Debunking Renewable Energy Myths and Reframing Australian Energy Futures
Debunking Renewable Energy Myths and Reframing Australian Energy Futures with Dr. Mark Diesendorf
Date: Wednesday February 26th., 2014. 7:30 PM
Venue: Seminar Room, Ian Ross Building, The Australian National University.
Enquiries: Trevor Lee –ACT@solar.org.au
This is a free talk open to the public.
Abstract: Renewable energy technologies are expanding and their costs are continuing to decline, threatening the business models of the electricity industry and the future of the coal industry. As a result, false myths about renewable energy are being disseminated by these industries and their supporters among politicians and the media.
This talk will bust some of the principal myths while demonstrating that a renewable energy future is technically and economically feasible for Australia.
Dr Mark Diesendorf is Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW. He is a member of a team that is researching how to run the Australian electricity system entirely on renewable energy. Previously, at various times, he was a Principal Research Scientist in CSIRO, Professor of Environmental Science and Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at UTS, and Director of Sustainability Centre Pty Ltd.
His new book, ‘Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change’, has just been published and will be available for purchase at the event for a substantially discounted price ($35 cash).
South Australians! Some questions on the coming election
Dennis Matthews, 8 Feb 14, I am putting together a group (Fisher Electoral Lobby) to lobby candidates in my electorate (Fisher) in the SA elections. I have put together a questionaire, with all questions put in the form “do you support” even though I don’t support them all.
If anyone wants to sign up to the lobby please contact me. I’ll do all the work and it won’t cost anything. People will be able to sign on or off at any time. The more people we have the greater the clout. I will send media releases to local and state media.
The q’aire is given below’
1. Do you support the call from Business SA for:
1.1 Nuclear power in SA? YES NO
1.2 Uranium enrichment in SA? YES NO
1.3 The import of nuclear waste into SA? YES NO
2. Do you support
2.1 The feed-in tariff for electricity from solar cells? YES NO
2.2 Making exporters of solar electricity
pay more for the electricity network? YES NO
2.3 Making users of air-conditioners
pay a higher tariff for electricity? YES NO
2.4 Tighter regulation of the monopoly
electricity network utility? YES NO
2.5 SA Government incentives for
energy efficient homes? YES NO
3. Do you support repealing recent changes to the Electoral Act that:
3.1 Increased the cost of nominating for the
SA elections from $450 to $3000? YES NO
3.2 Increased the number of nominators required for an
Independent Legislative Council nominee to 250? YES NO
3.3 Placed independents at the end of the ballot paper? YES NO
4. Do you support an official apology to SA’s Aboriginal Peoples for the harm caused by:
4.1 Forcibly taking away their land? YES NO
4.2 Forcibly imposing an alien culture? YES NO
4.3 The introduction of toxic substances
into their communities? YES NO
4.4 The lack of aid in combating the
effects of the above? YES NO
Campaign to save Australia’s Renewable Energy Target
Save Australia’s Renewable Energy Target Campaign Launched http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4161 6 Feb 14, The Australian Solar Council is drumming up support for what it terms is a ‘David vs. Goliath’ campaign to counter the companies exerting their influence in an attempt to abolish the Renewable Energy Target.
Solar supporters are urged to carry out actions such as donating to fund an information campaign, writing to local members and using social media to raise awareness of the threat.
“We do not want two classes of Australians, those who have benefited from the RET, and everybody else who might be locked out,” says Australian Solar Council CEO John Grimes.
“Why should big energy companies be treated as protected monopoly providers?…This campaign is about fairness, and a fair go. It’s about speaking for the community and allowing competition, not protecting monopolies.”
3.5 million Australians have indicated a desire to go solar in the next 5 years; but with even Prime Minister Abbott continually issuing negative signals regarding the RET; the campaign will need all the support it can muster.
Renewable Energy Target Quick Facts Continue reading
Background information for submissions about proposed Kintyre uranium mine, W.A..
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE 14th FEBRUARY 2014 Send to:
Paul Vogel
Chairperson
Environmental Protection Authority
Locked Bag 33, Cloisters Square, Perth, WA, 6850
Ph (08) 6467 5419
Some basic points to think about for submissions: Mia Pepper 4 Feb 14
The proposed Kintyre uranium mine threatens WA biggest national park, Karlamilyi, just as the Ranger uranium mine is currently damaging the Kakadu National Park with three accidents in the past month alone. At a time when the uranium price is barely half the pre-Fukushima level, and more and more countries are turning their backs on nuclear power, a uranium mine that puts one of WA’s treasures at risk is economically unsound, environmentally risky and socially unacceptable.
Here is some background on the project
- · 4,400 tonnes uranium oxide concentrate (U3O8 produced per year)
- · Open cut mining (selective and bulk mining)– 1km wide, 1.5km long, 220m deep. Situated just 500m to the west of the south branch of Yantikuji Creek
- · Plan to leave the open pit as a permanent feature – turn into a lake
- · Overburden to ore ratio 37:1
- · Project area 1981 ha – land clearing 790 ha total (including roads)
- · 3.1 million litres of water a day
- · 7 million tonnes of tailings – two above ground tailing cells 35 ha – approx 1.5km from Yantikuji Creek South Branch and 2.2km Yantikuji Creek West Branch
- · 6 million tonnes of mineralised waste rock
- · 119 million tonnes of waste rock
- · Waste rock landform – 200ha 45m high
- · Ore transport – Kintyre – Port Headland – Newman – Meekatharra – Mount Magnet – Sandstone – Leinster – Leonora – Kalgoorlie – Norseman – Ceduna – Port Agusta – Port Adelaide * 4,600km – up to 5 road trains per week but on average 100 per year.
Nuclear Free Campaigner
Learn how to cook with solar energy
Newcastle-based Sun Cooking Australia is holding a free solar-cooking workshop on Sunday, February 2, which will include sampling of food cooked in a solar oven.
The workshop will take place at 3 Lewis Street, Wallsend, from noon to 3pm
LIVING GREEN: Cooking with sunshine, NewcastleHerald By KAREN TOIRKENS Jan. 26, 2014,WHEN people talk about “going solar”, we usually think of solar hot water and solar (PV) electricity systems. There are also a growing number of people using direct solar radiation to cook outdoors.
Solar cooking involves concentrating sunlight to create heat and essentially comprises two main methods: using parabolic solar cookers, where a dish with a reflective surface focuses the sun’s heat to a central point (making them well-suited for cooking foods at high temperature, such as frying, boiling and grilling); or using solar ovens, where solar radiation is trapped inside a well-insulated box (creating an ideal environment for slow-cooking, baking and dehydrating). Continue reading
Wind Industry Forum March 19
- Date
- 19 March, 20142014-03-19T09:00:00
- Time
- 9:00 AM 2014-03-19T09:00:00 – 5:00 PM 2014-03-19T05:00:00
- Location
- Victoria University City Convention Centre, Level 12, 300 Flinders Street, Melbourne
– See more at: http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/events/upcoming-events/wind-industry-forum.html#sthash.QOHH4DL0.dpuf
http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/36524/clean-energy-council-to-host-wind-industry-forum-in-australia/ Renewable Energy Focus 17 January 2014 Educational event tailored for individuals specializing on the ‘technical side’ of wind farms.The Wind Industry Forum, which is scheduled to take place 19 March at Victoria University City Convention Centre, is targeted toward civil, electrical and mechanical engineers, as well as wind engineers and various other technical experts.
- Noise assessments
- Wind resource measurement and analysis
- Grid access and network connections
- Civil and electrical site design
TPP. Sign online letter to the Trade Minister: reject investor rights to sue governments a
TPP continues in 2014: AFTINET’s new online letter to the Trade Minster Jemma Williams Communications Campaigner Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET)
Leaders failed to meet their deadline to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations this year, largely because of community opposition in all negotiating countries. But the talks will continue in 2014.Ministers will meet again at the end of January, so it is important that we keep the pressure on. We have just launched a new, updated letter on our website to send to Trade Minister Andrew Robb, which focuses on the major issues now most in danger of being traded away.
The letter asks him to reject investor rights to sue governments and proposals which would cause higher medicine prices, and asks him to release the text of the agreement before it is signed.
Please sign the new letter and share it amongst your networks.
Online petition: call for independent audit of Ranger uranium mine
The Environment Centre NT has launched an online petition demanding action following last weekends toxic spill at the Ranger uranium mine – calling on Federal and Territory Environment Ministers to act swiftly for an independent and transparent audit of all operations and equipment at the mine site and that the proposed Ranger 3 Deeps underground mine be scrapped.Please sign and share the petition: http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/time-to-clean-up-ranger-uranium-mine-and-clear-out-of-kakadu
Lecture 11 December: White Man’s Law on Aboriginal Land
Upcoming Event – White Man’s Law on Aboriginal Land: The Conflict of Legal Cultures on the South Australian and Prairie Canadian Frontiers http://blogs.adelaide.edu.au/public-law-rc/2013/12/03/upcoming-event-white-mans-law-on-aboriginal-land-the-conflict-of-legal-cultures-on-the-south-australian-and-prairie-canadian-frontiers/
The Adelaide Law School is proud to host:
White Man’s Law on Aboriginal Land: The Conflict of Legal Cultures on the South Australian and Prairie Canadian Frontiers
Presented by: Professor Louis Knafla
Dr Louis A Knafla is Professor Emeritus of History, University of Calgary, and specializes in early modern English and western Canadian legal history. The editor of “Aboriginal Title and Indigenous Peoples: Canada, Australia and New Zealand” (2010), he is currently completing a co-authored book on “Fragile Settlements: Aboriginal Peoples, Law and Resistance in Australia and Western Canada, 1830-1914” with colleagues at Adelaide and Winnipeg.
Date: Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Time: 5:30-7:00pm
Venue: Moot Court, Ligertwood Building, University of Adelaide
RSVP: By Monday, 9 December 2013 to Dr Matthew Stubbs (matthew.stubbs@adelaide.edu.au)
December 11 – Learn about the Secretive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement
You are cordially invited to a public meeting about the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement at 6pm on Wednesday December 11 at Earth’s Kitchen 131 Pirie St Adelaide.
– Internet Freedom under threat
– Higher prices for medicines
– Special rights for foreign investors to sue governments
– No protection for worker’s rights or the environment
– Threat to public services
More TPPA details are available at www.aftinet.org.au RSVP on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/236499866514043/?fref=ts
December 5 meeting to examine impacts on Australia of the Trans Pacific Partnership
| Impact of the National Commission of Audit (NCA) and Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) on Australia’s governance and economy. http://billboard.anu.edu.au/event_view.asp?id=105050 | ||||||||||||
| This Roundtable event will examine how the impacts of privatisation and deregulation as framed by the NCA’s terms of reference and the signing of the TPP will coalesce into a force for radical change in Australia, raising critical questions about our sovereignty and the health of our democracy.Light refreshments will be served from 5.30 pm.
This lecture is free and open to the public. Please rsvp by Monday 2 December 2013 to rsvp@law.anu.edu.au
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Trans Pacific Partnership can allow foreign companies to sue Australian governments
If you believe that Australians should get to choose their own policies and have their basic democratic rights honoured and protected, without fear of legal retribution by foreign corporations then please sign this petition!
Don’t let foreign corporations sue Australia over our policies on GE crops, coal seam gas, health & more! https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Dont_let_foreign_corporations_sue_Australia_for_millionsbillions_over_our_policies_on_GE_crops_coal_seam_gas_more/ The decision by Prime Minister Abbott to reverse the blanket prohibition on ‘investor-state dispute settlement’ (ISDS) provisions in Australia’s upcoming trade negotiations has the potential to irreversibly damage Australia’s national interests by limiting Australia’s ability to set its own policies when it comes to health, the environment, social policies and more.
This is because this new policy will give foreign corporations the right to sue the Australian Government if they believe our policies will damage their corporate interests.
This means that biotechnology corporations could sue Tasmania and South Australia over their respective moratoriums / bans on Genetically Engineered (GE) crops. New South Wales could be sued over their environmental guidelines on coal seam gas extraction and any communities choosing to enact a moratorium on coal seam gas extraction could be sued as well. Pharmaceutical companies could sue Australia over our Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS). We could also be sued if we ever wanted to ban harmful pesticides or institute stricter environmental standards in any area of our economy that might impact the interests of a foreign corporation. And that’s just to name a few…
And if you think this all sounds so totally outrageous that it couldn’t possibly happen to us here in Australia, then its well worth considering the impact of what ISDS provisions are currently doing in Canada Continue reading
Tour of Victoria’s Hepburn Wind Farm
Have you been up close and personal with a wind turbine?… Ever wanted to?… Well here’s your chance… http://yes2renewables.org/2013/11/29/yes-2-renewables-hepburn-wind-farm-open-day/ by Leigh Ewbank With the generous support of Australia’s pioneering community-owned Hepburn Wind farm, Yes 2 Renewables is pleased to announce a wind farm tour on Saturday December 14.
Join the Yes 2 Renewables team, supporters and volunteers for a fun day at the wind farm. See for yourself what wind turbines are like, gain an understanding of community-owned renewable energy, and have some of your questions answered by the tour guides. RSVP essential.
Protest against Australian company Lynas’ rare earths operation in Malaysia
Malaysians to Occupy Lynas HQ in Sydney: Protest shareholder meeting, divest from Lynas, 29 November.
SYDNEY | Eight representatives from Himpunan Hijau, one of the largest environmental movements in Malaysia, will be travelling to Australia to protest against Australian rare earth mining company, Lynas Corporation. Lynas has started exporting its toxic and radioactive rare-earth pollution to it’s controversial refinery, the Lynas 
Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan, Malaysia.
Himpunan Hijau will be joined by Friends of the Earth Australia, Beyond Nuclear Initiative, AidWatch and The Greens.
Submissions called for on uranium mining proposal for Western Australia’s East Pilbara.
Feedback sought on proposed Pilbara uranium mine ABC Rural By Lucie Bell 21 Nov 13 Canadian-based miner Cameco is inviting public comment on the Environmental Review and Management Programme for its proposed uranium project in Western Australia’s East Pilbara.
As part of the environmental assessment process for the Kintyre project, the document has beenmade available online. It addresses how Cameco would develop the project, which is located 60km south of Telfer on Martu traditional lands.
The Conservation Council of WA and Australian Conservation Foundation have launched an online campaign opposing the plan.The Council’s Mia Pepper says the organisation is concerned the project could adversely affect a diverse ecosystem. “It’s home to a number of priority species including the Bilby, Desert Skink, Marsupial Mole and a whole suite of other things including subterranean fauna.
“So all of those things are put at risk by the project both from land clearing and water consumption.”Also the long-term risks of having radio-active materials dug up and processed on site will put a lasting amount of pressure on the environment and biodiversity in that area.”……. Submissions can be made to the WA Environmental Protection Authority until February 14th 2014. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-21/kintyre-consultation/5106280
1 This month
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
– go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com/
Antinuclear 