Alternative Technology Assn Forums

1. 

   rockabye
   Member

   Further to the IEA reports on worldwide energy use I posted yesterday, and re-posted here again, there is an interesting report on Australia's biggest corporations and their energy use. See last link.

   International Energy Agency publications of interest.

   Energy Manual - good info on how they calculate and use data etc in plain language.

   http://www.iea.org/publications/free_new_Desc.asp?PUBS_ID=1461

   And the latest Key Data worldwide.

   http://www.iea.org/publications/free_new_Desc.asp?PUBS_ID=1199

   Almost missed this one. Their own media info on energy news. Good stuff.

   http://www.iea.org/newsletters/ee_cc/index.asp

   Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. Change name to .pdf after downloading.

   http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/government/initiatives/national-greenhouse-energy-reporting/~/media/publications/greenhouse-report/NGER-data-pdf.ashx

   Posted Thursday 21 Oct 2010 @ 10:11:04 pm from IP #
2. 

   rockabye
   Member

   Another report of interest from the Australian Parliamentary Library.

   The potential for renewable energy to provide baseload power in Australia.

   "Overall, the cost of electricity from renewables is significantly higher than for coal and gas. However this differential disappears when the costs of carbon capture and sequestration are included in the price of coal and gas-based generation."

   http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/2008-09/09rp09.pdf

   Posted Monday 25 Oct 2010 @ 11:30:28 pm from IP #
3. 

   Jeffbloggs
   Member

   Thx Rockabye.
   Shame Australia doesn't show up in the stats much, apart from were it hurts most, as #1 black coal exporter. But China produce 10x as much, imports some more, and uses it all itself, to make goods for us in the west. Shouldn't we be factoring in a trade embargo with China as a environmental counter measure? Also we export 2x as much hard coal as we use ourselves, and this is not even for us the people of Australia directly, it is only to make money. And then people complain about taxing our resources that someone else is profiting on? Dumb! (BTW I don't condone the way the gov tried to implement it)

   No wonder government won't move on climate change, it looks like it will bring on another GFC otherwise. The capitalist beast is so big, we can't afford to stop feeding it, otherwise we will be on the menu next. Another parallel to the dragons plight in the "how to train your dragon movie", man, and I thought it was a kids movie!

   Posted Tuesday 26 Oct 2010 @ 1:29:11 am from IP #
4. 

   sun2steam
   Member

   Thank you so much rockabye. I did not know that there exists such a comprehensive report from the Department of Parliamentary Services. Now our MPs need only learn to read and to act. But that's a tough task.

   Posted Tuesday 26 Oct 2010 @ 1:44:41 am from IP #
5. 

   rockabye
   Member

   Not quite energy but food is, a result of and provider of, energy for us all.

   "State of the Industry 2010 found for the first time in decades, the industry's international trade fell dramatically from $4.5 billion surplus in 2004-05 to a $1.8 billion deficit in 2009-10.

   "This alarming result shows Australia's largest manufacturing industry - food and grocery - is now a net-importer of food and grocery products," said AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell."

   http://www.afgc.org.au/state-of-the-industry-2010.html

   Posted Thursday 28 Oct 2010 @ 10:59:34 pm from IP #
6. 

   rockabye
   Member

   Incoming Government Brief

   The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has received a number of FOI requests from media outlets for the Incoming Government Brief and, in some cases, for the brief prepared in the event of a change of Government.

   Due to the high level of interest in the brief prepared for the returned Government, the Department has made the decision to publicly release the information to ensure it is available to all of the FOI applicants at the same time. Deletions have been made to the documents in accordance with exemptions available under the FOI Act.

   http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/media/incoming-government-brief.aspx

   Posted Saturday 30 Oct 2010 @ 2:03:10 am from IP #
7. 

   rockabye
   Member

   The OECD has recommended Australia introduce a carbon tax in its latest report.

   http://www.oecd.org/home/0,3305,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

   The snapshot of Australia is here.

   http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/28/56/46180007.pdf

   Posted Sunday 14 Nov 2010 @ 9:28:37 pm from IP #
8. 

   rockabye
   Member

   New UN report says diet high in meat and dairy is ‘unsustainable’.

   http://www.greenfudge.org/2010/06/03/new-un-report-says-diet-high-in-meat-and-dairy-is-unsustainable/

   Report can be downloaded here.

   http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/documents/pdf/PriorityProductsAndMaterials_Report_Full.pdf

   Posted Sunday 21 Nov 2010 @ 12:19:06 am from IP #
9. 

   termite
   Member

   Just for clarification - is that "meat": cow meat, red meat or just any meat?

   While I quite understand the need to reduce our average meat intake (for dietary purposes, let alone the environment), it bothers me when sweeping statements are made which can be misconstrued beyond ungulates. I suspect (as often happens) a vegan/vegetarian ulterior motive. FWIW, my definition of meat is the muscle tissue of an animal - so it includes chooks, fish and shellfish etc. For some others, it means red meat only. Mind you, 'roo meat is pretty good in terms of low methane production and low environmental impact...

   I'm off to the community farm plot now, where cow manure is a valued ingredient...

   Posted Sunday 21 Nov 2010 @ 3:00:29 am from IP #
10. 

    Buzzman
    Member

    The human organism has always been omnivorous, and was initially primarily a scavenger, according to the paleo-records.

    Vegetarianism tends to be a POLITICAL statement.

    That's not to say that I don't deplore the destruction of Amazonian rainforest for pasture production, for example.

    And if pastoral grazing was somehow limited, to prevent such destruction, beef, lamb, goat(and to a lesser extent pork) might truly begin to reflect their cost to the global environment.

    I haven't seen stats but I suspect the consumption of the above is consistent with the distribution of global wealth. [With the possible exception of small groups of tribal goat-herders in poor climate and arid regions such as Central Asian hills or parts of North Africa.]

    So it might be more correct to say that if ALL the world's population were to consume such meat the way we in the West do, it would be totally unsustainable.

    As scavengers we would probably have eaten way more fruits and greens than meat, and it was only our brains, opposable thumbs, and ability to co-exist and co-operate that enabled us to switch from a largely veg diet to one higher in meat protein.

    Once the habit began, it became like any other 'habit' - difficult to give up.

    Posted Sunday 21 Nov 2010 @ 6:31:26 am from IP #
11. 

    rockabye
    Member

    Engineers Australia give us a pretty ordinary mark for our infrastructure spending in its latest report card. Climate change drivers to increase spending on alternative power sources due to the predicted increased costs are recommended.

    http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/search/news/article/?uuid=69ED44F9-2666-D9AB-CA1D-BE82C1EF8871

    Posted Wednesday 24 Nov 2010 @ 3:25:27 am from IP #
12. 

    Sojin_Muneshi
    Member

    [[[So it might be more correct to say that if ALL the world's population were to consume such meat the way we in the West do, it would be totally unsustainable.]]]

    I think its fair to say if the rest of the world's population were to do ANYTHING the way we do in the west, it would instantly become unsustainable:

    Water consumption
    Energy consumption
    Food consumption
    medicine consumption
    land consumption
    clean air consumption

    Unfortunately, the reality is without "more planet" it is impossible to lift the living standards of the rest of the world to our western "consumer" level.

    So the choices are:

    1. Head in the sand / endless international conventions and talkfests (Copenhagen)

    2. World Agreement on Consumerism for the wealthy few (all of us sitting on the net reading this) & Poverty for the rest.

    3. Acquire a bigger planet and relocation of the entire population

    4. Rapid intentional population reduction back to the wealthy few (all of us sitting on the net reading this) - using famine/war/disease/ biological genocide?

    4. Sustainable living for everyone

    I wonder which one our leaders will pick?

    The 20th Century has been a wonderful period of technological advancement and improvement in lifestyles for those of us lucky to experience it, most of us sitting reading this on the "net" enjoy a lifestyle actually more wealthy than any of our earlier generations, even those aristocrats of Europe measured by the health and technology we have at our fingertips compared to the castles and land assets they possessed.

    I wonder what the world will think of ourselves collectively, what label they will give us, the "Waste Ages" or the "Greed Ages" as compared to the "Dark Ages" or "Middle Ages"?

    Regards

    Sojin Muneshi

    Posted Friday 26 Nov 2010 @ 10:49:32 pm from IP #
13. 

    rockabye
    Member

    A collection of papers published today have examined the impact global warming may have on weather patterns, food production and population by the end of this century.

    Since the late 1990s, many researchers and policy makers have held a 2°C global temperature increase relative to pre-industrial times as a benchmark limit for global warming, saying that keeping warming below this threshold increases the likelihood that catastrophic changes can be avoided.

    But it appears we are unlikely to meet that target, say researchers, and an average global warming of 4°C by the end of this century is more likely.

    http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/11/30/3080608.htm

    Posted Monday 6 Dec 2010 @ 1:43:01 am from IP #
14. 

    rockabye
    Member

    Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP today released the Australian Electricity Generation Technology Costs - Reference Case 2010 report in Canberra.

    http://www.ret.gov.au/energy/Documents/facts-stats-pubs/EPRI%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

    Posted Tuesday 7 Dec 2010 @ 2:44:17 am from IP #
15. 

    Catopsilia
    Member

    Not a "Report and Data on Energy", but a review of a book about how our economy, being absolutely dependent on ever-increasing energy use, must change.
    George Mobus reviews the book "Prosperity without growth: Economics for a Finite Planet", by Tim Jackson (Earthscan, 2009).
    http://questioneverything.typepad.com/question_everything/2010/12/what-does-a-better-economy-look-like.html

    "Jackson addresses the sad reality that many of us have been cautioning about for years. So-called alternative energy sources (e.g. solar and wind), while likely necessary in the age of depleting fossil fuels, will never provide the kind of energy density (power) our modern industrial economy thrives on. This bodes ill for thinking that the future economy (and population) will be anything like the current (dying) one has been."

    Posted Saturday 18 Dec 2010 @ 2:22:57 am from IP #
16. 

    dymonite69
    Member

    No surprise. The simple maths shows that new renewable projects can't even keep up with the annual increase in world energy use.

    Posted Saturday 18 Dec 2010 @ 5:53:57 am from IP #
17. 

    rockabye
    Member

    While ever we use the same thinking that created the problem in the first place we will never keep up with an energy growth disaster plan that relies on finite energy sources. About 90% of the finite energy is wasted in extraction, refinement, transport and inefficient end use.

    Lets start with a thinking process that eliminates waste and then renewables only have to supply 10% of the original 'down the drain' energy requirements we currently use.

    Posted Saturday 18 Dec 2010 @ 6:21:59 am from IP #
18. 

    rockabye
    Member

    The latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development comparison of the environmental behaviour of households in 10 member nations puts Australia at or near the bottom on most questions asked.

    http://www.oecd.org/document/23/0,3746,en_2649_37465_47025303_1_1_1_37465,00.html

    When it comes to concern, Australians are among the most worried. Between 40 and 50 per cent of Australians are ''very concerned'' about a range of issues from waste generation to air pollution to climate change. By contrast in the least concerned nations, the Netherlands and Norway, the ratings are between 20 and 30 per cent.

    But Australians are relatively unprepared to believe we can do anything about it.

    http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/save-the-envrionment-whats-the-point-20110309-1bo3a.html

    Posted Wednesday 9 Mar 2011 @ 10:23:35 pm from IP #
19. 

    rockabye
    Member

    Latest productivity commission report on carbon emissions can be found here.

    http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/carbon-prices/report

    Posted Thursday 9 Jun 2011 @ 4:08:04 am from IP #
20. 

    Catopsilia
    Member

    The International Energy Agency (dominated by the US) has bandicooted their emergency stocks of oil, the vital Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to the tune of 60 million barrels.
    http://www.iea.org/press/pressdetail.asp?PRESS_REL_ID=418
    Gail The Actuary thinks the Libya fracas is just a cover. The US has reached the safe limit of the second economic stimulus program QE2 (a.k.a printing money). Holding back rising oil prices might help, perhaps.
    http://ourfiniteworld.com/2011/06/23/release-of-oil-from-the-spr-desperately-trying-to-fix-the-economy/#more-3769

    Posted Sunday 26 Jun 2011 @ 3:46:53 am from IP #
21. 

    rockabye
    Member

    A good link to a survey on public opinion about renewables.

    http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2776594.html

    The associated link to 100% Renewables is worth a look.

    Report is here.

    http://www.100percent.org.au/blogs/taking-14000-conversations-canberra-full-report

    Posted Wednesday 29 Jun 2011 @ 7:28:47 pm from IP #
22. 

    Catopsilia
    Member

    There is new research suggesting that there may be quite a low limit to exploitation of renewable energy, due to upsetting the natural balance. We have already upset the natural balance of carbon dioxide by exploiting fossil fuels. I started a thread "Renewable energy limits":
    http://www.ata.org.au/forums/topic/2241

    Posted Thursday 30 Jun 2011 @ 12:00:13 am from IP #
23. 

    rockabye
    Member

    Latest IEA report on Energy Efficiency - The Hidden Fuel

    http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/speeches/131016EEMRDaeguLaunchSpeech.pdf

    http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/speeches/131016EEMRDaeguLaunchSlides.pdf

    Posted Friday 1 Nov 2013 @ 2:23:43 am from IP #

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