Tony Abbott is correct to warn us of the potential failings of the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) proposals for Australia's energy future. Liberal Trent Zimmerman, at Tuesday 's Coalition party room meeting, had an opposite but soothing view. He said that all was well and that NEG had covered the three most important desires of policy: viz., providing grid security, lowering prices, and meeting our Paris targets. Also, he warned that it would be a serious mistake to ignore the rising concern of Australian voters about the impact of climate change.
The hobgoblins are now all in place. The American political writer and critic H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956) wrote "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."
This NEG Energy Policy is a nonsense.. It will fix nothing. Our energy crisis will get worse. It will not lower prices. Why is this?
Firstly, the policy is all dependent on the UN fallacy that CO2 is an unwelcome pollutant and must be eliminated, or reduced from our emissions, which is a nonsense. CO2 is the life blood of the BIOSPHERE and must be cherished. CO2 is an essential part of our atmosphere. There should be MORE CO2 not LESS in the atmosphere. The current level is about 410 ppm and is slowly rising, thanks to present vigorous volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, Guatemala and elsewhere. CO2 gas is good stuff. It is an invisible gas, found in many foods, including beer, wines, and breads etc. We humans breathe it out all the time. CO2 is nothing to be afraid of. It's not a hobgloblin.
Therefore it follows that our Ministry of Energy, and Josh the Minister, have been barking up the wrong tree. We don't have to reduce our emissions. We don't need to have RETS, or Renewable Energy Targets, which are designed to reduce our emissions of CO2 from burning fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, and stifle our economy at the same time. This idea is all a nonsense imposed by the UN; as previously warned by our former PM, Tony Abbott. "It's a load of crap." he says, and as a scientist (geochemist), I agree with him.
The other hobgloblin that is always drawn out to scare people is that of "climate change." Climate is always changing very slowly and has done since our planet Earth began, about 4 1/2 billion years ago. We humans can't do much about that. Geologists are not worried about it. You are welcome to believe in the mythology of Paris Accord, which is an agreement among countries to supposedly limit a world temperature rise to 2 degrees, by restricting Greenhouse Gas emissions. As a scientist, I equate this with believing in the mythology of Santa Claus, visiting at Christmas time with his sleigh drawn by reindeer, full of presents to put in your stocking at the end of your bed. Such mythology is wonderful for amusing children, but it is best forgotten when devising Energy Policies. Regards from Allano.
