Talking about human greed, Rio Tinto is currently developing a massive coal mine in Mongolia.
There are also huge stockpiles being created by the Chinese!
Anyone currently investing in new Australian coal mines or expansion, is I believe, a greed driven ill-informed fool.
They would serve their own interests and those of their shareholders by agitating for; and or financing, exploration of those submerged mountain ranges in our north east economic zone. For their probable bonanza of lower carbon, liquid/portable fossil fuels.
Fuels which will allow, with their widespread use, an immediate 35% reduction in our total carbon output.
Every western style economy rests on just 2 support pillars, energy and capital. We with our 80% oil importations, are seriously compromising our ability to reduce our pro rata carbon output, the highest in the world.
We are far too reliant on coal exports for our current economic performance. Performance which is being seriously threatened by Mongolian mines, which will come into full production, as soon as 2014.
Not very much led time to seek and develop other export substitutes.
But in particular, with regard to the prospects of an international recovery any time soon, until or unless the world finds other less costly, more reliable oil supplies.
We will never ever understand the true scope of our potential hydrocarbon reserves, if we never ever look or buy the rubbish, we need foreign investors and their often massive debt funding paradigms, to do it for us.
Nor do we improve the prospects of saving the reef, by continuing to import and use much higher carbon producing fuels.
Ditto all other energy dependant economies.
Anyone can drill a hole, and we have all the local expertise we need.
All that is missing is the political will and the ability to risk a tiny portion of our tax dollars, to purchase the rigs, that would put beyond all doubt, the sheer size our own hydrocarbon assets.
Rhrosty.

Talking about antibiotics and their widespread use? Australian scientists, reportedly have developed a benign viral process, which apparently produces a protein, which looks very capable of destroying most bacteria, including problematic types like Golden Staphylococci?
I think those who simply bag the technological fix, because it is technological and for no other or more valid reason, are part of the problem and never ever any part of any sustainable solution.
We could go back to dwelling in caves and living on what nature provides or what we could run down and kill with a stone tied to a stick.
[The Green solution?]
The problem with that, there is an extreme shortage of habitable caves, and there is already enough carbon in the atmosphere, that without viable reduction measures, as would accrue with very widespread algae farming, will ensure that we cross a tipping point, 2C.
2C will guarantee enough ice melt to ensure the currently frozen tundra and continental shelves, give up trillions of tons of methane, which equals per unit, 21 units of carbon.
The amount of methane that could be released, without mediation, by any means, will very likely increase ambient temps beyond 5C?
5C, would e.g, return Great Britain, into a salt laden, windswept desert, with winds regularly exceeding 300 Klms PH.
Ditto almost every other country with shared latitude.
The sort of conditions that would then exist; as per the historical record, would first prevent most plant life from growing; anywhere, and given the rest of the food chain relies on plant life, oxygen and or herbivores; our only remaining option would be bending over, and kissing our kesters goodbye.
Rhrosty.

Well an interesting thread.
A few comments;
Baygon: The problem at the nuclear sites in Japan was not caused by
greed but the siting of the stations.
They should have been on the west coast instead of the east coast.
The plate division is east of Japan and that is where Tsunamis are
generated. I think you will find that there has never been a tsunami
on the west coast. Why is it that I am the only one to point this out ?
Rhosty; Hydrogen is an abandoned idea. Mercedes have experimented with
it for years and about the only place that it works is in buses.
Too many problems with distribution, underground car parks, size of
tanks in cars etc etc.
BTW we import about 55% of our oil usage not 85%, but it will soon be
more like 95% as our decline rate is about 14% per year.

Now we know why they are closing all the refineries. The won't be any
local oil to refine.
WE are exporting all the gas so we won't be able to use that either.

Make no mistake, if the Iranians closed the straight of Hormuz today,
tomorrow we would have petrol rationing.

None of the comment here made any mention of "The End of Growth"
which can only be mitigated by alternative energy.
If we are not to go back to the age of steam we need to get some
form of liquid fuel and electricity generation on a larger scale than
we have now. Geothermal and nuclear seem to be the only way for the
next few hundred years.

@BAZ

Points well made. Most people I speak to with an engineering background treat present renewables wind / solar with derision.

If one can accept the risks of nuclear there is no question it provides plentiful low cost energy. In my opinion the risks are wildly exagerated in most peoples estimation.

I am all for it.

Geothermal is an intriging one. I saw a GT plant in Birdsville and it was the most wonderfull piece of equipment.

Most drillers and geologists I speak to just dont know.

I would like to know what the hard science is there.

[Deleted. Entirely off topic.]

Bazz, it was BMW, as memory serves, that experimented with hydrogen for years? They reportedly powered conventional motors with it?
Their problem was, they relied on the fossil fuel industry to supply their fuel, which was extracted from NG, and cost well beyond $6.00 a litre, when we were still paying less than a dollar for a litre of petrol!
It is possible to convert NG to methanol, by passing NG through a catalyst. The process produces a little hydrogen as the waste product.
I believe that was how the hydrogen was collected for the BMW experiment.
Yes you are right, initially using hydrogen as an alternative, would be and as I pointed out, very limited.
Large stationary engines/fuel cells, powering various very high tech production, desalination or very rapid transit options etc?
I see the catalytic assisted cracking of the water molecule, as the only method that would make very large hydrogen production both economical and for far less, than we currently shell out for petrol or diesel?
Moreover, I see only very large scale solar thermal projects being able to supply enough low cost energy, to make the whole thing economically feasible, which could be proved by a reasonably large scale govt funded pilot project.
[Low cost energy projects, are never ever a waste of public money!]
Given biogas is methane and given we can convert methane into petrol replacing methanol by passing the gas through another catalytic process, it and bio-diesel created through large scale algae farming, are likely to figure prominently, in future fuel supplies/menu?
Cheers, Rhrosty.