The Parable of Gospers Mountain, or how aboriginal burning changed the face of Australia

By Vic Jurskis

Lieutenant Watkin Tench arrived at Warrane (Sydney Cove) with the First Fleet in 1788. Tench described a diversity of birds and animals, present in small numbers:

The country, I am of opinion, would abound with birds, did not the natives, by perpetually setting fire to the grass and bushes, destroy the greater part of the nests; a cause which also contributes to render small quadrupeds scarce. Continue reading “The Parable of Gospers Mountain, or how aboriginal burning changed the face of Australia”

Pests need Predators

By Viv Forbes

Australian camels are well-adapted to thrive in the dry heart of Australia but landowners have been unable to harvest them profitably for meat, leather, racing or genetics. With no real predators, camel numbers ballooned. They did reduce wildfire risk in parks by consuming excess vegetation, but during drought, starving, thirsty camels become pests, invading neighbouring pastures and water supplies and destroying fences. So the federal government pays helicopter sharp-shooters to shoot hundreds of them, leaving carcasses to rot. A similar fate awaits Kosciusko Park brumbies. Continue reading “Pests need Predators”

The Looming Collision between Electric Vehicles and Green Energy

by Viv Forbes

Two green-dream fantasies are heading for a massive and costly collision.

Firstly they dream of generating all grid power from wind/solar propped up by battery storage (such as lots of giant Tesla batteries and pumped hydro).

Secondly they dream of replacing all petrol/diesel/gas cars, trucks and buses with electric vehicles, powered by more batteries. Continue reading “The Looming Collision between Electric Vehicles and Green Energy”

Aerial Dreams

By Viv Forbes

Entrepreneur Barrie Rogers is planning to import and then manufacture electric aircraft in Australia which he says “. . . don’t rely on fossil fuels.” The Australian 21 Feb 2020.

Where will he get steel, aluminium, lithium, copper, nickel, graphite, cobalt, rare earths, plastics and lubricants for his motors, batteries, aircraft bodies and recharging stations without the hydro-carbons so necessary to mine, refine and manufacture them?

Net-Zero by 2050? Albanese Goes for Broke

From: https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2020/02/net-zero-by-2050-albanese-goes-for-broke/

There’s no great mystery about what Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s net-zero-by-2050 emissions announcement last weekend will cost. The answer: trillions galore. How do I know? Because Dr Brian Fisher, former head of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, who has no political allegiance and no vested interest, last May in the run-up to the federal election costed a much weaker version of Albanese’s plan. These costs were astronomic: a maximum $540 billion by 2030. Continue reading “Net-Zero by 2050? Albanese Goes for Broke”

CLINTEL Plans a Grand Climate Debate

By |February 23rd, 2020

The fast growing Climate Intelligence Foundation (CLINTEL) is planning a major debate on climate change. The event will coincide with the COP 26 UN climate summit in Glasgow this November. Unlike previous attempts at decisive debates, this one has an excellent chance of really happening.

Continue reading “CLINTEL Plans a Grand Climate Debate”

Hydrogen Hype

By Viv Forbes

Dr Finkel (Australia’s Chief Scientist) is wrong – hydrogen will never be a “hero fuel source”.

Australia has no gas wells producing hydrogen – every bit of hydrogen we use must be generated by electrolysis of water or manufactured from natural gas or coal. These processes consume energy some of which could be recovered by using the hydrogen as a fuel to power cars or generate electricity. We could use solar or wind energy to generate hydrogen, but then they cannot generate electricity for consumers, industry and the millions of electric cars our political scientist also supports. Continue reading “Hydrogen Hype”

Petitions from Climate Realists

By Dr. John Happs

The term “climate denier” continues to be used by those promoting catastrophic global warming from the trivial emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. It is a derogatory term, first coined by the journalist Ellen Goodman. In 2007 she wrote for the Boston Globe:

“I would like to say we’re at a point where global warming is impossible to deny. Let’s just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future.”

https://sites.google.com/site/climategenocide/goodman-ellen-1

Dennis Prager responded to Goodman’s vitriol: Continue reading “Petitions from Climate Realists”

Do ‘Green’ Buses Pass the Performance Test?

By Duggan Flanakin

Should Americans follow China in a massive commitment to supposedly eco-friendly battery-electric buses (BEBs)? California has mandated a “carbon-free” bus system by 2040 and will buy only battery or fuel cell-powered buses after 2029. Other states and cities are following suit.

Vehicle decisions are typically based on cost and performance. Cost includes selling price plus maintenance, while performance now includes perceived environmental impacts – which for some is the only issue that matters. But that perception ignores some huge ecological (and human rights) issues. Continue reading “Do ‘Green’ Buses Pass the Performance Test?”