Excellent article, it shows the inept incompetence of the ruling elite and those supporting them. Its very simple why they are doing nothing, politicians are controlled by the oil cartels who want no changes until they have secured the alternative for themselves. They desperately fear having energy that emanates from more than single controlled outlets and origins. Its the same for most of our industries, monopolisation is the political aim of the lib/lab coalition

The only solution is for people to take some responsibly for their future instead of living in hope their slave masters ( politicians) may some day speak the truth and act in the peoples interest instead of their vested corporate requirements.

Considering the vast majority of politicians have either bought their way into politics, or are there by stealth and the majority appear to be lawyers and accountants. We can well see why we are going down the gurlger under the auspices of these fools.

Until the people vote with their future in mind and not their short term hope and comfort, nothing will change. Considering the situation overseas, where they are racing towards alternatives, we have only ourselves to blame continuing to vote for the one party two faction options we have.

As Richard Heinberg (University of California), has amply shown in his two books, "The Party's Over" and "Power Down":-

http://www.museletter.com/partys-over.html

http://www.museletter.com/Powerdown.html

. . . looking for supply side solutions to our energy woes is a fools errand. And my recent interaction with Federal Energy Minister Ian McFarlane underlines this point:-

http://www.kimspages.org/ianmcfarlane.htm

. . . . and PS, while we're talking about "Non-supply side" solutions to our energy woes, maybe the reason they're getting no press is the same reason the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), is completely ignoring my pointed written questions about the consequences of "Peak Oil" on the mooted Brisbane North South Bypass Tunnel (I'm a member of Q Super, QIC are their investment advisors). Anyone who buys shares in this white elephant is on a hiding to nothing . . .

http://www.kimspages.org/qsuperletter.htm

. . . So come on QIC, stop hiding from legitimate questions. It's my money you're playing with . . .

The key words of the article are these "Self interest".

How does 'self interest' manifest itself in ways which hinder the utilization of renewable energy sources ?

Simple: "share holder value" This something which should have formed the theme of an eleventh commandment "Thou shalt not put shareholder value above the communities best interests".

In truth, it is covered by the "You shall not covet your neighbours......."

But that aside. If it is in the interests of:

-Executive Performance measures (which translate to executive BONUSes)
-Shareholder Value

Most large Energy Supply corporations will, having done their 'SWOT' analysis, have identified the T part 'threats' as being 'Renewable Energy' which will reduce our dependance on, and revenue to, said corporations.

The simple fact is, we could HALVE our energy consumption (an educated guess) by:

a) Installing 10 solar panels and associated Inverter, on our roofs (electric solar)
b) Installing a Solar Hot water system supplmented by an instant gas hot water system downstream from the Solar reservior (The Rinnai one I have adjusts the gas flow according to the temperature of the water.. if the water is already hot=less gas used)
c) Installing high efficiency lighting in our homes.
d) Switching to gas ovens instead of electric.
e) No electic heating.

So..... why do we not see more effort in making Solar panels affordable ? Hmmmmmmmmm
Could it be that large 'supply side' energy corporations make large political donations that 'hint' at not doing anything which might jeapordize 'shareholder value' ?

But the key is 'self interest' so.. this is what we have to solve to remove the 'symptoms'.

**WARNING** 'Bible Bash' about to occur, all anti God, anti Christ anti Christian readers advised to tune out....HERE.

Jesus, speaking to Nichodemus said "You must be born again"
New birth, new attitude, new person.....in Christ.

Thermodynamics and Population Dynamics predict that up to 4 billion people will die within 20-30 years, spurred by PEAK oil and a restructuring of global populations and their energy aspirations. After a world collapse, coal will be the main energy source again. The world will take a-long-while-to-recover-before-other-alternative-energy-formats-are-viable-again after a spate of violent destruction. Coal could then support a population of around 2.5 billion for-over-a-thousand-years, provided the lesson of unwarranted-population-growth is learned. However 30-40% of coal output would need to be diverted to research into the high density alternative energy formats of Geothermal, Fission, Fusion and unmanned space-generator programs to-ensure-long-term-viability.

Of course a world collapse does not have to happen if we divert 30-40% of our energy potential to research NOW. This is called vision or thinking ahead. It is what has distinguished our species from all those who have gone and perished before us. However we can't exploit coal as it is too bulky and its export dollars are tight. The logical thing to exploit is our Uranium/Thorium reserves by value adding them to safe, bomb-bane formats like PBR pebbles. And forget about nuclear Reactors we don't need them. What we need is export dollars where 30-40% of that income stream is diverted to research fusion-power, non-oil company monopolised laser-drilling technology for Geothermal power and an unmanned space network for 'packetised' materials. Such goals are within our technological capacity. The space research for example will be unmanned and roughly based on the internet to provide a safety valve so future populations do not have to inhumanely collapse in the event of world extinction events. At some point such a SWW space-Web or space-Net would be able to take up millions of people for permanent or semi permanent space residence.

Continuing ..

Continued ..

A big component in averting world collapse it is to maximise Pebble Bed nuclear reactors NOW, in countries that can afford them like India and China. It is up to Australia to do its part and PROCESS uranium to PBR formats that are safe, non-polluting and unable to be used in bombs. This will give Australia enormous profit streams and a heavy nuclear industry that could support the Fusion and Space-based solar-generator programs above. These are are the real benefits to Australia of going nuclear. At our current population level we don't need nuclear power stations. But we CAN and MUST be playing a BIG part in averting a currently inevitable world collapse.

For those worried about onshore-nuclear-industry contamination and terror threats, I say that the above strategy is a BRIDGE to our future. Once crossed we will not need it. But without that nuclear-bridge we most likely will not have a future. Crunch time is nigh due to the simple statistic that in 10 years there will be 7 billion world people all of whom will have the same First-world-desires, needs, aspirations, selfishness and pride as ourselves. If that doen't scare every Australian into embracing an australian heavy nuclear industry, they haven't looked in their mirror lately.

Its not only sport that Australian's can excel at. Provided there is honesty, safe waste disposal and fiscal equity in a local uranium enrichment industry its something we can all-get-excited-about.

Come-on-Aussie-come-on

BOAZ_David:
I absolutely agree with what you say about energy saving. Conventional wisdom says: conserve energy. If you are stupid you waste energy. The other day I saw in someone's kitchen they had installed new lights above the benches. They used the new LED's that often get used in torches now. 1 Watt. Good to see these are starting to be used in conventional lighting as well.

Over in California the solar power industry is making some great advances. Within 5 years it will be affordable to cover your entire roof with a solar panel array - an especially good thing for factories that often have very large roof areas.

The thing I like about Christians like yourself, David is that their Lord - Jesus - lived a frugal life. It would be great if more Christians actually followed his example.

Sorry, I meant to say it will be possible to have your entire roof made from a solar array, removing the expense of aluminium/tile/colourbond roofing underneath. The money saved from this will greatly subsidise the cost of the array. From what I understand solar panels are currently just mounted onto/above the existing tiles or sheeting. Combining the two will be a massive leap forward.

I would wait just a couple of years before buying solar panels though. The new designs coming through seem a lot more efficient and cost effective in the long run.

Also on the energy topic - have a look at the US Energy Department's conclusions regarding the replacement of oil with hydrogen:

http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/fuels/

Solar will be widely used to power hydrolysis.

Here's the website for Origin power company, who manufacture solar panels in South Australia:

http://www.originenergy.com.au/home/home_subnav.php?pageid=174

I find the original article, while thought provoking, to be somewhat deficient. Crib's reference to
"any amount of wind, sunlight, hot rocks, uranium, thorium, ... "
gives a misleading impression of an endless supply of nuclear fuel.

On the contrary, whereas wind and sunlight represent truly renewable sources, our reserves of uranium, while rich and large, are obviously finite. Even just at current global levels of consumption, they will be exhausted within a few decades. Lower grade deposits do exist, but are unviable for exploitation as fuel, due to the costs (financial, energy and chemical inputs) demanded for their extraction, milling, refinement and enrichment.
and while the comment about the backward glancing nuclear 'debate' is valid, fantasising about thorium and fusion won't help us make the immediate deep cuts to our carbon emissions that the current global meltdown demands.

KAEP,
I can't share your enthusiasm for an Australian nuclear fuel enrichment industry. Whereas you plan for your grandchildren to live in space, mine will be born here in the NT, where the feds are planning to dump the world's unwanted nuclear waste.
You say Australians can excell at storing nuclear waste just as we do at sport, but they have described their management regime as just a shed with a periodic security patrol : hardly a domain of excellence.

We recently had resources minister ian macfarlane visit darwin, telling us he wants to strengthen the national electricity grid infrastructure so that NT power consumers can choose to buy their electricity from polluting southern coal-fired power stations. The poor fella couldn’t offer any support for calls to build a national gas network, that would allow more sane southern consumers to choose our (relatively) cleaner gas for their own energy needs.

Ev you are quite right there.. about Jesus living a frugal life.

Regarding Christians who don't, I can assure you it is not for lack of example and Biblical teaching. We live still in our shed, 7m x 9m 3 grown up kids, swap bottles of ice between our crappy non working fridge and the freezer, we fight our way through piles of clothes everywhere, but all that may change soon due to some financially beneficial realization of an investment (our land). The thought of a 'normal' life of sufficient is kinda scary :)

If I may, I'd like to emphasize that he also denied himself many of the fleshly rewards which most men crave. (i.e. you mob :) women) yet, Jesus and the disciples were looked after, supported and cared for by a number of dedicated women, yet in all purity.

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who said to himself "Soul, you have so many crops, but not enough barns to hold them, I must build more barns to hold this abundance",(He was a capitalist).
but God said "Fool, tonight your soul is required of you".
The mans focus was cock-eyed, selfish and greedy, we never know when our lives or businesses will all fall apart.

With todays environmental and resource challenges, the worst enemies are unfettered capitalism and socialism,- 'Stewardship' should be our guide.

A bit of common sense goes well also, my neighbour has 10 solar panels and solar hot water, but.... electic hot water also, and electric cooking. Hence his solar saves him only about 10% off his bill instead of more like 50%.

Pebble bed Reactors and the Solar Roof replacement sound encouraging.
Electric Cars for short range travel, and a really good public transport system (Like Singapore's MRT) would also help.

Justin,

You and about 3 billion other people want to have grandkids to leave the Earth to. Some of us have done the sums. It ain't gonna happen. With current oil supply fixed forever it will be around 20-40 years before your grandkids all start killing each other. Given a PEAK-oil scenario in 5-10 years it may be we who start the violence. To assume you are special over those other rapidly sophisticating 3-billion-world-souls is a kind of selfishness and arrogance that can hardly be excused even by ignorance.

You must understand that when Thermodynamic forces come into play in social contexts, no matter how religious you are, you will have to kill or be killed. To interpret past world wars in any other light and with any expectation that things will now, forever be civilised and different is utter folly.

We do have the possibility of a VALUE-ADDED-NUCLEAR-PROCESSING bridge-to-the-future here in Australia and I have outlined that.

Its up to all Australians to think HARDER if they want any future at all for their grandchildren or even for themselves if global-oil-supplies dry up faster than expected.

ReCap: In 1900 the World had 2 billion people. Without oil this would have corrected itself through many more wars than WWI/WWII and grown to around 2 billion today. Only minimal-technological-improvements available WITHOUT a petrochemical-industry would have been available.

That means that if we lose current levels of our oil supply the world must drop back to about 2 billion people to enable a reasonable quality of life without war-and-disease. Australia will not escape the rout. We do not and will not have defences against a world gone mad.

We can however use our Uranium ores to cut back Chinese and Indian dependence on oil and coal and thus give ourselves the time, capital and international goodwill needed to research and develop Geothermal, Fusion and SPACE-Generator power supplies. Supplies that are infinite.

The wind, earth/roof solar, biofuel, tidal and other sources are-like-trying-to-fill-Sydney-Harbour-with-a-garden-hose-as-the-tide-goes-out. Folks proposing such solutions have not-thought-the-problem-through! They may feel like heroes NOW but at CRUNCH-time they will be ANATHEMA.

so, KAEP;
you diagnose a 'world gone mad',
predict inevitable wars,
and then prescribe uranium?
to China and India no less??

China hasn't signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and has a bad track record of exporting WMD technologies (to Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and Lybia). Just last year, a delegation of federal government representatives from Australia's Department of Industry Transport and Resources to Beijing were embarassed by naked enquiries from the Chinese about how to circumvent non-proliferation mechanisms.
India is one of only 3 nations not to ratify the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty, with a stockpile of nuclear weapons developed covertly out of their civilian nuclear power program.

I don't recognise enrichment as 'VALUE ADDING'. Global uranium consumers don't need us to enrich their fuel, but they do need somewhere to dump their waste. An enrichment facility would set us up for Uranium Leasing, which would see Australia required to take back the waste from any enriched fuel we export.

Within the paradigm of uncontrolled growth, our uranium would add to, rather than replace, fossil fuel consumption.
Folks who ignore the imperative to reduce demand and institute efficiency in energy production, distribution and consumption have not-thought-the-problem-through!

Justin,

Do some research. PBR Pebbles cannot be used for bombs and have a simpler, safer waste disposal profile. We can SET the agenda for our Uranium exports while using a significant amount of the profits for high density energy research!

But you and all Australian's must think hard: "Do we have a choice?"
Sit on the Uranium and watch the world come get it at the first sign of collapase or exploit it to our advantage and that of the World NOW while we have the opportunity?

Every 50cents added to the price of petrol from here on, we all must ponder where it is leading. All I ask is that we prepare and have a plan that keeps us in the game.

I think the key here is balance. How do we get the right mix of energy sources and how do we change that mix over the years as new technologies mature.

All new technology has some risk and we can minimize the risks by spreading it out over a variety of technologies. So far all we hear is a debate about nuclear power.

While I am personally still to be convinced about its merits Kaep does have a point that if it comes to the crunch others might help themselves to our resources if we refuse to sell it.

Boaz also has a good point that we can conserve so much more energy around the home. If only we could find a way for governments to make money out of home generation. Sales tax on solar panels is the only approach so far and of course it puts people off buying them.

Ironically privatising the energy industry has removed one of the biggest levers the governments had. Every MW of home generation is a MW that is not required to be generated in an expensive power station (previously at the tax payers expense). Also private energy companies will want to sell more energy, hardly a good way to encourage conservation. While nationalisation would go against the Zeitgeist, I think we really need to have a creative look at how energy companies fit in our society and tax system.

Great article I hope that the energy debate is not just about nuclear but I suspect we'll have to wait for a change in government before renewable energy has any chance in Australia.

Kaep, what's the lead in, construction and start up time for pbr pebble technology. It amazes me how knowledgeable you appear and have all the answers, yet so ignorant of the stupidity of your suggestions. We don't have 20 years, we have 0. Whilst your sitting around arguing for ancient environmentally dangerous technologies(nuclear), with a resource supply of about the time it takes to build and put on line, a nuclear power station. Very rational indeed.

You can have all the techo knowledge you want and place yourself on a pedestal, but what are you doing practically. Sure we are about to have a cull of the human race, but it will be those living in close communities that will provide the bulk of the demise. Is that why your so worried, lots of words but little action. No one will come and take our uranium, the logistics required would be immense.

People don't buy and use alternative technology, they want someone or something else to take responsibility for their existence. Its easy to see you have no idea of how far advanced solar and storage technologies are, nor the use of alternative fuels. Nuclear will not provide fuel for internal combustion engines, the present most viable is biofuels, with the developing micro reactors and the huge variety of oil seed crops, diversification farming is easy. You also have the added advantage of many usable by-products and meal.

Our countries energy infrastructure is in a mess, your all worried about peak oil coming. Peak oil is upon us now, considering the huge growth without end in consumption. Asking people in cities to conserve energy is like asking them to give up eating. Urban living relies entirely on remote single point distribution energy. Without electricity, the entire system will shutdown and people will drown in their own mess.

The only rational solution will be diversified and varied energy supplies, not able to be controlled by cartels.

Suggest that folk might like to check out www.energychallenge.com.au and go along to the conference. It all takes place in Sydney at Australian Technology Park, August 16-18, 2006. Pretty much everything commented upon here is being canvassed in the conference agenda by some very good speakers.