Dragging the Chain

Now the Australian Government has launched its draft paper for a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, I have already heard several reporters ask if Australia is getting "too far ahead".

Ministers manage not to laugh out loud at such a suggestion - but merely point out that many countries already have such systems - and that Australia is actually far behind (this is where they roundly criticise the previous government).

Meanwhile, New Scientist did an analysis of how co-operative all the nations have been. Which countries were team players in the climate challenge. Australia wasn't dead last - but we weren't far off it.

(Countries in blue/white are rated better than Australia)

Final Warning

Occasionally people send me links to interesting climate change articles. Recently i was sent a link to a New Scientist article Oil-The Final Warning.

It started off talking about recent protests by truckies over the fuel price, but went on to explore the issue more deeply. The final conclusion (regarding oil) was that "However hard it may be, the sooner we make the break, the better."

Yellow Goes Green

The other day - for the first time - i saw a hybrid taxi here in Brisbane. I have previous linked to their introduction in New York, but this was the first one i'd seen in Brissy.

The company's website gives the impression that it's part of a delberate initiative. I'm not sure why it takes companies so long to realise a good idea, but credit should go to them for doing so.

Clean Energy by 2040??

According to an ABC article, experts such as Professor Ian Lowe say the Government's renewable energy targets are too weak to have much impact.

"We should be getting 30 per cent of our electricity from renewables by 2020, 50 per cent by 2030, virtually all of it by 2040 [..] it's economically feasible," said Prof Lowe. "In fact it's probably the best possible investment in our future. All it requires is the political will."

8 Dollar Petrol

A little while ago i wrote about Caltex predicting $3 petrol. Well now the CSIRO says that by 2018, it could be 8 dollars a litre - purely on supply and demand.

That gives a bit of perspective to the thought of 5 cent tax-cuts. Even a 10 or 20 cent increase under an emissions trading system looks like small change.


Clearly, we have to move to alternatives as quickly as possible. We cannot continue like this - either environmentally or economically.

American Solutions

Sometimes it can be entertaining reading things written for the American public. I came across the following list of "ways to save on fuel", some of which are very much stating the obvious.


1. Hop on the bus.
2. Take it easy. (driving at moderate speed)
3. Trip-chaining. (multiple errands in one trip)
4. Shop online.
5. Drive a sipper, not a guzzler.
6. Take a hike or ride a bike.
7. Work in your sweats. (telecommuting)
8. Drive as if gas is being rationed. (having a weekly limit)
9. Share school rides.
10. Keep the trunk light.

Each tip came with a sentence or two of explanation, which i summarised in brackets where necessary. It all seems like really obvious stuff - but i suppose there's a difference between common sense and common action.

Sunrise Solar Petition

The government is planning to reduce the availability of the solar panel rebate. Fortunately, the TV show Sunrise has initiated a petition about this.


Like me, the Sunrise people believe that the rebate is "a valid incentive for ALL Australians to do something about global warming."

Petrol 334.9

Not quite yet, but that's what Caltex are predicting - within a decade (Justin Lloyd).


This futuristic image ran on the front cover of the company's magazine, with the headline story "Petrol at what price?". Speaking about long-term high prices, Des King (managing director) writes "it is a prospect we all have to face".

Green Jobs

Occassionally you might hear concerns about the effect on jobs, resulting from lowering carbon emissions. Well, fear not. The CSIRO has compiled a report on the green economy, and it seems to be very good news.


According to the report, Australia can make significant cuts to greenhouse gases, and at the same time create about 3 million jobs. Mr Don Henry (ACF) said, “CSIRO has shown we can simultaneously grow jobs and our economy while reducing our environmental footprint. The challenge is big, but so are the opportunities.”

More info: CSIRO report; ACF analysis.

Queensland's Future

Yesterday the Queensland Government released the report Climate Change in Queensland: What the Science is Telling Us. The report detailed the local impact of climate change.

"No part of the Queensland community will be untouched by the impact of global warming" said Andrew McNamara, minister for Climate Change, "Queensland is getting hotter, rainfall is decreasing and the incidence of extreme weather events is increasing.”

Details include
-By 2070, Queensland is projected to be up to 5°C hotter
-A greater proportion of total rainfall now falls in extreme events
-Longer periods between rainfall events
-Increased intensity of tropical cyclones

Most concerning was the analysis that "the worst case climate change scenarios (predicted back in 2000) now present the most accurate picture of what is happening."

For more info, see the media release, or download the report.

Another Good Reason

As if climate change wasn't a good enough reason to reduce petrol consumption, Alan Kohler (ABC News) gives us this information.


The red line is how much oil is discovered each year. The blue line is how much is consumed - including future predictions. It doesn't take Alan Kohler to realise where the price is going to go (and keep going).

Efficien-City

Over at Greenpeace UK, they've put together a cool interactive animation called Efficien-city, that shows just how a city can run efficently using renewable power, and shows how some of the lesser-known renewables work (like wave power for instance).


I dropped in for a visit, and found it to be quite fun.

Fantastic Ad

The guys at GetUp have put together a great spoof ad. The target is the government's proposed Fuelwatch scheme that has been in the news in recent weeks.

Apart from being incredibly funny (in my opinion) the ad also points out that there are far better solutions (better vehicles, alternative fuels, public transport).

Saving Money on Fuel

Amongst all the recent huff about the cost of petrol, i received this picture as an attachment. I liked it.

Let's Encourage Solar Power

You may have heard recently that the federal government plans to introduce restrictions on who can claim the solar power rebate. The result is that is slows down the solar industry.

In fact, the environment minister even said in parliament that the uptake of solar power was "overheating" (a poor choice of words, given the global warming connection). But i still don't get why a fast uptake of solar power is a bad thing. I would have thought that the environment minister would be encouraging solar power.


So if, like me, you think that the government should encourage the use of solar power, ACF has a webpage where you can send an e-card to the environment minister. Alternatively, you can send an email to Kevin Rudd, or the climate change minister (Penny Wong) via the Federal Government links i've listed in the right hand column.