David, don't any of you in the elite offices of power have any idea of what to do. By what you write, all your education has left you blind to the real world. There will be no pulling together, no strategy, no change, until there is total collapse and the ruling elite are flushed away.

We already have the capacity know how and resources to make this country totally self sufficient in energy and fuels. We have the farming capacity to produce all our own bio diesel, natural gas and ethanols, whilst being able to reduce our need for fossil energy generation.

Nothing will happen, because as you know, the politicians are in the pockets of the multinational oil cartels that are now controlled by the US and our mealy mouthed cowards of politicians just lie down and lick their masters proverbials.

“David Lamb is the Low Emissions Transport Leader for the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship.”

What does that mean, except for stupid PC speak. Your paper boat is now powered by a match? sound like a reasonable approach to the future.

Well I think thats exactly where the CSIRO could be doing something.
There are plenty of areas to investigate further, but being backed by good science would help.

Biodiesel from algae, using salt affected land, looks like it has potential. Biodiesel from higher yielding brassicas, is another one.
600k tonnes of fat from meatworks in Aus is another one.

There is now plenty of venture capital in Aus, with the 9% super levy having generated billions. What we need is good science and a business plan. The market will take it from there.

doesn't this say something about our community, the lack of posts I mean.

I agree that it is the elite holding us up, the excise levy should be only used for looking into alternatives. If this causes funding cuts, put some excise on high capacity cars, cigarettes, liquor etc, tax the bad things.

How long does it take to grow a tree? how long a plankton?
which photosynthesises most? these issues are not hard, build some reefs. I think its the UAE who has built a map of the earth in islands, miles wide, so don't tell me this would cost too much. Just get on with it, the reef makes food for plankton, the plankton fix the carbon.

Mallee trees fix salinity and produce diesel

coal can be turned into fuel

the truth is that the oil companies must be stopping the millions of simple fixes for this problem

give me a few billion and I guarentee to make a difference that will be noticed down the ages. Give it to Johnny or any politician and he will use it to get reelected!

I don't believe in the oil company conspiracy theory. I think that Govt deals with short term vote catching issues, so leave it up to private enterprise. But Australian private enterprise is not the best at investing in long term fundamental research, thats really
where CSIRO is required and at which they were so good at in the past.

David, if you happen to read this perchance, the figures that I have seen as to oil from algae, using brackish water, research done in the US, look pretty promising.

What we need is some Australian research. I suggest WA as a perfect place. We have heaps of cheap salt affected land, heaps of sunlight, heaps of innovative farmers who would be willing to get involved.
Already the first farmers here are making their own biodiesel from canola oil, to power their machinery.

But the science is missing. What species of algae could be used? How do we keep that species dominating a pond? What say your organisation puts a proposal to politicians? Email me privately on
bonobo@westnet.com.au if you like. I have some ideas on finance.

“It’s time we pulled together for a national fuels strategy.”

David, it is time we pulled together for a ‘save our society’ strategy. I think the effect of peak oil is likely to be far greater than you express.

Your line of discussion is very narrow, considering only alternatives to liquid fossil fuels for transport. As well as this, we will need to greatly improve the efficient use of liquid fuels in order to greatly reduce overall consumption, because no single alternative nor any combination of alternatives is going to come close to providing the same energy at anywhere near the same prices as oil currently does. And our society is so profoundly dependent on it.

No matter how effective we might be at substituting oil, we will still suffer a pretty major economic downturn and all the things that go with it, like raised unemployment, inflation, and the magnification of all sorts of existing stresses. As part of the SOS strategy, we will need to consider all of this and start preparing for it.

I think it could be much worse. When transport starts to really suffer, supply lines will break down. There won’t be food on the supermarket shelves, a large portion of people will lose their jobs, massive inflation will set in, currently existing simmering tensions of all sorts across our society will blow out of all proportion, law and order will break down, and so on. We will see the sort of chaos that happened in Argentina not so long ago (which is a society not dissimilar to that of Australia). The scenario is extremely ugly.

This should be the Australia day message