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20 comments on The Bullroarer - Thursday 17th July 2008
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20 comments on The Bullroarer - Thursday 17th July 2008
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The claim that solar thermal can't provide baseload has major implications. It means under the ETS that coal fired generators could be on permanent compo or free permits. Either that or a switch to gas fired baseload which will run out before coal. It may also mean that renewables targets get harder and harder to meet after 20%.
On ABC Lateline there was an item with Marn saying
1) Australia 'needs' 135,000 migrants
2) undeveloped gas leases will be confiscated.
Here's an alternative view;
1) Australia has enough people who can be retrained if necessary
2) gas needs a long term plan with strategic reserves.
Solar thermal can provide "baseload" power (if you must obsess about this nebulous idea from an age when much of the supply was static and demand wasn't price aware).
There are already lots of countries that get far more than 20% of their power from renewables - the question is who will be first, and when will we get there.
Al Gore is apparently proposing that the US make the shift by 2020:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/17/144426/316/203/553055
Probably a little ambitious, but I'd hope that by 2040 - 2050 this is the reality - plenty of time to depreciate the existing stock of generators and replace them with solar/wind etc.
Boof,I agree Australia has enough people,either for retraining or any other thing.This immigration nightmare is just making everything worse by increasing demand for resources,including energy,creating a future food supply problem and reducing the quality of life through overcrowding.
The baby bonus should be consigned to wherever idiot social welfare is scrapped.I would think a migration level of about 10,000/year would be about right.This is actual migration,not net.
The KRudd government appears to be determined to OutHoward Howard - ie - a government composed of of retards.
Regarding the UN envoy's comments on Australia's abysmal performance on greenhouse gas emissions -
The first and most obvious step to remedy this would be a statement by the federal government that no more coal burning power stations would be built and there would be a crash program to build alternatives - solar thermal,geothermal,wind and nuclear.
Pigs might fly.