Australia could replace coal energy by solar energy by 2040 – Energy expert
Solar energy growth could drive out coal by 2040, expert says SMH, July 24, 2013 Peter Hannam Carbon economy editor Australia could phase out almost all its fossil-fuel sourced electricity by 2040 if it doubled the current rate of take-up of solar energy and wind energy maintained its current growth pace, said Professor Ken Baldwin, director of ANU’s Energy Change Institute….. to shift the energy sector away from carbon-intensive coal and gas sources to avoid dangerous climate change, renewable energy could provide all but a couple of per cent of Australia’s electricity in under three decades, he said, citing data from ANU’s Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems. Continue reading
US bombs on the Great Barrier Reef are PROBABLY safe
Bombs dropped on Reef ‘virtually impossible’ to explode SMH, Kim Stephens, July 24, 201 US naval authorities say it is ‘‘virtually impossible’’ two undetonated bombs lying on the Great Barrier Reef will explode.
United States 7th fleet spokesman Lieutenant David Levy has revealed four bombs – two inert and two explosive – dropped in the ocean off Rockhampton by US warplanes during a recent bungled training exercise may not be recovered.
‘‘The Australian and US governments are currently reviewing this possibility’’, Lieutenant Levy said, when asked if they would be retrieved……: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bombs-dropped-on-reef-virtually-impossible-to-explode-20130724-2qi1l.html#ixzz2a6oHziSi
Western Australian Goldfields ready to lead on solar thermal energy
Solar Thermal Touted For Western Australia’s Goldfields http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3858 25 July 13, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam was in the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia on Tuesday; convening a meeting to plan the Goldfields’ renewable energy future.
Senator Ludlam says the Australian Greens’Connecting Clean Energy plan (PDF) was a perfect fit for the Goldfields. The plan focuses on the identification and creation of new Renewable Energy Zones to help remove investment and infrastructure barriers.
“The community and business sector in the Goldfields are showing they are ready to take the leadership on solar energy,” said Senator Ludlam. Continue reading
Australian politicians not keeping up with the renewable energy trend
Australia’s large-scale renewables ambition dashed by policy vacuum REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 24 July 2013 If the Australian renewables industry was looking for affirmation from Australia’s two mainstream parties at the industry’s major annual conference this week, then it might have been disappointed. Instead, it appears destined for yet more uncertainty and a less ambitious conclusion.
An industry that is craving some level of “policy certainty” may have to wait another year or 18 months, depending on the result of the upcoming election, and there is growing concern that the ability of Australia to meet its minimum 20 per cent renewable energy target is becoming increasingly difficult. So much so that some in the industry appear ready to accept a delay in the target’s deadline.
Over the next seven years, more than $20 billion is expected to be spent on new wind farms, solar farms and other large-scale renewable energy projects – not counting the billions of dollars that are expected to be invested by households in rooftop solar.
All this was to be built to meet the fixed renewable energy target of 41,000GWh, which is supposedly a bi-partisan goal. Right now, however, while households continue to invest heavily in rooftop solar because it saves them money from their electricity bills, a lot of the large-scale investment is at a standstill.
This is due to the uncertainty created by the upcoming election, the insistence of the Coalition in having yet another review of the renewable energy target in 2014, and the failure of Labor to legislate for that review to be held in 2016 – as was recommended by the Climate Change Authority’s review of the RET, which was completed just seven months ago.
Further adding to the problems for renewables is the decision to move more quickly to an emissions trading scheme, which will result in a higher price for renewable energy certificates, and a complication of the politics around renewables, if the carbon price stays low…….
David Green, the CEO of the Clean Energy Council, said earlier that the two-year review was a recipe for instability for the market. One wonders if the industry regrets not pushing Labor to take on the Opposition and put the four-year review to a parliamentary test, given the uncertainty that is now created, and the growing possibility that a target will be diluted or deferred.
But Green, and Fraser, noted how the energy industry is changing – mostly as a result of the rooftop solar and the growth of “distributed generation”.
“The structure of the energy industry is changing,” Green said. It was moving from large-scale investment in pipes and poles to more active engagement with consumers, and more smaller-scale investments, embedded in the system. “We are beginning to shift the way we use electricity and the other fuels in the industry,” he said.. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/australias-large-scale-renewables-ambition-dashed-by-policy-vacuum-26250
UN says Malawi is getting a poor deal from Australian uranium mining company Paladin
UN rubbishes Malawi’s Paladin uranium deal, fertilizer subsidyBy Hudson Mphande, Nyasa Times July 23, 2013 United Nations Special Raportuer on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter who was in Malawi for an assessment of the food situation in the country has rubbished Kayerekera uranium mine deal between Malawi and Australian Paladin Mining Company saying the Southern African country has had a raw deal that is robbing the poor.
The UN Raportuer said the uranium mining deal was one of the investments in Malawi through which the country is losing resources that could otherwise make a difference in food security and other pro-poor initiatives. He said in the life span of the mine Malawi is expected to lose almost US$281 million…
“Mining companies are exempt from customs duty, excise duty, value added taxes on mining machinery, plant and equipment. They can also sign special deals on the rate of royalty owed to the government. I believe that there are more reasons that investors would come to Malawi without such incentives,” he said.
De Schutter was addressing journalists in the capital Lilongwe at the end of his 11-day tour of the country.
He bemoaned that due to illicit financial flows, tax envasion as well as tax incentives that the country offer to both domestic and foreign companies currently Malawi was failing to get maximum use of its resources.
De Schutter said that revenue losses from special tax incentives to Paladin Africa Mining alone are estimated at almost K67 billion (US$205 milion) since the mine started its operations and could reach almost K92 billion (US$281 million) over its13-year lifespan.
“Paladin alone is costing the budget more than US$20 million (almost K8 billion) a year in taxes,” he said.
He added: “I am convinced that unless combined with a comprehensive enhancement and optimisation of tax revenue, current macro-economic reforms may not have substantive positive impacts. There is need for
Malawi to examine its national tax laws and policies towards preventing illicit capital flight. As mining develops, Malawi can simply not afford business-as-usual.”
The UN Special Raportuer said it is estimated that the country has lost over 10 percent of its growth domestic product (GDP) to illicit outflows and tax evasion over the period 1980 to 2009……..
De Schutter also specifically expressed concerns on the country’s current minimum wage currently at K371 ($1.12) per day, describing it as the lowest in the world…… The UN special rapporteur said he will give a report and his recommendations to both the UN Human Rights Commission and the Malawi Government. http://www.nyasatimes.com/2013/07/23/un-rubbishes-malawis-paladin-uranium-deal-fertilizer-subsidy/
Paladin Energy – the Ugly Australian uranium mining company in Malawi
the British silently stole our uranium and left when their projections did not add up to their whims, and now we have the Aussies who are refusing to deal fairly.
Honestly I loved Crocodile Dundee the movie but this Aussie corporation turning Malawi land into some ‘plunder outback’ is making me sick
Killing Malawians through the rotten extractives deals: The case of Paladin’s uranium mining Nyasa Times, by Patrica Masinga, 24 April 13, Malawi has in the few weeks been engaged by a plethora of stakeholders discussing strategies to revive, or more on the ground, reclaim the benefits that Malawians are been milked of by the so-called extractive industry multi-national corporations.
They call themselves investors, and government believes that the Malawi Development Goals (MDGs – who cares if it’s the second phase) will be boosted, particularly that mining alone through Kayerekera of Paladin Energy Limited group of companies (trading as Paladin (Africa) Ltd in Malawi?) could provide a large economic base.
But that is all a fat lie. Paladin and many other foreign multinational mining countries are least interested to contributing to the Malawi economic growth. They are here to milk the country – exploiting all that it has rich in minerals and dump us when the time is right even poorer.
Imagine, to screw Malawians of their rightful economic gains, the company, incorporated in Australia first listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on March 29, 1994 under code ‘PDN’, and quickly changed its name from Paladin Resources NL to Paladin Resources Ltd in 2000 and listed under the Toronto Stock Exchnage (TSX) in Canada April 29, 2005, and again changed its name to Paladin Energy Ltd in November 2007 and listed on the Namibian Stock Exchnage on February 2008.
By such trends, one is compelled to question the motive, considering also that in Namibia itself the company owns the Langer Heinrich Uranium Mine where it started production in 2008 and has Kayerekera Uranium Mine as its second largest mining venture in this part of Africa acting also as a good supllment to the Langer Heinrich Uranium Mine. Continue reading
Record low price for uranium, and it continues to go down fast
The week ended with TradeTech’s Weekly U3O8 Spot Price Indicator sitting at $36.50 a pound, a decline of $1.75 over the prior week’s value. This is the lowest price that has been seen in more than seven years
The weakness was not isolated to the spot market and is starting to spill over into the term market.
Uranium Market Marches South at Double Time 9 News Finance byFN Arena By Andrew Nelson Tuesday, July 23, 2013 The crack appeared the week before last. Sellers started to buckle under the strain and gave in to lower prices. A US$1.30 drop ensued. That’s the way last week started and from there things only got worse for the uranium spot price. Continue reading
Flat pack modular solar buildings – another Australian first
Australian Flat Pack Solar Buildings http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3852 24 July 13 An Australian company is producing flat pack modular accommodation that incorporates solar power.
Blue Planet Buildings, based in Revesby, New South Wales, manufactures a modular system that in flat-pack configuration sits in its own metal bottom frame with adjustable feet and does not require a concrete slab or brick piers.
Engineered to exceed Category D Cyclone standards, the building’s frame is made from extruded aluminium. Metal wall and roof modules are 80mm thick, the floor 110mm thick and feature injected EPS insulation. All windows in the structure are double glazed to maximize energy efficiency and suppress noise.
Optional fittings include plumbing and provision for a deep cycle battery bank.
2 people can assemble the buildings in as little as an hour; with a crane or forklift required to position the roof section. Assembly is so simple, tradespeople are not needed.
Up to 6 flat packed units can fit in a single shipping container. The demountable buildings are being used across Australia in mining, construction, emergency services, education, transport and infrastructure sectors. Once a project is complete, the units can be disassembled and relocated.
Blue Planet Buildings was the recipient of The Australian Business Award for Best Eco Product in its industry classification for 2013.
Talisman Sabre war games disrupted by Peace Convergence
Peace Convergence http://peaceconvergence.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/peace-pilgrims-enter-shoalwater-bay-military-training-facility/ civil society against militarism in Australia
Peace Pilgrims enter Shoalwater Bay Military Training Facility 23 July, 2013 Two people entered the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area this morning to disrupt the Talisman Sabre training exercises.
The two are Greg Rolles (31yrs), school teacher from Brisbane; and Graham Dunstan (71yrs), retired grey nomad.
There are currently 28,000 Australian and US troops undertaking joint military training in Australia, with a focus on the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area. Last week two US aircraft dropped 4 bombs on the Great Barrier Reef when they were unable to land at their planed location.
Pre-prepared statements from the two peace pilgrims point to the effect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their desire to act against the Australian & US military alliance.
Graeme Dunstan stated “It is my intention to trespass onto the Shoalwater Bay Military Area and, by creative nonviolent actions, do the best i can to disrupt the military exercises, demonstrate resistance to the culture of war and preparation for war and create a counter narrative to the propaganda of the military”
Greg Rolles stated “the Australian and US military forces have taken and continue to take many innocent lives and waste money that could be used in, amongst others, our ailing education system.”
The two pilgrim’s full statements follow. Continue reading
Christopher Boyce speaks out on USA interference in Australian politics.
Freedom, Flight and The Falcon WikiLeaks Party , 13 July 13 WikiLeaks Party member Gary Lord (@Jaraparilla) interviews Christopher Boyce, whose experiences as a US whistle-blower were documented in the 1985 Sean Penn movie “The Falcon and The Snowman.”…….In 1974, Boyce found himself working in the secretive “Black Vault” communications center of a US aerospace firm, where he had free access to allegedly “misrouted” Central Intelligence Agency cables. And like Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden some 40 years later, he became increasingly angry at his government’s covert actions around the world.
What particularly incensed Boyce, however, were CIA discussions about removing Australia’s Prime Minister from power, along with CIA infiltration of Australian workers unions. At the time, Gough Whitlam was proposing the withdrawal of Australian troops from the Vietnam War and the closure of US military bases including Pine Gap. But Australia was nevertheless a loyal US ally, whom Boyce believed deserved to be treated with more respect. Continue reading
Call for US bombs to be removed from Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority boss wants US bombs removed BRIAN WILLIAMS AND ROBB KIDD THE COURIER-MAIL JULY 23, 2013 FOUR bombs dropped on the Great Barrier Reef will be recovered but the US Navy will not face any penalties because they were offloaded during an emergency.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chief executive Russell Reichelt yesterday said he was not concerned the 3m long, 226kg bombs would explode but he wanted them removed from the World Heritage area.…..
Pine Gap: Australia completely involved in USA military operations
Perhaps the bigger question, however, is whether Pine Gap’s deep and growing engagement with US military operations is something that has foreclosed Australia’s diplomatic and military options in relation to future crises and conflicts.
Pine Gap’s capabilities are now deeply and inextricably entwined with US military operations, down to the tactical level, across half the world.
Desert secrets – Sydney Morning Herald by Steins Glassware at July 21st, 2013 It is a piece of America. At least that’s the vibe in the large cafeteria at the top-secret Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap near Alice Springs….. one effectively needs a top-secret clearance to visit. …
Australia and the US are certainly united at Pine Gap. It is the crux of an electronic espionage alliance that is nearly five decades old. It is also the most secret place in Australia….. Continue reading
Nuclear submarines, later nuclear weapons? – phallic symbols for Australian politicians
All those who sit in power – whether it’s in Tokyo or on Adelaide Avenue – seemingly can’t quite resist the temptation to hold their own firm, erect missiles. And this is the reality that lurks behind the submarine debate here in Australia.
And that is the whole point of the bigger submarines our politicians are determined to buy. They aren’t being designed for carrying nuclear missiles, of course, but they will be able to do so.
As Britons posture on nuclear needs, reflect on what is happening at home Canberra Times , Nicholas Stuart, 20 July 13 Imperial hubris dies hard. Britain still can’t quite get used to the idea that it is no longer ”Great”. This week five former Conservative and Labor defence ministers, together with their force’s chiefs, warned the country it must never, ever, abandon its own nuclear deterrent. Even though Australia remains the only country on which Britain has ever successfully detonated a bomb, a small and vociferous lobby group of apoplectic lords, sirs and doctors have joined bewhiskered admirals and fuming former military chiefs to demand and insist that Britain must never reduce its own independent fleet of nuclear submarines.
We are not talking about abandoning the bomb, mind you. The proposal on the table is simply to reduce the number of missile-carrying submarines to two, instead of four. A mere 96 nuclear-tipped warheads, instead of 192. The ability to utterly destroy a continent, rather than the world. And why?……… Continue reading
South Australian govt considers council rate charges for wind farms on private properties
Council rates bid for wind farm turbines on private property http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-19/council-rates-bid-for-wind-farm-turbines-on-private-property/4830326 Jul 19, 2013
Mr Parnell is on the committee and says farmers pay rates on infrastructure such as sheds, but multi-million-dollar wind farms are currently exempt as they are considered to be plant and equipment.
“A big part of the wind farm debate has been how we share the benefits of renewable energy, so one of the things we have to look at is how do we make sure the returns from wind farms are spread through the community?” he said.
“Rates is one way of doing it, community development funds is another way of doing it. “We’ll see at the end of the day which one the committee recommends.”
Peace Convergence Protesters arrested in Rockhampton, protesting Talisman military exercises
Four peace activists have been arrested blockading the Caroona Street gate of Western Street Barracks, Rockhampton.
1 This month.
20 September –National Day of Action in Melbourne on the International Day of Peace
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
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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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