Opportunity costs are the most invisible costs in the world.
Purely hypothetically, if you wanted to nobble a competing country, you could pay 350.org…
“We know what it takes to stop this industry,” said 350.org’s May Boeve. “It is not a mystery, it is not magical.
Valerie Richardson, The Washington Times
Climate protests cost $91 billion in lost economic activity, chamber study finds
Climate activists fighting to derail pipelines and other energy projects have blocked $91.9 billion in U.S. economic activity and hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to a new report.
See more at: https://www.globalenergyinstitute.org/infrastructure-lost
There is no Economy B. Once we have wrecked this one….
The report analyzed 15 targeted projects, including the hotly contested Keystone XL pipeline, Constitution Pipeline, and Oregon LNG terminal, as well as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2014 fracking ban.
In addition to $91.9 billion in lost economic activity, the protests cost nearly 730,000 job opportunities and $20 billion in tax revenue to federal, state and local governments.
…the U.S. surpassed Russia this year to become the world’s largest crude oil producer and has led the world in natural-gas production since 2009.
REFERENCES
Infrastructure Lost: Why America Cannot Afford to “Keep It In the Ground”
This is just low level protest in the USA, I wonder what the cost of the French protests are adding up to?
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No expense is too big to save the world (as long as a protest industry remains profitable). I suspect that no one pays the French amateurs.
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Only professionals could organise it. But amateurs certainly joined in in numbers.
20
Just goes to show how powerful ‘Big Oil’ is. They control everything, don’t they?
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Derek, Just what side of the “cost” are you on?
30
“low level protest in the USA”?
I live in the mid-Atlantic states. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline for natural gas is being fought tooth-and-nail with every stream crossing, compressor station, etc. being protested and/or fought in court. A circuit court judge that ruled against the pipeline quoted part of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax.” It is getting insane. It has also increased the cost of the pipeline by at least $1 billion. “low level protest?”, my Aunt Fanny.
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This is a waste of money, the masses have already been brainwashed and top ups won’t be necessary.
‘GetUp has received a $500,000 donation that will be used to help make climate change a hot button issue in the election.’ Oz
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There have been rumours that we should organise a consortium to counter GetUp and I tentatively suggest a handful of comics, a flash mob.
Satire is ‘the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticise people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.’
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The conservative organisation is;
https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_5969067089001
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I got cranky at some of the scientifically illiterate leftist dog whistle chanter on one of the main fairfauxnews “news”papers yesterday.
I called them out as intelligent fools, who have at best a year 6 sceince literacy and leftist leanings. I warned them the big freeze is coming. I suspect they will keep laughing right up to the moment their Missus starts screaming at them beacuse they cant get food for thier kids….thinsg wont look so “up the Workers” rosy then…
Its intersting – all therough the Bible, God tells to seek wisdom, and to avoid fools. I think were at a point whereby we need to use our energy now to make sure our own families are thinking straight and that we cant turn fools heads – they are done for.
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‘The conservative organisation is …’
Millennials and women won’t listen to a bunch of old white guys, but Peter Helliar is one of Australia’s most popular comedians and could get them laughing.
We’ll have to crowd fund, so that they are handsomely paid to deliver our lines. The arts are green/left and climate change is normally avoided.
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You can’t generalise like that EG. Maybe quite a few millenials and women but I take exception to such a sweeping generalisation as yours. It’s just not true. After all, some (possibly most!) of the biggest players in this big sc@m are men, are they not? I could just as easily say men won’t listen but I know that’s not so…looking at all contributors here.
It hasn’t escaped my notice that the trolls that come here almost all sport male names! 😉
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‘It’s just not true.’
Okay, beside you, Jo, Judith, Jennifer and Peta.
Remember I did a straw poll and found women ignorant on every aspect of this debate, but there is hope. One hardened female zealot has been watching Sky News instead of the ABC and has come over to our side, debating family and friends.
In your estimation, who is the best Australian female comedian?
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Best Australia female comedian?
Julia gillard, Tania plebesick, Sarah Hanson young would be contenders.
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maybe you should consider rephrasing that EG: like:
who are the best Australian comediennes?
Staying with “Is” could induce making Christmas Greetings to Mme Guillotine. (Sooner thee than me) 🙂
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el gordo
You might be suprised that it also includes a female shop assistant to whom I was talking yesterday.
Maybe there is a distinction between a country based shop assistant and a city one?
Can I claim my research grant now, please?
90
I nominate Melissa Price, that throw away line in a Canberra restaurant was priceless.
22
I don’t know of any best comediennes…I don’t watch them as most so-called comedians/comediennes are not only unfunny but often unpleasantly salacious or nasty.
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if you say comedienne … it isn’t sexist due to the French
40
Annie one simple observation, the bulk of traffic through here and WUWT are males. Do you think this is a coincidence?
21
That’s as maybe but there are women commenting here and I know others who don’t read or comment here but who definitely see through all the PC and AGW rubbish and they aren’t only family members. My carp is about your unwarranted generalisation.
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‘…your unwarranted generalisation.’
The gender gap is unequivocal and the science settled, women around the world are more concerned about climate change than men.
21
Generalization is always poor form. Men always generalize (just ask my wife)….
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An alliance of prominent Australians are joining forces to launch a centre-right political group to counter activist group GetUp. Advance Australia is expected to run its first major campaign against Labor’s planned to scrap imputation dividend credits in addition to advocating for Australia Day to remain unchanged. Speaking with The Australian former ABC chairman and advisory body Maurice Newman said the time had come for groups like GetUp to be challenged.
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Peter Helliar only gets laughs from leftists. He is about as funny as a fire in an orphanage.
30
El Gordo, I’d like to remind you of a Mark Twain quote:
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
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Note that overseas interests are involved. China? Please understand there is a deliberate effort to bring down the West both from within and from outside. Many years ago I believe Russia and China made a private agreement to defeat the West by white-anting methods given they couldn’t do it militarily. Proof of this has been revealed recently with Chinese and Russian hacking on a massive scale in the West. As odd as it sounds our only hope now to prevent us falling might come from Shorten when he becomes PM as he quickly realises what’s really happening. He could be our next Hawke/Howard. Otherwise, we can kiss goodbye to the Australia we know. It probably won’t matter either way in the long run once the US is in ruins but at least we might be able to postpone the crash and burn.
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Shorten and Turnbull are on the same side and same page
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They are the same…just differnt wrappers….both globalists….
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Perhaps but time will tell if Shorten has his “road to Damascus” moment and opens his eyes when he becomes PM. All I’m saying is he is actually our last hope. I won’t be holding my breath though.
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Sorry to disillusion you but Bill Shorten is arguably a greater danger to Australia than Malcolm Turnbull in politics and sovereignty terms.
Union Labor Inc., subsidiary brand ALP, corporate-style takeover completed circa 2000, will not allow their former union executive puppet to change in our best interests, we are the pawns.
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You know what you call a Communist in a suit?
A socialist…..
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How about confused?
20
Camoflage….
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As I posted later below it’s just wishful thinking at desperate times. If Shorten is the person we think he is and proceeds to enact his policies of destruction then we have no hope left and we will crash and burn in the long run in years to come. Other nations are already starting to fall apart thanks to their silly policies to raise taxes and other living expenses, such as carbon taxes and the like. In a deflationary environment such actions will only bring us closer to the destruction yet that are his policies. I was hoping for one more rally in the US stock market over the next year or two to keep us going so so for a while longer even if Shorten ends up being PM but it’s starting to look dangerous. It’s still possible this is just a correction and it will find a bottom soon. We will know soon enough though either way.
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PeterS:
The first problem is that we haven’t had a recession in Australia for 26 years, so nobody under, say 35, knows what its like so they believe that Shorten can supply lots of money.
The second problem is that, outside of the Pubic Service, ordinary Australians haven’t had much in the way of pay rises while government charges and electricity bill have increased, putting them under economic stress.
Couple the two and you can’t really blame young people hoping that “this time it will be different”.
It won’t of course, so with an economic slowdown in China and global cooling the result will be a depression in Australia. Current optimistic Labor politicians would be well advise to have Plan B (quick exit overseas) ready.
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Peter S ALL the hacking is from the CIA!
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GetUp Australia founded by AWU executive Bill Shorten, foreign donors include George Soros, the Spectator published this some time ago;
https://www.spectator.com.au/2016/10/the-lefts-foreign-donors/
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Update
“Clinton/Podesta linked Sunrise Project donates $500,000 to GetUp”
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/12/clintonpodesta-linked-sunrise-project-donates-500000-to-getup.html
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Check out their people.
30
Everything is done to ruin the world who today earns a good living thanks to machines. This is why the most deadly scams are being set up, such as the invasion of quiet countries by immigrants known at home for their daily crimes. Taxes everywhere. Energy impasses that are proven unproductive. It is the dictatorship that gets stronger, forces violence and incites war.
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I’ll wager that since its inception the dead-end “eco-protest” Green industry across the World has cost considerably more than the lost $91B and the rest to expedite.
The summative cost is the greatest betrayal of the future of humanity. For example, just consider the front and backend costs of eco-indoctrinated, screen addicted kids spouting eco-social-justice-nonsense as gospel, incapable of reasoned discourse, their safe-space near to hand.
It’s way understated. It’s an evolutionary dead end.
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There is you know.
It’s called socialism/Communism.
It’s the B grade economy.
And we know how that works.
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So? This is not about Socialism but Technocratic totalitarianism.
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That’d be the C grade economy then.
Just like the EU?
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James Delingpole: Gatwick Airport Drone Chaos – I’m Betting Eco Terrorism
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/20/delingpole-gatwick-airport-drone-chaos-im-betting-eco-terrorism/
> I’m thinking James might be on the money.
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There are companies that create helical antenna-based drone jamming systems. They look like futuristic computer game guns, but jam the 2.45 and 5 GHz command radio signals used to control drones, so the drones land in “safe” mode. Sometimes they will try and return to base, but if GPS is jammed as well they shoudl auto-land.
IMHO, they should just be taken out with a couple of air burst frag rounds with zero warning ( but you would get shrapnel on runways ) , so in a built up area around airports, jamming is the only real option…..
90
A couple of cops with Ithica Mag 10s would probably work as well,
53
I often wonder if there is a market for canon-launched small nets/wire that can be deployed mid air to tangle a drone prop and bring it down. Or maybe a portable CO2 laser?
The Ithicas would be way more fun though….
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“Want to hurt the competition? Send in climate protestors… $91 billion cost”
Greenpeace will give you a hand
“The Heartland Greenpeace Business Report”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/12/20/the-heartland-greenpeace-business-report/
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Does that make them mercinaries then?
20
Maybe those professional po-faced Greenpees* protesters shouted – as in financed – themselves a trip to Tanzania for Christmas to *fight* the imaginary CCC* monster: Mt Kilimanjaro, 21 Dec, “A heavy fall of snow… Fri morning.” Snowing for the next four (4) days right up till ‘festive season’ Eve – https://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Kilimanjaro/6day/mid
Situated just south of the equator on 3˚ S, it’ll technically be summer tomorrow, 22 December, and it’s snowing, barely hovering above freezing. Same for Peru & Chile and NZ’s summits – snow, baby, snow! Fighting CCC™ has always been mercenary.
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Too bad we can’t send all the climate protesters and the rest of the anti-coal pro-renewables protesters to China or Russia. They would deal with them appropriately. Come to think about it perhaps China and Russia are their masters and there is a grand plan to take over the West by white-anting our economies. If that’s the plan it’s working perfectly.
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PeterS and Another Ian, I see the green-hearted red-thumbing weather-phobes are out in force – shouldn’t they be out there fighting to ‘save the planet’ or sumpthink™? Sumpthink – scraping the bottom of the barrel while thinking it’s high-and-mighty.
11
Stop the presses, news flash from AEMC: “Most Australians can expect to see falling power prices over the next two years. The pressure is coming off prices because a huge pipeline of new renewable generation is coming into the market, and demand is relatively flat.” “The AEMC has launched a microsite so you can navigate our annual report on residential electricity price trends.”
Ready for the big news?
Overall, a representative consumer will be paying around $28 less than today by July 2020 with the national average representative bill falling from $1367 to $1338. That’s a whopping 2% reduction, not even noticeable in your regular bills. And less than the $50 some retailers will offer you to switch suppliers. Why, even the Victorian government gave me $50 simply for using their compare energy website (that offer closes Dec 31).
Further analysis required of their 128 page report.
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Pressure coming off power prices with such a tiny “saving”? That’s like saying the pressure has come off the nuclear explosion several seconds after detonation. Too bad the damage is already done. If they really mean to reduce prices to make a difference they need to come down at least 50%, not a miserable and insignificant 2%. We are surrounded by climate change fools, idiots, scum bags, traitors and terrorists, and their numbers are increasing. Crash and burn here we come.
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Voters, please apply your short memories to this saving on electricity announcement.
Please do not remember the time before renewable energy was conceived and unreliable win and solar promoted as the future.
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Rules for navigating government estimate figures
If costs assume at least the biggest figure given or most likely more
If benefits assume the least the least amount given or most likely less than that
Not a lot of fat in that $28 is there?
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The Green Blob is a political fantasy, driven by greed, power lust, taxation, obfuscation, willful ignorance, outright ideological lying propaganda. The $28 is likely not a savings, but rather another subsidy hidden in the rates. Cynical, yes.
Germany is finding out this charade is rather not what was initially hoped for. Oz will find out, as well.
https://www.iceagenow.info/germanys-green-transition-has-hit-a-brick-wall/
Excerpt:
“In practice, this means Germany can never shut down the conventional power plants, as planned. These power plants must be ready and able to meet the total power requirements at any time; without them, a stable network frequency is unobtainable. The same is true for French, Austrian and Polish power plants.
Furthermore, if the AC frequency is allowed to drift too high or too low, the risk of extensive blackouts becomes significant. That was clearly demonstrated by South Australia, which also relies heavily on solar and wind power, and suffered extensive blackouts that shut down factories and cost the state billions of dollars.
The dream of supplying Germany with mainly green energy from sunshine and wind turns out to be nothing but a fading illusion. Solar and wind power today covers only 27% of electricity consumption and only 5% of Germany’s total energy needs, while impairing reliability and raising electricity prices to among the highest in the world.”
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Who has received a price update from their retailer indicating a price reduction?
Intermittents are fickle and more of them means more load following gas instead of coal. Gas price 2019/20 futures are higher than now. Also more intermittent grid generators means more frequent curtailment meaning the owners will be looking for ways to maintain cash flow that is unrelated to volume like scamming LGC prices and actually actively bidding up prices when there is an opportunity.
Network owners got moderate price increases. Also there is a good chance the $1000M for the SA-NSW link will get approved requiring that to be paid off but may not hit until after 2019. Not sure how the cost of this will be spread over the regions but expect Victoria to cop a share because it connects some of the new subsidy farms in the northern part of the state.
More consumers are shifting to making their own electricity so there is a downward trend in demand; meaning costs spread across less energy sold. Modest falls in the last three years but rooftop solar is gaining momentum.with some 1.6GW capacity being installed in 2018. Victoria is now paying households to install rooftop with funds from general revenue so that is just tax money not showing up in electricity accounts of the financially challenged consumers.
Some coal plants and gas plants need to be kept connected and spinning to provide frequency stability. This service comes at a cost above the cost of generated power and is increasing as more intermittents are added.
The cost of RET scheme will depend on whether the RET is increased or not. If Electricity Bill gets power there will be a 50% RET and that will buoy LGC and STC prices. As it stands the market share must go up each year till 2030 so the volume of LGCs and STCs must increase but they are becoming oversupplied so prices will tank unless the RET provides the “certainty” to ensure Australian subsidy farming remains prosperous.
40
Please do not ignore this article, you need to know and consider what we can do about these traitors to our nation and manipulating foreigners;
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/12/clintonpodesta-linked-sunrise-project-donates-500000-to-getup.html
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If that’s not enough to convince people to place ALP, Greens and LNP at the bottom of the list when voting then nothing will and as a result we will get the government we deserve and so suffer the consequences. I’m now hoping that Shorten does a 180 and save us when he becomes PM but I doubt he will change. It’s just desperation and wishful thinking.
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Thanks for putting that up Dennis.
Extraordinary.
50
More evidence of the socialism and globalism being forced onto gullible Australians by the two party cooperative.
Our sovereign nation is being sold out by traitors.
Our Constitution is being bypassed because there is no real opposition.
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I think that this issue of foreign funding, or perhaps more appropriately, boomerang funding, is far more important an issue than the Trumpian Russian thing.
Money has been donated to overseas groups in the nominal purpose of doing good. Who besides Big Julie and JuliA have done this?
Is this legal?
60
All of our Foreign Affairs Ministers commencing with Alexander Downer I understand.
I suspect that it goes back much further, the plundering of wealthy Australia right under the closed eyes of its gullible citizens.
50
I have a vague recollection of two “donations” being in the order of $200 Million.
Then there’s the more localised $444 Million to the Great Big Barrier Reef Foundation.
How are these funds lawfully separated from the Australian taxpayers?
To add insult to injury we then have the serious possibility that portions of these donations make their way back into the arms of local political activists.
Incredible.
40
Curious….what sections of the constitution do you consider to have been “bypassed”??
41
Yeah, nobody has bypassed the Constitution, its intact. Our forefathers framed it with a strong emphasis on States Rights and they naturally made sure we got a Senate.
There is a concern that a Labor/Green alliance, with their propaganda wings, will put government beyond the reach of the Coalition. A one party cultural marxist state ready to be plucked by the neo fascists.
At least the trains will run on time.
21
eg, if anyone is working towards and going to put Govt beyond the reach of the Coalition…it the Coalition. 🙂
31
The singular over riding difference is climate change, it crosses old divides and has the potential to destroy democracy.
Once the people have accepted the ‘big lie’ we’ll cover the whole continent with wind farms and solar farms, bought in Beijing for a knock down price.
Imagine the political landscape a decade ahead, in order to save the planet, women and millennials have turned Australia into a one party state.
21
It may be of some comfort that the foreign funding of political agitators like GetUp may soon be strangled under the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2018 which has just been proclaimed.
In simplistic terms the Act prohibits foreign funding (donations over $100) of political activities. Its penalties seem pretty tame, but one clause did catch my eye:
Section 302F (5)(b) which refers to the civil penalty for the recipients of foreign donations — “if there is sufficient evidence for the court to determine the amount or value, or an estimate of the amount or value, of the gift at the time the gift is made—3 times that amount or value.” A fine of $1.5million would make them sit up and take notice.
This is purely speculative since a number of conditions would have to be met by the donor/donation/recipient before that fine would be imposed. A complicating factor is that although the Act has been proclaimed, some of its provisions don’t come into effect until next year, which could fall outside the net of the Act if the foreign donors are currently rushing through the funding to GetUp to beat the deadline.
Still, it’s a start.
50
Not only did the protesters scare away the banks from the Adani venture they have now scared away the insurance companies.
72
Ok this is weird but every time someone comments I get an email notification, and now the screen has shrunk to three quarters of a page .
Haven’t ticked the notification box and this new thread today even before I opened it is sending notifications.
Have cancelled notifications from this site in the email options but they’re still coming thru , possible virus maybe ?
30
🙁
20
Whatever was going on with the puter has just now fixed itself and back to a full screen .
20
Mine did it after that, then was ok and is now doing it again?!
31
After I posted above the screen shrunk again but emails have stopped thank god because there have been a lot of posts today .
10
Sino-hacking?
30
No, its the new Greens dude a couple of desks down having fun. 🙂
20
Yes, oil is renewable …
http://newandamazing.shadowsofadistantmoon.com/?p=689
40
Hazelwood power plant was approved and had coal to run til 2030.
Then came multiple rallies outside the plant and even sabotage inside.
All large companies are especially concerned with their public image,
and I think these protests are what caused the closure and higher electricity prices and cost to the economy.
120
And the politicians do nothing for the general population.
Seems that pandering to extremists gets them reelected.
90
Hazlewood remains the property of the people of Victoria and was leased to the operator for another couple of decades beyond the time of closure, after the brown coal price increase that made operating it unprofitable.
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I don’t think it was uneconomic, more like unrelenting green activism killed it.
.
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Jeff;
“has pushed for alternative baseload generation through: biomass energy, wave energy, geothermal energy, new combined cycle gas fired generation plants, new cogeneration facilities, or increased imports of baseload electricity from interstate.”
biomass energy = chop down forests.
Wave energy = money wasted.
Geothermal energy = money wasted (outside of NZ and Iceland but who wants to live on a tectonic fault zone?).
New combined cycle gas fired generation – as in Ireland where costs went up (disruptions by wind fluctuations) as did emissions or in Germany where 2 almost new CCGT plants were dismantled as uneconomic and shipped to countries not investing in renewables?
Increased imports of baseload electricity from Interstate – from SA??????
50
Personally i watched the riots in amsterdam 50 years ago from very nearby . It were between 10 and 20 activists who directed the mob whilst they had organized their internal communications with walky-talkies . Nowadays the iphones are making this easier . You are right it only takes a few leaders and an hysterical angry mob to disrupt our society .Except nowadays things are starting to work the other way around ,its the hardworking lowincome part of our economy plus the pensioned workers , a rapid growing part of our society that are forced to pay the price of this green idioacy . Once the situation becomes unbearable for these groups and western europe is not far away from this point it is a matter how fast new leadership will develop . You have noticed the green vests ? It will take only a few dedicated new leaders to ignite this powderkeg .
170
for the full GetUp article in The Australian, go to the following comment at Pickering Post (scroll down) and continue reading the text in the comments.
Ducktracy Fri 21 Dec 2018 07:34:22 am
The GetUp SetUp – Brad Norrington, The Australian
by Jim Ball | Dec 21, 2018
http://pickeringpost.com/story/farewell-my-old-friend/8722
60
The Greens are Marxists intent on bringing down Western democracies. It’s working well.
It also harbors anarchists who just want mayhem and no government.
Socialists as in Venezuela, a rich country where the people are starving.
Zimbabwe, the bread basket of Africa now the basket case of Africa after replacing a government with an absolute dictator. In the name of equality, pushed by the Commonwealth headed by our own socialist Malcolm Fraser.
It’s not so hard to wreck a country. Failures like Hitler utterly devastated many countries including his own but still found time as Chancellor to make sure he was exempt from income taxes on his book sales.
The motives behind these people are clear enough. Money and power and ruin, while they prosper.
Green MP Jeremy Buckingham quit on Thursday, promising to run on a “more genuine green platform” that would “challenge the NSW Greens’ Marxist agenda”.
What a surprise! Whatever the science free Greens believe, it has been a communist organization since the late 1980s. Like the Hitler youth, it is about deceiving the young, especially in GetUP. Amazingly, the most violent anarchists call themselves AntiFA when the black shirted masked Fascists were also socialists. It’s never been about the greater good.
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Although, unlike in much of the USA, we have no right to defend ourselves with lethal force, when push comes to shove, which it will…..
If something bad kicks off in the USA from the Left, the bulk of americans are armed, and I guarantee will destroy anyone dumb enough to bat for the Left, and will drive them into the sea ( figuratively speaking ).
Australians have been disarmed and the myth of “the police will protect you” embedded in most young peoples heads so they stupidly believe it. When mass eco-“brown shirt” typle violence kicks off, the cops cant be everywhere, so we’ll be on our own…..forewarned is …..
84
Australians have not been disarmed, we have the right to a gun licence and registered guns if we have a clean record, belong to a gun club and before purchasing our first weapon attend a handling safety course.
We have been banned from owning military grade weapons although WW1 and 2 bolt action .303 rifles can be owned and Vietnam War era SLR .762 rifles if we can show a need to own them.
There are still many guns in Australian civilian hands.
61
If potential future self defence is an issue for you obtain a licence and register a gun, unless you have the necessary skills as a marksman a shotgun would be the best choice, and go clay pigeon shooting for practise.
81
Thank you.
40
On an average day I can usually manage a 10 round 50mm grouping with open sights at 100m. Its not quite marksman, but consistent and stable..
10
This is just such a silly myth. If anything serious ever kicks off in the US it will be the Military gunning for RW terrorists that have pretty much been the terrorist issue in the US. When/if they come it will be with armor, choppers, and if the RWer’s dig in they will get introduced to the joys of receiving 30mm rounds from an Apache. All their stockpiling of ammo and more guns than they can ever use is pointless.
And in the meantime, US citizens endure a domestic casualty rate from random gun violence up there with the Vietnam war, and accept that their children will get periodically targeted in school. Flat out insanity driven by fearful under-endowed not very smart people.
45
Agreed, our cousins dug themselves into a deep hole at the time of America’s independence, enshrined in the Constitution. I can’t see anyway out of this madness.
51
eg, the heartbreaking crunch moment for me on US /Guns was Sandy Hook. If they couldn’t do anything after that, then i doubt they can ever. 🙁
31
America is a sad case as far as guns are concerned. So many cities have entrenched violence that it’s tempting to own a gun.
In Australia we are relatively lucky in that in most urban areas there is a police force available.
In the countryside I would almost certainly have a guns.
Some areas in Sydney and Melbourne don’t sound too safe.
All in all I dislike the idea of guns in a community. You only have to be aware of the aggressive way some people drive and extrapolate that to guns to start thinking that widespread ownership of guns could be disastrous.
KK
22
I have no issue with suitable people owning guns, the key being *suitable*.
If the US had internal strife, smart peoole would get out of cities fast, as undisciplined and foolish people might engage in a free for all, you wouldnt want to be close when law and order broke down.
One other problem would be if poluce were injured and thier firearms seized, it would allow weapons to fall into the wrong hands.
That said, there are many sane and thoughtful people who would band together to protect each other.
30
“…it will be the Military gunning for RW terrorists that have pretty much been the terrorist issue in the US. When/if they come it will be with armor, choppers, and if the RWer’s dig in they will get introduced to the joys of receiving 30mm rounds from an Apache.”
It should not surprise, in our ever more militarised surveillance states, that the neocons who have polluted conservatism came from the Left. In fact, despite the badging, they’re still of the Left. Big Green is the perfect excuse for war, debt and universal snooping and seat-sniffing.
As the hairy crowd said back in the 60s, why go right to the top when you can go left to the top?
40
You are the silly one. And then claiming that US gun owners are only “RW”!
Take my advice and stop claiming to “know” anything about this topic. Spend a month in any US mid-western town of 5000 population or less before you ever open your maw again.
40
I’ll remember to take body armor and a banjo. 🙂 XX
11
I’m reminded of that movie Inherit the Wind, which made the locals of the bible-believing southern town appear rude and intolerant. The film was supposed to be a fictionalisation of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, wherein Spencer Tracy plays the Clarence Darrow character, defender of evolution, free speech etc.
The movie was an even bigger fib than the actual Scopes Trial, which had been rigged by and for local businesses and the national media. Sadly, even Jennings Bryan was in on the scam, which was indeed a huge media success. It was such an outrageous scam that it gets mentioned less and less these days. (Also, the “science” book, with the creepy title Civic Biology, was a putrid mix of kinky eugenics and social fascism.)
The thing is, even Clarence Darrow couldn’t help but acknowledge that the townspeople of Dayton, Tennessee, had been exquisitely courteous, open and hospitable toward him during the whole “trial”. And I’m sure, despite countless movies about surly and violent hicks in fly-over country, if I went to a small town in the mid-west I’d encounter mostly just generosity and courtesy.
Educated people who live in inner-cities and wear scarves in summer are sometimes too willing to judge rural people on 1970s truck chase movies.
60
The only real terrorists in the USA at the moment are the far-left Antifa facists.
Are you perhaps a member, phloop, or just wish you were?
30
Venezuela banned the sale of guns to private citizens in 2012 …thanks Hugo Chávez.
I believe license holders lost their ability to purchase or keep weapons.
…of course it was to control crime rates.
except now there’s the criminals, plus the new criminals that retained illegal weapons … and the govt
101
I think we’ve been down this road once or twice before and you will never convince me that Howard didn’t sell out licenced law abiding owners .
It’s military style not military grade that are banned , military style is ambiguous and deceiving and bans single shot rifles that look or may look like a military rifle , which is subjective .
All semi automatic guns were targeted but some concessions were made , the list of requirements for owning such a firearm are out of reach and unobtainable to all but a few .
When rushing the legislation through they overlooked lever actioned firearms hence the controversy about the Adler shotgun .
62
NO The Greens are
MarxistsFacists. Brown shirts. Happy to have ‘deniers’ caught by the SS.41
Greenshirts ?
30
When pink Labor aligns with Green sentiment we get this light brown slime which covers everything. Brown shirt is more appropriate because the green environment movement has been hijacked by the radical left.
20
So the madness of the Greens is that France was forced to go to diesel cars. Now they are fined for driving them into cities and punished with a 25% rise every year for buying diesel. Diesel is no longer green in Europe but still reigns supreme in Australia. Porsche are ceasing their diesel production.
Even when you look at CO2 output, it is lower per kwhr for petrol than diesel! Still the bush bashing Greens can drive further on denser diesel, but generate more pollution than petrol.
Sure diesel is lower by 25% than brown coal, but we have acid rain back again in cities, eating our lungs and buildings and actually acidifying the rain and rivers. Not this nonsense of a Ph of 7.7 being proof of acidification when it is not acidic at all but basic.
Specific Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Various Fuels
Fuel Emissions in kgCO2 / kWh Emissions in kgCO2 / GJ
Wood *) 0.39 109.6
Peat 0.38 106.0
Lignite 0.36 101.2
… Lusatia 0.41 113.0
… Central 0.37 104.0
… Rhineland 0.41 114.0
Hard coal 0.34 94.6
Fuel oil 0.28 77.4
Diesel 0.27 74.1
Crude oil 0.26 73.3
Kerosene 0.26 71.5
Gasoline 0.25 69.3
Refinery gas 0.24 66.7
LP gas 0.23 63.1
Natural gas 0.20 56.1
Madness, your name is Green. Now Tasmania, the South Australian government run on rented diesel engines which run in turn on imported diesel fuel. Why? All to keep coal in the ground? All we can see is that Australia is being crippled. Even our current and new submarines now run on imported seaborne diesel and Germany relies totally on Russian gas. Whose side are the Greens on? Silly question.
170
If you read the green manifesto, maybe 25% of it is green related..the rest frankly makes me ill reading it….
90
I’m just so glad that I don’t live in Victoria or South Australia.
70
Former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown commented recently that the Greens are now on his left and not on his side.
50
It would also be interesting to get a CO2 emission estimate for a full kWh equivalent with construction /demolition /replacement and diesel backup for the renewables: wind and solar.
I suspect that the result would be very illuminating for everyone and a bit of a shock to the “green” ecoparadigm.
For an added sting in the tail it would also be useful to have the CO2 cost of the renewable energy subsidies per kWh.
KK
90
The linked paper gives data on solar to supply the NEM:
https://bravenewclimate.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/peter-lang-solar-realities.pdf
There is no single answer to the question because it depends on the location. Australia is possibly the best continent to implement solar. Making use of the Sahara to supply Southern Africa and Europe might produce better numbers than Australia. Some regions like California and Nevada in America also produce better numbers than say the UK and all of Europe.
Also there is a fundamental error in your question as the term “renewable” is a misnomer when referring to ambient intermittent generators. I understand what you mean by the term because it is in common use but I strongly discourage the term as it implies something that wind and solar generators are not.
20
The real reason for replacing a national car fleet is the conjuring of new money and enough sub-prime debt to absorb it. It worked for Barry, Detroit (icons only) and Wall Street after 2008, and the switch to “green” diesel in Europe sold a lot of Peugeots and VWs after the GFC.
With real estate tanking again, get ready for the lithium car boom and cash-for-diesel-clunkers. Then get ready for cash-for-lithium-clunkers in about ten years time…unless the world should grow tired of feeding the sharks.
40
followup to a story I posted about during the week, involving German Green Party’s Heinrich Böll Foundation & a group of 90 “journalists”. this piece shows just how organised CAGW “journalism” is – read it all:
16 Dec: Pakistan Today: APP: German envoy asks media to give better coverage to climate change
The event was organised to acknowledge the contributions of the cohort of Journalists on environment established by HBS (Heinrich Böll Stiftung) in 2015 titled, “Journalists on Climate Change and Resource Equity” in order to mainstream the subject of the environment including climate change and natural resource equity in media reporting.
After four years of successful engagement with the journalists, HBS celebrated and formalised this media association. Most recently, reporters carried out field visits in Khanpur, Quetta, Gilgit, Thar coal power project and Hunza partnering with organisations working on environment and sustainability.
After community visits and immersive talks, journalists reported on several issues…READ ALL
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/12/16/german-envoy-hails-work-of-environmental-journalist/
30
am sure the journalists weren’t taken to:
22 Nov: Dunya Pakistan: Punjab govt to conduct forensic audit of Qauid-e-Azam Solar Park project
LAHORE – Punjab government on Wednesday decided to conduct forensic audit of Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Project.
Sources privy to Punjab government told our correspondent that Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Project had inflicted mammoth loss on the national exchequer.
It would be suffice here to say that analysts have raised objections over cost of the project and electricity being produced in the solar park…READ ALL
https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/467381-Punjab-govt-to-conduct-forensic-audit-of-Qauid-e-Azam-Solar-Park-project
Wikipedia: The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park
It is 100 MW solar powered plant spanning 500 acres (200 ha) and hosting 392,158 solar modules. The project was constructed by Government of Punjab, Pakistan in May 2015 with the cost of $131 Million…
Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park was unable to produce affordable energy and expected output , due to several reasons..
1.Bahawalpur is desert terrain , having high dust count, therefore , the efficiency of panels were reduced by 40%. It required 30 people to clean panels with 15 days to restore the panels back to their full capacity, which reduced production of installed 100MW plant to below 18 MW…
2.It required one litre of water to clean, each of 400,000 installed panels. A total 15 days cleaning cycle required, 124 million litres of water enough to sustain 9000 people, while rain in Cholistan desert is rare and far between…
Probe of misappropriation/corruption…READ ON
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaid-e-Azam_Solar_Park
80
The greatest opportunity costs have been through the subsidy and deployment of “renewable” electricity generation. Not only do they siphon investment funding away from new dispatchable thermal generators but they undermine the economics of the existing ones driving some out of the market and making the remainder “more expensive” PLUS they reduce the reliability of the grid due to reduced synchronous inertia and intermittent production.
And the protestors want more of the damned things.
100
But can the protestors work out change when handed cash?
30
The public keep being bombarded with propaganda about reduction in emissions. As if somehow the objective of the RET and imposing the world’s highest energy costs on us is to reduce emissions, when the real objective is supposed to be to ameliorate global warming and the extent of climate change.
To what extent has the billions we have spent so far, and the financial pain and economic loss we have all suffered so far, succeeded in its objectives? What effect have we had on average world temperatures? Sea levels? Or any other claimed effect of global warming or climate change? There are formulae for calculating the effect on temperature, let’s do the calculations and share the results. Otherwise how is the public ever going to have an appreciation of the costs vs benefits?
30
That is all true Unique but the people have been brainwashed into believing the world is coming to an end, which tends to dominate public debate.
If only we could get the ABC newsroom to present balance on the subject, then obviously the AGW fraternity would go down for the count.
10
Git yer daily dose of proppygandee here folks…..unicorns and rainbows newly stocked….git ’em while they last!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-21/power-prices-to-drop-with-more-renewables-report-finds/10638102
“Renewables set to drive down power prices, new AEMC analysis shows
A flood of new renewable energy projects is likely to drive down household electricity bills, according to new analysis by government policy adviser the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC).
Key points:
* Wholesale cost of power going down as more renewable supply enters market
* Biggest reductions will be in South Australia, Queensland and Victoria
* Longer-term future of power prices less clear
“On a national basis, household bills are set to fall by 2.1 per cent — but price falls in the eastern states and South Australia are offset by increases in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT.
“The price reductions will go some way to reversing big power bill hikes driven by increased cost and market volatility driven by the retirement of two brown coal power stations — Northern at Port Augusta in SA, and Hazelwood in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
“In its annual snapshot of household bill predictions called Price Trends, the AEMC said bill reductions were primarily driven by the reduction of wholesale costs for power generated in south-east Queensland, Victoria, SA and Tasmania.”
………
“Sting in renewable tail
While the AEMC report finds significant development of new wind and solar photovoltaic generation is expected to put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices in the short-term, the longer-term price benefits of the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target are less clear.”
“The report points out the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) provides financial incentives for increased quantities of renewable generation to enter the market even when demand is flat or falling.”
“But according to the AEMC, many of these generators are not suitable to offer the type of hedging contracts that power companies use to mitigate financial risk.
“The technical characteristics of intermittent generation are also not suited to offering the type of hedging contracts that thermal generators can offer,” the report said.”
“The reduction is driven by the estimated entry of 9,732 megawatts of accredited, committed or expected new generation and battery storage,” the report found.”
40
OriginalSteve –
ABC unquestioningly reports such nonsense, but still hasn’t reported the explosive RE solar audit, which is of huge public interest.
same with Guardian – nothing on the solar audit from them, but (no need to read):
Electricity prices forecast to fall 2.1% in two years due to wind and solar
In-Depth-The Guardian-7 hours ago
even the Herald Sun has no scepticism in their headline:
Renewable energy generation to drive down electricity prices
Herald Sun-11 hours ago
DON’T KNOW WHERE THIS PIECE GOES, AS IT’S BEHIND PAYWALL:
Green power to give a sugar hit to bills
The Australian-11 hours ago
Large-scale renewable power schemes will deliver short-term … about the long-term consequences of bringing new renewables into the …
40
Let’s understand AEMC’s logic – more intermittents in the market mean more competitive bidding to supply electricity every 30 minutes, so there will be more low bidders as wind generators either use it or lose it. But the price is set by the highest bidder selected to supply power in that interval. Therefore if I own a coal or gas generator, my utilisation is going to drop unless somebody quits the market, and the only way I can continue to get a return on my investment is to bid higher. That’s why you regularly see peak prices hit $200-300/MWhr versus the average of $90/MWhr. But the wizards at AEMC have factored all that into their computer models and concluded that by 2021 the average consumer will save $29 annually from a bill of $1384.
But note AEMC’s sting in the tail: “This report does not provide, and should not be regarded as providing,forecasts of future prices. Actual price movements will be influenced by how retailers compete, the dynamics of the wholesale spot and contract markets, the outcome of network regulatory decisions, and changes in policy and legislation. Over time, to the extent to which the LRET contributes to the exit of thermal generation but does not incentivise investment in firming technologies, it may result in a tighter supply-demand balance and lead to higher wholesale prices.” WHAT??
The appendix to their report contains details of current usage in kWhr/year and annual $ cost excl GST that makes for interesting comparisons:
Aus 4596 kWhr $1384 (30.1 cents/kWhr) saving $29 by 2021
Qld 5240 kWhr $1476 (28.2 cents) saving in 2021 $177
NSW 4215 kWhr $1290 (30.6 cents) saving $23
ACT 7151 kWhr $1693 (23.7 cents – very high usage, low network costs) increase $111
Vic 3865 kWhr $1132 (29.3 cents) saving $61
SA 5000 kWhr $1889 (37.8 cents) saving $155
Tas 7908 kWhr $1868 (23.6 cents) saving $1
WA 5198 kWhr $1573 (30.3 cents) increase $265
NT 6613 kWhr $1711 (25.9 cents) increase $66
And the loser is: Windy/Gassy SA – I wonder why.
40
Since we are talking about large costs, I got to thinking what would a battery capable of supplying Australia’s power demand for just one day cost.
My musings led to this.
How big will the batteries need to be if Australia ever goes to “100%” renewable energy? Assuming that repetitive blackouts are not acceptable, would one day’s storage be enough? Probably not, since those continent-wide blocking highs often last for days on end, during which little wind power would be produced.
A report by the US EIA (May 2018) showed the average cost of large scale, long duration output batteries at $US400 ($A 550) per Kw h stored. On this basis the cost for one day battery storage to cover Australian demand of 30000MW would be an absurdly high $396 billion. Lithium ion batteries have come down 80% in recent years and no doubt there will be further cost reductions. A further 50% reduction would reduce the above total to around $200 billion, still absurdly high. This amount would pay for enough HELE coal fired stations to meet all of Australia’s demand with about $50 billion left over.
A passing comment; a single days storage for Australia’s demand is equal to 0.072 Twh. More conservative estimators than me believe that up to 1.0 Twh of storage would be required to avoid blackouts, assuming of course that no spinning reserve of fossil fuel stations is permitted.
The cost of a significant amount of backup battery storage is likely to remain at very high levels and whatever the amount installed, batteries do not generate power they only release power stored in them. When the batteries are flat and renewable s are still affected by low sun/wind conditions, there will remain a need for reliable dispatch-able power (and lots of it)., which can only come from hydro fossil or nuclear power.
I don’t think information like this is enough to convince our pollies. It really seems to me to be a case of how do we save a great country like ours from a bunch of virtue signalling politicians playing at being engineers!
90
If that is true they will have reached the point of diminished returns. Bought a 12V lead/acid battery lately? They are made in their billions and have been for over 100 years and still aren’t cheap. They are a commodity and as such there is little economy of scale.
60
“Lithium ion batteries have come down 80% in recent years and no doubt there will be further cost reductions. ” Possibly, but Tesla recently INCREASED the price of its Powerwall 2 by 22-23% because of the jump in lithium costs (something about demand exceeding supply). Also the recent increase in Cobalt prices.
The myth that batteries prices will drop is based on the misunderstanding that a battery is a chemical reaction not an electronic one. Yes, electronics got cheaper as they got smaller but batteries don’t have that option.
30
Lithium batteries have been going up in price in AUD terms in the last 5 years. Battery price reduction will only be realised when demand dries up. That will not be any time soon. Current installed price is 10 times the estimate CSIRO used in their electricity Road Map. It is all fantasy with no understanding of supply chains and battery technology. They are using the same scaling rules of thumb used for computer power and prices for batteries without recognising the theoretical limits. Teslas cells are already up near 80% of the theoretical limit.
Solar on mainland Australia with an overbuild of about 4 times to give a working capacity factor of 5% will get away with 48 hours storage. Wind is much more fickle and can go missing for up to 10 days so needs a lot more storage. There may be a more economic combination of wind and solar but the 48 hours storage is a bare minimum and will not guarantee 100% available supply without some reliable generation from hydro or carbon based fuel.
All the calculations done by the grid operator and their consultants on intermittents make flawed assumption that there will be no need to overbuild intermittent generation because geographic diversity will smooth it all out. Does not work in Germany and will not work in Australia.
50
RickWill:
There have been several studies on euanmeans about European wind electricity which show that “the wind is always blowing somewhere” is garbage.
50
Mark M comment #5 posted Delingpole’s guess that the ECO mob might be behind the Gatwick drones incident.
20 Dec: UK Mirror: Gatwick Airport closed: Is “lone wolf” eco-warrior behind drone chaos?
Whitehall sources said police were investigating the possibility of a “lone wolf” eco-terrorist being behind the drone activity which is ruining Christmas travel plans for thousands
by Abigail O’Leary
A source said: “An eco-terrorist is at this stage a definite line of enquiry.”
Environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, who have recently held large scale protests in London, were forced to quash rumours they were involved in the drone activity.
They tweeted: “Extinction Rebellion is not involved with the drones at Gatwick Airport…
Gatwick has told passengers not to travel to the airport “for the foreseeable future”.
The runway was closed at 9pm last night and it briefly reopened at about 3am today until the drones were spotted again…
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/gatwick-airport-closed-lone-wolf-13761415
behind paywall:
21 Dec: UK Times: Gatwick chaos: Eco-warriors may be behind disruption
by David Brown, Will Humphries, Fiona Hamilton
Environmental activists are among the potential suspects being investigated by police hunting the operators of drones that halted flights at Gatwick.
The most high-profile direct action group at present is Extinction Rebellion, which was launched in October with the support of 100 academics, including Dr Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
Dozens of Extinction Rebellion protesters last month disrupted traffic and staged protests outside government buildings in central London. More than 60 arrests were made for acts of civil disobedience…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gatwick-chaos-eco-warriors-may-be-behind-disruption-dfwdzdkwh
40
They have high tech jammers and mm radar to detect small things on a runway, finding a drone on the air and dealing with it is pretty easy.
That said, I winder if this is a deluberate set up, to allow passing laws to control drones very tightly…..
I guess watch and see…
30
the “OPEN” University wants to shut down non-existent BBC “objectivity”:
21 Dec: Guardian Letter: Time to end ‘debate’ on climate change
David Humphreys says the BBC should abandon its ‘illusion of impartiality’ about climate change
(David Humphreys, Professor of environmental policy, The Open University)
The call from Extinction Rebellion for the BBC to make global warming its top editorial priority should be welcomed…
The BBC is journalistically objective when reporting global warming. If a scientist or activist talks on air about the human causes of climate change then someone else, often from one of the denial groups funded by the fossil fuel lobby, is usually invited to provide a “counterargument” (for example, that recent warming is caused by “natural” factors). This leaves many viewers with the erroneous impression that a genuine scientific is debate taking place and weakens social support for strong measures to address climate change, which is precisely what the organised denial lobby wants…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/20/time-to-end-debate-on-climate-change
21 Dec: Herald Scotland: Hardline climate change activists to march on BBC Scotland
By Community contributor
Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion are planning a major demonstration at the broadcaster’s Pacific Quay HQ and those taking part are being encouraged to bring items that will make a loud noise…
The protesters are targeting the BBC for the way they think it reports – or doesn’t – on the ‘climate emergency’ and is demanding the corporation divests its pensions fund investments in BP and Barclays Bank into renewable energy firms instead…
Demonstrations are also scheduled to take place at the same time at BBC headquarters in London, Salford, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Birmingham…
Donnachadh McCarthy of Extinction Rebellion and the Climate Media Coalition, said: “We know there are many good people in the BBC. This is not about shaming people but it is now beyond time to ensure the entire organisation puts tackling the threat of human and natural extinction at the heart of the BBC’s programming.
“The level of unprecedented societal change required to avoid the worst consequences of climate breakdown, means the BBC has to go far beyond even that of the public service role the BBC played during WW2.”…
The campaign was launched earlier this year by Rising Up, a network of activists including former members of groups ranging from Earth First! environmentalists to the anti-corporate Occupy movement formed during the global financial crisis…
The rapid spread of the movement, which consisted of 10 people in the UK six months ago, comes amid rising frustration with policymakers who are failing to slow perilous levels of global warming and biodiversity loss…
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17312018.hardline-climate-change-activists-to-march-on-bbc-scotland/
19 Dec: Bristol Post: Climate change Extinction Rebellion activists to target BBC in Bristol with ‘crazy-loudness’ protest
Six days after a ‘die-in’ (ANOTHER EXTINCTION REBELLION STUNT) brought Cabot Circus to a standstill
30
[…] Feature. Jo Nova, Send in the Green terrorists. […]
10
20 Dec: Radio NZ: Five arrests at water protest
by Dan Dalgety
The police broke up a protest over water outside the Canterbury Regional Council in central Christchurch today.
Five people were arrested for disorderly behaviour by 10 police officers, after they refused to move off two water mains in Tuam Street.
The group, the Extinction Rebellion Otautahi, was made up of about 20 protesters and switched off the primary and back-up mains, which provide water to the regional council.
A spokesperson Rowan Brooks said they were unhappy with how the council had been monitoring and looking after the region’s water…READ ON
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/378755/five-arrests-at-water-protest
READ ALL:
16 Dec: The Intercept: The Extinction Rebellion’s Direct-Action Climate Activism Comes to New York
by Sharon Lerner
The New York chapter of Extinction Rebellion held its first planning meeting on Thursday. Incensed and terrified by the accelerating climate crisis, activists gathered in Manhattan to discuss how they might replicate some of the successes the direct-action group has had in the United Kingdom.
In London, less than a month after Extinction Rebellion activists blocked roads, occupied bridges, lay down in the street and got arrested to draw immediate attention to the climate crisis, Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a climate emergency, vowing to do “everything in our power to mitigate the risk” of climate catastrophe. Coincidence? Greg Schwedock doesn’t think so.
“That was unthinkable before the Extinction Rebellion,” Schwedock told a standing room-only crowd gathered in a Manhattan co-working space on Thursday night. Dressed in office gear and “Rise and Resist” sweatshirts, accompanied by their children and at least one dog, the attendees came together with the hope that a New York chapter of the group might have similar success in sparking a response commensurate with the dire crisis…
CHECK THE SLEEPING/STANDING ACTIVIST ON THE LEFT OF THE PHOTO: Greg Schwedock speaks during an Extinction Rebellion planning meeting in New York City on Dec. 13, 2018.
https://theintercept.com/2018/12/15/extinction-rebellion-nyc-climate-activism/
21 Nov: UK Spectator: Extinction Rebellion is a wannabe Marxist revolution in disguise
by Ross Clark
But Extinction Rebellion seems to have a parent organisation called Rising Up, which has helpfully published an online draft manifesto. These are some of the highlights…
https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/11/extinction-rebellion-is-a-wannabe-marxist-revolution-in-disguise/
20
the NY Extinction Rebellion speaker is with The Climate Mobilization. how many billions of dollars of free publicity do these CAGW protest groups get?
21 Aug: HuffPo: New York City Just Took Historic Step Toward Cutting Its Top Source Of Climate Pollution
Legislation announced Monday focuses on big buildings, and it could set a new standard for cities around the world.
By Alexander C. Kaufman
“I’m glad to see it pass … but we need to advance our targets in alignment with the emergency nature of the crisis,” said Gregory Schwedock, an activist with the Climate Mobilization, a grassroots group calling for World War II-levels of government spending to dramatically scale down emissions and create good-paying federal jobs…
https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/nyc-carbon-footprint_us_5b7a338ee4b018b93e952f64
Wikipedia: The Climate Mobilization
The Climate Mobilization (TCM) is a grassroots environmental advocacy group working toward large-scale political action against global warming, with the belief that the crisis of climate change requires a national economic effort on the scale of the American mobilization of the home front during World War II.
It was founded by psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon to confront climate change denial[2] and build the political will necessary to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and 100% clean energy within a decade in order to avoid crossing potentially catastrophic climate tipping points and begin restoring a safe climate…
In July 2016, the national platform committee of the Democratic Party of the United States approved an amendment submitted by Climate Mobilization activist Russell Greene committing the party to a World War II-scale international mobilization against climate change…READ ON
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Climate_Mobilization
10
Once you make it a war, you can invoke draconian war-time powers. That might be where this is headed…including incarceration of denier “enemy combatants”?
20
as for the protests against BBC – they are darlings of the Beeb, who has the following up on multiple pages:
video says group claims to be “holocractic” and decentralised (like GetUp? as described in The Australian today?):
VIDEO: 2min21sec: 20 Dec: BBC: Extinction Rebellion: The story behind the activist group
The campaign was launched earlier this year by Rising Up, a network of activists including former members of groups ranging from Earth First! environmentalists to the anti-corporate Occupy movement formed during the global financial crisis…
Despite criticism from some that their demands are unrealistic and their methods annoying, support has grown, with 100 academics – including the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams – giving their backing.
So what’s the movement all about?
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-46626582/extinction-rebellion-the-story-behind-the-activist-group
4 Dec: Facebook: Extinction Rebellion (XR): XR ON THE BBC LAST NIGHT: One of our spokespeople (CLARE FARRELL) was interviewed yesterday morning to discuss David Attenborough’s speech, coal mining, and the why of Extinction Rebellion
VIDEO: 3min53sec
(COUPLE OF COMMENTS SUGGEST ACTUAL INTERVIEW WAS LONGER)
https://www.facebook.com/ExtinctionRebellion/posts/308496346433147
20
Jo has been keeping this a secret! She must have been very busy on her recent trip to Germany, Scandinavia and England
Just released; a new podcast by Delingpole featuring the great JoNova, the best Climate Blogger in Australia and One of the Best in the World.
https://www.breitbart.com/podcasts/james-delingpole/
I don’t have time to listen to it now but I will download to my I-pad and listen on my next car drive.
81
Peter C,
It seems you’ve attracted a red thumb.
Presumably, because you have delayed listening to our amazing hostess until such time as you use your MPD (Mobile Pollution Device).
🙂
50
Thanks PeterC…I’ve listened to it while doing my pile of ironing. That’s a wonderful interview Jo. 🙂 🙂 🙂
20
On a side note..the NSW Liberal party has now a new platform for energy.
100% renewables/zero carbon by 2050.
The minster said words to the effect of “we gotta do somefink”
Now they are marching in lockstep with labour and the greens…
I wish this was a parody but I cant make this stuff up..
They will be gone in the next election..whats the point of voting for such clowns..
70
The LNP (state & federal) base has fractured as the Photios team jockey to bring down true conservatives in the LNP.It’s deliberate by the bed wetter LNP power brokers. No wonder the base has decided to vote elsewhere. The LNP has moved left to butt up against the way left Labor party and far left greens. LNP voters will vote for anyone resembling a conservative or right of centre. Why would an self respecting LNP voter, actually vote for them now?
10
Jo, the word you were looking for is spelt “nobble”. I’d have preferred “gnobble” if you insist on prepending a silent consonant.
40
Nope.
Both are correct.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/knobble
20
Or not.
Depending on the knob to whom one’s referring.
00
Nope, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/nobble?s=t has the intended meaning (and there is no alternative spelling on offer).
20
I concede.
You’re correct.
10
When the competition bites back
“Texas City Featured In Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Sequel’ Lost Millions In Its Green Energy Gamble, Plus reality denial from the BBC”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/12/21/texas-city-featured-in-al-gores-inconvenient-sequel-lost-millions-in-its-green-energy-gamble/
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a spelling correction. I typed holocratic wrongly in comment #25.
anorher energy company about to bite the dust?
20 Dec: UK Times: Regulator investigates accuracy of energy firm’s financial statements
by Emily Gosden
A small business energy supplier is under investigation by financial regulators over the accuracy of its disclosures before the surprise announcement of a £10 million hole in its profit forecasts.
Yu Group said the Financial Conduct Authority intended to “review the accuracy” of its announcements between March 6, the date of its last annual results, and October 24, when its shares plunged by 80 per cent on the profit warning.
Shares in the company, which is listed on London’s Aim market, fell by a further 27 per cent yesterday to close at 78½p, down from 580p the day before the October announcement.
Yu Group, which trades as Yu Energy, was founded in 2012 and listed in 2016. The Nottingham-based company supplies about 10,000 small and…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/regulator-investigates-accuracy-of-energy-firm-s-financial-statements-8kjdc0cgb
followup:
21 Dec: UK Times: Energy firm warns of bigger loss
The troubled energy supplier at the centre of an accounting scandal has warned that losses will be even deeper than feared, after a review that uncovered “serious historic failures” in its finance function…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/energy-firm-warns-of-bigger-loss-m6mmmbwbx
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read for the bits about the failure of the transmission cable to solve the problem:
20 Dec: Scotsman: Scottish wind farm paid £96m to switch off
by Ilona Amos
A new monthly record was set in September this year, when £28,434,560 was paid out by National Grid to stop electricity generation. Most cash was paid to Scottish wind farms, with some earning more than £1m a month for not supplying power…
Whitelee and its extension on the outskirts of Glasgow, the biggest onshore wind farm in the UK, has received almost a fifth of the entire pot since 2010, with payments totalling more than £96m to date…
Meanwhile, the 350MW Clyde scheme, near Abington in South Lanarkshire, has raked in more than £64m and the Griffin, near Aberfeldy in Perthshire, nearly £32m.
***The amount paid out has been rising annually, despite a new transmission cable to export power from Scotland south of the Border…
The fees, known as constraint payments, are paid for by households across the UK…
Anti-wind campaigners say spending on constraints has got “completely out of control”, and described expansion of the industry as “reckless”…
“Industry also has the wind costs on their energy bills and they add that on to the goods and services they sell us.”… READ ALL
https://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/scottish-wind-farm-paid-96m-to-switch-off-1-4846602
Scotsman gets a RE advocate to try to explain this nonsense to the readers:
20 Dec: Scotsman: Why wind farms are paid not to supply electricity
by Hannah Smith
Hannah Smith, (senior policy manager) of Scottish Renewables, explains why wind farms – and other energy generators – receive compensation when the National Grid cannot transmit the electricity they produce.
Demand for electricity from consumers isn’t constant, and neither is supply from variable sources like wind power, hydro or solar, or indeed from traditional power stations, which can suffer sudden breakdowns or require maintenance
The average UK fossil-fuel power station is more than 30 years old. We need to replace these plants for two reasons: to ensure we have enough electricity in future and to reduce the carbon emissions which are causing climate change…
Our electricity transmission system was built more than half a century ago, so requires upgrades in order to cope with new ways of generating and using power ETC ETC…
In future, smart systems will help balance any mismatch in supply and demand, for instance by making better use of existing overhead lines rather than installing new ones, or ensuring electric vehicles charge during when demand is low or electricity plentiful. Scotland is playing a leading role in the development of these systems, but we’re still at the very start of seeing them make an impact on the energy system – an impact which will help us use more of the clean power generated by renewables, saving money for consumers.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/why-wind-farms-are-paid-not-to-supply-electricity-hannah-smith-1-4846513
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Gee Hanna, how to respond with-out actually giving an explanation. Your reply spells out why the extra capacity is there and probably why you need yet more wind farms, but not why users have to pay for the over-supply. Now that would make interesting reading!
11
David Wallace-Wells of NY Mag’s “The Uninhabitable Earth” fame, is at it again. these excerpts barely hint at how mad this piece is:
20 Dec: New York Mag: Life after warming: Parenting the Climate Change Generation
By David Wallace-Wells
Over the last year or two, the question I’ve been asked more than any other by people who know I write about warming concerns kids: whether it’s moral to reproduce in this climate; whether it’s responsible to have children; whether it is fair to the planet or, perhaps more important, to the children…
Others wrestle with different questions — not whether to have children in a time of global warming but how to talk to them about it. One climate writer I know has, in the last few years, taken his teenage children to see the Great Barrier Reef, which was once a natural wonder of the world, with the complexity of a great city, and which is now inarguably dying, and Glacier National Park, so named because it once held 150 glaciers; today all but 26 have melted. It’s a beautiful gesture, almost mythological — a parent giving a simultaneous tour of the past and the future to his children. But there are also those parents I know who wonder whether it would be better to spare their children memories like that, memories that will be carried forward for many decades as reminders of what has been lost — or, rather, destroyed…
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/parenting-children-generation-of-climate-change.html
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seems the Sydney hail coverage by FakeNewsMSM was way over the top:
did a little search at Trove on “hail the size of”
Showing: 1 – 20 of 431,979
TERRIFIC STORMS. HAIL THE SIZE OF TEACUPS. EXTENSEVE DAMAGE IN WEST MORETON DISTRICT. Warwick Daily News Saturday 25 February 1922
A SEVERE STORM CROPS SUFFER DAMAGE HAIL THE SIZE OF CRICKET BALLS Daily Examiner Saturday 31 October 1931
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?q=hail+the+size+of
“tennis balls” had nearly 60,000 results:
Trove: hail the size of tennis balls
Showing:1 – 20 of 59,795
the following only made page 6 of The West:
Jan 2 1947: Havoc in Sydey: Hundreds injured by hail
Hundreds of persons were injured when enormous hailstones, many bigger than cricket balls, fell with terrific force. Many persons were hit and others were cut by flying glass or bruised by tiles ripped from roofs…
Sporting Events Abandoned.
Never before has Sydney been struck by a hailstorm of such force.
The hail was, described as the biggest ever seen. It was terrifying.
Widespread damage was caused. Tens of thousands of windows of homes, flats
and shops were smashed and other destruction was caused to planes, cars and gardens…
50
just adding – clearly, not all results relate to Australia, but the vast majority apparently do.
20
With that level of economic damage to businesses and governments (taxation) you’ve got to wonder when they will fight back and sue the pants off activists like 350.org. Seems only reasonable. The damages bill would be way in excess of the $92B.
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