Non political and impressive panel to oversee Australia’s climate action and renewable energy targets
High-power panel to put emissions on target June 22, 2012 THE Gillard government has named its ”Reserve Bank for climate change” – as coined by Tony Mohr of the Australian Conservation Foundation – a high-powered panel, including hard-headed industry representatives, that will help set Australia’s greenhouse gas and renewable energy targets.
The Climate Change Authority will include industry heavyweight John Marlay, widely seen as a more conservative voice on the panel, and Reserve Bank board member Heather Ridout, who in her previous job as head of the Australian Industry Group was critical of elements of the carbon tax. The panel, announced yesterday, will also include respected climate
scientist David Karoly, former economics bureaucrat Lynne Williams, left-leaning economist Clive Hamilton, AustralianSuper chairwoman Elana Rubin and leading economist John Quiggin….. The authority will be chaired by former Treasury secretary and Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser.
The authority members will constitute the most powerful independent advisers on the carbon pricing scheme, recommending greenhouse gas emissions targets to the government….. Greens leader Christine Milne said the panel would ”depoliticise the fraught process” of setting targets. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/highpower-panel-to-put-emissions-on-target-20120621-20qtt.html#ixzz1yYez2G63.
Harvey Norman aims to be an Australian leader in solar panel sales
Harvey Norman invests in solar panels 19 June 12, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8485955 Retailer Harvey Norman plans to be a market leader in the domestic solar industry after placing a substantial order for user-friendly solar panels. Continue reading
Malaysia’s Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) set radiation standards to exempt Lynas to reuse wastes
the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has arbitrarily set its own safety standards for radiation exposure, which is not in accordance with international standards. The AELB standards would be used to exempt and clear Lynas’ radioactive wastes for reuse and recycle. The exposure to radioactive waste was one of the causes that led to high levels of lead poisoning and other severe health complications of the people in Bukit Merah.
TOL sell-out by PSC: The final smirk from Lynas , Malaysia Chronicle, by Charles Santiago, 19 June 2012 “…….Health over investment? The PSC has outlined a guideline to look into health measures for the people, wording it to say that this was undertaken to arrest the fears of the public. Severe birth defects, eight leukemia cases over five years in a community of 11,000, tears and anguish of the poor people from a largely shoe-making community – these are not news headlines. Neither is it the plot of a movie.
These are the consequences of carelessly allowing the Asian Rare Earth factory to be built in Bukit Merah, Perak in 1982. When Mitsubishi Chemical started operating its rare earth factory, the villagers complained of choking sensation, pungent smell, coughs and colds.
The community also saw a sharp rise in the cases of infant deaths, congenital disease, leukemia and lead poisoning. Thirty years later, it has not wiped out the memories and heartache of the villagers who lost their children and loved ones. Only the government is feigning ignorance. Continue reading
Solar panels in Australia- cutting mains electricity use and wholesale prices
Solar Panels Cutting Australia’s Mains Electricity Consumption http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3261 by Energy Matters Results of a study released earlier today show energy efficiency efforts and home solar power installations are reducing Australia’s mains grid supplied electricity consumption – and wholesale electricity prices too. Continue reading
Tony Abbott tells Liberals they must support the Renewable Energy Target
Tony Abbott forced to quell backbench climate rift BY: SID MAHER The Australian June 20, 2012 TENSIONS have erupted in the Coalition over a key climate change policy less than two weeks before the introduction of the carbon tax from July 1.
…….the Opposition Leader told the partyroom that people saw generating renewable energy as an important issue and the Coalition had to commit to it………….. Under the RET, first introduced by the Howard government and supported by both sides of parliament, 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity will be sourced from renewable energy sources by 2020. The scheme is designed to subsidise the development of renewables – particularly wind farms – to speed their commercialisation and lower their technology costs. Continue reading
Australia using less ‘baseload’ energy – largely thanks to solar panels
more than half the cut in power use was due to photovoltaic solar panels, solar hot water systems and energy savings programs in Victoria and New South Wales that encourage use of more efficient lightbulbs and appliances.
the cost of solar energy and energy-efficiency schemes was modest compared with other factors pushing up electricity prices……
Solar panels linked to lower power usage, Illawarra Mercury, ADAM MORTON, 20 Jun, 2012 SCHEMES encouraging people to install solar panels and save energy have cut household power consumption and will restrict the pace at which electricity bills increase in coming years, a new analysis has found.
While solar incentive schemes have been criticised as an expensive way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, an industry analysis has found they have led to a reduction in the amount of fossil fuel electricity drawn from the national power grid.
It suggests it is likely no new baseload power plants will be needed over the next decade.
Electricity consumption fell 3.2 per cent over the three years to 2011, ending years of dramatic increases and bucking projections that it would continue to soar due to economic and population growth. Continue reading
Aboriginal elder’s legal battle to stop giant uranium mine
Elder continues fight against SA mine 9 News, 19 June 12, Aboriginal elder Kevin Buzzacott is pushing ahead with his bid to block the giant expansion of the Olympic Dam copper, uranium and gold mine in South Australia after an initial court decision went against him.
The Federal Court ruled in April that the commonwealth had properly taken into account the long-term impact of the mine, rejecting Mr Buzzacott’s argument that federal Environment Minister Tony Burke had not given enough consideration to the risks posed by storage of radioactive tailings at the site in SA’s north.
Mr Buzzacott has appealed against the court’s decision and a hearing has been scheduled for Thursday. Grounds for the appeal include an argument that Justice Anthony Besanko was mistaken in ruling that the minister did not need to consider existing conditions imposed by the state government on water extraction for the mine from the Great Artesian Basin.
The Arabunna elder also argues the approval was uncertain because so much of the project was left to be defined by studies and plans that were yet to be completed.
Mr Buzzacott said he was hoping for a “better result this time round”. “We hope that the three judges that will hear the appeal will seriously reconsider Justice Besanko’s interpretation of our argument,” he said in a statement……
BHP funds a study to lead to nuclear power and nuclear submarines for Australia
Sub study to look at nuclear options BY: VERITY EDWARDS The Australian June 20, 2012 UNIVERSITY College London will study whether the Australian navy could use nuclear propulsion in its next generation of submarines, despite the federal government ruling out its use in the immediate future.
UCL’s Adelaide-based International Energy Policy Institute, headed by Tim Stone, the senior adviser to the British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, began its academic program this year with $10 million in funding from BHP Billiton and other energy companies……
The Gillard government has committed to building 12 submarines in Adelaide, but has ruled out nuclear propulsion. ….
The university will look at a third generation of submarine capabilities, which would also involve research into how long it would take to enable a civil nuclear market to be up and running in Australia.
The IEPI will this week advertise internationally for a uranium and nuclear power researcher, whose work will tie in with the submarine project. The researcher will evaluate the nation’s role in the nuclear fuel cycle, uranium enrichment and opportunities for the Australian market, and the lifecycle and environmental footprint of nuclear power.
Lynas’s rare earths stockpile near Fremantle – call for transparency in its radiation monitoring
Rare earth stockpile radiation levels questioned ABC News, June 20, 2012 An MP is calling on the State Government to make radiation monitoring results public after revelations the Lynas Corporation has been stockpiling rare earth concentrate in Bibra Lake. The Member for Fremantle, Adele Carles, says the Government is yet to confirm whether
monitoring is being conducted.
The Environment Minister Bill Marmion has confirmed the containers have been held at Lynas’ holding yard since March…… Ms Carles says the Government is basically saying the material is perfectly safe. “I say to them, well, if it’s so safe, then release to us the radiation monitoring so that we can see that for ourselves,” she said.
Ms Carles says monitoring is required under a Radiation Management Plan. “That requires that if this material is stored anywhere for more than 24 hours, there must be radiation monitoring,” she said. “I’ve asked to get copies of this monitoring and the Minister has basically denied that information.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-20/questions-over-rare-earth-stockpile/4081280?section=wa
ERA’s Ranger uranium mine continues to be a money pit
Ranger uranium miner ERA predicts loss of up to $60m, BY: BARRY FITZGERALD The Australian June 20, 2012 RANGER uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia has flagged a $50 million to $60m loss for the first half.
The forecast loss by the listed Rio Tinto subsidiary was made by the company in presentation notes filed with the ASX ahead of a two-day tour by analysts of the Northern Territory mine….
.. Earlier this month, ERA approved $57m for expenditure on a study into the potential of the Ranger 3 Deeps mine. A decision on its viability is due in late
2014.
International Monetary Fund recommends Australia’s carbon tax
IMF backs carbon price, http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/imf-backs-carbon-price-20120618-20k9k.html#ixzz1yCfgqQEj Adam Morton June 19, 2012 A CLIMATE change policy guide by the International Monetary Fund has broadly backed the federal government’s starting point, recommending a minimum initial carbon price of about $20 a tonne. Continue reading
Wind farms – $billions of value to the Australian economy
A study commissioned by the Clean Energy Council has shown found that wind farms alone could inject $17 billion into the Australian economy. This estimate relies on proposed future developments going ahead, but already $4.25 billion has been added to the economy due to the impact of wind power alone.
Wind Farms Offer $17 Billion Economic Boost, Design Build, By Tim Moore, 19 June 12 Renewable energy infrastructure in Australia is beginning to develop strong foundations. With the implementation of wind farms, solar farms and other large-scale green infrastructure projects taking root nationwide, it is possible to now monitor and understand the effects they are having on a multitude of levels. Continue reading
recommendations for BHP Billiton’s planned new copper/uranium mine at Olympic Dam
Olympic Dam / Roxby mine Recommendations 2012, by David Noonan, 18 June 2012:
Prevent South Australia becoming the Radioactive State by requiring BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam / Roxby mine to:
- only trade in copper and other non-radioactive products;
- not export uranium or to sell proposed radioactive copper-uranium concentrates; and
- leave the uranium and all other radioactive waste at the mine site.
Repeal the Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act 1982 and the 2011 amendments to the Indenture to: remove the extraordinary legal privileges granted to BHP Billiton including the override of state legislation that would apply to any other mining venture or commercial activity.
Require BHP Billiton to commit to environmental protection measures to:
- dispose of radioactive tailings into the proposed new Roxby open pit and to rehabilitate the pit should it be constructed;
- prevent liquid radioactive waste leakage from tailings piles – including by required lining of the tailings piles;
- use renewable energy for the full electricity supply to the proposed new open pit mine, rather than the BHP Roxby mine plan for a jump of 12 percent in SA’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and to phase out use of fossil fuels for the electricity supply to the existing mine;
- stop extraction of Great Artesian Basin waters from Borefield A as soon as possible and to phase out rather than expand extraction of GAB waters from Borefield B;
- and commit to biodiversity projects that genuinely compensate for the loss of flora and fauna caused by the mine project, proposed new open pit and associated operations.
Protect the unique ecology of the Upper Spencer Gulf and the breeding ground of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish by: prohibiting the construction of a major desalination plant in this fragile region by BHP Billiton.
These Recommendations are based on my recent update of the relevant sections of the “2010 State Election Agenda for SA” (authored by CCSA, ACF, TWS and NCSSA) that I had a lead role in as then ACF national nuclear free campaigner.
Australia’s Institute of Public Affairs promotes climate denialist lies to schoolchildren
what might it mean that Plimer’s views are rejected outright by 97-98% of climate scientists and major scientific organisations across the world? Might his extreme and nastily expressed views have something to do with vested interests – given that he is the interim chairman of one mining company and director of at least one other – in the context of a looming carbon tax?
Teaching critical thinking in this context would also look at the concept and role of peer review and relevant credentials when deciding on the worth of conflicting statements.
How the IPA feeds kids lies about climate change, Independent Australia, 12 June 12, The Institute of Public Affairs, a lobby group funded by big business, miners and the tobacco industry, is sending schools misleading and inaccurate books about climate change. Frances Quinn from the UNE reports. Two recently published books suggest that the public – and school children in particular – are being fed lies about environmental issues such as climate change. The books – “How to Get Expelled from School: A guide to climate change for pupils, parents & punters” by Ian Plimer and “Little Green Lies: An expose of twelve environmental myths” by Jeff Bennett – clearly demonstrate how important it is to have a scientifically literate Australia.
The distorted and selectively reported science in these books highlights some of the challenges that Australian teachers face in teaching science, and how important it is that they are supported in this task.
The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE) has condemned Plimer’s book as misleading and inaccurate. However the free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is apparently sending copies of Plimer’s misleading fringe book to Australian schools. The Executive Director of the IPA John Roskam is, incidentally, on the editorial board of the publishing house of these two books.
Plimer’s book tells school students that they are being “conned” and “fed propaganda” if their teacher “waffles” on about issues such as human-induced global warming, sea level rise and the IPCC. He deplores this as “environmental activism”. This is despite the overwhelming evidence for human induced climate change accepted by a vast range of climate scientists and scientific organisations. Continue reading
Australia’s energy generation – community-owned renewable projects are the way forward.
The Hepburn Community Wind Farm consists of two turbines built by the community, after locals decided nearly seven years ago to take responsibility for their own energy needs.
Citizen-owned energy is way of the future. Power Engineering, 17 June 12, AUSTRALIA’S carbon tax is just two weeks away. The cost of electricity is set to rise from July 1, with a national renewable energy target of 20 per cent by 2020.
Large-scale wind farms are increasing, solar energy is booming and hydro schemes are being adopted across the country.
But the real future of energy generation is in community- owned renewable energy projects, according to one of the men involved in setting up Australia’s first citizen-owned wind farm. Now he has his sights set on Tasmania. Continue reading
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