The target in Australia of 20% renewable energy by 2020 is the lowest it can respectfully be. There is no reason for the target number other than “it sounds good”. We’re currently around less than 5% in Australia. A recent report by Zero Emissions Network and the University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute shows that [...]
Tag Archives: renewable energy
Future Proof in Alphington
Future Proof, a new community project aimed at promoting the uptake of solar panels, has launched its pilot program in Alphington. We aim to prepare our communities, homes and businesses for a low-carbon future – to make them future proof – by making Melbourne and Australia leaders in renewable energy use. Future Proof aims to [...]
What if it's a hoax?
From USA Today. A funny cartoon, with a serious message. Many politicians and leaders don’t understand the benefits of switching to a low carbon economy. Shifting to a low carbon economy and embracing ecologically sustainable development will bring untold benefits for humanity, and for Australians. There is no doubt about the science of climate change, [...]
News from Copenhagen
Sean Kidney, convenor of the Carbon Bonds Initiative, is up in Copenhagen at the moment and is writing up some very interesting tidbits from the side-show. I was particularly interested in this comment regarding renewables: 2. More practically, Q-Cells, one of the world’s largest photovoltaic solar companies, claims that solar cells have reached grid price [...]
Most subsidies still go to dirty, polluting fossil fuels
Another report from the New York Times tells how in the US, most government subsidies for energy research goes to polluting fossil fuels and unsafe nuclear energy: Despite a lot of promises, no one so far has wanted to pay the extra costs to make wind and solar more than a trivial energy source. Research [...]
Alternative energy funded funneled to dangerous nuclear
The New York Times reports that money is being funneled to dangerous nuclear energy over safe, clean and unlimited solar and wind energy projects: Scientists are hoping to expand the range of sunlight’s wavelengths that can be absorbed, and to cut the amount of energy the cells lose to heat. One goal is to make [...]
Germany runs out of solar panels
CleanTechnica reports that, due to its gross feed-in tariff, Germany has run out of solar panels. A burst of new business at the end of 2009 put Germany close to adding a record of solar power to the grid, according to the head of Germany’s BSW solar industry association, Carsten Koernig. He estimates that in [...]
Blog Action Day
Today (15 October) is Blog Action Day – a day when bloggers from around the world commit to promoting a single cause (climate change this year) and thus raise awareness of that cause. Climate change is, simply, the greatest ethical, political and policy problem of our age. Climate change is something that is close to [...]
Desalination and water security
Water security and sustainable use are crucial elements for future development. Agricultural use represents seventy per cent of water use in Victoria and Australia, with the remainder consumed by industry and urban usage. The drought and broader environmental concerns necessitate that Victoria develop alternative water sources to traditional surface reserves and rain-fall. Desalination is an [...]
Labor needs a strong stand on emissions trading
Federal Labor needs to take a strong stand on emissions trading. After the Garnaut Report and the Green Paper, it appears that Federal Labor may not make the Australian emissions trading scheme as robust as it needs to be to ensure that damaging climate change is mitigated. An emissions trading scheme (ETS) is essential for [...]
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