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Australian energy policy: Planned Chaos in Energy
Viv Forbes
Australian state and federal governments are pursuing plans that guarantee high prices for gas and electricity, electricity blackouts and high risks to petrol and diesel supplies. It seems that every energy policy is designed to create long term chaos for Australians.
The silliest policy of all is one that encourages the use of gas for base load electricity generation on the hoax claim that the gases produced by burning natural gas are less harmful than the gases formed by burning natural coal. This is a non-sense argument — both coal and gas are natural hydrocarbon products, and, when burnt, produce the same two 'greenhouse' gases (water and carbon dioxide). And water in all of its forms has far more influence on climate than the tiny amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere. These gases are not pollutants, and they do not drive climate change, but they are food and drink for all life on earth.
Natural gas and coal seam gas are far too valuable to waste in base load power stations when ample coal is available for this purpose. Gas is far more valuable for chemical feedstock, peak load power stations, and for easily transportable fuel for vehicles, boats and barbies. Normal cars won't run on coal, but they will run on gas. Forcing power companies to use gas instead of coal is going to force up the price of gas, increase the price of electricity, and do nothing useful for the environment.
The next silly policy is the whole carbon reduction program. Without nuclear power, there is zero chance that windmills, solar panels or ethanol stills can replace carbon fuels to power our cities, cars, factories, farms and transport fleets. Therefore the sole result of Emissions Trading will be to add a large but unpredictable tax burden to the cost of all energy. It is merely a tax grab and will do nothing for the environment.
Finally, in case it has escaped the notice of politicians, Australia does not run on sunbeams and sea breezes — it runs on diesel, petrol and coal. Every bit of food relies on diesel tractors, diesel harvesters, diesel road trains, diesel and electric locomotives, diesel trucks, diesel or electric water pumps, helicopters running on avgas and quad bikes drinking petrol. Forestry, fishing and mineral extraction also run on carbon fuels for boats, trucks, dozers, drilling rigs, land-cruisers and electric power.
Australia is the most decentralised and isolated country in the world and it relies totally on efficient internal and international transport. It is too late to go back to the 'green energy' represented by draught horses, bullock teams, sulkies, sailing ships and pit ponies. Without coal and diesel fuel, outback Australia closes down and city Australia starves.
However, every year, less oil is produced in Australia and more oil comes from unstable and unfriendly countries. The Middle East could erupt in one day; Russian oil and gas could be turned off overnight; one warship could block the Strait of Hormuz; or an oil tanker could go aground on the Barrier Reef or at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. All of these risks pose more threat to Australia and the environment than to explore for, develop and produce coal, oil and gas from any part of our land or continental shelf (including sedimentary basins east of the Great Barrier Reef).
For too long we have been held hostage to extreme environmentalists who oppose, hinder and delay exploration and development of every feasible energy source with bans, moratoriums, scare stories and never-ending public enquiries. The movement of a few Russian tanks into Georgia has woken the dreamy Europeans who suddenly see the extreme danger of their anti-coal, anti-nuclear policies, with its heavy reliance on Russian oil and gas.
Once upon a time energy supplies were largely in the hands of the Anglo-sphere, but that is no longer the case. Anglo-American oil companies now control just 13 per cent of oil resources — the rest is controlled by governments, many of which are openly or latently hostile to the Anglo-sphere. Instead of developing our own resources, Australian geologists engineers and drillers are in places like Mozambique, Mongolia and the Middle East. They could be here, finding oil, mining coal or building power stations.
We will need them all.
Thoughts to ponder:
"When it comes to action over Georgia, Russia has the European Union over a barrel. In fact, over 1.2 million barrels". (That is the amount of Russian crude pumped west every day).
And this comment from the recently awoken Business Secretary of UK (a minister in the Labor Government):
"Britain’s ability to generate its own energy needs to be above climate change in Government Priorities".
And:
"CO2 causes global warming like wet roads cause rain".
Viv Forbes, BScApp, FAusIMM, FSIA, is Chairman of The Carbon Sense Coalition
BrookesNews.Com
Monday 1 September 2008
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