Bazz,
<<if the energy return is sufficient the amount of energy that
has to be input to the system is enormous with low eroei,
and it then becomes financially unviable.>>
Absolutely. But it's just one of the factors that determines what's financially viable. Other factors could make something financially unviable with an EROEI of over a hundred, or viable with an EROEI of just two!

<<Even if the input energy is free, you must take into account the
embedded energy and that is why solar and wind fail.>>
No it isn't. Apart from a few sites with technical problems, where solar and wind fail it is because the cost of finance is too high, not because the EROEI is too low.

To conservative hippy
The main point to note is that our planet earth is not cooling. Doesn't really matter if 2014 is warmest, or is just a little bit below being warmest. The earth is not cooling, which might have been expected if there were no AGW.

Can Aiden and/or Tony153 please explain to me why the perceived change in our climate cannot possibly be a natural phenomenon. I accept there have been climate changes but I cannot accept its all man-made.

There seems to be evidence the climate was warmer during the Roman era going by where they were able to grow grapes in Northern England and parts of Europe. There is also eye witness accounts from the 1800's by explorers in Greenland expressing the glaciers had melted away and will never return, but obviously they did return and relatively fast.

Given the debate over the scientific evidence and the emergence of a climate religion and the manipulation by some of the leading scientists to hide inconvenient 'anomalies' I'm simply not convinced our current situation isn't within the natural parameters of cyclic climate changes. It feels to me there is another agenda at play and most people are unknowingly buying into it.

Each of us has to make our own mind up. I don't see how the dubious actions such as buying carbon credits, an ETS or carbon tax will eliminate the problem if it is man-made; to me these are just wealth redistribution and get rich quick schemes for the lucky few at the top.

Australia produces 2% of the man-made carbon going into the atmosphere. All of the man-made carbon in the atmosphere amounts to approximately 5% of the total. Why isn't the 95% naturally occurring carbon (some of it being from volcanos) in the atmosphere the problem, if carbon is a problem? Australia hasn't caused the problem and Australians cannot reverse the climatic trends.

If the sea level increases a foot, or 30 centimetres over the next 100 years, I don't feel its time to panic. 100 years from now the population will have increased so much the survivors will have bigger issues to concern themselves about.

To Conservative Hippy. Since 1870, sea level rise already 20cm, so 30cm fairly soon. Although your prose is OK, your para

"Given the debate over the scientific evidence and the emergence of a climate religion and the manipulation by some of the leading scientists to hide inconvenient 'anomalies' I'm simply not convinced our current situation isn't within the natural parameters of cyclic climate changes. It feels to me there is another agenda at play and most people are unknowingly buying into it."

is full of vitriol. Unless you can verify any of that statement, I detect a closed mind. One unable to be changed. But, just a small insight into climate variations. Ice ages are generally tied to the Milancovich cycles, orbital variations. According the current state of those cycles, the earth should be cooling. Some deniers promulgate the myth that we are cooling. However, AGW is over riding that cooling. Our planet is warming. What is your explanation? But, no science please, as you appear to distrust science.

Conservative hippie,
Just in case you might be capable of absorbing a little science. Antarctic ice cores capture fluctuations in atmospheric CO2, proxy temperatures and more. A 3 km Antarctic core shows 800,000 years of climate history. Over a number of iceages, CO2 in the atmosphere never exceeded 285 ppm over that period. Since the start of industrialisation, we have now reached 400 ppm. If we have not caused that rise, what is your solution. And, by the way, those dreaded scientists can differentiate bewteen long lived atmospheric carbon, and carbon from fossil fuels. All to do with galactic cosmic rays directed at the earth from The Enterprise.

ConservativeHippie,

Growth in the Australian economy has led to increases in energy use, previously the mining sector but now others - due to viability factors.

However, all factors need to be considered. An expanding population is having an impact, along with rubbish disposal, expanding levels of car use, long periods of a "drying climate" we had, which saw all Australian capital cities placed under water restrictions, and expensive water recycling programs that will be needed in the future, simply to cater for population numbers which are expected to increase by the middle of the century, in Australia by natural population growth.

Salt interception schemes, along the Murray Darling Basin have been installed due to poor upstream irrigation schemes, and these are costing taxpayers around $25 million dollars each at present.

The subsequent increase in the number of households requiring power and heating, have also contributed to impacts on the environment, accounting for more than three quarters (77%) of Australia’s total greenhouse emissions in 2009.

In 2009-10 Australia’s net energy consumption, increased with solar energy accounting for less than 1% of Australia’s net energy consumption. The majority of Australian citizens can't afford solar electricity - its too expensive. 74% of energy consumption in 2009/10 has came from industry, and 26% came from households. The main fuels consumed in Australia were natural gas (24%), electricity (22%), diesel (18%) and petrol (16%).

Methane, at least 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, which significantly adds to the greenhouse effect causing climate change accounted for 86.5 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector in 2005-07 - of which the majority of this waste comes from households and accounted for 3 percent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2005.

If humans continue to add to problems on the planet - all will pay for it. By the way - your tax bills will be going up.