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I suspect the OP is wishing for Coal and Gas to go away soon in the hope it can spare the world from the upcoming catastrophe that is climate change. What is s

by jussij 5y ago

I suspect the OP is wishing for Coal and Gas to go away soon in the hope it can spare the world from the upcoming catastrophe that is climate change. What is stupid, with Europe and the USA both planning a tax on carbon, in just a few decades the OP's wish will most likely come true, yet Australia keeps wishing for a different future.

alvah 5y ago
OP's way of life has been made possible by cheap energy. Wishing it away before renewables are able to provide baseload power in an advanced economy (and the storage problem is, at best, decades away from being solved) is unwise.
- XorNot 5y ago
  Australia has the most abundant uranium reserves in the world. We have exactly 1 nuclear reactor we don't use for making power (yet is actually regionally vital for supplying medical isotopes to hospitals in SE-asia as well). Every side of politics has acted like complete cowards on this issue, with the Liberals the worst offenders - they pay it lip service every election then do nothing while handing out cash to the coal miners.
  - alvah 5y ago
    Agree 100%. Nuclear power will likely never happen in Australia now though, too many Karens terrified of it.
- jussij 5y ago
  If Australia and the rest of the world continues to rely on coal as it's main source of baseload power then I suspect we are all doomed. No amount of economic wealth is going to help once the environment has been damaged beyond repair.
- jestar_jokin 5y ago
  South Australia has been doing pretty well with a renewables-backed grid. There was a smear campaign in 2016 regarding a state-wide blackout, caused by severe weather affecting the distribution & transmission infrastructure. [see #1] The incumbant political party used this as an opportunity to blame the renewable generators (and state government, from the "opposite side" of politics). [see #2] The same severe weather event would have affected any power generator. [1] https://www.aer.gov.au/wholesale-markets/compliance-reporting/investigation-report-into-south-australias-2016-state-wide-blackout https://www.aer.gov.au/wholesale-markets/compliance-reportin... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Australian_blackout#Immediate_political_responses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Australian_blackout...

by jussij 5y ago

alvah 5y ago

OP's way of life has been made possible by cheap energy. Wishing it away before renewables are able to provide baseload power in an advanced economy (and the storage problem is, at best, decades away from being solved) is unwise.

XorNot 5y ago
Australia has the most abundant uranium reserves in the world. We have exactly 1 nuclear reactor we don't use for making power (yet is actually regionally vital for supplying medical isotopes to hospitals in SE-asia as well). Every side of politics has acted like complete cowards on this issue, with the Liberals the worst offenders - they pay it lip service every election then do nothing while handing out cash to the coal miners.
- alvah 5y ago
  Agree 100%. Nuclear power will likely never happen in Australia now though, too many Karens terrified of it.
jussij 5y ago
If Australia and the rest of the world continues to rely on coal as it's main source of baseload power then I suspect we are all doomed. No amount of economic wealth is going to help once the environment has been damaged beyond repair.
jestar_jokin 5y ago
South Australia has been doing pretty well with a renewables-backed grid. There was a smear campaign in 2016 regarding a state-wide blackout, caused by severe weather affecting the distribution & transmission infrastructure. [see #1] The incumbant political party used this as an opportunity to blame the renewable generators (and state government, from the "opposite side" of politics). [see #2] The same severe weather event would have affected any power generator. [1] https://www.aer.gov.au/wholesale-markets/compliance-reporting/investigation-report-into-south-australias-2016-state-wide-blackout https://www.aer.gov.au/wholesale-markets/compliance-reportin... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Australian_blackout#Immediate_political_responses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Australian_blackout...