brian ross wrote: ↑Sun Feb 03, 2019 4:24 pm
As already explained, the reason why we have higher energy prices is because of Australia being a small market compared to the US or Europe. When coupled with the uncertainity that continued use of fossil fuelled power stations have, because well, fossil fuel burning produces CO^2 and that produces global warming and in turn produces climate change. What is required is for Government to pull it's finger out, admit that coal is of the past and the future is renewables - solar, wind, tidal and ocean current power sources. All are achievable now and are non-polluting.
So when in court Brian tells only bullshit, the whole bullshit and nothing but bullshit.
Brian's trying on the economies of scale argument, which would be fine if resources were geographically evenly deposited, but the fact is we have abundant energy sources and pay through the nose for electricity because the Australian Energy Market Operator fiddles with the prices via the National Electricity Market under the guise of regulation.
It's true Libs have privatised grids and generators, but they were usually Labor ideas (eg Bob Carr) they couldn't get away with while hitched to unions. Y'see Qld's grid and major generators are still govt owned because the relevant unions demanded such.
But due to the National Electricity Market Qlders pay only marginally less for electrickery than consumers in other states.
The reason Labor state govts wanted to, and Liberal state govts have privatised their power infrastructure is because they thought as more consumers adopted off grid options the grids would become uneconomical to maintain. I remember saying 20 odd years ago that I can see a day when except for major cities, grids will be allowed to fall into disrepair and fail. And now it turns out that the push into unreliable renewables has hastened the process.
While the National Electricity Market exists the only way to guarantee reliable power is to buy your own generator. In which case if you live in suburbia you'll need a battery bank as well because many councils have 8 & 9 pm curfews.
... fossil fuel burning produces CO^2 and that produces global warming and in turn produces climate change.
That theory, or rather guilt trip scam is falling apart, because it doesn't stand up to basic scrutiny.
78% of our atmosphere is nitrogen.
21% of our atmosphere is oxygen.
The remaining 1% is other gases.
0.4% is carbon dioxide (CO2).
0.38% is CO2 which creates the greenhouse blanket preventing the Earth from freezing.
That leaves 0.02% CO2 free floating or in the oceans.
Human contribution of CO2 to the atmosphere is 3% of the 0.4% total.
Australian CO2 emissions are 1.3% of the global 3% of the 0.4% total.
CO2 does not cause global warming.
Global warming causes the oceans to expel CO2 from the water.
It is claimed the global concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is currently 400 parts per million.
During the Ordovician- Silurian and the Jurassic-Cretaceous periods CO2 levels were higher than 4000 ppm,
but instead of runaway global warming during these periods there was glaciation.
If Donald Trump is so close to the Ruskis, why couldn't he get Vladimir Putin to put novichok in Xi Jjinping's lipstick?