MARK ALDRIDGE

The way forward for the Environment deserves honest debate

First things first when addressing the planets future is that of the environment, lets push aside global warming debate and the associated decade old argument as to the true driver of climate, and get on with the real concerns, planning for future disasters, increasing renewable energy, reducing pollution and ensuring adequate supplies of potable water, power and food stocks.

They say sunshine and sea breezes can not power an industrial economy, I know I have voiced my concerns for many years, the only reason for this idealism, is lack of government funded research into mass power and water storage.

When considering the way forward, population, available resources, and future investment are of the utmost concern, interconnected national high speed mono rail, water and power transmission have always been of the table, as have major infrastructure plans akin to the Snowy river scheme.

Using under ground compressed air, pre-pumped hydro, Ultra capacitors and mass storage batteries like, Sodium Sulfur or “NAS” batteries, Lithium-ion Batteries and flow batteries as mass storage for existing green energy generation like solar and wind, would be the ideal step in the reduction of fossil fuel generation of base load power, even better is the fact, it would appease those who do and do not believe in Co2 caused warming.

I wonder if any scientists have considered mass water storage at high altitudes, water being pumped their by excess green energy, and using it supply water and hydro electricity when the sunshine or wind are not around, the water itself could add to much needed environmental flows, but such Ideals have become a thing of the past.

The diversion of vital crop production is nothing short of genocide while population growth is on the agenda of western capitalism, looking to the past of our societies we in the most overlook ideal crops for the many industrial gaps that would appear if we wish to address our long term environmental issues.

Hemp has long been taboo since the 1950’s and 60’s cannabis prohibition propaganda, yet in itself holds a lot of our answers, for those who hold Co2 emissions as our primary concern, hemp is renowned for its consumption of Co2 and other airborne pollution, grows quickly and consumes very little.

Bio fuels like ethanol or bio diesel, bio degradable plastics, textile and paper manufacturing, food stocks of the highest caliber and Omega 3 content, and latest break through in hemp building products and vehicle manufacturing, the applications are mind boggling.

“Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford

Nuclear power will now remain of the agenda due to catastrophes in recent times, but even prior, modern break through’s in High temperature pebble bed reactors, Alvis and simplex spent fuel recycling and isotope recovery, I wrote about a decade ago, have been in the most shelved for the past decade.

While people in my own state of South Australia drive around with hydrogen complimented vehicles, electric and bio=diesel powered transport, they do so in silence as not one of their ideas or the many issues I have raised so far are on the agenda, yet tens of thousands of people will blindly follow a huge billion dollar tax of which even the name is dodgy (carbon pollution tax) to describe Co2 the life blood of the planet, in which the government promise will change the weather. Do we want to protect and save the environment or change the weather, or do some of, or all of the aforementioned Ideals do both? And ask your self; will any of these issues be part of the carbon tax agenda?

The sad fact is the 113 million the federal government will spend on promoting the carbon tax before the legislation is even on the table would cover research into all the ideals aforementioned.

With the government itself making it clear the 11 billion plus new “Carbon Pollution” tax will be passed onto we the people, and the regular proposed increases, the incentives for such innovations just wont be there, neither will any urgency for big polluters to curb their ways, it is far more likely that we will see fingers in the billion dollar pie, just as Europe recently uncovered.

If sea levels are to rise and cause hundreds of billions of dollars damage, why not take action to secure our low lying areas, and increasing investment in hospitals and emergency service, rather than plan to change the climate in which we live, because Australia has no hope of doing that alone as even if we closed down tomorrow, the IPCC them selves point to man made Co2 emissions of 3% and Australia at less than 1% of that, 20% of 1% of 3% of 0.28% make up of man made green house gas.

To be honest it is not about the weather, but about the environment, because they work hand in hand, it is all about the way forward for us as a global community, and to me it seems the biggest victim is the truth and honest and open debate.

The Carbon tax is a done deal in Australia even though polls show a majority of the people are against it, the Government are pulling all their resources, spending tens of millions of our money promoting their tax, using their lobby group GetUp with Union backing, and their media clout to ensure their promise is supported, with out even having to let us know the details, and our children are being taught the very same position in our schools, so the debate is already over, not even the mighty pen was heralded.

The sudden urgency of a tax on carbon, against such public opposition reeks of interference from an outside source, the words “Carbon Pollution” to describe Co2 belittles the truth, in the same way the argument that we can “change the weather”, divides the community, everyone debates the science, while those employed to sell the ideals like GetUP (Sorros/Unions) Labor (Garnaut) and the UN’s IPCC (Al Gore) are not climate scientists, and it is commonly known that any scientific opponents of the debate are chastised and find themselves out of work.

Al gores the “convenient truth” was torn to pieces in the high court for its use of misleading information, Australia’s advertising promotions, have been found wanting of the truth, using images of smoke stacks, billowing black smoke are of an English plant closed almost 30 years ago, 146 of the 150 people in our House of Representatives were elected at the last election on the specific promise that they'd say "no" to a carbon tax, yet still the supporters of the tax, seem to have no understanding as to why any would oppose it, maybe if truth was on the agenda, and it was called the “Save the Environment Tax” just maybe it would be swallowed easier.

It helps not that the Liberal opposition have nothing sensible on the table, which only empowers Labor’s new found supporters as if any action is better than none, which has become the catch cry of the new tax believers, leaving the rest of us with no choice but to oppose tax, with no just environmental plan to support, something we should have become accustomed in out ailing 2 party system.

The only way forward is to abandon the climate debate, and embrace the environmental needs of the planet, allow open and honest debate and start immediately to initiate rewards for innovation, and funding for mass power storage and alternate energy and crop production, and to come up with ideals to force big polluters to become accountable with out being able to pass the buck onto the end user.

Here’s to unity and open and honest debate.

Mark M Aldridge

Independent Candidate

Proud member of the Alliance

[email protected]

www.markmaldridge.com