In an emergency everyone wants coal
Just like that — Europe is hitting the panic button. Thank the Russians for demanding rubles for their gas and threatening supply. Not only has Germany decided to rescue old coal plants, but so has Austria, which had gone blissfully “coal free” two years ago. How long did that fairytale last? In the Netherlands coal power plants were forced for years to run at only 35% capacity by government ruling, but now, suddenly, full tilt is fine. Sweden and Denmark have both issued an “early warning” to flag potential energy shortages.
In Poland, energy prices are so expensive that three weeks ago the government told people to go and collect wood from forests to keep their homes warm. Last week they the government said it would pay a large part of the cost of buying three tons of coal for each household. It’s that bad.
Much of the EU rely on Russian gas for about 40% of their supplies. The Austrians have storage sites for gas so large they can hold an entire years worth, but they are only 39% full and they want to double that before November.
Germany is now calling this “an attack” by Putin to sow chaos in slashing Europe’s energy supplies.
Gazprom said last week it would reduce supplies of the fuel to Germany via the pipeline due to delayed repairs, but the German government has called the decision ‘political’ amid the widespread European support for Ukraine following Putin‘s invasion.
Germany has also mandated the filling of gas reserves to 90 per cent ahead of the European winter, to hedge against a further reduction in supply. ‘When we go into the winter with half full gas stores and the taps are turned off then we are talking about a difficult economic crisis in Germany,’ Habeck said. Currently, Germany’s gas storage capacity is just under 60 percent full.
Russian gas pipelines to Europe (Click to enlarge) | Samuel Bailey
That’s a lot of countries suddenly looking for alternative energy:
Europe turns back to coal as Russia cuts gas supplies
EU Observer
Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom has turned off supplies to several EU countries for refusing to pay for gas in roubles — including Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, and the Netherlands.
But Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, and Slovakia have also faced reduced gas delivery volumes, raising fears over gas security supply.
Things people thought were set in stone can be turned on a dime:
Dutch lift coal curbs as Russia gas supplies drop
The Netherlands said Monday it will lift all restrictions on coal-fired power stations to counter a drop in gas supplies from Russia….
“The cabinet has decided to immediately withdraw the restriction on production for coal-fired power stations from 2002 to 2024,” Jetten told a news conference in The Hague.czech. “This means that coal-fired power stations can run at full capacity again instead of the maximum of 35 percent.”
The Austrian greens were very pleased Austria was only the second European country to go “Coal free” in March 2020. It was “historic” at the time.
Austria returns to coal era
State-controlled Verbund AG, Austria’s biggest utility and most valuable company, was ordered late Sunday to prepare its mothballed Mellach coal-fired station for operation. The plant, 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Vienna, was shut two years ago as Austria became only the second European country to eliminate coal entirely from its electricity grid.
Meanwhile, in Poland, a reminder of how desperate the situation really is:
Poles told to gather firewood amid soaring energy prices
June 3rd, Euronews
Authorities in Poland reminded citizens on Friday they can forage firewood from forests to keep warm amid soaring energy costs in the country. The government said it was taking steps to make it easier for people to collect firewood in an effort to ease the pressure created by sky-rocketing energy bills and shortages of coal.
Opponents of the ruling ‘Law and Justice party’ said the comments showed it had not got a grip on the wider economy. Inflation in Poland has climbed to 14 per cent in recent weeks, with fuel prices hitting 8 zlotys ($1.87) per litre. The average monthly wage in Poland is around 7110 zlotys ($1800).
Poland will subsidise coal for homes
The Polish government wants to subsidise coal for household and housing cooperatives amid rising coal prices and shortages caused by the Russian coal embargo, Energy Minister Anna Moskwa announced Tuesday.
Under the government’s plan, consumers can buy up to three tonnes of coal per household for a maximum price of 996 zlotys (€214). The sellers that keep the price at this level will receive up to 750 zlotys (€161) in compensation.
Why is none of this news being being published here in Australia?
Are the media too afraid to publish?
Oh yes, how silly of me. They’re all part of the same chain of BS that believes in fairies at the bottom of the garden!
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There is no need for coal. They can just print more money and burn that…..
Just like here in Australia.
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Fairies.
Yes, and unicorns. Farting ones!
Auto
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Australia will be a Clean Energy Superpower
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Reality of Australia Summed up by Dan Andrews Victoria
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On ABC News Radio this morning, ACF boss Kelly O’Shanassy is railing against Woodsides’ Scarborough gas project because it will increase temperatures by 0.0004 degC during its lifetime and help ruin the Great Barrier Reef.
Is there a mechanism in Australian Law to throw out vexatious claims?
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Let’s have a law to prevent people like Kelly with negative IQ having input into public policy. Think of Ningaloo before GBR, Kelly (sob)!
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CLASS ACTION!
#Free CO2
We must start a class action against the IPCC for falsely claiming anthropogenic CO2 is doing harm.
Millions would join and fund it.
How to get started?
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This is good ,right? The sudden burst of coal fumes will give everyone a warm winter. It will settle your scepticism re AGW.
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Where is all this coal going to come from? a big fuss was made about closing down mines all over Europe… I guess all those coal miners will have to give up their amazing jobs in renewable energy and go back to real work…?
I cannot believe the mentality of politicians who think they can destroy an industry and say “they can get jobs in renewable energy” – it shows utter contempt for the highly specialised people who have lost or will lose their livelihoods, and assumes that these menial human work-units can be re-tasked to some other industry requiring completely different skills. Talk about dehumanising the population…
Lithuania is sticking to the EU sanctions – i.e. also going completely over the top and reacting hysterically to anything Russia says or does. Russia is annoyed because they’ll have to ship everything to/from Kaliningrad via sea instead of via land. Either Russia is really making a big fuss, or it’s the media still trying to incite war. Who knows…
It’s my understanding that Lithuania was given the chance to absorb Kaliningrad by Khrushchev, but that would have meant overwhelming what remained of the Lithuanian population with ethnic Russians, so they said no. The same general deal was given to Ukraine vis a vis Crimea, but they accepted. I think had Lithuania said yes, they may be in a similar situation to Ukraine.
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And Biden told them:
https://www.atr.org/biden-anybody-who-can-throw-coal-furnace-can-learn-how-program/
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““learn how to program””
There are more than enough shoddy programmers out there… many of them pass themselves off as climate scientists.
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ps, and you can bet Biden has never written one line of code in his entire pathetic life.
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It’s clear that Biden’s programming is degrading. Whoever installed the last update must have disabled error correction…
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Don’t forget that some “Climate Scientists” need help to use a spreadsheet…
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“Anybody who can go down 300 to 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well…Give me a break! Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for god’s sake!” Biden said.
Adding to Biden’s confusion, coal miners and people who throw coal into a furnace are not the same thing.
As well, in view of the sorts of things new Energy Minister Bowen has said since the election, perhaps we will hear something similar from him when the opportunity arises
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Simple. American pressure on Lithuania, as it does on all their allies. It leans on them. Best to reach a settlement to this, but I perversely acknowledge the Russians for bringing Europe back to a coal based reality.
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And I read that after WW2 Koenigsberg was incorporated into RSFSR (Russia), rather than into LSSR (Lithuania) because until 1952 Lithuanian still conducted the guerrilla war against communists.
It was Stalin’s solitary decison, it is very doubtful that months after acquiring Koenigsberg he would consult his sworn enemies on any question. There were Lithuanian quislings of course but Stalin resented his closest long=term servants, to say nothing about friends since last night.
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If only Europe and the World had listened to Donald Trump.
I feel sorry for innocent people who are suffering and miserable and will freeze in their own homes in the European winter, but for those other people who wilfully chose to be ignorant about the world around them, who allowed themselves to be influenced by Marxists and some of the world’s most evil and corrupt people, how can you feel sorry for them?
Ignorance is a choice. People will pay for their “lifestyle choice” to be ignorant. It’s impossible to say “we didn’t know” like some Europeans also tried to claim 75 years ago, a claim which also wasn’t accepted by courts.
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There should be a documentary made …..the disasters juxtaposed with the Trrump pronouncements and policies ……Russian leveraging energy supplies, immigration ah there border, energy independence …..(should be the basis of our defence policy)…….inflation ……etc
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A second documentary could look at all the things the Lefties and their media have called ‘conspiracy theories’ that are now proven to be true. Dementia Joe Junior’s laptop, Shrillary’s Russian hoax, etc
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The pipeline diagram above is extraordinary.
It would be interesting to see an equivalent diagram for Australia which showed rail links from coal mines to ports.
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There is a pipeline map here plus a link to a more detailed map, but no rail shown.
https://www.apga.org.au/pipeline-information-users
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🙂 Australia has been busy.
Oil, gas, water?
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It sadly doesn’t show how many are owned by “Singapore based” companies, i.e. China…
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That might take awhile to sort through, but it shouldn’t worry us too much, they are out to make a dollar.
At least our gas supply is in safe hands, Moomba is owned by Santos.
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And that little bit of reality brings us back to the wider picture of what Ports and Rivers and Islands have been “sold” to China.
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Excellent Map
Re Rail – there is a map for NSW- THE COAL CHAIN
We are proud to work in partnership with over 25 organisations to make the Hunter Valley Coal Chain one of the largest and most collaborative coal supply chains in the world.
Rail services
There are four main rail haulage providers; Pacific National, Aurizon, Glencore and Southern Shorthaul Railroad. Collectively they transport coal from over 30 different load points to the three terminals at the Port. This adds up to more than 20,000 train trips a year. The track is owned and maintained by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and train movements scheduled by the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator so that rail arrivals are aligned with stockyard capacity at the Port as well as vessel arrivals.
QLD Rail Coal Map here
https://www.aurizon.com.au/-/media/aurizon-media-library/what-we-deliver/network/odrl/rail-network-map.pdf
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Thanks O O.
Here we are on a thread about Europe and we’re learning about us.
I guess some of the extended NSW line would also provide for the movement of wheat to NovoCastria.
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The Hunter Coal Chain is indeed remarkable in its quiet efficiency, OO. The spouse and I see it’s seamless operations every day, from ships entering and leaving via our front door, the Port of Newcastle, piloted in and out on pinpoint schedule to and from the loading berths at Kooragang, 24/7/365, coal delivered by rail from the upper Hunter on the same 24/7/365 schedule, so that hardly anyone not of Newcastle realises it’s happening, or how seamless it is.
This is thanks to an extraordinary understanding of how things are and must be by everyone involved, from owners, producers, miners, shippers, unions and all the people involved in between.
It really is a thing of logistical beauty, not to mention it supports the living standards directly of a regional population larger than the state of Tasmania, and underpins the comfortable existence of Sydney.
Let’s see how we would do without it, hey?
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I count the ships anchored offshore nearly every day, rarely less than ten waiting. 🙂
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The ones you may see anchored are in the booked lineup for the next 48hrs. The rest, 50-60+ at any time, are on the drift out in deep water until they get the call to join the queue.
We are seeing lots of small (5 hatch) ships and island mixed cargo vessels in port since the coal crisis was set off, in addition to the 9- and 7-hatch cape and Panamax carriers. They are coming from all over.
Look at the ship tracker sites. We have a mate, Richard O’Connor, who posts all the time on the Newcastle port traffic, check him out.
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Notice how Europe doesn’t immediately destroy their old coal plant like Australia does.
They were smart enough to leave a lifeline, just in case.
Australia blows up old coal plant as a spectacular media event, as though destroying the last of some toxic pathogen.
You don’t get dumber than that.
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Yep green influenced governments in Australia have to destroy FF technology and infrastructure that has successfully worked for 40+ years to ensure only their favoured money scamming technology with a 20 year lifetime can be used to supply power.
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Investigate.
Identify.
Punish.
Destroying such huge amounts of community assets with only a fairy story as justification needs to be analysed in the cold hard light of day!
No good intentions evident at all.
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We did!! The UK couldn’t get the plants destroyed quick enough and even did some of the blasting in the early hours. Credit to Austria and others for keeping theirs in reserve. We really need some powercuts this winter to show up the stupidity of the dribbling fool and his government – that’s the lying oaf Johnson not Dementia Joe, too many dribbling fools around these days.
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NO! Jo’s a liar! Look at this 2020 report from the highly regarded ‘Hack’ program on the highly regarded ABC:
https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/solar-is-now-the-cheapest-electricity-in-history-report-says/12767310
There. Solar was already cheaper than anything else in 2020 and only going to get cheaper. And gosh, by 2040 coal power will have fallen below 20%. It’s all proven with graphs an’ quotes from experts from universities an’ all.
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You might find there will be no more explosive demaintanance of power stations, in NSW at least, but who can say about Danistan?
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Britain has been blowing up coal power plants but the elites have their diesel generators so that’s OK then.
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The oft admired future king of England seems to have also decided that the little people are the ones who will suffer from idiotic ‘green’ policies to save the world, whilst he and his family happily helicopter here and there… https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/06/06/spare-us-your-environmental-lectures-william/
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It’s inherited. I recall Charles saying, about 10 years ago, when he bought an EV, something along the lines that he should be doing something to save the environment. Comments at the time were “alongside the Rolls and the Range Rover” and similar
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It’s good to see that EU countries are starting to wake up, but why has it taken so long?
Can’t these donkeys understand very simple data and evidence and if not why not?
Here AGAIN is the entire world in one graph using UN co2 emissions data since 1970.
Are these people totally clueless?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions#/media/File:World_fossil_carbon_dioxide_emissions_six_top_countries_and_confederations.png
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Germany’s economics minister calls it “an attack” – amusing that since today is the anniversary of Hitler’s “Operation Barbarossa”. June 22,1941. Anyway who started this sanction/blockade version of THE GREAT GAME. Ukraine and Russia can only end it by Ukraine ceding Russian speaking territory. The West will waste themselves out of this proxy war not the Russians.
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Here AGAIN is Willis Eschenbach’s WUWT article that he is updating as new data becomes available.
Obviously there’s no climate EMERGENCY or CRISIS or EXISTENTIAL threat.
Also see Lomborg, Shellenberger, Christy, Spencer, Curry, Koonin, Lindzen, Happer, Kininmonth, McIntyre, McKitrick etc.
And the laughable lunacy of Earth day forecasts in 1970 were just more delusional nonsense from the barking mad Ehrlich Malthusians and yet they still BELIEVE?
Look up the data since 1970 for yourselves and please start to wake up.
This is the greatest FRA-D and Con trick for 200 years and has wasted TRILLIONs of $ and for a ZERO return on their so called investment.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/04/25/wheres-the-emergency/
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The money was not “wasted”, it has been redirected; follow the flow!
The return on investment is not Zero it’s actually highly Negative cause we’ll be cleaning up the damage, if that’s possible, for decades to come.
Shades of the most recent Snowy battery infliction.
We, have, been, dudded.
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The silver lining to all this in europe, particularly in the Dutch case, is that we will be able to actually see AND measure just how much co2 goes up by by in a defined period and have some real data to base some aspects of the numerous computer generated models they use. Of course that relies on adults taking the lead and ensuring that the truth is reported rather than some childish green zealots ideas of what it could be. The Dutch/NASA/whoever should take a snapshop and baseline the air mix above The Netherlands/bordering area right “now” and then co-ordinate the increase of their coal-fired power stations generation to all in equal/coordinated incremental increases from the legislated 35% upwards to nominated points (50%, then 65% etc) over a set period of time. Each increase point should be maintained to allow easier monitoring of any change. This is a great controlled test/measurement opportunity that hopefully wont be squandered…. sorry just realised my oxymoron (controlled test/squandered) I’ll stop wasting everyones time. Have a nice day.
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We sort of did that experiment during COVID, Earl. Economic activity was curtailed in most western countries for a period of time in 2020. Didn’t make one jot of difference to CO2 levels.
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So when you stop putting something in but levels of what you are measuring don’t change then maybe the time needed to change (ie 2020) wasn’t long enough? By having a baseline start up point and then measuring the (stages) of putting more in surely will show any immediate effect plus as it goes on any longer term increase. It comes with the additional benefit of being able to also measure the cross border effects as/if carbon flows around the continent. After all apparently The Netherlands have been operating for 20 years pumping 35% operational level coal carbon into the atmosphere so they have a pretty solid starting point.
Cheers
01
The assumptions are wrong.
‘Putting something in’ The CO2 going into the atmosphere from human activity is about 3% of the total being swamped by flows mainly from oceans as well as land based natural sources.
10
I rest my case, particularly with regard to his thieving wife.
00
Meanwhile Led by the Loonies of SA
SA ready to take the lead on electricity market reform
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has told federal and state colleagues his parliament is pump-primed to pass whatever changes are necessary to fix a “broken” National Electricity Market.
With the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigating whether generators have been price gouging or engaging in other anticompetitive conduct during the energy crisis, the federal government is not ruling out structural changes to the NEM.
South Australia is the lead legislator in the NEM, meaning it legislates all changes and then the other states introduce application legislation to give effect to those changes.
Mr Malinauskas gave the assurance to state and territory colleagues, as well as federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen, when he was in Canberra on Friday for the national cabinet meeting.
“I want to be clear that South Australia stands ready, willing and able to progress any legislative reform that is needed to help fix our broken National Electricity Market,” he told The Australian Financial Review on Tuesday.
“South Australia has been a national leader when it comes to renewable energy and as lead legislator for our nation’s energy market, I want my state to continue its national leadership in this area.
“The truth is, our nation has been let down by the climate wars and utter paralysis when it comes to energy policy. This must end.
“I have made this clear to the prime minister and my fellow premiers.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked the ACCC to take a closer look at the sector. Last week, the market collapsed, resulting in an unprecedented intervention by the regulator.
Dr Chalmers indicated on Tuesday that change would be made, and action taken, if need be.
“We want to know if there are any dodgy behaviours going on. We don’t want to see dodgy pricing behaviour in energy markets,” he said.
“We want to see the ACCC empowered to make recommendations to the government on the best mix of regulations based on detailed information that they provide us after having a proper look at what is going on.
“We won’t tolerate dodgy behaviour when it comes to pricing in energy markets.”
On Tuesday, the regulator, the Australian Energy Market Operator, hinted it may lift its intervention but flagged a 24-hour monitoring regime to ensure generators were not gaming the system, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested last week.
As well as the gas trigger, which the government is in the process of toughening up, it also has at its disposal the “big stick” legislation, also bequeathed to it by the former Coalition government.
That legislation gives the government the power to forcibly divest energy giants engaging in anticompetitive conduct.
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Energy spin can be powerful, but rhetoric won’t keep the lights on
Chris Uhlmann – Nine News Political Editor
As a rule, you should pay more attention to what politicians do than what they say.
The German Greens once championed the complete exit from coal-fired power by 2030. Now they are part of a three-party governing coalition where idealism has collided with the real world.
In response to Russia cutting gas exports to Berlin by 60 per cent, Germany’s economic minister Robert Habeck, a Greens MP, had the baleful task of telling the nation that rebooting coal-fired power plants was “painful” but “a sheer necessity”.
Germany burns lignite, the dirtiest kind of brown coal. So, the nation is facing a hard truth: most of its carbon-cutting has come through outsourcing industrial production to China and propping up renewable energy with imported oil and gas.
The giant flaw at the heart of the Paris Agreement is that countries are generally held accountable for greenhouse gas emissions generated within their own borders, but emissions generated anywhere are a problem everywhere. Europe’s dirty little secret is that it parades its virtue while exporting its vice. That would explain why carbon has been steadily rising in the atmosphere since the problem was first confronted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
At the world climate summit in November, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – a man with an almost supernatural capacity to say one thing and do another – announced the “death knell for coal power”. It came at the same time his government was planning the first new coal mine in the UK in decades. Now British energy companies have been asked to delay the closure of coal-fired power plants.
Last week, this column asked federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen if the short-term fix to the energy crisis was to keep coal-fired generators operating until their retirement date, fix the ones that are broken and include them in the capacity market.
There followed an impassioned speech.
“No, that has been a long-held view of yours, and it is not one I agree with,” Bowen said. “The problem is there is not enough investment in renewable energy. There hasn’t been enough investment in storage. Yes, you can say the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine. The rain doesn’t always fall either, but we can store the water and we can store renewable energy if we have the investment. That investment has been lacking for the last decade. That is the problem.”
In no particular order, storing water involves digging a hole in the ground, storing energy is a tad more complex. The question asked about dealing with the real world, in the short term, with the assets that we have. The answer was a lament to a world that does not yet exist.
And this reporter’s long-held view is that “renewables are the future but, today, they present serious engineering problems. To deny that is to deny the science”. I could lie and claim the transition was easy and win plaudits from the conga line of dopes on Twitter, but that show is already oversubscribed.
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Europe’s dirty little secret is that it parades its virtue while exporting its vice.
Closer to home, when all lights went out in South Australia in 2016 the state maintained there was no issue with the balance of its wind-dominated generation and made much of installing a 100 megawatt Tesla battery, which can power 30,000 homes for one hour. But before the battery was running, SA had built nine diesel generators that can deliver 276 MW for as long as there is fuel.
Perhaps nowhere has perfected the “do as I say not what I do” routine better than Victoria. In August 2016 Premier Daniel Andrews trumped a permanent ban on the exploration and development of all onshore unconventional gas. Now, with the energy crisis biting, Andrews has demanded gas from “our ground” be delivered cheaply to his state. The gas in question is fracked, comes from Queensland and is already contracted to overseas buyers. If Andrews wants gas, there is plenty of it under his feet in Victoria. At least now he is allowing exploration for conventional gas.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says the development of a capacity mechanism to secure the power supply cannot include coal and gas. Pause on that proposition for a moment. Victoria is demanding that 70 per cent of the National Electricity Market’s generating capacity be excluded from a capacity market.
And this is the minister who struck a secret deal with Energy Australia to ensure brown-coal-burning Yallourn Power Station keeps its capacity in the market until its scheduled retirement in 2028. This raises pretence to performance art.
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Surprisingly for SMH From the Comments
– What the deniers never tell us is how they would replace the generating capacity of a coal power station when it closes.
The real mistakes Germany made were to close their nuclear power plants and to rely so heavily on Putin for gas supplies.
Gas offers no advantage over coal for total life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, but does offer zero heavy metal pollution.
– Has the investment in batteries etc not been made because it is simply does not make sufficient roi for private investors? What is the effective life of these batteries, what is the environmental impact of mining the materials required and processing them?
– Thanks Chris for calling all the BS out.
As Alan Finkel said just yesterday, our energy system must be capable of delivering when there is no sun and no wind. That can only mean thermal generation. Sure, we all want as much renewables as we can sustain, but the truth is they regularly go missing, as Germany (and Europe in general ) are finding out the hard way.
As for AEMO, they created last week’s chaos by capping electricity prices below the fuel cost of the gas generators. What did they think would happen – gas guys operate at a loss?????
– “I could lie and claim the transition was easy and win plaudits from the conga line of dopes on Twitter, but that show is already oversubscribed.” – what a classic line Chris. I expect that same conga line will join a pile on to this story.
– It’s okay, Chris, Labor has a cunning plan, don’t you worry a thing about that. It will involve unicorns and fairies and expecting the market to do what it’s told to do.
– Unfortunately Chris, you won’t be hearing any Australian Labor or Greens or Teal politicians speaking with the honesty of the German Minister. – Much simpler to just blame it all on the Coalition.
– Not a truer word said!!!
Not bad 7 out of 16 Comments so far – the rest support statement above I expect that same conga line will join a pile on to this story
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“Labor has a cunning plan”
Baldrick would be proud ! 🙂
Actually, Baldrick plans had a better chance than Labor plans ever will.
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“It will involve unicorns and fairies” – actually now that the methane issue with animal bodily functions has been identified and accepted, hence our
retailwholesale move to plant based “meats”, unicorns should not be considered in any future solution. Besides there are not enough of them currently to manage the task. In a similar fashion the term “fairies” should be replaced by “entities with wings who may have a connection with fantasy” to avoid its hurtful historical meaning. That leaves us with “…expecting the market to do what it’s told to do” and we are MORE than happy with that part of the solution.30
Dandrews is flip flopping more than a pair of Havaianas from the Rip Curl discount outlet. Does he want gas or doesn’t he? And he better start thinking CCGT if he plans to close down any more Latrobe Valley generators. Then again, his government did a secret deal with its Chinese buddies at Energy Australia to keep Yallourn operating until at least 2028. Victorian taxpayers are being kept in the dark, figuratively and likely soon literally.
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Just wondering where the average household is going to store 3 tonnes of coal.
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Having grown up in the USA at a time when my parents actually purchased a ton of coal each year, the volume would be surprising small…..
And my parents aunts and uncles (who lived in a colder climate) converted from coal central heat to fuel oil in my life time as well…..
A ton of agricultural lime fits on the back of my ute.
🙂
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In high density living Europe that is a fair bit of space. I imagine they dont have to buy it all at once.
10
This would be a good idea if people had planned for it. It will reduce the fuel load on forest floors, which lowers fire intensity in the event of a wild fire. However it is not something most city dwellers would be competent to undertake. I wonder how many inner city apartment blocks have wood fired heaters or fireplaces ready to fire up!
Unless they are properly prepared with things like chainsaws and splitters, it becomes an irksome task to “forage” wood from forest floors. They would be better off buying wood from someone prepared for the task.
Hard to imagine a frail 80yo man or woman foraging for firewood to get enough to keep warm. Assuming Putin keeps going in Ukraine, expect quite a few deaths in Europe from cold during December and January this coming winter.
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Lots of chainsaw and axe injuries about to be reported from Poland. Similar to increase in ladder injuries after big storms.
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On a brighter note the market potential for selling Christmas trees to Poland at the end of the year has just exploded expotentially.
30
I wonder how many inner city apartment blocks have wood fired heaters or fireplaces ready to fire up!
Remembering visiting Launceston TAS early 2000s in winter, and smog everywhere from wood heaters, like the 2 photos in the reference following
Reduction in air pollution from wood heaters associated with reduced risk of death
In 2001, Launceston was the setting for a series of interventions to reduce wood-smoke pollution. The interventions dramatically accelerated a general trend towards using electric rather than wood heaters. Following the interventions wood heater prevalence fell from 66 per cent to 30 per cent of all households and the three month average particulate air pollution during winter was reduced by 40 per cent.
For those with a technical bent – 61 page pdf to read
Woodheaters in Launceston – Impacts on Air Quality
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Most people have no idea how to properly fire a wood heater, and they use less than optimum wood, that’s why they get so much smoke.
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These articles almost write themselves because there seems to be an unending supply of stupidity and hypocrisy in the whole climate change/ energy subject field.
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100%.
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Amazing isn’t it?
When people talk about ….. ‘serious’ electrical power generation, it’s only the one type. Coal fired power!
Tony.
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A 500MwE steam turbine is close to 750,000 horsepower, that’s coming from ONE shaft, it’s hard to imagine so much concentrated power.
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Or for crash test dummy central King Island diesel.
Current: wind 14% solar 2% diesel 84%
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Chevron Levels Biden With a Little Honesty, Biden Reveals How Petty He Is in Response
The gas prices crushing Americans are an opportunity for the Democrats to achieve their radical goals. Joe Biden let that slip out when he was questioned by reporters on Monday — that this was an opportunity to “make a fundamental turn toward renewable energy, electric vehicles, and across the board.” This is insanity, when renewables can’t even begin to make up for the need right now.
Meanwhile, he’s been doing all he can to attack the energy industry since he came in.
Biden has attacked the energy industry since his campaign. On his first day in office, he shut down drilling on federal lands, along with the plans for the Keystone Pipeline. Even recently, amid the skyrocketing gas prices, he was still stopping drilling and canceling leases.
Yet, he blames the oil companies, yelling at them for not producing more and threatening them with action. It’s a sociopathic energy approach — attacking them, then demanding they produce more, while also saying they’re going to be phased out at the same time. What kind of business would or could operate under those unstable strictures? Only people that want to risk their shirt in what is already a pretty risky arena. It’s also not the way our country operates — the government doesn’t dictate what to produce to private industry and punish them if they don’t. That’s what happens in Communist and f@scist nations.
The Chevron CEO has delivered a brilliant letter that just levels Biden.
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Only 11% of Americans blame Putin for gas prices – poll
Barely one in 10 voters buy the Biden administration’s claim that Russia is to blame for high gas prices
Just 11% of Americans believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is to blame for record high gas prices in the US, according to a Rasmussen poll published on Tuesday. The majority instead blame US President Joe Biden.
More than half (52%) of respondents to the Rasmussen poll conducted last week pointed to Biden’s poor energy policies as the reason gas has become unaffordable, meaning the administration’s “Putin’s price hike” narrative does not appear to be catching on.
110
It seems that this claim has fallen off its bicycle.
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Germany on verge of gas emergency ‘alarm stage’ – Die Welt
The measures in question kick in when there is a major disruption in supply or demand
Germany is preparing to enter the second phase in its gas emergency plan within five to 10 days, Die Welt reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The so-called “alarm phase” is triggered when there “is a disruption in the gas supply or an exceptionally high demand for gas which leads to a significant deterioration of the gas supply situation, but the market is still able to cope with this disruption or demand without the need to take non-market based measures,” according to the German Economic Ministry’s 3-stage plan.
The Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries refused to confirm or deny whether the next step of the emergency plan was due to take effect when asked by Die Welt.
Gas regulator Bundesnetzagentur has recently outlined details of an auction system to be debuted in coming weeks aimed at reducing gas consumption among manufacturers. The agency’s head has expressed concern that current gas supplies will last Germany through the winter. At the same time, the CEO of Germany’s largest energy utility, Markus Krebber, hinted at an apocalyptic scenario as “there is currently no plan… at European level” to “redistribute the gas if we were fully cut off.”
If imposed, the measures will allow utilities to pass on gas costs to consumers. While it is unclear how high those price increases will be, one source suggests the average three-person household could face an increase as high as €2,000.
50
So what will the Krauts do when ze gaz alarm klaxon goes off, run around like headless chooks.
50
Hey you can’t go around calling Germans Krauts! Race vilification is not on. Just don’t mention the war!
20
Germany’s ‘Green’ Energy Disaster Is A Warning To The United States
As gas hit historic highs, leftists keep arguing it’s a perfect time to transition to a “clean energy” economy. “Now is the moment to double-down, triple-down, and quadruple-down on clean energy,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted on Friday, linking to a CNN piece that contends “wind and solar” have been “bailing out” Texas during its recent heat wave.
In the piece we learn that wind, solar, and nuclear have “powered about 38% of the state’s power in 2021, rivaling natural gas at 42%.” That’s quite the sleight of hand; tantamount to bragging about how Babe Ruth (60), Lou Gehrig (47), and Joe Dugan (2) combined for 109 home runs in 1927. True, but deceptive.
Subsidized solar power generates less than 2 percent of Texas’ energy during the year. Nuclear power generates around 10 percent and wind nearly 20. Coal accounts for nearly 15 percent and natural gas for more than 52 percent of electricity generation.
It would be far more accurate to say that coal, nuclear, and gas are bailing out Texas.
No nation has anything approaching a clean energy economy. And those that have promised to build one are all struggling.
The “transition” to green that Germany began 30 years ago has not worked. In 2000, Germany obtained 84 percent of its energy from fossil fuels. By 2019, it was 78 percent. As Vaclav Smil pointed out a couple of years ago, at this rate, Germany would still be deriving 70 percent of its energy from fossil fuels by the year 2050. With a move back to coal in 2022, it will surely be even later, if ever.
Setting aside the high cost of transitioning to renewable energy, and the failure of wind turbines and solar panels to produce energy in the winter, the intermittency problem is not going to be overcome in any season. To pull back on the only reliable “clean energy” source that can mitigate this problem has been suicidal.
10
Here AGAIN is Dr Rosling’s BBC 5 minute video proving that Humans today are living in the very best of times, EVER.
In 1810 every countries population life expectancy was under 40 but today the global average life expectancy is 73. Even the 53 African countries today have a life expectancy of 63 years, yet only 46 in 1970.
In 1970 just 363 million people in Africa, yet today over 1400 million and they’re living much longer lives and have more hope for their future. How is this possible to add another 1 billion people in just 50 years, if there’s a climate emergency?
Here’s Dr Rosling’s 5 minute video and note he used 120,000 data points to prove his case and on the BBC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo
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The Golden Age of travel is over: All our lives, we’ve taken it for granted. But now with airports in chaos, £100 to fill up your car and trains on strike, social historian DOMINIC SANDBROOK says the future is bleak for getaway-lovers
50
Strange is it not, two years of reduced throughput and they have all forgotten how it works, amazing!
Digital passport may smooth things out though.
30
Scientists demand for new dam projects to be STOPPED in Australia even though they reduce the risk of flooding
– Scientists are urging major dam projects in NSW and Queensland be abandoned
– They warn there will be major impacts on birds, native fish and frogs
– Farmers want more dams to stop the floods which have wiped out crops
– Forbes mayor Phyllis Miller said dams were vital in reducing flood impacts
60
Looks like that rules out any more pumped hydro storage.
50
Are they actual scientists or just Uni flunkies with a degree in spotted frogs and pink Ibis
70
Well remember that Anthony Watts’s dog is a paid up member of the Union of Concerned Scientists
61
apparently it’s:
save the native fish and frogs
wipe out the humans!!!
30
Being a financial type, the news that Austria’s most valuable company was the electricity utility Verbund AG prompted me to do some internet research. Verbund has a stock market capitalization of €33 billion, about A$50 billion, gets 96% of its power from renewables – I presume mostly hydro – and had total revenues of €4.8 billion in 2021 and earnings – EBITDA – of €1.6 billion. For 2022 their head of finance is forecasting an incredible EBITDA of €2.6 to €3.5 billion, suggesting either financial voodoo on the scale of David Copperfield or that the 9 million Austrians are facing very high prices for electricity from their monopoly provider.
By comparison the Australian utilities are stock market minnows. Origin Energy has a market cap of A$9.9 billion; AGL, Australia’s biggest power generator, currently stands at a measly $5.6 billion; and Perth-based Alinta was sold in 2017 to the venerable Hong of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises HK Ltd for only $4 billion. In 2007 Babcock & Brown paid $7.4 billion for Alinta before crashing into the GFC. Origin is the 43rd biggest company on the ASX while AGL is down to no. 81. Companies like BHP are worth $215 billion, Comm Bank $149 billion, Telstra $43 billion etc. It would seem to indicate that producing and selling power in Australia is basically less profitable as a business model than running a Dominos pizza franchise.
AGL has annual revenues of $12 billion, Origin $11 billion, and Alinta $3.4 billion. But their gross margins, or profitablity, are far less inspiring than the Austrian energy champion Verbund.
It could be related to the consumption of Red Bull, another highly profitable Austrian company – but that gold mine is privately owned.
Funny stuff, finance.
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Those numbers are interesting. You make a good point.
Here are some more numbers.
I had heard that it costs about US$120 per kilowatt hour to build a battery.
That was some time ago. It may have gone up or down since then.
Australia, I believe, has about 9 Gigawatts of wind generating capacity.
So to back up the wind generation using batteries for 1 hour will need a battery able
to hold 9 million kilowatt hours .
So 9 million times US$120 equals $1,080,000,000.00
Now we are going to need to be able to back up this for 2 weeks because it isn’t unusual to have low wind for that long.
So $1,080,000,000 times 24 hours times 14 days equals
US$362,880,000,000.00
divide by 0.69 to convert to Australian dollars equals
$525,913,043,478.26
$525 billion for a battery that will last 10 years.
Compared to the market capitalization numbers you are mentioning, this is a big number.
The new Australian Prime Minister was recently saying Australia’s energy problems could be solved by more investment in energy storage.
I am not sure if he is aware of just how much more needs to be invested.
50
9 million kilowatt hours makes my brain hurt in terms of unit usage. But then I may only have 4/8ths of the story.
20
That’s because 90% of it is 4/8ths mental.
20
Yes, so one-quarter of Australia’s GDP needs to be spent on constructing the battery. That’s quite some outlay, even if you could source the materials required.
00
Panic buttons only work if you hit them in time before the catastrophe which the button was intended to avert, crashes the contraption on which the button was installed.
Too late.
40
What you really need to worry about is what likely results after that crash when the “Panic, Panic, Panic buttons”
are pushed
30
Poland delivering coal to each household must be the most retrograde step mentioned. Necessary, yes, but still retrograde.
It was by stopping coal being burned in inefficient fireplaces that the world cleaned up the air, London particularly but not not solely.
This will be grist for the anti coal mill.
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They are replacing home fires with lovely ‘Emission Free’ wood chips. Cheaper now than electricity and gas and if you have been in London in the last 10 years you will have noticed the “clean atmosphere” NOT.
10
Is London backsliding? That’s a pity, they once showed the world how it’s done.
10
Well I guess the only upside to this mess is that it’s unlikely we’ll see Albosleazy and Bowen gleefully stand at a coal power plant and push the demolition button. But that’s only if they’re smarter than what I give them credit for…
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I wouldn’t mind actually seeing those 2 blowing up a coal power plant, as long as they were replacing it with 2022 technology. A “HE” plant for instance – a HELE ( High Efficiency Low Emissions ) plant minus the LE bit with all the modern pollution controls. Flue gas scrubbers, fabric filters, catalytic reduction and other control equipment and processes, which when combined, reduce NOX by 83%, SO2 by 98% and PM by 99.8%. CO2 emissions? Who cares, but with more thermal efficiency there would be less CO2 as a direct result anyway.
10
I vaguely recall seeing some calcs somewhere that showed that if all our old coalies were updated to USC types, there would be a reduction on CO2 emissions of some 15-20% for the energy produced.
Not to mention, also a good drop in actual pollution levels.
This is a greater reduction than can ever be achieved with wind and solar. (assuming you want continuity of supply)
50
Actually, that was a Post here at Joanne’s site from, and wait for this ….. NINE YEARS AGO.
That was for UltraSuperCritical (USC) and since then, Advanced USC is now the next level of Technology, and has been constructed, and delivering power, and with that AUSC, add a further (conservatively speaking) 3% to 4% reduction of CO2 emissions on top of USC.
Link to this old Post at Joanne’s Site
And wrt this new AUSC tech, China has already started using the technology. The first operational Unit runs a single 1350MW Unit, and burns coal at the rate 251 grams of coal per KWH. The Current World average for coal fired power is 340 grams per KWH, so that’s a savings in CO2 emissions of ….. 27%. Here’s the link to my Post on that new tech, and when you look at the image of that Unit, it forever dispels the thinking that coal fired power is filthy and dirty.
Tony.
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The government of India this weekend followed up on its feisty refusal to apologize for buying huge amounts of Russian oil by refusing to apologize for buying huge amounts of Russian coal.
The situation is much the same as it was with Russian oil: India needs the fuel, and Russia is offering steep discounts due to international sanctions, so they struck some deals.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar scolded Europeans for hypocrisy this month because they accused India of “funding the war” in Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil, even as Europe continued buying Russian energy products.
Reuters on Saturday noted the Biden administration told India it did not want to see a “rapid acceleration” of energy imports from Russia, but that is exactly what they got, as Indian purchases of Russian coal spiked last month alongside India’s orders for Russian oil:
The European Union is banning new contracts for coal and planning to terminate existing agreements in August. India, which is one of the world’s largest coal producers but began importing coal this year to address power shortages, saw an opportunity to take advantage of Russia’s fire-sale pricing and replenish its depleted coal stocks.
India’s two preferred coal exporters, Australia and Indonesia, were unable to meet its needs due to weather problems and export caps, respectively. Industry analysts expect India’s orders for Russian coal to spike again in August, when the EU termination of existing contracts goes into effect.
100
I wish Australia would buy Russian oil. I’d take some.
20
Who ship or insure it?
10
Old blokesays:
June 22, 2022 at 11:44 am
Gabor says:
June 22, 2022 at 2:39 am
Sanctions anyone?
Gazprom halved the gas delivered to Austria.
Now the Austrians are reopening coal mines, good news for some, bad news for others.
The same is happening in Germany.
Red faced greeny energy minister had to announce the sad news.
What goes around comes around, you only have to wait.
According to an Alexander Mercouris report a few days ago, only half the gas is being delivered to Germany due to a failure of some Siemens equipment in the pipeline. Siemens sent the faulty part to their factory in Canada for repairs, it’s their only factory which repairs this equipment, and Canada won’t send it back because of their sanctions against Gazprom.
Canada has therefore sanctioned Germany.
180
Engineered California
The birthplace of environmentalism was built through meticulous application of technology.
“Pave paradise, put up a parking lot.”
Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi,” 1970
California would not exist in anything like its modern form without massive engineering. Largely dominated by desert, flammable, dry chaparral and high mountains, California depends on human-created technology to bring water to its bone-dry coast. It taps distant dams for the bulk of its electricity and food and would have never grown its population without this manufactured transformation of its natural environment. “Science,” as the University of California’s second president, Daniel Coit Gilman, put it, “is the mother of California.”
The Origins of Environmental Politics
Ignoring the costs and trade-offs
In coverage of fires, the legacy media mindlessly repeats Governor Gavin Newsom’s claim that the conflagrations are caused by climate change.
Yet in reality, the problem is far more complex, and implicates the state’s mismanaged forest policies. As the left-leaning Pro Publica has revealed, the fires were made far worse by enforcement of green policies . There have been constant lawsuits against hauling away old growth, particularly dead trees. Even sustainable logging has been largely banned. California’s naturally combustible landscape , left on its own, would burn many times more than even the worst fire season .
The Green Jim Crow
Attorney Jennifer Hernandez has demonstrated in a recent report for the Breakthrough Institute what she calls “the green Jim Crow.“
Pushed by overwhelmingly white billionaires, these policies have escalated housing and energy prices, driving jobs and people out of the state. This has hurt minorities in particular, she claims, “deepening the state’s shameful legacy of racial injustice.”
The Water Crisis
If one assumes that climate change means drier conditions, the logical response would be to upgrade the infrastructure. But the greens prefer austerity to adaptation. Even Jerry Brown’s plans to rebuild the state’s water capacity elicited hostility from his green allies. The effect has been to reinforce scarcity, refusing to even consider new dams or desalinization plants, or even spending money on voter-approved new water storage projects.
Going Nowhere Fast
Once again, the burden for green virtue will fall on the middle and working classes. One critic suggests this could leave California like Cuba, filled with old rickety but affordable gas-powered automotive dinosaurs. At a time when electric vehicles cost more than $50,000, Newsom’s executive order banning the sale of internal combustion vehicles by 2035 and the elimination of gas-powered stoves, water heaters, lawn blowers, and furnaces elicited criticism by some Latino voting-rights advocates, who claimed these policies would require “us, or our landlords, to make investments we can’t afford.” A similar objection was raised by African-American assembly member Jim Cooper. “How will my constituents afford an EV?” he asked on the day the order was signed. “They can’t. They currently drive 11-year-old vehicles.”
Science or Religion?
Between 2007 and 2016 California, despite its climate policies, reduced its greenhouse gases at a rate 40th per capita among the states even without counting the impact of the fires. Similar failures can be seen in Germany , whose policies Newsom wants to follow, where much heralded “Energie Wende” have led to soaring energy costs but disappointing results in emissions declines. Even if successful, the impact on global climate of California’s “leadership,” notes one recent study, would be almost infinitesimal, particularly once you add the greater emissions when people and companies move to less temperate states and countries.
Back to the Engineering Solutions
Rather than genuflect to extreme greens, it’s time to be bold in ways that actually help Californians as well as the planet. California has the innovation and financial capacity to do all these things, given the presence of so much engineering talent and a skilled workforce. We need again to be innovators, not only in the lab but also in how we provide water, power, and opportunity to our communities.
30
Russian Ruble Becomes World’s Best Performing Currency, Reaches Seven Year High Against Dollar Despite Sanctions
The New York Times reported this. There is a certain irony in the New York Times outlining the consequences of the U.S. led sanctions are essentially that western governments and NATO countries are essentially punishing themselves with continued sanctions against Russia. Then again, the WEF coalition doesn’t really seem to care as long as they can continue chasing their Build Back Better agenda.
“More Americans believe that it would be better for them for Biden to be removed (56 percent) than Putin (43 percent).” {Poll DATA}
60
because Russia has returned to the gold standard (5,000 rubles to a gram of gold).
70
Rubbish. The ruble strength is an artifact. Check the black market:
” I will offer $2 thousand at 132 rubles. North-West of Moscow, fast exchange,” stated one message. “I will offer 200 $130 St. Petersburg City Ozerki,” checked out another. “I will offer 200 euros at the exchange rate. VDNKh,” stated one message, describing Moscow’s Exhibit of the Accomplishments of the National Economy where there is a city station.
11
let me guess: you plucked that from one of the globalist anti-Putin noos operations run by bankers who print fiat currency?
30
Time for energy suppliers to pull up the map of postcodes from the recent election and start their own rolling blackouts by area which voted green energy only. Time for the petroleum companies to sacrifice 2 months in those suburbs and pay their operators to be closed. Switch off flood lights part way thru night games, turn off supply to offices after 5pm.
If you can’t critically think thru destroying baseload before an alternative is available, or have hectares of a solar farm sitting idle for 2 years like in Darwin and you voted for nett zero in the election, then here’s YOUR future.
The northern beaches of Sydney and Bayside Melbourne would be voting for common sense within an election cycle. Nothing breaks a utopian view like LIVING reality.
100
As someone who lives in Northern Beaches, I agree with Time for energy suppliers to pull up the map of postcodes from the recent election and start their own rolling blackouts by area which voted green energy only
80
Australia does not need coal or gas fuelled generators, the “expert” ministerial advice at State and now Federal levels are that many more renewable energy installations are needed with many batteries and the grid will be perfect.
/sarc.
70
First we should insist that somewhere like SA should be the ‘crash test dummy’ and go on total unreliables, no extension leads to other states unless for selling into the grid.
50
I actually think SA could be independent and use 100 wind, if it was prepared to increase its gas supplied electricity to equal capacity (which it wouldn’t be I’d guess).
It has a low dense population and large resource (huge deserts with wind). Low population density to large resource and technology to utilise that resource base always puts you in a useful position.
11
Why not Canberra?
It would be really nice to see a bunch of locals banging down the doors of Parliament.
50
Biggest joke of the whole crisis was South Australia threatening to cut off power ‘exports to the East’ if blackouts were to occur! The SA energy minister playing to his audience, of course everyone believes him.
See link on 9News SA unfortunately l could only find it on Farcebook
https://fb.watch/dOmlnkwg0w/?fs=e&s=cl
Please go ahead, make my day – diesel generation non stop!
00
Have to agree, with this article and the Snowy Hydro below, you could never make this stuff up. Shaking the head and laughing so much it hurts, I have to request as a duty of care that such articles be separated by a complex ‘grid’ problem view to allow recovery.
I appreciate it’s no laughing matter, but the political and bureaucratic incompetence and total lack of any business nous in the people that run this country regardless of Party, is bewilderingly evident in the entire management of their AGW scare.
Worse, it appears Western world nations, supposedly run by the doyens of political and economic competence for running peaceful, modern top of the class nations, are demonstrating they are totally incompetent. Destruction of economies based on the advancement of total renewable energy sources, is on plain display in almost every one of those nations including Australia and the USA. We are a little behind as we use other means of making our promised CO2 cuts, even though State governments are still racing each other to jump over the same cliff as the lemmings of the EU. We even blow up ff stations to make sure they stay closed!
The incompetence is so great. None of the governments, and their thousands of bureaucrats, even considered the end game of totally abandoning fossil fuel resources. Those resources were totally verbotten while the system they are using to replace them was totally untried and unproven.
It’s like depending that CO2 capture and storage would quickly salvage the fossil fuel system, yet even now it’s failed to happen. With renewables the similar argument is that battery storage would/will develop and save the renewables system. To run the entire energy system for days on end? In the next century perhaps. The total absence of considering failure of the idea while at the same time seeking to destroy the one working system we had, is plainly a total failure of duty of care to the nation, apart from being delusional in a business sense. In past times these people would be lucky not to end up in a cell or live a life of joblessness, poverty and vilification for the rest of their time on the planet. The gross destruction they are bringing down on formerly prospering peoples and nations is preposterous.
The total lack of comprehension about what they are doing, even in the face of stark evidence of the future they have in train for us, is reflective of a range of personal incompetences that exist at the top. They are totally lacking in talent, compassion and regret. They are too egotistical to recognize their own incompetences and reverse course. They have failed miserably and disastrously for the nation and its people. Most of our politicians should resign and get out.
Our leaders see the cliff they are forcing us to run over, but are incapable of loosing face. Most of our political leaders and leading bureaucrats see the EU leaders they so admire, committing the biggest sin in modern history, by reversing the hatred of ff’s just to save their economies and people’s lives. But it is apparent the last thing Mr Albanese, Mr Bowen and most of those in our Parliaments will do will be to emulate those so admired EU leaders and stop their pursuit of destruction. Bowen is even promising a double down. He actually believes more renewables – those proven failed energy resources – will save us. This is total delusion running our country!
80
losing
40
It amazes me how often people use loose when they mean lose.
00
Doc
I’d be pretty bloody sure that they will attempt a panic reverse if they get dealt a “fitness course on the blackout rack”
20
It is extraordinary incompetence, it can be nothing else.
30
It is a carefully crafted agenda and the people behind it are extremely wealthy and influential.
60
Australia and NZ are just like the poor dill that got scammed by the Nigerian prince who just needs to put $100M in your account for a week, just give us your bank details, it’s like that with AGW.
80
United Nations
“We face a huge challenge but already know many solutions
Many climate change solutions can deliver economic benefits while improving our lives and protecting the environment. We also have global frameworks and agreements to guide progress, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. Three broad categories of action are: cutting emissions, adapting to climate impacts and financing required adjustments.
Switching energy systems from fossil fuels to renewables like solar or wind will reduce the emissions driving climate change. But we have to start right now. While a growing coalition of countries is committing to net zero emissions by 2050, about half of emissions cuts must be in place by 2030 to keep warming below 1.5°C. Fossil fuel production must decline by roughly 6 per cent per year between 2020 and 2030.”
51
Meanwhile in China, India and now most other countries …………….
60
Where they know the solutions
30
Gandhi must have been thinking of Joe Biden when he said, If there is a fool in power, then the people who voted for him are well represented.
80
It is true, fools can elect fools, and is a problem with democracy, even its most pure form. Democracy relies on people being of a standard.
20
Your definition of ‘democracy’ is anachronistic.
Perhaps like your definition of vaccine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrGEdF3JbUI
Joe Stal … ah, I mean Biden, is up on things, and expresses the new standards articulately.
30
For further education on New American Democracy.
See Ms. Clinton’s recent statements.
https://www.independentsentinel.com/hillarys-a-threat-to-democracy/
Democracy means Democrats only.
I mean, why wouldn’t it?
It’s right there on the label.
40
Somewhat O/T
Wouldn’t that be “Climate and Energy Minister is “Dangerously Ignorant”?. But you already knew that.
“Aussie Climate & Energy Minister: Nuclear Advocates are “Dangerously Ignorant” ”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/06/21/aussie-energy-minister-nuclear-advocates-are-dangerously-ignorant/
30
Hard to believe they made this flog energy minister, he is dangerously deficient.
51
Sorry Ronin. Was meant to be another tick. Thick fingers.
30
Wednesday night and a huge high sits over Aus, SA has very little wind and NSW coal (above 7000MW for the first time in a while) and QLD coal is driving the system.
But have faith, batteries, right ?
30
Im doing what the people in Poland are doing, securing a source of trees for firewood. It’s far cheaper than those house batteries.
60
Watch Alex Epstein’s recent testimony to congress committee (or something like that). Your voice is at the table.
30
There was a time that the Soviets asked for and got materiel help from the West but forgot about it after the war.
https://www.armed-guard.com/ag79.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_convoys_of_World_War_II
Then remember the 1948-49 blockade of Berlin.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Berlin-blockade
And still the West did not understand that becoming dependent on Russia/Soviet Union was not a good idea.
Russia has totally erased these convoys out of public knowledge.
20
When does John Kerry come out and say, ‘we can’t let the collapse of renewable energy schemes distract us from our Net Zero goals’?
Thanks, I’m here all week, remember to tip your hostess.
50
In my Morning coffee mail opening break: “What does future hold for horsepower in the field?” see this lovley little article https://www.farmprogress.com/tractors/what-does-future-hold-horsepower-field?NL=FP-004_NEW&Issue=FP-004_NEW_20220621_FP-004_NEW_284&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG02000003393405&utm_campaign=68598&utm_medium=email&elq2=0f1122a2930c438399b288fc718cdb18&sp_eh=246848a92c53a85456ba776c405922f1de36ce616297c6c2a37279b7e73a9cc9246848a92c53a85456ba776c405922f1de36ce616297c6c2a37279b7e73a9cc9&sp_eh=246848a92c53a85456ba776c405922f1de36ce616297c6c2a37279b7e73a9cc9
And if you want to reduce the world’s population ( of ‘Westerners’ ) encourage Eco cropping. THe Birds, the slugs and rabbits and Deer will eat your veggies if the cold Spring and wet summer and early winter frosts don’t get it first. NO Plastic protective netting or Polytunnels, etc. Tractors with Oil increased the acreage availble for mankind to grow FOOD ( not fuel crops) and allwed us to apply HERBicides to harvest cleaner food more economically … Study Agriculture and find out why. or live at your peril. ……
50