Ozone hole over Antarctica expands to near-record levels, now four times size of Australia
Ozone hole over Antarctica expands to near-record levels, now four times size of Australia, ABC News The World Today , 3 Nov 15 By Lucy Carter The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has expanded to near-record levels this year, covering an area almost four times the size of Australia.
Scientists from the UN said the increase was due to colder-than-usual temperatures, rather than any extra damage being done to the Earth’s protective layer.
But that could still mean extra UV radiation and the risk of more people getting sunburnt in Australia’s southern states this summer. Continue reading
For solar energy in Australia, the future is looking bright
Here comes the sun: funding for solar energy will fast-track Australia’s renewable future http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=ca54c642-afdb-4d23-9fd2-f63db9bd992c Corrs Chambers Westgarth A global surge in solar investment is driving new growth in Australia’s solar sector. Costs are falling and storage technology is improving, making solar energy an emerging force in Australia’s clean energy future.
At a global level, energy experts are predicting large-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) to be the least-cost option for power generation almost universally by 2030.[1]
Locally, investment in Australia’s renewable energy industry is forecast to exceed A$40 billion over coming years. This translates to an estimated 30-50 major projects comprising at least 6000MW of new generating capacity to be built by 2020.[2]
Australia’s solar industry is also backed by a number of key funding initiatives. The result is a bankable investment environment that will enable investors and project proponents to harness Australia’s abundant solar resource.
THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGET (RET) Continue reading
Why don’t we make Australians Aboriginal? Teach them to connect to country
Already as a nation, we have and have had:
- Australians who embrace and who are proud of being part of the oldest living culture in the world.
- Australians who walked side by side for reconciliation.
- Australians who fought side by side on foreign soils.
- Australians who compete internationally as teammates, mentors and coaches.
- Australians who are family, friends, mates and work colleagues.
What would happen if we as Aboriginal people invited and welcomed non-Aboriginal Australians into our community?
What if Aboriginal people helped all Australians to connect to country?, Guardian, Charlie Jia , 1 Nov 15 Picture this: every time Malcolm Turnbull addresses the nation, he acknowledges the Aboriginal country he was born on. @IndigenousX host Charlie Jia imagines a new kind of united Australian identity that is the true Australian identity?
This is Aboriginal land. Our people were always here.
This is the situation. This will never change.
Despite this truth, most Australians believe that Aboriginal people are Australians, first. Whereas most Aboriginal people would say, “we are Aboriginal first”.
Our Aboriginal sporting heroes, our Aboriginal politicians, our Aboriginal actors would all say they are representing their people. Most of us would say exactly the same thing.
The walk for reconciliation changed my life. I still believe we can walk together
Stuart McMinn for IndigenousX
So, isn’t it about time the Commonwealth of Australia stopped trying to make Aboriginal people Australian? Instead, why don’t we make Australians Aboriginal?….. Continue reading
Too good to be true? Greg Hunt’s new found enthusiasm for renewable energy
Hunt Talks Up Australian Renewables In Shanghai http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/hunt-australian-renewables-em5168/ November 4, 2015 Energy Matters Australia’s Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, provided a glowing report on the state of renewable energy in Australia at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Future of Energy Conference in Shanghai yesterday.
Minister Hunt didn’t want to discuss the not-so-glorious recent past for renewables under ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s reign, stating he wished to focus on “the positive agenda that the Australia has in place to harness energy innovation, support renewables and reduce emissions.”
Mr. Hunt told those gathered Australia boasts 2.4 million solar power and solar hot water systems, and has the highest proportion of households with solar panels globally at 15 per cent. This growth has been supported by programs such as the Solar Credits subsidy, which is still available. Additional incentives such as a tax deduction for asset purchases valued up to $20,000 are available for small business.
The Minister said renewables currently make up approximately 13 per cent of Australia’s electricity generation, a figure that will rise to 23.5 per cent by 2020 under the Renewable Energy Target.
Mr. Hunt was also optimistic about the future of home battery storage, quoting Morgan Stanley research estimating up to a million Australian households could have solar + storage in place by 2020.
The Minister was also very positive about the efforts of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA); agencies the Abbott government attempted to axe.
” Australia also excels in the development and deployment of renewable energy technologies through the Renewable Energy Target and investments made by the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Clean Energy Finance Corporation,” he said; also detailing some of the projects both agencies have been involved with.
The Minister also mentioned the CEFC and ARENA working together to jointly support the deployment of large scale solar with a $350 million package.
Reading over his comments, it’s hard to believe that a short time ago Australia’s renewable industry was facing a major threat from a government-led attack that saw investment in large scale projects plummet. With a change of leadership, the attitude towards renewables seems to have changed for the better.
The transcript of Minister Hunt’s speech can be downloaded here (PDF).
Australia’s Environment Minister Greg Hunt joining the pro #nuclear dance troupe?
Greg Hunt open to nuclear industry for SA http://www.afr.com/news/policy/climate/greg-hunt-open-to-nuclear-industry-for-sa-20151031-gknvu6 1 Nov 15 Environment Minister Greg Hunt has an “open mind” on nuclear power generation and the creation of a nuclear waste industry in South Australia.
Mr Hunt said is waiting for the findings of the South Australian royal commission into nuclear, which is considering whether Australia should become more involved in the nuclear fuel cycle.
“We approach this with an open mind. We will look at the results of the royal commission,” Mr Hunt told ABC on Sunday.
“Nuclear energy is one of the many forms of zero emissions energy which will be available and what’s my broad vision, and our broad vision, we progressively move towards low and zero emissions energy over the coming decades.” The royal commission will be hosting a series of public sessions until December.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was backing the creation of a nuclear fuel industry.Mr Turnbull said Australia should become involved in the nuclear fuel cycle to produce fuel rods, export them and then transport them back home once used, and store them in outback nuclear waste dumps.
Assistant Science Minister Karen Andrews told the Financial Review on Wednesday that developing a nuclear waste disposal industry was an option, and pointed out that there is Australian nuclear waste in transit from treatment in France which is expected to be stored by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. Mr Turnbull is yet to confirm the federal government’s short list of potential sites for a nuclear waste dump.
Don’t let strident pro nuclear voices drown out alternative voices
Gone Nuclear Fishing, The Adelaide Review, 2 Nov 15 John Spoehr With the nuclear Royal Commission, the South Australian Government has unexpectedly opened up a debate about our role in the nuclear fuel cycle. ……My own position at the outset is that it is not possible to examine the nuclear fuel cycle, and all that the nuclear industry entails, without detailed comparisons with the range of alternatives that are available to us in tackling climate change and building an energy industry for the future. Fair comparisons need to be commissioned and sought from a wide range of experts and subject to peer assessment. A citizens’ jury could be presented with the evidence to form another step in the advisory chain.
I am willing to listen to all sides of the debate while maintaining the highest levels of scepticism along the way. I need to be convinced, however, that Australia’s deeper participation in the nuclear fuel cycle is a superior journey to the alternatives available to us – particularly advanced solar thermal and energy storage technologies. Safety concerns and proliferation risks need to be honestly addressed. Other parts of the world might require other energy mixes, dictated by local realities and natural advantages but our position need not be dictated by what might be best applied in other nations to bring about sustainable reductions in greenhouse gases……
we need to ensure that the loudest and most well-resourced voices don’t drown out a robust debate about the alternatives available to us. http://adelaidereview.com.au/opinion/gone-nuclear-fishing/
Doctors warn on health effects of climate change on children
Australian doctors call for Health Minister to attend Paris climate talks, SMH November 2, Lucy Cormack The “increasingly unmanageable” threat of climate change on children’s health has prompted an open letter from doctors around Australia to the government, calling for Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley to attend the United Nations Paris climate summit this December.
In the letter, from independent organisation Doctors for the Environment Australia, leading doctors warn of the “health emergency” climate change presents for children, who have the least capacity to act. “More bushfires, floods and storms have already had severe and ongoing psychological effects on Australian children,” said the letter, which was released on Monday.
“Higher temperatures, which we are now seeing, have been linked to increases in premature births and hospital attendances for infectious diarrhoea, fever, asthma, dehydration and heat exhaustion.”…….Beyond two degrees of warming, health impacts threaten to become increasingly unmanageable.”
Professor Fiona Stanley, a former Australian of the year and a signatory to the letter, said she strongly supported the call for Ms Ley to go to Paris, because Australia desperately needed a national strategic plan for handling the health impacts of climate change…….Professor Kingsley Faulkner, AM, chair of DEA and former president of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said Australia risked remaining “a laggard, rather than a leader on climate change”.
“Australia must prove to the world that it can protect the health of its own citizens in Paris, especially its children,” he said.
The 2015 Paris COP21 climate summit will host leaders from more than 190 countries and runs from November 30 to December 11. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/australian-doctors-call-for-health-minister-to-attend-paris-climate-talks-20151101-gknvym.html#ixzz3qIcipVs1
Sunshine in your beer in Sydney
Pingala community-owned solar project to hit the roof of Young Henrys brewery, SMH, 2 November Lucy Cormack Environment Reporter
Imagine if there was sunshine in your beer. With a plan to build a solar farm atop the Young Henrys brewery in the heart of Sydney’s inner west, there soon could be.
Community members can become shareholders in the project – a collaboration with community energy organisation Pingala – and therefore, part owners of a future local solar farm. “When the Pingala guys came and spoke to us about it, we hadn’t had an interest in solar. Being able to put enough aside for large-scale solar wasn’t something we could afford,” said brewery part-owner Oscar McMahon.
“This was the perfect thing for us. We will start buying the power from the Pingala solar system on our roof, repaying people’s local investment into that system … we start buying renewable energy from our community.”
Electricity from the system will be used to power brewing processes, avoiding around 127 tonnes greenhouse gas emissions a year…….
The project will be the first for Pingala, part of a plan to start building community-owned solar farms on businesses and organisations across Sydney. The first stages have been realised with approval for a $40,000 innovation grant from the City of Sydney. Pingala volunteer Tom Nockolds said the renewable energy movement can no longer be ignored. “This idea, [it’s] time has really come. We’re opening up a new way for people to invest in renewable energy.” He said the project is directed at everyday “mums and dads who are struggling to find an opportunity to invest in renewables”. “Particularly in Sydney, where a high proportion of people live in apartments, are renters, or don’t have roof [space],” he said.
The Pingala initiative will aim for a 6 per cent to 8 per cent return for investors. After they have been paid back, the panels are gifted to the business to continue using. The first stages have been realised with approval for a $40,000 innovation grant from the City of Sydney.
Pingala volunteer Tom Nockolds said the renewable energy movement can no longer be ignored. “This idea, [it’s] time has really come. We’re opening up a new way for people to invest in renewable energy.”He said the project is directed at everyday “mums and dads who are struggling to find an opportunity to invest in renewables”. “Particularly in Sydney, where a high proportion of people live in apartments, are renters, or don’t have roof [space],” he said.
The Pingala initiative will aim for a 6 per cent to 8 per cent return for investors. After they have been paid back, the panels are gifted to the business to continue using
The Young Henrys project has the nod from Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who said it shows how Sydney “can make the shift to renewable energy even faster”. While Pingala is still obtaining financial and legal advice for the project, Mr Nockolds said in the early new year solar panels will be appearing on the Young Henrys roof…..http://www.smh.com.au/environment/pingala-communityowned-solar-project-to-hit-the-roof-of-young-henrys-brewery-20151029-gkltqu.html#ixzz3qIlYu8Jj
Australia has no environmental credibility, yet seeks to co-chair the Green Climate Fund
Australia bids to co-chair the Green Climate Fund criticised by Tony Abbott, Canberra Times, October 30, 2015 James Massola Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has launched a bid for Australia to co-chair the Green Climate Fund that former prime minister Tony Abbott once criticised as “a Bob Brown bank on an international scale”.
A decision on who the next two co-chairs of the fund will be is expected to be made in Zambia late next week. The co-chair positions are typically held by one developing and one developed country for a period of one year. Fairfax Media has learnt that Ms Bishop first proposed Australia put its name forward to co-chair the fund when Mr Abbott was still prime minister.
Final approval for the bid was not, however, forthcoming until the Liberal Party switched to Malcolm Turnbull last month…….
Greens climate change spokeswoman Larissa Waters, however, said the decision to nominate for the co-chair position was hypocritical given that, in her view, Australia’s estimated fair share contribution should be $350 million annually.
“Australia has no credibility in overseeing the Green Climate Fund when this government is simultaneously trying to open the southern hemisphere’s largest coal mine in Queensland,” she said.
“We are the largest per capita emitter of carbon pollution of any developed country and the Turnbull government’s measly reduction targets will keep it that way.”
The bid comes ahead of a crucial climate conference that will be held in Paris at the end of this year, which Ms Bishop, Environment Minister Greg Hunt and possibly Mr Turnbull will attend. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-bids-to-cochair-the-green-climate-fund-criticised-by-tony-abbott-20151030-gkmvv6.html#ixzz3q5fTp7CX
Malcolm Turnbull gets delivery of radioactive trash (fake) from Greenpeace
Greenpeace delivers fake nuclear waste to Malcolm Turnbull’s office, By Georgina Mitchell Celsius, 30 Oct 15, The environmental group turned up to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s electorate office in Sydney on Thursday equipped with a truck, white suits and six yellow barrels painted with radioactive symbols to deliver a message that nuclear waste is everyone’s problem.
On Wednesday, Mr Turnbull said Australia could plausibly mine uranium, sell it overseas for use in nuclear power stations, then take it back as waste.
This proposition was abhorrent to Greenpeace, who said the waste would impact Australia for “literally thousands of years”.
“The new Prime Minister has given some significant signals that his government is more interested in science and good policy than his predecessor, but the nuclear thought bubble is just plain wrong headed,” said Emma Gibson, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s head of program.
“If the government really wants to boost the Australian economy, how about making us a world leader in solar power and the renewables industry?
“Mr Turnbull has indicated that he wants to lead a government focused on innovation, but nuclear power is heavy old tech. We need to move towards clean, modern solutions to our energy needs, like solar power and other renewables,” she said…..http://www.celsius.news/story/3456818/greenpeace-delivers-fake-nuclear-waste-to-malcolm-turnbulls-office/?cs=4695
Nuclear waste dump idea is a political stinker: Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger is worried
Malcolm goes nuclear, Switzer, 30 Oct 15 Sir Humphrey might have called it a “courageous” suggestion. Determined to show everything is indeed on the table, the Prime Minister this week floated the idea of Australia storing nuclear waste. Not merely waste from the Lucas Heights scientific reactor, or indeed waste from a hypothetical Australian nuclear power industry down the track. No, Malcolm Turnbull is suggesting Australia welcome and store the nuclear waste shipped to us from other countries
After announcing a well-known nuclear advocate, Dr Alan Finkel, as Australia’s next Chief Scientist on Monday, the Prime Minister visited the South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill to congratulate him on his Royal Commission into the nuclear fuel cycle. Turnbull says he is a “bit sceptical” about the chances of a nuclear power industry stacking up financially in Australia (especially while coal is so cheap). But he does see a business case for digging up uranium, processing it here, shipping it off for others to use and then taking back spent fuel rods.
He spelt out his thinking on Adelaide radio: “We have got the uranium, we mine it, why don’t we process it, turn it into the fuel rods, lease it to people overseas, when they are done we bring them back and we have got stable, very stable geology in remote locations and a stable political environment. That is a business that you could well imagine here.”………
as anyone even mildly involved in the nuclear debate over the last twenty years will know, there’s no escaping the politics. Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger was typically blunt about the Prime Minister’s idea. “We look like everyone else’s rubbish bin, quite frankly, and Australians will see it that way…they will say ‘why is this stuff being dumped here?’” Kroger, the Victorian Liberal Party President, has a sharp nose for a political stinker………..
#NuclearCommissionSA chief dismisses ‘overheated’ worries about #nuclear industry
Nuclear inquiry head says objections to uranium ‘overheated’ http://www.afr.com/news/nuclear-inquiry-head-says-objections-to-uranium-overheated-20151030-gkn2mo
by Simon Evans The former admiral overseeing South Australia’s nuclear inquiry says he is trying to be as straight as possible on what can be a divisive issue, but some concerns about the nuclear industry go too far.
Kevin Scarce, who was appointed by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill this year to investigate if South Australia should go into nuclear enrichment, storage of waste and power generation, says he is on target to deliver preliminary findings by February before a final report by May. He says he is focused on objective evidence and tapping into global expertise, and accepts that many people have passionate views about the nuclear industry.
“Some of those concerns are overheated,” he told AFR Weekend. “I think it’s really important that we investigate all the issues and rely on fact-based evidence.”
Mr Scarce, who was governor of South Australia for seven years until mid-2014, has taken evidence from more than 60 witnesses. The latest on Friday was Eric Loewen, the chief consulting engineer at United States firm GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.
Dr Loewen is an expert in the development of the company’s new generation of small, modular nuclear reactors designed to recycle spent nuclear fuel.
He was asked about the approximate costs of the new generation PRISM reactor, and said a United States Department of Energy report had estimated it at about $6 billion.
“We would describe that cost as very reasonable,” Dr Loewen said. Continue reading
Matthias Cormann joins the Liberals’ pro #nuclear stampede
Nuclear could be lucrative: minister, http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/10/31/10/14/nuclear-could-be-lucrative-minister#m8FlUuWPGqSToruE.99 9 News, 31 Oct 15 A nuclear fuel industry could be potentially lucrative for Australia, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says.
Senator Cormann says the government is keeping an open mind on any proposals put forward by a South Australian royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle, which could identify opportunities to diversify the economic base on nuclear power.
“This could be potentially quite lucrative,” the minister told Sky News on Saturday, adding opposition to nuclear energy was often ideological.
Turnbull backs Sen Edwards plan to make South Australia the world’s radioactive trash toilet
PM Turnbull backs nuclear in SA, economy may get $35b injection, 
AFR, by Phillip Coorey Laura Tingle Simon Evans, 30 Oct 15 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is backing the creation of a nuclear fuel industry in Australia that experts say could be worth up to $35 billion for South Australia.
Mr Turnbull commended South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill for setting up an inquiry to consider if the state should have a nuclear industry. He said he was sceptical about the need for nuclear power, but Australia should become involved in the nuclear fuel cycle to produce fuel rods, export them and then transport them back home once used, and store them in outback nuclear waste dumps……
Assistant Science Minister Karen Andrews told The Australian Financial Review that developing a nuclear waste disposal industry was an option, and pointed out that there is currently Australian nuclear waste in transit from treatment in France which is expected to be stored by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
Those fuel rods come from the scientific reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney, whereas the proposal to manufacture and store spent rods from overseas concerns the high-level radioactive rods used to power nuclear reactors that generate electricity. Even after being reprocessed, they remain radioactive for many years.
Mrs Andrews referred to a proposal by South Australian Liberal senator Sean Edwards as an example of the sort of development that could emerge in the nuclear cycle industry in Australia and overcome concerns…..
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Senator Sean Edwards wants the whole toxic nuclear chain here, as well as the radioactive trash dump
Edwards pushing forward on nuclear, Sky News, 30 October 2015 A government senator is upping the ante on the nuclear debate, saying a revamp of the industry could help deliver free energy to his fellow South Australians and reduce state taxes.
Unlike Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is open to a discussion on exporting fuel rods, Sean Edwards wants to see spent ones recycled here and generators installed.
‘We are looking for an energy that week can generate at low cost so we can foster industry and foster jobs and ensure we are not destroying the planet at the same time,’ Edwards told Sky News on Friday, spruiking the economic benefits of having a local industry……. http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/national/2015/10/30/edwards-pushing-forward-on-nuclear-3.html#sthash.Okmc5vyv.dpuf– See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/national/2015/10/30/edwards-pushing-forward-on-nuclear-3.html#sthash.Okmc5vyv.dpuf
1 This month.
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Australians deserve the truth
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PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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