP victory

There is no doubt this event is tragic for the world. It portends of more aftershocks on the way.

The first thing the Americans can do is kiss universal health care goodbye and caress the stained hands of those corporations which have enslaved them forever. The rest of the world can expect more of the same from the warmongers and idiots when it comes to fixing global issues. It's time to put all the dreams on hold and go back to gardening. Yes, I can!

The great hope that rested on Obama is moot. And this definitely hurts on so many levels, I have to say. To be honest I had high hopes he was the person to take us forward. But instead I feel like I have been betrayed by his actions. I don't want to make excuses for him but he certainly didn't get any help from his party. Those feeble representatives bring new meaning to the notion that we ourselves are often our worst enemy. If Democrats are patent at one thing it is losing the un-losable victory.

On the other hand one has to admire the other side for knocking the wind out of YES WE CAN!

Of course tomorrow will show up and give us another day to get back into it. Definitely what happened sucks, and giving up would be so easy given the state of my cynicism. But, what else is there to do? Hi Ho, Hi Ho.

The Problem with Being Human

Some months ago we were shocked to learn that scientists from the University of East Anglia had fudged the data linked to global warming. It must have been a satisfying gloat for sceptics. I remembered at the time resisting the urge to take the news seriously. Just another apologist beat up I thought.

Personally, I didn't have an issue with the way media headlined the fraud. It certainly made high profile mockery of those particular academics, and frankly, if they tampered with the data then they deserved a roasting. Everything especially science must be held up to scrutiny. Put it down to human frailty, I suppose.

The hoax news conceivably threw advocates of global warming into a spin as it did me. I have to say for a moment I felt doubt. I recovered. My big question was about the ramifications, how could the movement recover from that? All that effort gone into educating and persuading the unbelievers was decades in the making. The whole affair demonstrated how easily it could have all fallen apart.

Well, as we witnessed the hoax scare was merely a deviation, shortly corrected. Somehow we as humanity just move on. I suppose we just get tired and apathetic with some things. Overall, the hoax news didn't alter the major commitment to the global warming movement, certainly not as the sceptics would have wanted it to pan out. I think they would have liked to have scored a coup.

I will leave you with a link to an article posted by The Tech Online Edition which outlines some of the debate that has ensued. I think it is healthy to broaden the discourse.

In Wake of Climate Research Controversy, MIT Faculty Discuss Validity of Concerns:

http://tech.mit.edu/V129/N60/climate.html

Getting to know Global Warming

The debate on global warming is one I find most frustrating to appreciate from the view of a skeptic. I think we should be well past the discussion and well into the 'doing what we can with all our might' phase. While the media focuses on the diatribe I firmly believe they are doing us a disservice. The majority of scientists have overwhelmingly proven the earth is warming. Science clearly demonstrates that the earth's temperatures are rising proportionately to the output of human industry.

It is widely accepted that since the advent of the Industrial Revolution the earth has warmed significantly, and as our populations and consumption habits have soared so has our insatiable demand for energy increased. We are exponentially burning fossil fuel to our detriment, risking our own and our children's future in destroying the plants and animals which provide our sustenance. Consumption feeds us and also depletes us. An unbalanced planet, missing its essential species can not feed us. A violent world ravaged by weather can not protect us and it will see our demise from both spiralling war and disease.

I can understand the unwillingness of economic powerhouses to commit to reducing global warming especially when consensus is betrayed by mistrustfulness and their own selfish objectives. No one wants to lose their place. The problem with playing politics is time. There is no more time.

I don't understand skeptics. What is in it for them? I know some religious people are expecting the second coming, an end of this sinful world to be supplanted by a theocratic utopia, an image of heavenly peace and beauty. They portend global warming as largely prophesied and as a necessary condition of the revelation, horseman of the apocalypse and all that tripe. I hear their thinking, "why delay the inevitable. Bring on the pestilence. My unreserved faith in god is all the salvation I need, god will take care of everything." They have always pinned their hope to the after life, driven by delusions of grand mansions and vestal virgins that await the faithful.

Then there are those other fallacists who live purely by economics. How wrong are these people? Are they so myopic that they confuse burning lethal energy as profit. What profit is there in values that perpetuate materiality at the expense of peace or happiness? Where is the good in misery, starvation, and slavery.

These are surely the signs of the monster, capitalism. What a wonderful world it pretends to be for those who are strong enough to survive with money and power. After the slaves are gone who will pay the taxes? Unless for money sake, I can not fathom the arguments which allay renewable energies over coal and nuclear.

Eventually, we must put our dynamism into renewables. So why not get started now in a big way instead of being so superficial about actually doing something we know is the right action? Surely one thing humanity can do well is rise to a challenge.

My voice is all I have to add to a chorus of people who believe whether we are late or not we must act to preserve our beautiful earth.

Copenhagen Disaccord: Sin, Spin, and Pin (the blame)

In a scene reminiscent of Star Wars's Galactic Senate, our nations leaders fecklessly wavered when they were obliged to stand up and get on with the job.

Possibly, this was the job, the one that really mattered if human existence counts in any sense of the word. Alas no saviour, not a Jedi in sight. Even Senator Palpatine was nowhere to be seen.

If truth be told the result was a foregone conclusion. I feel justified in my cynicism. It had all the touch of pre-planned sabotage. Of course from the start there were impending signs that significant results were going to be difficult to attain with such controversies as the stolen emails from the British scientists scandal and the Danish leaked document. In short the discrediting bodies had some negative influence, however, when it came to it nothing stood shorter than the organisers and politicians themselves.

What happened to the spectacle ending? We watched dumbfounded as our leaders cut tail. Capitulation was not supposed to happen. The powerful nations did not follow the Hollywood script. They were supposed to overcome their selfishness, rally and break a last minute deal for the sick planet, but instead we got a 2-3 pages of... well, I can't even think of it without spewing. This has to be the lamest act in history.

Am I saying without intervention millions, possibly billions of human beings will die? Yes, most certainly. Is earthgeno-suicide really inevitable now?

Depending on which media outlet one reads the spin game is on. While some like our Climate Change minister, Penny Wong, they have to do more than criticise other nations like the United States and China. That kind of displaced energy is counterproductive. Australia needs to take a good hard look at its own shambling policy measures. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/extreme-views-of-some-nations-cannot-derail-copenhagen-wong-20091220-l778.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/19/copenhagen-closes-weak-deal

I am so depressed by what happened at this Copenhagen conference. Mary MacKillop can you save us? Our leaders are not saints and can not produce miracles.

Desperate. But not desperate enough to believe in chimeras.

Waiting for the big announcement.

about my negativity

I know that my comments appear cynical. It concerns me somewhat because I do not want to see myself being so negative, but I can not deny feeling this way. I feel despair, utterly.

The more I learn about this world the less I feel. A numbness consumes me. Something stinks in Denmark, I fear. Yes, I'm angry about what I see around me. It has gotten to the stage I need to express my emotions and not keep them repressed.

This blog is my release valve, my therapy, my means of surviving. Getting it out from my system is crucial.

I do not expect anyone to read this. I just want to feel free just one in my life, to say what I really feel before I wither into dust.