Good article - but what else is new?

I believe that Australia should definitely become the R&D hub not only for alternate fuel but for all Science in general.

We have some of the finest minds that produce amazing ideas... but alas we lose it all by exporting (them) or underpaying/overtaxing them to submission.

Oil is more than ever crucial on the world events' platform. Why do we continue to finance our enemies by buying their oil? Haven't we got any foresight beyond taxation and profits?

Australias commitment to research and development is and pretty much always has been woefull - even with tax breaks we struggled to get within a bulls roar of that of our OECD competitors - as we speak we are at the bottom , or near the bottom of the OECD league table.

While other nations investment in R&D as a % of GDP rises ours is falling.

Last year Sweden invested the equivalnet of 8.5% of GDP into R%D we plunged in about 3% against an OECD average of greater than 4.

We have the third most generous set of tax breaks for R&D compared to our copmetitors. We still fail to deliver

It says a great deal about the culture of our leading captains of industry

Comparisons are invidious even if the Scandavian countries have better lives than us etc. We are driven by the market so when the market says we should do some research you can bet there is a tax break or a ministerial pronouncement coming.
Would you kindly just bend your knee for the foremost, most insightful and forward thinking individual of our era, honest too boot.
Put your hand together for Johnny Howard. Hurrah.
Being Australian we will start when it is too late and still win. Consider the cricket! A thirst coming on time for a ---.

Let's just forget spending money on research and development. Let's save a heap of time and money.

Let's just copy Brazil. This year it is energy self sufficient. ie imports little or no oil.

It's Government legislated some time ago that every car in Brazil would run on ethanol.

Why don't we just do the same. Let's follow a leader in the third world. Why not? We'll soon be counted among them.

You know, I am a supporter of the liberal party. Yersterday I heard our treasurer exhort business not to hike up their prices on the back of the rising petrol price.

Well I'm also a business operator. My expenses have a sizeable component, about 25%, that is FUEL. Fuel prices have increased by something like 25%. Now this treasurer is suggesting I cop a reduction in income (Net) of about 6%.

I think he'd object or at least look askance at me, if I suggested he and every other employee, like he, cops a 6% reduction in net income.

I don't think the politicians in this country realise how angry we are. They think we are stupid.
Every week we watch petrol prices rise by 10-12c cents a litre every Wednesday afternoon and fall by the same amount every Mon/Tuesday.
Then they hold enquiries in to petrol pricing and the week before Easter issue a report saying there is no price manipulation of petrol. Yep the price of petrol rose by 20 cents a litre in the days before Easter. Obviously to every idiot there is no manipulation of prices there.

But what I really don't understand is that I can buy petrol at $1.19 a litre all week at one isolated and not widely known outlet (IN BRISBANE)while I watch prices vary from $1.18 to $1.30 over a week at every other servo, some only a few kilometers from MY stable supply.

No price gouging ...my ass.

There is the most urgent imperative for Australian science to concentrate on how we are going to get through the peak oil scenario (Peter Costello’s third oil shock), and steer the country away from continuous growth and towards sustainability.

As part of this, we would be very highly advised to look closely at Brazil’s approach, and to take on some of the good ideas operating in Scandinavian countries, Switzerland and the like.

I agree with Keith. How the hell can Costello expect any business not to pass on fuel price rises? We are looking at rapidly rising prices in all sorts of commodities and services as a result of rapidly rising fuel prices. Inflation will follow. Businesses will fail. Unemployment will increase. Some will not be affected while others will be severely affected. Civil strife will result.

The very fabric of our society could start to unravel.

So to repeat myself - there is the most urgent imperative for Australian science to concentrate on how we are going to get through the peak oil scenario and steer the country away from continuous growth and towards sustainability.

Well that is the first time I have posted on a thread without reading the article first.

I just read the article. Spot on Daniel.

“Peak oil is a reality and one that our government isn’t preparing us for.”

Absolutely.

This has got to be one of the most critical things in Australian politics right now…… if only people would realise it.

Peak oil, your about 30 years to late. We reached the point of no return in the 1970's, not now. You can argue about that, but it won't matter Things should have been done back then, its too late now. Governments know this, thats why we have the situation we have world wide and why the US is rapidly trying to take control of oil reserves. Its also why Howard and Blair are following the US blindly, they think that the US will take control of world fossil energy supplies and only provide its closet friends and allies. Heres a good read.

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12381.htm]

We have all the technology we need, we don't need R&D, its been done. All you have to do is purchase some solar equipment, and convert you vehicles to ethanol biodiesel or natural gas yourself and your away. We've done it, we use biodiesel, ethanol and straight vegetable oil. If you have land, put in a crop of wild radish and you get 48% oil content from the seed. ½ hec, can give you more 1500lts of oil. Either convert it to biodiesel or us it straight with a pre-heater. I put 25% ethanol in my V6 camry and it has made no difference, its been running on this for the last 2 years and saves me heaps. You may find that in Brazil many vehicles run an pure ethanol with a simple conversion, they also use large amounts of biodiesel as SVO.

Anyone that waits for the government to do something, is a fool, considering how on top they are of the transport, health and most other aspects of social responsibility, shows you what will happen. We could be a net exporter of biofuels and associated technologies. The new solar cubes are the way to go for those outside urban areas.

No one will force the issue, because we are now a society of, its not my responsibility, its someone else's.

My younger brother has a PhD in laser physics. After several years post-doctoral research in California he returned to Australia, turning his back on a beckoning academic career in the US. He has nearly completed a Dip Ed and is working as a maths/science teacher. He is an enthusiastic teacher and the country, frankly, is the richer for his efforts. That doesn't mean that higher education and research wouldn't be a better place for his talents.

Australian academia offered dismal prospects, no tenured positions and years of scratching together research funds. He was also hobbled in his career choices by his unwillingness to work on military research. Secondary teaching at least offers a steady income.

Another friend who worked in medical research, spent months every year "unemployed" while waiting for grant funding (for which he had written the applications) to come through. I wouldn't encourage anyone into research in Australia, not if they want to buy a house, raise a family etc.

Alchemist,

“Peak oil, your about 30 years to late. We reached the point of no return in the 1970's, not now. You can argue about that, but it won't matter. Things should have been done back then, its too late now.”

It IS too late to avoid massive societal change, but it isn’t too late to make the transition relatively smooth. We desperately need a major governmental effort on how best to bring our knowledge on alternative fuels together into the best strategy. Whether you want to call this R&D or not is irrelevant. The fact is, THE most urgent thing in Australia right now is to do this. Otherwise we may well find things getting totally out of control.

When I say that the very fabric of society could unravel, I am not kidding nor overstating it. When we stop and think about the enormous reliance we have on fossil fuels, then we can pretty quickly realise that this sort of scenario is very real.

I said on another thread that there is the most enormous political opportunity here. If only Labor would see fit to devote themselves to the peak oil crisis, and thus set themselves up as a very different alternative to the incumbents, then they would be a shoe-in at the next election, if they put their hearts into it. For as long as they basically toe the same ideology as Howard, they will stay in the wilderness….and the country will continue its slide into misery.

“We have all the technology we need”.

Maybe so. But we sure as hell don’t have an exit strategy for the oil era.

“Anyone that waits for the government to do something, is a fool.”

Yes. So let’s get into some really serious lobbying…. and make it happen.

"No one will force the issue, because we are now a society of, its not my responsibility, its someone else's."

The alchemist: Spot on, and this is something that doesn't just apply to the topic at hand (it could be said to apply to education in a broader sense, health, aged care and pensions, negative population growth, the environment, you name it). Unfortunately, I think the way of things in this country will be that anyone who does try to take responsibility will eventually be penalised when the chickens come home to roost for everyone else. We live in a society of envy where the tall poppy syndrome is the law of the land.

Ludwig: I don't think it's in the interests of any politician or political party to try to promote policies for the long term. Naturally, most such policies may be a bitter pill to swallow, especially in the short term. Most people simply won't ever want to swallow such a pill. I think the old cliche holds true: people get the governments they deserve. If our politicians lack vision it's only because the populace lacks vision.