Sorry.
The vision impaired leading the vision impaired

I see a economic growth scenario not dependant on population growth!

I see population growth being moderated by the only means shown to have worked thus far, sustained economic growth!

, And that growth just can't be coal fired end of story.

We are stuffed without oil? And stuffed in a plane without wings?

Well we can put a virtual plane without wings in a vacuum tunnel and fly on magnetic wings just under the speed of light and possible if a rail gun is the motive power.

We can make oil forever, by sucking Co2 directly from seawater and then through a series of compression and expansion phase, turn it into a liquid we can combine with hydrogen to create hydrocarbons.

We just didn't have too much difficulty in finding the odd 2.5 billion to build the odd power station, but are flat out like a lizard drinking, finding 200 mill, for a pilot project.

All while burdened by Aussie super funds now in excess of two trillion.

Interestingly as fast as we suck copious Co2 from seawater, the atmosphere gives up a similar amount over time.

To sit there all doom and gloom, knowing that untried thing can't or won't work, is just giving up before the battle is engaged! And I'm no quitter!

There's is a world full of folk who also deserve their chance! And we should be wise enough to ensure they get it.

And unachievable if we all clutch the security blanket, while mouthing broken record rethoric, it can't be done.

Sadly, maybe Geoff is right, given leaders who know all the reasons it won't work and should never ever be tried?

You'd think current poll numbers, might actually inform them otherwise, and or, it just isn't all about them and their mates anymore?
Alan B.

Joh Bjelke Petersen has just left the building!

On population growth: countries with developed economies are experiencing either no-growth or declining population. Without immigration, Australia would be in this situation. China looks like it will reach a no-growth situation before 2050 and thereafter its population will decline.

Historically, why have people had lots of kids, and where ? Because it's expected that some will die before they reach adulthood, and there is no pension in most 'developing' countries - so in those countries, people have to have plenty of kids just so that there will be some who can support their parents when they can no longer work. So economic development in those countries - minus the corruption in government - might pull incomes up to the point where governments can tax people, in order to pay pensions. If so, within a generation, birth rates there would fall. Overall, world population could stabilise and even fall over the next century.

Global warming: I'm old enough to remember when they used the term 'greenhouse effect': i.e. growers using greenhouses would pump in extra CO2 to boost production and use water more efficiently. Strangely, the term is not used these days: it's more chic to talk about 'extreme weather'.

Extra CO2 in the atmosphere seems to be much more of a Northern Hemisphere problem than a Southern Hemisphere one. Here, in Adelaide, I've got a heater on at the moment to warm my feet, and it's mid-Summer.

Okay, assuming CO2 is a huge problem, and we want to avoid using the oodles of oil, gas and coal, and if renewables are not doing the job, we will probably have to re-consider nuclear energy. Current technology has advanced somewhat over Chernobyl-type reactors built in the fifties, and seem to be used safely in France and other European countries, and to produce cheaper and more reliable energy than can be produced in Germany with renewables. So it won't ever go off the agenda AND doesn't produce CO2.

Tough choices !

The con job is still on, loud & clear.

You must use less so as to leave more for us specialists. All these clowns, sucking on a taxpayer teat some where are getting worried we peasants are using up the resources too quickly.

Bet there were such clowns back in the caveman days, complaining someone was eating too much of the mammoth.

Sorry fellers, you'll have to dream up a new scare story, & quickly, or you might be part of the garbage drained from our swamp as we follow Trump into the brave new world, where the global warming scare is just a bad memory, of evil conmen who almost won.

It is clear to me that CSIRO is bowing to the dollar and corrupting their findings so as to satisfy their pay masters. For this the CSIRO will lose credibility and Australia will suffer.