Warmair here's a challenge for you.

I know it is against your religion, but slip over to JoNova's blog, for a minute. She has just posted the combined output of all the Oz wind farms for a couple of weeks in August, & the whole of July. Even for the physics illiterate it should be obvious why wind can never be a serious replacement for proper power. That Mickey Mouse stuff would leave half your mates stranded in the lifts in their inner city apartments, on a regular basis.

It might be a shock to your system to actually read some facts rather than propaganda for a change, but go on, be a devil. You will probably survive the shock, & may even learn something. I doubt it, but you could actually start to understand something for your own good.

Of course you would then have to change your political party, but we all should grow up some time.

The problem of climate change is already in the early stages of being solved.

Because new innovations and new ways of marketing solar panels on rooftops haS already begun. For example,not paying for the solar panels up front but paying for them gradually, much like a mobile phone, tablet, computer, plan. Paid every month as part of your electricity plan.

The barrier to taking up solar for the average Joe and small business has always been the very expensive upfront cost of the panels. Plus
there is a new battery form of solar panel which requires a lot less panels.

As solar becomes affordable and in reach of the budget for people all around the world which it will, the issue of climate change will be over. Full stop!

So, hippy-left wing -capitalist-western world -bashers. Climate change, solved, by the coming ,shutting down of the consumer base all over the world.
Better think up a new, bash the rich capitalists and Western societies disaster , to keep your politics of envy going.

CHERFUL
The problem of climate change is theoretically solvable, but we need to get a serious wriggle on, if we are to tackle the problem, before it becomes critical. It is relatively easy to generate all the electrical power from sources that do not emit CO2, but that only accounts for 1/3 of all CO2 emissions. The main options are solely from renewable sources or a combination renewable and nuclear, personally I am satisfied that the first option is the best for Australia as it will be cheaper.

The difficult problems arise when we try to reduce emissions from all the other sources particularly transport, industry, heating, agriculture and land clearing. Electricity can replace some of the fossil fuels for these items, but there is a very long way to go. The production of cement generates large quantities of CO2 and is not something we have any large scale practical alternative. Liquid fuels can be produced by biological methods and chemical methods, but is not currently available on the scale necessary to make a serious dent in our use of fossil fuels. The production of metals particularly Iron generates vast amounts of CO2 due to the use of coal, in theory the coal could be eliminated and electricity could be used. Land clearing was a major contributor in the past to CO2 emissions, and still makes a significant contribution in the developing world, agriculture also generates substantial amounts of methane, which is a more powerful green house gas than CO2. These problems for most part have theoretical solutions but we are a long way from implementing them.

Globally there are some 12 countries that generate nearly all of their electrical power from renewables, but the best that any country has achieved for generating all their energy from with no CO2 emissions is from memory Iceland at 85% and most European countries don't get much past 10% at best. Human CO2 generated emissions continue to rise, when in fact we need to be reducing them with the aim of getting them to zero by around 2070.

Don, suggest an overseas trip and eyeballing the permafrost melt with your own eyes, as I did.

Links just provide opinion, some of which runs completely counter to local knowledge, which can traverse generations!

And fly over the hundreds of brand new summer lakes this unprecedented melt has created; or when frozen have a butcher's at the trapped melting methane then held back by the winter ice!

How do we know it's methane?

Just break a hole in the ice and light it up with a naked flame for proof positive.

Just make sure the flame is on a long wand, given the release can create a mini fuel air bomb, which can remove facial hair among other problems!

Incidentally, you'll be pleased to know that the climate change crisis has been ameliorated somewhat by a financial crisis in the production of coal.

Which currently needs around a $100,00 a ton exported, as a break even price for still undeveloped resources; and the current global market price is around $50.00 a ton?

And an example of how to lose mucho plenty money without really trying!

Now given our dependence on coal exports, that is a real and immediate crisis

Little wonder hard nosed bankers are withdrawing financial support for the largest still undeveloped reserves!

We don't need endangered species to close some of these projects down?

The market will ensure that's exactly what happens?

Not to worry, we can still make much more money exporting alternatives, like cheaper than coal thorium, as fully functional, built here reactor modules; able to be transported as container cargo; and trucked on site to be potentially producing very local power within days!

Now that is an energy export example that not only stands to make mucho plenty money, but given we rent these things to folk, who could not otherwise afford to heat and light their homes, for the life of the of the reactor, which we fuel!

Flogging coal is simply flogging a dead horse; time to cremate and bury it?
Rhrosty.

Chereful said;
The problem of climate change is already in the early stages of being solved.

Well Warmair put you right there, it is a long way from even a start.
No progress at all has been made in how to overcome a still cold night.

There are mumbles about batteries, but if they are to supply power
from 3pm to 8pm (winter) in most Australian latitudes they need to
have a capacity 1 1/2 times the daytime consumption.
That means the average electrical generation output has to be at
least 3 times the capacity during the day to supply the load plus
charge the batteries for 3pm to 8am discharge.
Can you see where costs are going in this ?
Oh and I have not taken into account internal discharge rate of the
batteries.

More importantly the energy content of such a system with battery
backup, maintenance etc becomes impossible.

Such of grid systems do work but I do not think anyone would suggest
that they are better than mains supply.
Imagine if everyone was off grid, what an enormous maintenance job
that would be. How many houses, shops, factories, offices are there
in the world ?
Are there enough battery manufacturing materials to make them ?

This overnight problem is real if the coal mines are closed.
Do you have a solution ?

from 3pm to 8pm (winter) in most Australian latitudes they need to
Arrrggghhh I should have said 3pm to 8am.

I was in the UK one winter and the school kids were going to school
in the dark after 8am, so it would be a big problem there.