"What a carbon price means for you. The pathway to a clean energy future."
Top climate scientists around the World are saying that to have a high probability of avoiding a catastrophic 2 degree Centigrade temperature rise the World must stop GHG pollution by about 2050. However in Australia, a world leader in annual par capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and in fossil fuel exports, there is an unspoken agreement between the major parties (the Liberal-National Party Coalition Opposition and the Labor Party Government, aka the Lib-Labs) that Australia will keep burning and exporting fossil fuels until the World makes it stop. At huge expense to Australian taxpayers the pro-coal, pro-gas, anti-environment Australian Labor Government is posting out to all Australian householders a 20 page booklet called “What a carbon price means for you. The pathway to a clean energy future” (.pdf) and which dishonestly claims that the Gillard Labor Government is “tackling climate change”. Australian taxpayers should be enraged that they are having to pay for being lied to by omission and commission and that their children are being lied to in a process of massive, nation-wide intellectual child abuse.
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With the disastrous tsunami of March 11, 2011 looming not far in the background, Japan is struggling to decide what to do about record energy shortages. Public opinion has turned strongly against nuclear energy and put plans for nuclear expansion, popular up to the time of the earthquake, suddenly out of the question. With politicians stuttering over allowing routine nuclear reactor restarts after annual maintenance shutdowns, only 19 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are currently operating, and with the summer heat working its way through Tokyo, energy demand typically strains even the fully supported grid. Without the full backing of Japan’s nuclear power plants, the question of what to do to keep the country’s lights on is becoming more pressing with each degree the thermometers climb.
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Seen here is the construction of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor in Finland.
Once upon a time I used to be a fan of nuclear energy. As far as I saw it, nuclear energy was the silver bullet solution to all of our energy problems and more. However, the more I’ve learned about the industry the more critical I’ve become.
Notably the fact that most of the economic figures in support of nuclear power (a couple of typical delusions you’ll find here and here) come straight out of Hogwarts school of magic, wizardry….and economics (more realistic appraisals of nuclear economics can be found here and here). There is the question about the world’s limited stockpiles of fissile material, not helped by the fact that the LWR reactors that make up the bulk of our present capacity are ridiculously fuel inefficient, as in they only actually burn 2-3% of the fissile material present.
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We all know that we have to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and eventually reach zero emissions. Indeed top climate scientists and biologists are telling us that reaching zero emissions is not enough – we then have to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration from the current 394 parts per million (ppm) to 350 ppm (according to 350.org) and thence to 300 ppm (according to the latest science-informed 300.org). Because of extraordinary Mainstream media censorship in Lobbyocracy Australia, few Australians realize that Australia has already exceeded its “fair share” of permissible global GHG pollution before science-demanded zero emissions in 2050.
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The photo shows many of the young people who attended the youth camp on Utøya. The photo was taken on July 21, the day before the massacre, when Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere visited the camp.
As you know. This past Friday in Norway Anders Behring Breivik, a conservative, islamophobic and Christian terrorist, detonated a car bomb outside the office of the country’s Prime Minister and other government buildings in Oslo. Less than two hours later on the island of Utøya the fascist opened fire at a political youth camp organized by the youth organization (AUF) of the Norwegian Labour Party (AP) killing nearly 70 people, many of whom were only children, and wounding many more.
In a 1500-page long “manifesto”, published on the web shortly before the two attacks, Breivik described his religious and fascist conspiracy theories. In addition to the average islamophobic, undemoratic and nationalistic rantings about Muslims taking over Europe and whatnot he also had a section called “Green is the new Red – Stop Enviro-Communism”. According to Breivik global warming is just a eco-Marxist plot, or a “Anthropogenic Global Warming scam”, with the end goal of creating a world government:
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The left photo shows smoke coming from the Fukushima nuclear plant and the photo to the right shows the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear plant.
The Italian nuclear engineer and safety expert Cesare Silvi explains why he left his former pro-nuclear stance for solar and other renewable energy sources:
“I soon came to the conclusion that neither international cooperation nor technological advancements would guarantee human societies to build and safely run nuclear reactors in all possible conditions on Earth (earthquakes, floods, droughts, tornadoes, wars, terrorism, climate change, tsunamis, pandemics, etc.). I am sadly reminded of this turning point in my life as I listen to the news about the earthquake, tsunami and extremely worrying nuclear crisis in Japan.”
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Windmills near Ibaraki, a city located in Osaka, Japan. Photo by
skyseeker.
Many of us have heard of Google’s sustainability efforts; from green data center and offices to bringing in goats to chew down the grass on their corporate campus. Now Google is embarking on another effort in sustainability with offshore windmills to power their company.
There is enormous potential in renewable energy that can meet our current and future needs. Here are a few facts worth knowing about wind power’s renewable energy:
- A single wind turbine can power over 300 homes if it is well designed. To start a turbine, the winds only need to reach fourteen miles per hour, so places with light wind such as the UK are able to use it with ease.
- Wind power was used as far back as 5000 BCE for ships, wind mills, and power pumps.
- Contrary to popular thought, wind power is not harmful to birds. A study by NASA has shown that windmills have no significant impact on birds.
- In 2008, enough wind power was generated in the U.S. to power the entire state of Colorado
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