ACT goes 100% renewable

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Originally Posted by Slunnie

Second point, is that the CO2 that is released by a submersed forest is a part of the environmental carbon cycle, The carbon in it has been absorbed from the atmosphere and is released to be reabsorbed. Its not introducing new carbon into the environment like what coal is.

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I'm ignoring the climate debate and making this purely about a point of science. The carbon in coal was once part of the atmosphere in one form or another. There is no such thing as "new carbon", just different forms of it.

Burning coal is not in any way, shape or form "introducing new carbon into the environment". It is releasing carbon otherwise sequestered, just like your submerged forest, increasing water temperatures reducing the solubility of CO2 and all the other bit part players helping with the equilibrium of carbon in the atmosphere.

I'm all for renewables and for reaching better environmental targets etc.. I have environmental quals and taught env science for many years. That is probably why I get somewhat cynical about battery of the nation and pumped hydro slogans etc.

Tas pollies ran tas water storage dry a few years ago then spent millions on imported diesel gen sets to meet local and national grid requirements..eg forward sold power.

Look further into pumped hydro and see where it makes sense. .largely via cheap coal power. But thankfully other smarter countries are creating cheaper power technology that we can buy in and benefit from..if the government supports such an approach.

But with the re elected used car salesman /PM ie ScoMo I doubt we'll see much national progress towards renewables over the next 3 years. He loves coal after all!

Yes UK has nuclear power which is very unpopular with many people there. Accidents have happened in the past which don't help.

I do think the feds will need to watch out tho as there are many young future voters concerned about climate change and who will be determined to force change and not be put off by scare campaigns as seen in the recent election.

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Originally Posted by BradC

I'm ignoring the climate debate and making this purely about a point of science. The carbon in coal was once part of the atmosphere in one form or another. There is no such thing as "new carbon", just different forms of it.

Burning coal is not in any way, shape or form "introducing new carbon into the environment". It is releasing carbon otherwise sequestered, just like your submerged forest, increasing water temperatures reducing the solubility of CO2 and all the other bit part players helping with the equilibrium of carbon in the atmosphere.

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I'm ignoring that coal is greener than hydro.

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Originally Posted by INter674

I
..............as there are many young future voters concerned about climate change and who will be determined to force change and not be put off by scare campaigns...............

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Can’t you see that these future voters you speak of, HAVE been sucked into the scare campaigns; hook, line and sinker. That’s why they’re so concerned.
Personally, I think it’s a form of child abuse. Adults filling young heads with their nonsense. Fortunately, certain demographics seem more affected than others.
The odds are that children in this country will live longer and than us, even with a changing climate.

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Originally Posted by biggin

Can’t you see that these future voters you speak of, HAVE been sucked into the scare campaigns; hook, line and sinker. That’s why they’re so concerned.
Personally, I think it’s a form of child abuse. Adults filling young heads with their nonsense. Fortunately, certain demographics seem more affected than others.
The odds are that children in this country will live longer and than us, even with a changing climate.

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Are you saying Climate Change is a fraud?

Mmm...sort of confirms my point that many younger voters will look for change rather than accept more or less the status quo and smoke and mirrors politicians are currently peddling to the masses😎

In over 30 years of living in the same place in Tassie we have seen first hand some changes to our local climate...largely gradual warming and extremes of weather patterns eg huge fires never before occuring in wilderness areas...less reliable rainfall and so on.

I can see why kids are so concerned😐

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Originally Posted by Slunnie

Are you saying Climate Change is a fraud?

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Didn’t you read my last sentence?
What I’m saying is, petrifying children into believing the world will end tomorrow is akin to child abuse.

Climate change is inevitable.

It is a worry now because we have mega cities to feed. Massive urban sprawles that are 100% dependant on industry. Booming populations.

Every one on the planet is getting hooked into the modern life delivery system. They all feel entitled to eat worldly feasts, jet about for photos, and have what ever the world has to offer delivered to thier door.

Renewable energy will help support this growth. And we should absolutely transition to renewable power. But lets be honest, its not going to save future generations from suffering the effects of population growth and the inevitable resource shortages that follow. Nor will it stop the cycles of climate change that have been observed over billions of years. And even in the past few thousands.

The problem is, if we all looked at our own footprint and changed our lives to truely live light, the economy as we know it would collapse. If we stop growing populations, the economy as we know it would collapse.

Perhaps thats why parents bite their tongue whilst their kids use their pocket money to ride into town and protest.

The problem with burning coal is that instead of being locked up in the ground not causing problems, it's released into the atmosphere, which is warming.

It's true the climate is changing. The problem is that for most of history the climate has been colder than now, and water has been frozen at the poles instead of released into the oceans. For example, the ocean water level on the foreshore in Brisbane used to be about 50 metres lower than it is now.

We are in an unusually hot million years or so, not a long time in planetary history, and it's getting warmer faster than it naturally would because of human activity.

Climate change is also causing the weather to become more extreme. Floods, cyclones, droughts are all becoming more extreme - look at the dry Murray-Darling system.

Amongst all the other factors, the murray darling has been used for water intensive cotton. Mismanagement for short term economic gain.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is worth doing, no one should doubt that. Being able to release as much carbon as is absorbed, and measure that consistently, would show a level of control that would put us in a position to somewhat offset negative climate change in the future.

If it wasnt for all the carbon we have pumped into the atmosphere we would be in a cold solar cycle right now. Snowy winters in Melbourne? Not today - 20C!


Stop burning coal, increase renewables. Its a simple transition to make. It starts with genuine commitment. Somehow we voted against this. Economy rules.

But those of us who own a house can start now, install solar, get batteries, build your setup towards true offgrid.