Panic! Put up a solar panel or tourism will lose $40b in Australia. (Sure, and people “want” cold holidays.)

Another variation of Climate-Panic was unleashed today on hapless tourism operators. The whole entire $40b tourism industry in Australia is at risk apparently. Here are three points the doom-mongers and our “journalists” didn’t think of:

  1. People like hot weather holidays. “Climate change” (if it happens) would mean longer beach seasons, more greenery, and coral reefs could spread.
  2. Average temperatures vary by 14C across Australia. The average January maxes range from 22.5C to 36.5C. Some fans of the renewables industry want you to believe that a two degree rise will wipe the nation off the list of visitable places, as if Hobart at 24C will be unvisitable? Sure. (Please sell me your tourist resorts now.)
  3. In recent record breaking hot years, international tourist arrivals to Australia have grown 40%.  See the devastating effect of the last super hot years on international tourism to Australia.
Tourist arrivals Australia, Graph, ABS, 2006-2017

Australia got more tourists than ever in the hot El Nino years of 2015, 2016.

 

Amos Aikman in The Australian:

‘$40bn at risk’ as climate change threatens tourism

Australia’s $40 billion tourism ­industry is in danger, with visitors likely to face more bad weather, deadly jellyfish and damaged beaches due to climate change, the Climate Council has warned.

Some of the nation’s most prized natural assets, such as Uluru, Kakadu and Ningaloo Reef, are most at risk from rising temperatures, while more than half of the continent could see conditions deemed “unfavourable” for visitors by 2080, the council says.

“Climate change is placing one of Australia’s most valuable and fastest growing sectors under threat. In 2016 alone, more than eight million international visitors arrived on our shores to see our natural icons, bringing in more than $40bn.

“In fact, tourism employs more than 15 times more people in Australia than coalmining.”

The ABC :

Good Weather or your Money Back   : how climate change could transform tourism

9.6 out of 10 based on 71 ratings

176 comments to Panic! Put up a solar panel or tourism will lose $40b in Australia. (Sure, and people “want” cold holidays.)

  • #
    Popeye26

    I work very regularly at Sydney International airport T1.

    I have NEVER seen it busier than it has been over the last couple of years.

    The problems with the people who report these BS stories is that they REFUSE to let known facts & data get in the way of a good storey (or might I say “fairy tale”).

    They may look stupid to us “sceptics” right now – but in future years they will look stupid to everyone (including themselves – poor sheeples).

    Cheers,

    Cheers

    340

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      We should tell the climate council to adhere to their own “holy writ” and ban tourists, as they come on fossil fuelled airfcraft….

      That should sort the wheat from the chaff….

      Bet they wont do it though….

      180

      • #
        clivehoskin

        I wonder what will happen when someone SUES the”Climate Council”if Tourism starts to loose money because the Tourists don’t come to Australia any more?All this talk about bad weather caused by CO2,is having an effect on Tourism.And then you have them reporting that the GBR is dying,also caused by CO2.WHO will loose their shirts because of this?The”Climate Council?The Government?The Universities?The Scientists?

        10

    • #
      Graham Richards

      Do you realise that the Climate council is Tim Flannery’s stomping ground. No wonder tourism is booming. All his predictions have a habit of reversing in reality about 10 minutes after his uttering them!

      180

    • #
      Ozwitch

      Another desperate attempt to gain traction with a ridiculous story – every week it’s a new We.Are.Doomed article. You lost, Warmers. Life goes on without you.

      110

    • #
  • #

    This is so pathetic. Does anyone at all listen to the ‘Climate Council’ (of doom). I suspect that it is only a relatively small (but influential) percentage of the population. The amazing thing is that the media take any notice of them at all – especially ‘their’ ABC. However taking the long view and looking back over the years since Climategate we can see the gradual movement of these loons into the lunatic fringe and we can only hope that this trend will accelerate. As you have so graphically demonstrate though Joanne, there is sooooo much money involved and a crash landing would be painful.

    380

  • #
    Annie

    The Climate Council comprises which knowledgeable scientists? Do please remind me which groups are in it.

    260

    • #
      Annie

      Perhaps I should have asked of which knowledgeable scientists is the CC comprised? Or something. Oh dear…shouldn’t go online while drinking tea and wondering which task to do first.

      120

      • #
        Another Ian

        Easy. Have another cup

        130

        • #
          Annie

          Had a glass of fizz instead while cooking an early meal! It was quite pleasant later, despite the heat, as we now have a wind.
          As a tourist I would have said the conditions here this evening are very pleasant indeed for relaxing outside, temps have dropped from 35C to 26C.

          120

      • #
        William

        I just checked its web site for the current council Annie, all of them are rent seekers, one is a environmental epidemiologist and bioanthropologist, a couple are businessmen with ties to the renewables sector, one a former petroleum executive who, I expect, has converted to alarmism and is seeking to atone for his passed business life, there is a biologist and bringing up the rear are Tim Flannery, a palaeontologist and Will Steffen, a chemical engineer (enough said). And the CEO founded the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.

        It would appear the entire board and CEO have no relevant climate related qualifications – they are all activists wedded to a failed hypothesis so, what else would you expect to come out of this swamp!

        230

    • #
      Allen Ford

      Probably the dregs of the famous 2,500 “scientists” Rajendra Pachauri claimed to inhabit the corridors of the IPCC, which later proved to be completely false.

      If Timbo is their posted boy, then God help the rest rest of them for credibility.

      Did they graduate from JCU?

      140

  • #
    yarpos

    “In fact, tourism employs more than 15 times more people in Australia than coalmining.” but only twice as many as the climate alarm industry. I wonder what his point was?

    Its always the big bad scary future or the rose coloured glasses perfect future renewable solution isnt it? not so much about reality.

    PS: Jo, I think its lose not lost in the headline of the story

    201

    • #
      Phillip Bratby

      I was about to say that. “lost” should be “lose” at three places in the article.

      50

    • #
      toorightmate

      In fact, tourism contributes LESS to our balance of payments than coal mining.
      AND coal mining contributes far more to our GDP than does tourism.
      AND taxes and royalties from coal mining enable tourism to thrive while tourism does nothing (zilch/zero/piddly squat for coal mining).

      160

      • #
        James

        And most tourism jobs are working poor type jobs. Causal, with poor pay. A lot of evening work, and weekend work as well. I would not want to work in hospitality.

        100

      • #
        Rereke Whakaaro

        … tourism employs more than 15 times more people in Australia than coal mining.

        That is because tourism is manual labour, and thus inefficient, whereas coal mining is highly mechanised, and thus contributes more to Australia’s GDP, per employee.

        Did Amos Aikman, of The Australian, study any economics at school or university? If not, why is he attempting to write about economic matters?

        160

  • #
    C. Paul Barreira

    “In fact, tourism employs more than 15 times more people in Australia than coalmining.”

    Is that really all? Just “15 times”. Then again, which makes the other possible?

    160

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Yeah but get rid of tourism we’d survive, vs getting rid of coal mining…..?

      200

      • #
        C. Paul Barreira

        It’s almost amusing. The late John Bannon, when Premier of SA, suggested having a 600-bed hotel atop Mount Lofty. It would connect with the city by means of a flying fox. Already it was clear that for the political classes bed-making etc. was the limit for most citizens.

        The idea—if you can call it that—may even have resurfaced recently. A wind- or solar-powered flying fox. As was often said of the Clintons, you can’t make it up.

        70

        • #
          Rereke Whakaaro

          Surely it must be a gravity-powered flying fox? Just think of the opportunities for Governments to impose a tax on gravity …

          Now we are talking big dollars. Everybody needs it, and nobody actually owns it. Gravity is ripe for centralised management. Don’t let an opportunity float away.

          30

  • #
    OriginalSteve

    Climate Council or Ministry of Silly Walks?

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iV2ViNJFZC8

    120

  • #
    Graham Richards

    Articles like this will increase tourism as potential tourists realise there must be a plentiful supply of good strong marujana and other drugs available to all!

    90

  • #
    Ian Hill

    This is tucked away as only 4 column inches on page 6 of today’s Adelaide Advertiser. Far more important to talk about soccer, traffic cameras, mini skirts, hydro power and wine!

    110

    • #
      Rereke Whakaaro

      In comparison, based on this article, I would say that the Adelaide Advertiser has much more editorial expertise than The Australian.

      50

      • #
        Ian Hill

        As a spokesman for my former employer, I was once told the article (and my name) would be on the front page of the Advertiser which caused me to gasp. I was told it was a “slow news day”. Probably no such thing these days with all the fake news to choose from.

        80

    • #
      yarpos

      On the evening of the big announcement/event, SBS gave it full armageddon coverage and the ABC in VIC didnt include it. When we do watch the SBS news (my wife calls it the who blew who up in the middle east news) then the ABC news its interesting to see how they address the same issues and how they use or dont use the same footage.

      One evening there was the traditional Great Barrier Reef story. If you believed the SBS coverage it was full disaster and unless we had more windfarms to magically cool western Pacific all was lost. On the ABC they also incuded the missing (on SBS) footage on one of the scientists acknowledging that this was all happening withing bigger cycles and the reef had recovered from bleaching events before.

      70

  • #
    Hivemind

    This is all about Kotter’s 8 stages of change.

    Stage 1: create a panic fear reaction

    I know Kotter doesn’t literally say that, but that is how most people interpret it and use it.

    40

  • #
    Ron Van Wegen

    Better check that headline spelling error!

    71

    • #
      Rereke Whakaaro

      But it is so boring, to restrict oneself to only having just one way of spelling a word.

      English used to be such a vibrant language in the time of Shakespeare, and Chaucer, when phonetic spelling was an art form.

      Now we must abide by the “official”, ‘New’ Shorter Oxford Dictionary, or the Webster. Tomes that cannot agree with each other, anyway.

      50

      • #
        yarpos

        Quite right , I mean the Canadians are making up pronouns as we speak and I can only guess that if they are making stuff up, then spelling is entirely whim based.

        60

  • #
    manalive

    Some of the nation’s most prized natural assets, such as Uluru, Kakadu and Ningaloo Reef, are most at risk from rising temperatures …

    Just for the record since 1950 (when human CO2 emissions took over from natural climate variation) Kakadu has received considerably more annual rainfall, which adds to its tourist value, and the annual average temperature has actually dropped — not that facts matter at all to the C.C.

    Going on the hundreds of comments under the online article in The Australian today, readers are thoroughly fed-up with the Climate Council and its efforts to damage Australia’s international tourist industry.

    210

  • #
    Sean

    A high carbon tax on jet fuel will surely save tourism.

    170

  • #
    Kratoklastes

    In other news, the Catholic Church says that unless we listen to their nonsense, tourism will be decimated because of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

    Religiotards gotta “relig”: that’s what they do… and if their narrative is patently ludicrous you best hope they never get the power to torture and kill dissenters (“deniers” in post-truth Beria-speak).

    82

    • #
      yarpos

      I am an Aethist myself, but I wonder about the need to be abusive or arrogant about it. People have their religious beliefs, I dont, apart from a belief that it makes no sense to me. We seem to be able to get along though.

      61

  • #
    John F. Hultquist

    Did the ‘Climate Council’ mention Coober Pedy?
    Not that I can visit AU, but if I could the Ghan Train sounds like the real deal. Coober is one of the possible off train excursions, I think; as are camel rides, river cruises and optional helicopter flights.
    Unless they try to run the train with sails, I don’t think a degree or two would matter.
    Cheers.

    110

    • #
      toorightmate

      It is just a trifle warmer in Dubai than Australia and that sure as sh*t does not stop the tourists.

      30

    • #
      Griffo

      Yeah,you can stay in an underground motel at Coober Pedy,forget about the heat on top.

      20

    • #
      C. Paul Barreira

      To get more idea of the place read Colin Thiele’s splendid novel, The Fire in the Stone (1973). He had a youthful audience in mind but, for once, that failed to diminish the strengths of the book, which was truly very well-written. Kratoklastes (#13 above) wouldn’t approve, I suspect, but the elements of faith are a further strength of the book; they also age it. I doubt any one today would, let alone could, write in such a manner. The ending is very powerful.

      20

  • #
    AndyG55

    Poor Climate Council.

    A bunch of irrelevant wannabes, sadly seeking attention like a 5 year old chucking a tanty.

    221

  • #
    Serp

    Climate Countil!? I think Tim Flannery’s carcass is parked there waiting for Shorten’s government to reanimate it.

    220

  • #
    el gordo

    ‘Research on snow depths in Australian ski resorts shows that by 2040 and 2090 there will be significant reductions, and snowmaking will not be able to compensate for this loss if temperatures are too warm.’ ABC

    Extraordinary extrapolation, they haven’t a clue.

    142

  • #

    ‘Electric Car Lost in the Desert!’
    Ran out of energy, many miles from Uluru.

    180

  • #
    Uppyn

    Wasn’t global warming supposed to affect mostly minimum daily temperatures rather than maximum daily temperatures?
    What are we talking about then, other than the silliness of the media?

    132

    • #
      Bushkid

      Actually, it seems to affect whatever they want it to affect, and in whatever manner they want it to depending on what the weather is doing on any given day.

      Ah, the magnificence of “global warming’, “climate change”, “climate disruption”, “climate deprivation” (I kid you not!) or whatever they’re calling it today – it can account for whatever normal weather we might be experiencing at any given time.

      180

  • #
    Geoffrey Williams

    Susanne Becken and the Griffith Institute for Tourism:-
    What a load of twaddle. And from the ABC also (who else!)
    Do people actually get paid for dredging this rubbish?
    Cyclones, pestilence, diseases, storms, floods, fires, snowstorms, carbon budgets for air travellers, a continent unfit for travellers by 2080 and on and on, etc. etc.
    Heaven save from these lunatics.
    Regards GeoffW

    140

  • #
    Dennis

    I am fed up with the deceptive advertising dressed up as weather news.

    Gavin the CH9 weather man said “it’s burning” three times tonight while referring to temperatures of up to 30C.

    The propaganda is disgusting.

    212

    • #
      Bushkid

      30C is normal summer temperature for most of Oz on any given summer day, and often in either autumn or spring too. Climate Council is bereft of anything resembling intelligence or any relationship to reality.

      151

      • #
        Rereke Whakaaro

        Reality and intelligence are not necessarily the same things. There is the small matter of interpretation, and that is where the the problems lie.

        The Climate Council takes it upon itself to define how we should interpret reality, as we experience it.

        50

        • #
          Graeme No.3

          Rereke:

          But if the Climate Council doesn’t know what reality is, how can they interpret it?

          40

          • #
            GreatAuntJanet

            It’s a really beautiful (cool) morning here in central west Qld. Reality.

            40

            • #
              el gordo

              Easterly sea breezes from the remnants of a blocking high, its been good in that respect, but too bad the monsoonal trough has moved further north.

              20

  • #
    Jonesy

    Tourism is not allowed in the Simpson Desert National Park-

    The whole of Munga-Thirri National Park (Queensland section of the Simpson Desert) will be closed from 6.00pm Friday 1st December 2017 until 6.00pm Thursday 15th March 2018. The purpose of the closure is in the interest of public safety due to anticipated high daytime temperatures during the summer months.

    Mob of creampuffs!

    102

    • #
      robert rosicka

      Actually Jonesy that’s a closure that’s totally in order , temps pushing mid high forties it’s not only for public safety it’s for the safety of those who are called out to rescue those that break down .

      100

      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Yeah I’m 50/50 on this – common sense says that if youre heading out, you have established its gong to be hot and prepared your vehicle accordingly.

        Extra water, extra fuel, EPIRB, sat phone, HF, etc all required.

        80

    • #
      toorightmate

      The good camping spots in the Kimberleys also close in summer – so the tourists do not get washed into the Arafura Sea.

      51

    • #
      The Deplorable Vlad the Impaler

      Well, I might be off-base on this, but to my knowledge, Death Valley (and Furnace Creek in particular) are never closed because of ‘high temperatures’. It is not uncommon for summer daytime temperatures to reach, or be over, 50 degrees Celsius. There have been consecutive days where the temperature is over 50; at one time, some 40 days in a row were recorded.

      I’ve always been lead to believe that our good friends Down Under were a hardy bunch, and skilled at outdoorsmanship. My big dream is to travel the Outback for several months (is that a ‘walkabout’ or a ‘driveabout’?).

      Please help! Tell me there’s more to this than just ‘high temperatures’ in SDNP!

      Thanks,

      Vlad

      70

      • #
        robert rosicka

        Vlad the vast interior of our country is amazing in so many ways and reasonably accessible but a lot of card and thought needs to go into wherever you go .

        60

        • #
          The Deplorable Vlad the Impaler

          Thanks, RR; I DO hope to get there some day. As far as being ready for the Outback (planning and all that), I’ve lived 95% of my life in Wyoming and Utah, and spent more time than I care to share, out in desert country honing skills, not just of surviving, but thriving.

          But I do agree: any extended trips away from civilization need careful planning, and someone to “watch your back” if you become overdue.

          Regards to you and yours,

          Vlad

          90

      • #
        David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

        Vlad, Robert,
        Some numbers from Wikipedia: Death Valley 7,800, Simpson 176,500 and Great Sandy 284,993 sq kms in each case.
        Cheers,
        Dave B

        60

        • #
          robert rosicka

          Thanks David I had an idea that size and distance is something people can’t imagine until they get there , the next shop just up the road could be hundreds of kilometres up the road if not more .

          40

        • #
          The Deplorable Vlad the Impaler

          Interesting numbers, Dave.

          I’ll admit (from a sense of ignorance, obviously) that I’m still at a loss: if faced with a life-or-death situation (and I’ve not heard of any in the past decade or so), it is possible to call in air support, to most locations on this side of the Big Pond. Is it not possible (or, maybe, cost prohibitive ?) to get air support in parts of Simpson or Great Sandy?

          Again, my impression of the folk who live there, is that they are mostly well-attuned to how to handle the “great outdoors”, a few city-slickers notwithstanding.

          And, it would appear that this discussion is hijacking the main thread, so I’ll accept your answer and call it good. Thanks to both of you for bringing some enlightenment to me,

          My best to all,

          Vlad

          40

  • #
    R B

    2°C average increase but most of it at night at higher latitudes.
    Uluru is on the edge of the tropics while the other two are in the tropics. Higher humidity should also mean maximum temperatures should be no more extreme.
    This cold only fool the most scientifically illiterate.

    71

    • #
      jorgekafkazar

      I was just going to say that! Global warming, according to theory, mostly takes the form of increased nighttime low temperatures. Very little effect on daytime maxima. It’s hard to move the right hand part of the temperature distribution curve further to the right; it has to work against a powerful T⁴ negative forcing.

      41

  • #
    David Maddison

    Wonderful logic. Install solar panels at huge expense to “save” tourism at what is already one of the most expensive travel destinations in the world. (Because of expensive electricity and union thuggery.)

    152

  • #
    robert rosicka

    Nah rack off and go to Antarctica!

    41

  • #
    Bushkid

    More than half of Australia, probably nearer 75% actually, is already too hot for the average tourist to bother with. I mean, a lot of the inland is genuine desert, you know, and not so hospitable to the casual visitor. If a couple of degrees either way on any given day is going to make a difference to tourism on the cooler coastal fringes and those places naturally cooler by virtue of their elevation, I’ll be very surprised.

    On the other hand, if air-conditioning becomes too expensive to use, visitors may then vote with their feet. To me, this is the greatest risk to Australia and all its industries, not just tourism. It’s the government intervention in what was a well-functioning utility – affordable electricity generation for industry, business, services and domestic use – that will kill tourism, not belief in the phantom of “anthropogenic global warming”.

    220

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Reminds me of the joke about the bloke walking across the desert, and took a car door with him…..he reckoned when it got hot, he’d just wind the window down to cool off….

      120

  • #
    pat

    ???

    8 Feb: news.com.au: Our Sun is about to get unusually cool, researchers predict
    IT’S producing less sunspots, less magnetism and less ultraviolet radiation. But don’t expect this once-in-400-year cooldown by our life-giving Sun to halt climate change.
    by Jamie Seidel
    BY 2050, our Sun is expected to be unusually cool.
    It’s what scientists have termed a ‘grand minimum’ — a particularly low point in what is otherwise a steady 11-year cycle…

    Now physicist Dan Lubin at the University of California San Diego has calculated an estimate of how much dimmer the Sun is likely to be when the next such grand minimum takes place…
    It finds the Sun is likely to be 7 per cent cooler than its usual minimum.
    And another grand minimum is likely to be just decades away, based on the cooling spiral of recent solar cycles…

    But it won’t stop the current trend of planetary warning, Lubin warns.
    “The cooling effect of a grand minimum is only a fraction of the warming effect caused by the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” a statement from the research team reads.
    “After hundreds of thousands of years of CO2 levels never exceeding 300 parts per million in air, the concentration of the greenhouse gas is now over 400 parts per million, continuing a rise that began with the Industrial Revolution.”

    “A future grand solar minimum could slow down but not stop global warming,” the study finds.
    “Now we have a benchmark from which we can perform better climate model simulations,” Lubin says. “We can therefore have a better idea of how changes in solar UV radiation affect climate change.”
    http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/our-sun-is-about-to-get-unusually-cool-researchers-predict/news-story/dea38cc09657428b5d6f4dbd97b8d97b

    40

  • #
    pat

    today, the Albert and Logan News free paper (News Corp I believe) has the following item under “Brief News”:

    Carbon neutral goal
    Logan City Council has launched four strategic objectives to become a carbon-neutral business within five years,.
    About 28 percent of all households and businesses in Logan have a solar PV system.
    Logan is the first Council in South-East Queensland to join the 35-strong Cities Power Partnership.

    “brief” indeed. Logan ratepayers are waiting for details.

    note Climate Council’s lead author, Lesley Hughes, described as “ecologist Professor” in MSM, is quoted:

    29 Jan: CitiesPowerPartnership: Queensland councils join forces in climate fight
    AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST COUNCIL has taken a giant step forward to cut the nation’s rising pollution levels, as Brisbane joins a fast-growing national network of councils tackling climate change.
    City of Brisbane, Logan City, Sunshine Coast and Cairns Regional Council have today joined the Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership, a growing network that now represents over 2 million Queenslanders.

    Climate Councillor Professor Lesley Hughes congratulated the new members of the Cities Power Partnership and emphasised the opportunity councils have to be part of the state’s climate solution.
    “Queensland has enormous potential to be part of the climate change solution and we are excited to see so many local governments jumping on board the Cities Power Partnership,” she said.
    “Queensland’s councils are already rolling up their sleeves to get on with the job. Council-backed renewable projects are springing up across the state, bringing with them jobs, investment and infrastructure powered by cheap, reliable clean energy.”
    “We’re calling on more Queensland councils to get on board with the Cities Power Partnership, the unstoppable local government climate juggernaut.”

    A number of Cities Power Partnership councils already power major infrastructure with renewable energy, including Sunshine Coast Council’s 15MW Valdora Solar Farm and Logan City’s solar and Tesla battery-powered water treatment plant, which supplies over 300,000 homes.
    Brisbane City Council’s Cr David McLachlan said that City of Brisbane is joining forces with the Cities Power Partnership to create a more sustainable future for Australia.

    “Brisbane is Australia’s most sustainable city and we are excited to join the Cities Power Partnership,” Cr McLachan said.
    “As Australia’s largest carbon-neutral organisation, we understand the importance of reducing our environmental footprint. We look forward to working collaboratively with the Cities Power Partnership to make Australia, and Brisbane, a global leader in sustainability.”
    For more information contact Fiona Ivits, Cities Power Partnership media advisor, on 0432 368 714 or fiona@climatecouncil.org.au
    http://citiespowerpartnership.org.au/tag/logan-city-council/

    locals expect to see councillors driving around in Teslas, a few solar panels thrown on top of Council properties, and not much more.

    not a cent of ratepayers’ money should be wasted on this rubbish.

    70

  • #
    el gordo

    ‘Is Sydney just too hot? The perfect towns with a colder climate.’

    Domain banging up business for baby boomers relocation to the regions, particularly tree changers.

    Fairfax reckons global warming is a fait accompli.

    20

  • #
    Lionell Griffith

    Someone commented in the last thread about reaching peak stupid. This thread gives evidence that it is not even close. The ability of some people to evade reality is without limit. They stay alive because the rest of us protect , feed, and care for them. That may be OK if they are frightened two year old children or pets but not educated adults claiming special authority as climate commentators or scientists.

    If anything, the trend line above shows that increasing CO2 causes a rapid increase in visitors to Australia (neglecting correlation is not proof of causation). If anything, the coal power plants should be going full tilt with more being built ASAP. Send the solar panels and wind turbines back to their country of origin.

    Stop the madness. Stop feeding them! They don’t deserve being given the time of day.

    90

    • #
      Kinky Keith

      You’ve just about summarised the whole catastrophe there Lionell.

      Climastrology forges ever onward into the great unknowable by the path of unknowing proving that human gullibility is unbounded.

      KK

      61

      • #
        Another Ian

        The Chitarwe tribe over again?

        20

        • #
          Kinky Keith

          Wasn’t that the F’Karwi tribe.

          I believe they got lost too, like the Klimate Scientists.

          KK

          10

          • #

            Wasn’t that the F’Karwi tribe.I believe they got lost too, like the Klimate Scientists.

            Keith, That is not a ‘tribe’ but a species; The well known migratory bird flocks that Red Skelton (with arms moving), popularized with their cry\communication “War da fuckarwi!”! That happened lots in the South Pacific War!
            OTOH, for your comments:

            Horowitz (through his report) will try to contain the malfeasance, focus it, and thereby accomplish two main goals: 1) keep the scope of malfeasance as small and localized as possible to inflict minimal damage and repercussions; and 2) satisfy the public need for justice in the matter to solidify reputation and insure the integrity of the institutions.If this is what is being set up, it is catastrophic for democracy. Why? It is a band aid fix to a deep-rooted problem and will not solve the problem….

            Why do you imagine that some new sort of “special counsel” within the DOJ will work any better than the current Mueller SC? All are insiders, except for several outsiders, with the list of outsiders growing each day! Perhaps what is catastrophic for the whole DNC, RNC, may be the very thing to save this young Constitutional Republic from its corrupt former governmental organization by the end of 2018.
            Under MAGA; each member of Congress must honestly and faithfully represent their local constituents ONLY! (A Republic)!!!
            There is no room for any national political party, nor any allowed funding whatsoever by Global banksters.
            All the best!-will-

            20

            • #

              Yes all Idaho congresscritters want all to eat only ‘potatoes’. No Wisconsin cheese, Michigan milk, or Arkansas rice; let alone any cotton to make skivies, diapers, and tampons. The lower house critters each bring own bats; Those left standing get to appropriate some funding to ward off foreign invasion of the Republic! The upper house has more polite rules that not only prevent you from shooting dat SOB, but make you address it as ‘The Honorable’! BARF! 🙂

              30

        • #

          Ok mods:

          Wasn’t that the F’Karwi tribe.I believe they got lost too, like the Klimate Scientists.

          Keith, That is not a ‘tribe’ but a species; The well known migratory bird flocks that Red Skelton (with arms moving), popularized with their cry\communication “War da F’Karwi!”! That happened lots in the South Pacific War!
          But now:

          “The special counsel would not be within the DoJ. It would be not of the DoJ. It would be independent outsider…unlike what we have with Mueller. Mueller is an insider. He is compromised in all ways which make him inappropriate to touch it – for GS he was . He is was the FBI Director from 2001 – 2013. Like I said, government cannot police itself.”

          There is no provision under the US Constitution for such 4th governmental branch to “prosecute anything”! Prosecution itself is a direct contradiction to the Judaical concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty’! No US government agency has any constitutional ability to prosecute, intimidate, harass, dispose, or charge wrongdoing of any US Citizen. It is the DOJ and FBI that are totally unconstitutional! DOES THIS NEED BE FIXED, no longer ignored, under the existing US Constitution? YES!
          Perhaps the aggregate US state governments of this Republic can provide some guidance. But not via congresscriters dumber than a box of rocks!
          All the best!-will-

          20

          • #

            Sometim da ’emphasis’ need be placed on da last ‘syll-able’! How ju do dat? 🙂

            20

          • #
            Kinky Keith

            The way I heard it there was a bit of a mix up long ago when a European exploring Africa came across a group of natives pushing through the jungle while chanting “where in heavens name are we?” or words to that effect.

            The explorer misunderstood, thinking that the “where” was “we’re” and that the second part was the tribal name.

            No mistakes in Washington though, it’s all very deliberate.

            KK

            20

  • #
    pat

    am falling about with laughter watching the following on Foxtel Ch 507 –

    Cricket on Ice – St. Moritz
    29th Cricket on Ice tournament
    (Thursday 8th to Saturday 10th February 2018)
    Legends of the game including Mike Hussey, Mahela Jayawardene, Shahid Afridi and Virender Sehwag will go head-to-head in a new cricket tournament on Thursday, with one unique difference: it will be played on ice.
    The first Ice Cricket Challenge gets underway in St Moritz in the Swiss Alps on February 8, when the Afridi XI takes on the Sehwag XI in two Twenty20 matches across two days…

    The matches will be played on a frozen, snow-covered lake on an artificial turf carpet, with players using traditional cricket gear and a red ball, but wearing normal sports shoes rather than spikes.
    One other big difference will be the weather. St Moritz is set to make Hobart look balmy: a top of -5 degrees Celsius is tipped for both days of play…

    While the star-studded tournament is new, cricket has been played on ice in St Moritz for more than 25 years, with the lake’s incredibly thick ice able to withstand more than 200 tons of weight – enough not just for a game for cricket, but also for grandstands to house spectators…
    https://www.cricket-on-ice.com/

    the commentators – both cricketers, one male, one female, are taking it all seriously.

    the guy said a while ago, people have come from all over to watch it, but there are no people there, apart from the odd couple checking it out, dotted here and there around the periphery.

    70

  • #
    Hanrahan

    Is it 68,000 jobs quoted as DEPENDANT on the GBR? Something like that.

    I doubt even Cairns has more than a few dozen if Green Is is defined [correctly] as a fringing reef NOT part of the GBR. Townsville has no scheduled day trips to the GBR. We have a small dive industry with the most popular dive being the SS Yongala wreck which is 70 km from the reef proper and is man made anyway. Reef HQ is a popular land based aquarium, employs a few but relies heavily on volunteers. Magnetic Is is just a [scenic] rock in the bay.

    Both Cairns and Townsville have hundreds of FIFO miners. 🙂

    40

  • #

    So by 2080 no Australian jellyfish will be living in cold water…

    Oh for Gawd’s sake, get some adults in. Please. Fast. Now. Adults, get adults.

    ADULTS!

    70

    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Sadly when you have loony lefties running the media, and impressionable 20 somethings who lap up social media, this is what happens…..

      60

  • #

    Imagine if you will the Queensland budget without those mega dollars from the Adani royalties.

    They must be cr@ppin in their pants at that loss.

    Where do they get that money once Bill Short@ss throws Annastacia under the bus.

    Tony.

    70

  • #
    pat

    8 Feb: The West Australian: Perth weather: Our mild summer breaks 25-year record
    by Chris Leitch
    Few would argue it has been a mild summer in Perth. How mild? It’s officially now the most mild summer in 25 years.
    Wednesday’s maximum temperature was 27C, almost five degrees cooler than the average February top.
    That made it 23 straight days since the mercury went higher than 35C, the longest stretch since Mt Lawley records began in 1994.
    And we’ve still got a way to go, according to the Bureau’s forecast.

    There’s nothing but mild weather on the horizon for at least the next week. The mercury may reach 32C this weekend, but that’s as high as it goes.
    For those hoping for a late burst of scorching weather, it doesn’t look good.
    Last month, the Bureau said it is increasing likely that Perth’s summer will be the first in 16 years to go without a 40C day (LINK).
    https://thewest.com.au/news/weather/perth-weather-mild-summer-break-records-ng-b88738712z

    50

  • #
    Reasonable Skeptic

    The worry should be place on the price of plane tickets, not the weather in 2072. If we really want to save the planet from doom one easy way is to reduce carbon emissions from non-essential air travel.

    How come this low hanging fruit has not been picked by the green blob? Because they like to get on a plane just like everybody else. They like eating local, so we need to eat local. They like to live vegan, so we need to eat vegan. This is why they are “worried” about climate change impacting tourism, but not trying to reduce tourism itself.

    40

  • #
    David Maddison

    Speaking of tourism and the “imminent death” of the Great Barrier Reef, how do Climastrologists suppose the Reef made it through the last Ice Age that finished 11,700 years ago (of which Anorigines have a cultural memory of lower sea levels) when sea levels were 120 metres lower?

    72

  • #
    Svend Ferdinandsen

    It looks very much like a hokeystik.
    Is it the tourists that make the temperature rise?

    20

  • #
    Ruairi

    Does the Climate Council of Doom,
    Have a vested interest in gloom,
    Spreading baseless alarm,
    Future weather will harm,
    Australia’s tourism boom?

    130

  • #
    Another Ian

    O/T

    “Peter Ridd hits back at @jcu James Cook University – hard”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/02/08/peter-ridd-hits-back-at-jcu-james-cook-university-hard/

    120

    • #
      el gordo

      ‘…it seems that around 50 percent of recently published science is wrong, because the results can’t be replicated by others.

      ‘And if observations and measurements can’t be replicated, it isn’t really science – it is still, at best, hypothesis, or even just opinion. This is not a controversial topic anymore – science, or at least the system of checking the science we are using, is failing us.’

      Peter Ridd (Fox News)

      81

    • #
      TedM

      Yes definitely worth a read.

      50

  • #

    The BoM has an answer to our cooler late Jan/Feb here on the midcoast: they make predictions of 30+ which don’t eventuate. The coming week is supposed to be over thirty max every day, with some mid-thirties. If the temps don’t eventuate…there’s always the next week. If they do…nyah, nyah, toldya.

    Of course, summer temps in the 30s are a terrifying prospect. And now there might be 40s up in inland Qld! If this keeps up giant jellyfish will start eating tourists and Tiny Tim won’t have any threepences for his next Christmas pudding. Only cockroaches and related species like leftie journalists will survive these withering 30 degree summer days.

    71

    • #

      I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need a survival plan.

      I hear it’s possible to buy a midnight cherry-red roadster which can withstand full-sun temps of 120C (and minus 100C). Hood down, upholstery and all. No blistering on the dash. None of that.

      To quote Jay Weatherill, I’m buyin’!

      50

  • #
    Graham Richards

    This is “news” from the Climate Council, that’s Flim Flan Flannery’s stomping ground isn’t it?
    That’s the fella who said it’d never rain or snow again, right?
    Notice he’s not mentioned anywhere for the simple reason his name immediately raises questions about the accuracy of any drivel that passes his lips!
    No doubt there’ll be a new tourism bonanza on this horizon within 6 weeks.

    40

  • #
    Mark M

    Fact: The hotter a solar panel gets, the more inefficient it becomes …

    “It is easy to presume that more sun and therefore more heat result in more electricity but this is wrong.”

    https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/article/the-impact-of-temperature-on-solar-panels/

    We’re gonna need a bigger solar panel.

    40

  • #
    pat

    radio weather reports have been warning of Qld heatwave since yesterday, as if it is already happening. what a sham:

    8 Sept: Daily Mail: Summer isn’t over yet! Temperatures set to soar to 45C as ‘extreme’ heatwave sweeps across the country to end cool spell
    Hot, dry conditions hitting Australia will bring end to unseasonable cool spell
    Mercury will hit low-40s in Adelaide on Thursday, prompting heatwave warning
    Sydney’s west will see temperatures approaching 40C throughout weekend
    Brisbane can expect the mercury to rise to around 35C over the coming days
    By Max Margan
    An extreme heatwave is set to sweep across Australia, sending temperatures in parts of the country soaring into the mid-40s.
    The hot and dry conditions will bring an end to the unseasonable cool spell that has gripped parts of the south-east from the start of February…

    ‘From the weekend, we’re expecting severe heatwaves conditions to develop through a lot of Queensland. It will be extreme in some parts,’ (Weatherzone meteorologist Joel) Pippard said…

    Perth’s dry spell is set to continue, with sunny and warm conditions and maximums around 30C expected for at least the next week.
    Melbourne can expect temperatures around 30C until Sunday, when the mercury is set to drop by around 10C…
    Darwin will be warm with the chance of an afternoon thunderstorm, while Hobart’s showers should clear by Saturday when temperatures are expected to hit 28C…

    WEEKEND FORECAST IN YOUR CITY
    BRISBANE
    THURSDAY: Min 19, Max, 29, mostly sunny
    FRIDAY: Min, 19, Max 31, mostly sunny
    SATURDAY: Min 19, Max 33, sunny
    SUNDAY: Min 21, Max 34, mostly sunny
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5364465/Weather-Temperatures-soar-45C-parts-Australia.html

    9 Feb: QldCountryLife: Heatwave on the way for Queensland
    by Stuart Layt
    Following unseasonably cool weather in many parts of Queensland over the last fortnight, Friday will see a correction in temperatures before the weekend sees the mercury climb further.
    Weather bureau forecaster James Thompson said parts of the state would see top temperatures eclipse 40C by Sunday.
    “We’re looking at warm-to-hot conditions in the southwest of Queensland from Friday, but for heatwave conditions we need to see minimum temperatures also rising above the usual February average,” Mr Thompson said.

    “From Sunday we’ll see minimum temperatures five to eight degrees above average in the southwest of the state, and then on Monday most places south of Mount Isa to Mackay.”
    That rise would see some outback areas not get below around 29C in the dead of night, before highs in the low-to-mid 40s.
    The southeast corner of the state is expecting tops in the high 30s, however seabreezes will take some of the punch out of overnight lows.

    It’s the first true heatwave of the season for Queensland and is expected to continue into the middle of next week, although it could continue longer if the high pressure system lingers.

    People are being urged to stay cool and be mindful of heatstroke.
    http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/5218328/heatwave-on-the-way-for-queensland/

    30

  • #
    David Maddison

    O/T

    These farmers will benefit from a new QLD wind subsidy farm but only because they earn money from the leasing of land on which the windmills are located.

    http://amp.abc.net.au/article/9406376

    20

  • #
    pat

    who knew how to register?

    he ABC is changing channels
    The Australian-8 hours ago
    This morning amid much fanfare, chairman Justin Milne, managing director Michelle Guthrie and finance chief Louise Higgins will take the stage inside the ABC’s Ultimo headquarters in Sydney for an event unprecedented in the national broadcaster’s 85-year history. Welcome to the inaugural ABC annual public meeting, …

    ***substantially more money demanded, despite declining audiences!

    9 Feb: AFR: Max Mason: ABC 2.0 is as big as the move into television says Justin Milne
    ABC chairman Justin Milne says the public broadcaster needs to ramp up its digital transformation to better reflect where its viewers are going and remain relevant for decades to come.

    On Friday, at the ABC’s first annual public meeting, where members of the public have been selected to join executives and board members in the broadcaster’s Ultimo head office, and linked up via video conference to Rockhampton in Queensland and Launceston in Tasmania, Mr Milne will unveil the broadcaster’s vision for the future, known as ABC 2.0.

    Speaking to The Australian Financial Review ahead of the meeting, Mr Milne said the need to invest move in digital was akin to the ABC’s decision to move into television in 1956.

    ***”The time has come for us to really make some pretty substantial investment in the digital capability of the ABC,” he said.

    “Right now the ABC is known as a radio network and as a TV network – and they are great – but like all TV and radio networks, essentially, they have slowly declining audiences – our audiences are arguably declining more slowly than the commercial free-to-air broadcasters and news organisations but nevertheless they are in decline – and the reason they are in decline is because people are turning more and more to digital media.”…

    Mr Milne, whose executive and directorship experience stretches across Microsoft, OzeMail, Telstra, MYOB, TAB Corp and NBN, called the first annual public meeting to give Australian taxpayers the kind of transparency shareholders in listed companies have.
    Members of the public, ***who registered to attend, will be able to quiz Mr Milne, Ms Guthrie and the ABC board on a range of different areas from programming to funding to perceived bias…
    http://www.afr.com/business/media-and-marketing/tv/abc-20-is-as-big-as-the-move-into-television-says-justin-milne-20180208-h0vr9q

    nothing below offers an opportunity to register to attend:

    9 Feb: ABC: Annual Public Meeting
    The ABC – Now and into the Future
    Our first Annual Public Meeting is on Friday 9th February at 10am AEDT. You can join in via a livestream here, on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel.
    Frequently Asked Questions
    To find out more information about how to access the event and requirements, please view frequently asked questions (LINK).

    ABC: Frequently Asked Questions
    Questions submitted
    Q: If my question is not included in the live event, will it be answered by the ABC after the event?

    A: While we’d love to answer every question submitted, we know that’s unlikely due to time constraints. All the questions received will be reviewed and collated by an external research company independent of the ABC. Questions which represent the most commonly asked themes will be asked at the live event. If your question relates to a theme which is not covered during the live event, it will be answered on our website shortly after the event.

    “registration opens” but how? this doesn’t say:

    14 Dec 2017: ABC: Registrations open for the ABC’s first Annual Public Meeting
    The ABC will stage its first Annual Public Meeting on 9 February, giving the community an opportunity to hear how the ABC is adapting to the future and delivering value for all Australians.
    The public are invited to register their interest in attending this important event to learn about ABC strategy and to pose questions to the ABC Board and Leadership Team.
    The national broadcaster will ensure that all Australians get a chance to participate via a live stream online.

    “Only the ABC is providing the depth and breadth of investigative journalism that Australians need in an increasingly complex world. Only the ABC can give the degree of commitment to local storytelling, to connecting our far-flung regions, and to showcase the best of Australian arts, music and science.”

    For more information about how to register for the live stream, studio event or regional events please visit http://about.abc.net.au/APM (LINK).
    http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/registrations-open-for-the-abcs-first-annual-public-meeting/

    link takes you back to:

    9 Feb: ABC: Annual Public Meeting
    The ABC – Now and into the Future
    Our first Annual Public Meeting is on Friday 9th February at 10am AEDT. You can join in via a livestream here, on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel…

    30

  • #
    Greg in NZ

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/349947/wasted-food-a-culprit-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions

    No, no, no, everyone’s got it wrong – or so says this incredulous nonsense from NZ’s version of Their ABC or the BBC:

    “Food waste is contributing to cause catastrophic climate change, research shows…

    ‘I have bought a roast chicken and I have only eaten half of it and I am throwing it out with the carcass’.

    “It was perfectly good food, enough to feed the population of Dunedin for two years.” [127,000 people in 2017]

    That research is currently being re-done for up to date figures.”

    What the ???? And here’s the winner –

    “The worst offenders were wealthy countries and the problem could triple by 2050. The experts have found that wasted food caused climatic damage in two ways.”

    Read further at your own risk.

    40

  • #
    pat

    8 Feb: WUWT: U.S. EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2018 Now Available… And it rocks!
    Guest post by David Middleton
    After downloading the PowerPoint and some of the Excel workbooks, I put together a summary of some key points.
    Primary Energy Consumption: Fossil Fuels Dominate the Future!
    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/02/08/u-s-eia-annual-energy-outlook-2018-now-available/

    20

  • #
    Greg

    I think we should always pay attention to what Tim Flannery and the Climate Council says. After all Tim Flannery is the Wombat Man.

    20

  • #
    pat

    “scientists say”:

    7 Feb: WaPo: Chris Mooney: If the world builds every coal plant that’s planned, climate change goals are doomed, scientists say
    The new study, by Ottmar Edenhofer of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin, and three colleagues, finds that nations including Turkey, Vietnam and Indonesia could increase their emissions from coal dramatically between now and 2030, based on current plans…

    “The main message is that when we continue with the existing coal fired power plants, and build the new ones, we are closing the door to the 2 degree target,” Edenhofer said. The research was published in Environmental Research Letters, with co-authors from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Technical University of Berlin…

    And based on an analysis of global coal plans, the research finds that five countries — India, China, Turkey, Vietnam and Indonesia — are home to “nearly three quarters (73 percent) of the global coal-fired capacity that is currently under construction or planned.” Vietnam, if plans are carried forward, could see 948 percent growth in coal emissions, the research asserts, by 2030…

    The research is based on a database by CoalSwarm, a project of the Earth Island Institute, which carefully tracks coal plants in varying stages of completion across the globe, in collaboration with Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. The group makes is clear that it opposes the new coal plants that it is tracking…

    “Higher-income countries have by far the greatest coal power — U.S., Germany, China, Russia, Japan — and so the phaseout in these countries is even more important in the big picture and, also, more equitable,” (Peter Erickson, an expert with the Stockholm Environment Institute, who reviewed the study but was not involved with it) said.
    Edenhofer doesn’t disagree. He cited Germany as one example of a developed nation set to miss climate targets because it is burning a lot of coal…
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/02/07/if-the-world-builds-all-its-planned-coal-plants-climate-change-goals-are-doomed-scientists-say/

    6 Feb: Albuquerque Journal: AP: Hopis, Navajos say they’ll suffer if coal-fired plant closes
    PHOENIX — Hopis and Navajos who work at a coal mine near the Arizona-Utah border said Tuesday their family lives and earning power will suffer greatly if the power plant fed by the mine is shuttered as planned.
    The Navajo Generating Station in Page is set to close at the end of 2019 unless a new owner can be found. That’s considered a long-shot, but the company that owns the supply mine says it has identified investors interested in one of the largest coal plants in the West.

    More than 200 workers, their family members and supporters in blue T-shirts, holding up signs that said “Yes to NGS,” rallied outside the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix to call for the power plant’s life to be extended. The coal industry is a major source of revenue for the Navajo and Hopi tribes, with hundreds of jobs held by tribe members…

    The utility announced last year it would shutter the 2,250 megawatt plant because of cheaper natural gas prices. It opened up its financials to potential new owners, and about 15 non-disclosure agreements were signed.
    Peabody has said it expects to have agreements with any serious buyers in place by the end of March. Investment firm Lazard is leading the search…

    ***A new owner would have to comply with a costly U.S. environmental protection rule to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, negotiate coal supply agreements and secure a land lease with the Navajo Nation. Those processes have been time-consuming in the past…

    Environmentalists have praised the decision to shutter the plant decades earlier than expected…
    https://www.abqjournal.com/1129785/group-marches-in-support-of-keeping-navajo-coal-plant-open.html

    the CAGW mob aren’t at all concerned about developing countries needing reliable, cheap, baseload energy, or the Hopis/Navajos long-running campaign to keep the coal-fired plant going.

    30

  • #
    pat

    they lied to us:

    7 Feb: Desmog UK: Insurance Companies Claim They’ve Gone Clean, But Still Invest Billions in Polish Coal
    By Mat Hope
    Six insurance giants including Axa, Generali, and Allianz have around €1.3 billion invested in Poland’s coal power plants — the dirtiest form of power production — through subsidiary businesses such as pension funds, research by campaign group Unfriend Coal has found.
    A previous DeSmog UK investigation revealed the company (Aviva) also continues to invest in tar sands companies through its subsidiaries.
    The six companies have also underwritten 21 contracts for Poland’s coal power stations in recent years, allowing the plants to keep operating…

    Many of the insurance companies have promised to move their investments out of the coal industry. But the pledges do not extend to third party assets, which the companies manage…

    A spokesperson for Allianz said it applied a “holistic” approach to environmental assessments of its investments. They said the company believed this approach was “better than a sector exclusion” for addressing risks around these businesses…

    Aviva said that it likewise ensured the coal assets it invested in “meet the standards we expect in climate change and divesting from those which fail to live up to our expectations in this area”.
    “In Poland, local pension companies, including Aviva, manage customers’ assets under a strict regulatory regime and are not able to influence the investment strategy for these.
    “The investment guidelines focus on domestic equity where energy industry is the second-largest after the banking sector”, a spokesperson said.

    AXA said it remains invested in coal assets in Poland despite its much-lauded divestment pledges because local regulation requires investment in domestic assets. A spokesperson said: “AXA manages for third-party clients a Pension Fund representing approximately six percent of the Pension fund market.
    “These investment vehicles are strictly regulated by local regulation: at least 70 percent of these assets must be invested in Poland, mostly in the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) which itself is highly exposed to the coal industry”.
    https://www.desmog.uk/2018/02/07/insurance-companies-claim-they-ve-gone-clean-still-invest-billions-polish-coal

    10

  • #

    It’s down here at the bottom of this Thread, so forgive me a little for going somewhat off topic.

    It’s interesting to see what happens, and then wonder why it’s like that.

    If you go to the AEMO data dashboard site and look at the prospects for each of the Five States, you’ll see that there’s a projected price spike for this afternoon, Friday, at around 3PM onwards, and it’s in every State, and right about Peak power time.

    That’s what happens when one of the ‘Biggies’ goes down, in this case it’s Unit Four at the Bayswater power plant in NSW, taking 660MW out of the system. It means that NSW will have to fire up more of those costly gas fired plants, as will each of the States as well, and the power sharing arrangements between those five States will be interesting to watch, as Queensland covers for NSW, as might Victoria also, hence Victoria will need to suck more Hydro from Tasmania, so Victoria can help out NSW and SouthAus as well.

    That Bayswater Unit dropped out at around 8PM last night, well after the evening Peak, and probably designed to do just that, so it can be offline for the remainder of the Thursday evening and night, Friday, and the two days of lowest consumption, Saturday and Sunday, and then, after the highly probable servicing maintenance, come back up on line ready for Monday, and the higher weekday power consumption.

    Prior to that Unit dropping off line, during the evening Peak at around 4PM, only one of the 49 Unit across the whole of those five States coverage area was down and that was Unit One at Gladstone.

    During that Peak, there was something I haven’t seen before, and that was coal fired power generating so much power.

    That Peak at 4PM was 29680MW and coal fired power was delivering 21000MW of that total, the highest I have ever seen for coal fired power.

    With a Nameplate of 23019MW and taking out that Gladstone Unit leaves a total Nameplate of 22739MW, so with 21000MW being delivered, that means that coal fired power was running at a Capacity Factor of 92.4%.

    That of itself highlights the technology of what is referred to as being somewhat ancient technology from the 70s and 80s. That this technology can still deliver at that capability after so long quite frankly IS amazing, considering it is from three generations of coal fired power ago.

    It didn’t stop much overnight either as the Base Load at 4AM this morning was 20160MW, only the second time I have seen it over 20000MW, the most recent being only last week.

    Take away coal fired power and the Country will just cease to exist.

    IT IS THAT IMPORTANT.

    Tony.

    110

    • #
      Robber

      Tony, I can understand peak prices of $200-300/MWhr as incremental generators have to come online, but why is SA forecast to have a peak of $10,000/MWhr? And this afternoon only in SA when it generally escalates to include Vic. Who bids that astronomical price? Is it those dirty diesels? Is someone scamming the system? For some reason, AEMO has a price cap of $14,200/MWhr. Why so high? If generators won’t supply at $200-300 then they should not be allowed to operate.
      Looks like next Wed NSW and Qld are due for some hot weather that will test the system. Sydney 38 degrees and NSW peak demand 11,800 MW vs other days 10,400, Rockhampton 40 degrees, Qld demand 8954 MW versus other days 7,400 MW.

      30

    • #
      Ian1946

      Living in Queensland like you I watch the AEMO data dashboard and watch southerners sponge off the Queensland grid and expect us to support them when their bad policies are the cause of most generation shortfalls. Maybe Will Hodgeman in Tasmania has the right idea, disconnect from the NEM and charge a high price for electricity going south.

      20

      • #
        yarpos

        Lord the hypocrisy, how many decades was everything in QLD subsidised by the southern States? its about being part of a nation, and not just me me me parochial when the circumstances suit.

        10

  • #
    pat

    7 Feb: Reuters: U.S. solar industry lost nearly 10,000 jobs in 2017
    by Nichola Groom
    The U.S. solar industry lost nearly 10,000 jobs last year, led by steep losses in mature markets like California and Massachusetts where installation growth has slowed, according to a new report published on Wednesday.
    It was the first time employment has contracted in the fast-growing industry since the non-profit research firm The Solar Foundation began tracking solar jobs in 2010.

    Nationwide, solar employment fell 3.8 percent to 250,271 jobs in 2017 from a high of 260,077 in 2016. A drop in both utility-scale and residential solar installations, as well as industry jitters about tariffs on imported solar panels, were to blame for the decline, the report said…
    Employment in the solar industry far outpaces that of the coal, wind and nuclear energy industries, the report said, citing federal jobs data…

    U.S. solar installations fell in 2017 after logging a record-breaking year in 2016 as developers raced to take advantage of a federal tax credit that was meant to expire that year. The credit was extended by Congress, but it takes time for companies to rebuild their project pipelines.

    In addition, demand for residential systems has slowed in large markets like California, Massachusetts and Nevada because incentives have become less lucrative. Home solar also broadly pulled back after Tesla Inc bought SolarCity, putting the brakes on the installer’s aggressive expansion in part by eliminating its vast door-to-door sales operation…

    Nearly 78 percent of solar jobs are in installation, sales and project development, compared with just 15 percent in manufacturing, The Solar Foundation’s report said.
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-solar-jobs/u-s-solar-industry-lost-nearly-10000-jobs-in-2017-idUSKBN1FR15O

    30

    • #
      Lionell Griffith

      The green blob has been prancing and dancing about all the jobs that “alternative” energy will create. Clearly, they think a job is someone getting paid to do something without caring were the money comes from. However, in the real world, a job is doing something productive that someone is willing to pay you to do. They pay for production and no so you can have a job. Producing extremely expensive and unreliable energy is not something that most people would be willing to pay someone to do. Yet, that is the best that “alternative” energy can accomplish even on a good day.

      It is no mystery why the number of green jobs is rapidly falling. No one wants what they produce. Oppressive laws and government coercion simply can’t make it work.

      20

  • #
    pat

    8 Feb: NewIndianExpress: PTI: India plans 77 per cent rise in refining capacity by 2030: Government
    NEW DELHI: India plans to raise its oil refining capacity by 77 per cent to 438.65 million tonnes by 2030 with Reliance Industries and Rosneft-controlled Essar Oil adding the biggest chunk, a government report said today.

    The country has the capacity to turn 247.6 MT crude oil into fuel annually. This is slated to rise to 414.35 MT by 2025 and to 438.65 MT by 2030, said the report of the Working Group on Enhancing Refining capacity.
    The existing refining capacity exceeded the fuel demand of 193.74 MT in 2016-17, but the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that this demand will reach 458 MT by 2040.

    As the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, India imports 80 per cent of its energy requirements and is planning ahead to cater to the rise in demand…

    India has leapfrogged from a modest 62 MT per annum refining capacity in 1998 to 232 MT at end…READ ALL
    http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2018/feb/08/india-plans-77-per-cent-rise-in-refining-capacity-by-2030-government-1770299.html

    20

  • #
    Michael X S

    First, the report effectively says the Chinese won’t come. Just how many Chinese actually visit the reef. And how many visit Kakadu or Uluru?
    Second, I was in Dubai several years ago in June. It was 43 degrees at 2:30 in the morning when arriving. The place was awash with European & British tourists. I asked a pair why would come here on holidays, it’s so hot? The reply, in all seriousness, was “because it’s hot”.
    Rather than being the end of tourism, warmer weather might open a whole new market.

    40

  • #
    sophocles

    I just love the base assumptions in the article by its auther Susanne Becken

    Assumption 1: the global population of tourists won’t decrease

    Assumption 2: implementation of anti-climate-change policies won’t impoverish potential tourists

    Assumption 3: there will still be functional airlines flying the tourists in and out
    Assumption 3 requires:
    Assumption 4: these airlines will be using non-CO2-emitting electric aircraft (cough, cough)

    Assumption 5: weather and climate are linear, non-cyclic phenomena and totally CO2 dependent
    (gosh, that concentration of 0.04% of the atmosphere is so magically powerful)

    Assumption 6: the readers are stupid

    Marks awarded: Zero.

    50

  • #
    pat

    9 Feb: ABC: Brooke Wylie: ‘Has the ABC adopted a policy of dumbing down?’ ABC leadership fields public’s questions
    Repetitive programming, partisan coverage, staff cutbacks, cross-program advertising and cuts to current affairs program Lateline were among the concerns raised during the 90-minute public meeting.
    Members of the public were invited to attend the broadcaster’s first annual public meeting at the ABC’s headquarters in Sydney, as well as at events held in Tasmania and Queensland.
    350 questions were submitted from members of the public across the country in the lead up to the meeting…

    Annabelle Tyson received audience applause when she questioned the decision to axe Lateline from ABC Current Affairs programming last year.
    “Has the ABC adopted a policy of dumbing down for its listeners and viewers?”
    “The organisation seems to be taking away from us, so gradually, perhaps, that it hopes we won’t notice”
    “The great losses last year were the cutting back of ABC radio’s The World Today and the disappearance of TV’s Lateline.”…
    News Director Gaven Morris said audience habits have changed.
    “The last thing we want to do at ABC News is in anyway dumb down what we do for our audiences,” he said…

    ill Buchanan questioned whether there was editorial bias in the organisation, submitting in an online question that there was a perception the ABC had an anti-Liberal-National lean.
    “The ABC may not agree but many people are of the same opinion as me, and what do you intend to do about it?” he said.
    Editorial Director Alan Sunderland said the organisation has faced decades of accusations of bias against the government of the day — regardless of which party that is.
    “I’m not here to say to Bill or anybody else listening today that you’re wrong or to convince you otherwise,” Mr Sunderland said.
    “We have a very detailed and a very clear set of editorial standards which we make available to the public.
    “When people contact us and say ‘you’re biased’ we will say to them, ‘please give us an example of that’.
    “The challenge for us is to understand when that criticism is unjustified and to hold our ground. We owe that to you.”…
    Digital investment the key priority for ABC
    Mr Milne said the changes were akin to the ABC’s decision to first broadcast on television in 1956 and the organisation needed to evolve.
    “It will require investment and possibly generate some controversy.”

    Managing Director Michelle Guthrie told those gathered that investigative journalism was a priority for the organisation.
    “Growing our investigative news capability is a central priority and we have invested in the creation of the largest dedicated investigative and specialist journalism team in the country.”
    “Our role as Australia’s public broadcaster is now more important than ever.”
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-09/abcs-first-annual-general-meeting-fields-public-questions/9412830

    10

  • #
    pat

    Michelle Guthrie: “investigative reporting”? ABC? lol.

    re ABC RN’s flagship morning news programs, AM & Breakfast.

    setting aside Fran Kelly’s embarrassing interview with Professor Stephen Cohen on Monday’s Breakfast program, which explained nothing to an already-ignorant ABC audience – how come there was not a single segment on FISA-gate, Intel-gate, Coup-gate whatever on either program this week. please explain.

    before and since Donald Trump became President, AM & Breakfast have attacked him relentlessly, often with multiple segments per program, so why the sudden change?

    so much Fran could have discussed with Cohen – but her audience wouldn’t have had a clue what he was talking about, due to ABC’s failure to report on anything that doesn’t fit its narrow, politically partisan agenda:

    7 Feb: The Nation:Stephen Cohen: Russiagate or Intelgate?
    (Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian Studies and Politics at NYU and Princeton)
    The publication of the Republican House Committee memo and reports of other documents increasingly suggest not only a “Russiagate” without Russia but also something darker: The “collusion” may not have been in the White House or the Kremlin.

    In order to defend itself against the memo’s charge that it used Steele’s unverified dossier to open its investigation into Trump’s associates, the FBI claims it was prompted instead by a May 2016 report of remarks made earlier by another lowly Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, to an Australian ambassador in a London bar. Even leaving aside the ludicrous nature of this episode, the public record shows it is not true.

    In testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in May 2017, John Brennan, formerly Obama’s head of the CIA, strongly suggested that he and his agency were the first, as The Washington Post put it at the time, “in triggering an FBI probe.” Certainly both the Post and The New York Times interpreted his remarks in this way. Equally certain, Brennan played a central role in promoting the Russiagate narrative thereafter, briefing members of Congress privately and giving President Obama himself a top-secret envelope in early August 2016 that almost certainly contained Steele’s dossier.

    Early on, Brennan presumably would have shared his “suspicions” and initiatives with James Clapper, director of national intelligence. FBI Director Comey, distracted by his mangling of the Clinton private-server affair during the presidential campaign, may have joined them actively somewhat later…

    In short, if these reports and Brennan’s own testimony are to be believed, he, not the FBI, was the instigator and godfather of Russiagate. Certainly, his subsequent frequent and vociferous public retelling of the Russiagate allegations against Trump suggest that he played a (and probably the) instigating role. And, it seems, a role in the Steele dossier as well…

    What was President Obama’s role in any of this? Or to resort to the Watergate question: What did he know and when did he know it? And what did he do? The same questions would need to be asked about his White House aides and other appointees. Whatever the full answers, there is no doubt that Obama acted on the Russiagate allegations. He cited them for the sanctions he imposed on Russia in December 2016, which led directly to the case of General Michael Flynn (not for doing anything wrong with Russia but for “lying to the FBI”); to the worsening of the new US-Russian Cold War; and thus to the perilous relationship inherited by President Trump, who has in turn been thwarted by Russiagate in his attempts to improve relations through “cooperation” with Putin…
    https://www.thenation.com/article/russiagate-or-intelgate/

    6 Feb: National Review: The FISA-Gate Boomerangs
    by Victor Davis Hanson
    (Victor Davis Hanson is a professor emeritus of classics at California State University, Fresno, and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in classics and military history at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution)
    Both Watergate and Iran-Contra were multiyear affairs. FISA-gate may last longer, given that the media this time around are not a watchdog, but an enabler, of government misconduct…

    In one of the strangest moments in the history of American journalism, Washington reporters and agencies, known for their loud interests in protecting civil liberties, are either silent or working to suppress news of these scandals, and they may well soon rue their own complacency…
    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/456134/fisagate-boomerangs-democrats-hillary-obama

    30

  • #
    pat

    AUDIO: 4mins55secs: 9 Feb: 3GB: Chris Smith Show: Ugly scenes erupt at university climate conference
    Scenes have reportedly turned ugly at a climate conference held at Australian National University yesterday.

    Dr Howard Brady, author of Mirrors and Mazes: A guide to the climate debate, tells Chris Smith he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
    “It was incredible. It was as if you were living in an alternate world.
    “If you had a contrary view you were going to cop derision.”
    He says those who expressed critical views about conventional climate science were met with yelling and threats, with one man snatching a presenter’s notes.
    “It was a totally biased conference. I just couldn’t believe it.”

    CLICK PLAY below for full story
    https://www.2gb.com/ugly-scenes-erupt-at-university-climate-conference/

    20

    • #
      pat

      presumably, this was the ANU Event:

      ANU: Events: ANU Climate Update 2018 – 8 February, 2018 1.30–7.30pm
      ANU Climate Update 2018 will present an overview of how our climate is changing and how we are responding to these changes in Australia and around the world. You’ll hear from experts, practitioners and leading commentators from across ANU and throughout Australia.

      Part 1 will summarise the latest climate research, including a snapshot of newly released 2017 climate data, followed by commentary on emissions policy responses.
      (includes Welcome – Prof Michael Cardew-Hall, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Innovation), ANU
      Opening Address – Shane Rattenbury, MLA, Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, ACT Legislative Assembly)

      Part 2 will move to climate extremes – extreme heat, flooding and frost – and their implications for how we live, work and eat.
      (includes Chair – Prof Sharon Friel, Director, School of Regulation and Global Governance, ANU
      Extreme heat events – Dr Sophie Lewis, Fenner School of Environment & Society, ANU
      Floods – Dr Peter May, Head of Research, Bureau of Meterology
      Frost – Steve Crimp, Research Fellow, ANU Climate Change Institute)

      Part 3 will discuss corporate responses to climate change.
      (includes Keynote speaker – Pauline Vamos, CEO, Regnan and formerly CEO, ***Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia Panellists: •Caroline Lambert, Climate Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to Australia
      •Kate Mackenzie, Director, Climate-KIC and Fellow, Centre for Policy Development)

      The event will bring together climate researchers, students, policymakers, industry, media and the public. There’ll be opportunities for audience questions at the end of each session and plenty of informal discussion during the breaks.

      Speakers:
      •Keynote speaker – Pauline Vamos
      •Professor Kate Auty
      •Professor John Hewson
      •Professor Sharon Friel
      •Dr Sophie Lewis
      •Dr Peter May
      •Steven Crimp
      •Professor Mark Howden
      •Caroline Lambert
      •Kate Mackenzie
      http://www.anu.edu.au/events/anu-climate-update-2018

      10

      • #
        pat

        coming up:

        29 Jan: Cosmos Mag: Step up to Drawdown
        Canberra conference to look at climate change.
        The Australian National University (ANU), based in Canberra, in conjunction with Bank Australia, invites you to attend a free public lecture on February 20, at its main campus in Acton, about a project called Drawdown — touted as the most thorough plan ever proposed to reverse global warming.

        The lecture will be delivered by Paul Hawken, the founder of Project Drawdown, a non-profit, independent organisation with a global reach, and the editor of the New York Times bestseller by the same name.
        He will be joined by a panel of public policy and science experts from ANU.
        Drawdown itself is a unique consortium, which includes scientists, students, policy makers and business leaders, all of whom are working together to find and enact sustainable and impactful solutions to climate change…

        There will be opportunity for audience participation by way of a Q&A, with drinks and refreshments to follow. To register for this event, click here…
        https://cosmosmagazine.com/climate/step-up-to-drawdown

        20

    • #
      David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

      G’day Pat,
      My reply at #62 was meant to go here. Thanks for the ANU story.
      Cheers,
      Dave B

      20

  • #
    pat

    part 1 of a 3-part series:

    10 Feb: Spectator: Eyeballing DFAT
    by Mark Higgie
    (Mark Higgie was the Australian ambassador to the EU, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg 2014-17 and was international advisor to Tony Abbott 2010-2014)
    After Tony Abbott’s landslide win in September 2013, just as in the Costello case, ‘a culture of impartial service’ aren’t the words many in the Coalition would have used to describe our foreign affairs bureaucracy. On the contrary, the experience since has underlined beyond any doubt that the Left’s long march through the institutions has included the capture of DFAT. Our diplomats deny anti-conservative prejudice but it is deeply entrenched. In hindsight it’s a pity that Abbott on becoming prime minister didn’t make more radical changes in relation to the upper echelons of our foreign affairs bureaucracy than did Howard…

    Having observed our diplomats from the Prime Minister’s Office and on five diplomatic postings, I’ve no doubt that more than ever their views of the world, advice and decision-making in the main reflect – to a greater extent than other parts of the federal government machinery – the politically correct pieties that also dominate the ABC, the Fairfax press, our universities and, increasingly, our schools.

    To any Canberra insider, especially ones in Coalition circles, the fact that most of our diplomats are leftish is a given…
    The spirit of Gough Whitlam continues to hover over DFAT’s R.G. Casey Building. Most of our diplomats dream of an Australia less aligned with the US and have an often unqualified enthusiasm for the United Nations. They prefer Greens/Labor approaches to climate change to those of the Coalition…

    Those with views on Europe tend to an uncritical enthusiasm for the EU integrationist project and contempt for Brexit – even though most Australians would never accept the radical compromises of sovereignty and the lax control of borders required by EU membership…

    A few other recent examples of DFAT’s thriving leftist bias and the tendency by many of its staff to make judgments out of step with mainstream Australian attitudes:
    (includes) •At a US Embassy reception arranged on 9 November 2016 to watch the results of the presidential election come in, a DFAT officer present wept openly once it was clear Donald Trump had won…

    Part 2: ‘Asleep at the wheel’ by Mark Higgie in next week’s Spectator Australia.
    https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/02/eyeballing-dfat/

    20

  • #
    pat

    9 Feb: ABC: Four investigations check why power failed in part of Royal Adelaide Hospital
    By political reporter Nick Harmsen
    Two surgical theatres were plunged into darkness, other treatments were disrupted and some people got stuck in lifts when the power failed for 17 minutes.
    SA Health has appointed engineering firm Frazer Nash to do an independent investigation of the technical failure…

    A single software glitch during a routine generator test was initially cited as the reason for the problem.
    But Celsus later said there had also been a software fault which allowed the generator to run out of fuel, before its four-hour testing period was over…

    SA Health Minister Peter Malinauskas: “We are now satisfied that the generators are armed with all the appropriate resources, including personnel, to make sure they deliver the service they expect in the event they are called upon,” he said.
    “But there are still questions around how the error that took place on Wednesday did occur.”…

    The Liberal Opposition said the Government needed to re-appoint project management firm Donald Cant Watts Corke, which provided independent certification during construction of the new hospital, which opened last September.
    “They know the contract backwards, they know the hospital backwards, they know the systems that are supposed to be working,” Liberal health spokesman Stephen Wade said.
    “We think that they’re very well placed to identify what went wrong.”…
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-09/hospital-power-outage-subject-of-four-investigations/9417470

    30

    • #
      yarpos

      Have seen this sort of thing many times during decades in IT. Back up systems that dont work, back up system that dont support the right stuff either by design or by subsequent disconnected change, back up system tests inducing bigger failures worse than anything they were protecting against

      30

  • #
    David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

    Thanks Pat,
    I’ve forwarded the 2GB link to my reps in Canberra and Sydney, and asked that they defund universities that permit such actions, likening it to what has happened at JCU?
    Cheers,
    Dave B

    60