A cry from the damned

Environment Minister Jackson has announced that the government is going to draft a plan for Tasmanian to deal with climate change having recognised officially and belatedly that it is having impacts.

It has taken a little time for them to turn this far and as the impacts of climate change become clearer and greater they may speed up as only a beaurcracy can.

Of course there has been a lot of noise by deniers and disbelievers that has clouded the arguments of the climatologists and others about the evidence they are measuring.

What have the Tasmanian and local governments been doing as a precautionary activity and even an economic stimulus that may also back up its claim to a clean and green image.

Although Launceston has high levels of air pollution, especially of particulate matter do we see an electric vehicle in the Launceston City fleet, entirely achievable without a plan. Hobart could copy it and the usual parochial competion could drive a positive change. Who will be first.

Indeed where are the hybrid vehicles filling the governments fleet. The Toyota Prius is available at the shop, order some today.

In the United States, the home of climate change deniers and disbelievers one of the electricity producers leases electric vehicles from their fleet. Who wouldn’t when you get to sell the fuel as well.

One thing the US has is enterprise and when that is combined with impacting on Atlanta’s air pollution things happen. Perhaps not perfect or of sufficient scale but not the attitude of NO that we are so used to within our government system.

To congratulate Metro they have been buying the least polluting diesel engines they can afford. However where is the biodiesel fuel to extend the positive outcomes. Why hasn’t this fuel been promoted and indeed produced in Tasmania.

It’s been proven as an effective fuel on its own and for the less adventurous it can be mixed with diesel as an extender and yes, no ethanol like impacts have been shown. Diesel ran his first engine on peanut oil so the potential has been their since the 1890’s. It is climate friendly and less polluting.

Aurora is to be congratulated for harvesting the wind. On the edge of adventurism it has proved a positive investment whilst the current wind patterns prevail.

However, in Sweden and Austria sewerage is used to reduce methane [ a 62 times more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide] and to produce energy. In Malaya they run a plant on the waste from a rubber factory, payback time 2 years and in Victoria one runs off a piggery and sells power into the grid.

In Tasmania it is impossible, the sewage plants with digesters can only produce 1/3 of their electricity requirements. This is the reply from the beauracracy. Hey guys perhaps we have the wrong process, instead of excuses we need solutions.

On top of this comes a treated organic fertilizer and water for irrigation. 3 saleable products. Has there been a feasibility study. Some work has been done and the farmers were concerned that they may not be able to get the organic status they did not have at the time because their lands may be contaminated.

Now with thinking like that change will be rapid so we cannot expect the mega dairy farms to take any action on their own.

Were I to give more examples perhaps I would be described in a certain unfavourable way so I shall cease here with 3 actions the government could have fostered, supported and taken to date using the beat available technology entailing no economic cost. [BATENEC]

Perhaps Jackson’s new found climate change belief will go somewhere and the current Tasmanian Greenhouse Strategy of doing nothing because we can’t afford it and anyway someone else is responsible, will end. Hurry it may still be on the website and is worth the laugh.

Phill Parsons expects the same old beauracracy to give the same safe advice to the same short term tinkers and for nothing at all to happen. He looks forward to beach front property if he survives the increases in ambient air temperature and the assorted diseases that arrive with this increase. Think of the property values.
As we should all know the melting of the boreal and artic lands will release the methane stored in its hydrated form. Remember its power was mentioned earlier. That is all the ice melting. Last time the Permian period ended and 95% of all life forms went extinct. We are unsure at what point the increasing temperature triggers an unstoppable feedback mechanism of more releases causing higher temperatures and thus more releases.
This matter should be given as much priority as the best available technology entailing a small economic cost now would. BATEASEC rather than wait a sec. When the salt enters the cellars of the parliament is when we will see them jump. Will it then be too late.

RAPID RESPONSE EMAIL: What do you think?
If you bounce, tuffinlindsay@hotmail.com

Saturday, November 27, 2004

RETURN TO CONTENTS