This report was posted on Facebook today, being an article about Nationals Senator Sam McMahon and her disdain for renewable energy. It included the following:
“I call upon my colleagues in this government to join me in examining a variety of means of collection of massive quantities of water delivered by our monsoonal rains across the north,” she [McMahon] said.
The post suggested that we should email or otherwise communicate with the Senator to disabuse her of her convictions.
I have thus emailed the following:
‘Dear Senator
I believe that whoever wrote the speech you delivered in the Senate was only seeing a small part of the picture.
All fossil fuels are contributing to the cumulative emissions of ‘greenhouse gases’ which, in turn, are exacerbating global warming.
This is established scientific fact. This is – as admitted by the Minister for Energy – man-made climate warming!
The cost of energy has more to do with the capitalist aim of businesses making profits than to the superiority of fossil fuels when compared to renewable energy.
Once upon a time delivery of services such as power, water and sewerage were seen as just that – services – to be provided to the community, subsidised by tax contributions.
Wind power can be delivered 24 hours a day. Solar is clearly restricted to daytime, and both require either the wind to blow or the sun to shine and both are open to having surplus power stored in batteries, able to deliver power in downtime periods.
There are other options – like solar thermal which can provide continuous power supply.
The real issue is not keeping energy prices down.
It is keeping world temperatures down, to a sufficient extent that our grandchildren and their descendants will have a viable existence.
I installed solar panels on my roof (I have a 2-bedroom unit in a retirement village) in January 2016. I am in credit with my power supplier and am in sight of recouping the initial cost.
More importantly. I have saved nearly 7 tonnes of carbon emissions – equivalent to planting 23 trees – and have fed a significant amount of power into the grid.
The profit motive is clearly the driving force behind most businesses, but it is an immediate need – which completely ignores the future.
Nuclear power is in fact very expensive, given the lengthy time-frame for construction and the expensive precautions required to avoid radioactive material leaking – while still ignoring the long term problem of safe storage for used rods etc.
The ocean off Fukushima is still contaminated – following the earthquake which damaged the reactor – and that contamination has spread widely and affected marine life – sources of food for the human population!
Having lived in the Northern Territory for nearly 49 years, I am aware that our groundwater levels are low. Last Wet was a poor one and the forecasters are predicting a late start to our next Wet.
Current BoM records show “For the year to date, rainfall across the Northern Territory is 44% below the long-term average; the lowest since 1970 and the sixth-lowest on record.”
We would need a really super wet season just to bring up water levels – and they are at further risk because fracking in the Beetaloo Basin has just been approved.
We need a government which cares about the lives of the population, rather than supporting major corporations to increase profits for shareholders at the expense of the quality of life for the less-wealthy members of the community.’
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