isyulli: pollution

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Sabtu, 09 April 2011

Australian Will Have a Higher Cost Of Living With a Carbon Tax

What has happened to Australian society that the support for a carbon tax, so high when Kevin Rudd was in charge, has vanished? It seems everyone thought that a tax on pollution wouldn't really mean a financial burden. With the sudden hits from water and electricity price increases they know that it will cost - a lot. Kevin is crying into his handkerchief saying they made me do it - his cabinet told him to give up his push for a carbon tax, so he says. Julia Gillard has apparently had a change of heart and it is now her baby.

Australians will have to accept that they will get less for their money in the near future. All countries will have to join the carbon club eventually. Not using as much petrol is a possibility, but doing without air conditioning particularly the wealthy that will be difficult. It seems the pillars of capitalism will be challenged. This is the kind of post-capitalism that twenty years ago hardly anyone would imagine. A society that really cares for the environment? That is something new. We have spent two centuries running rough-shod over the countryside, dumping pollutants everywhere. The time has arrived to get out the shovel and broom and start cleaning up.

Lower consumption will not be a problem. Permanent prices rises are in order across the board, with national GDP remaining at about the same level. The cost of living will be significantly higher. House prices will probably fall, though, due a lower capacity to pay. The problem lies in convincing those in developing countries that they will never enjoy the standard of living we in the West had for such a long time.

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Senin, 14 Maret 2011

You Cannot Avoid Polluted Air

If you want healthy lungs don't take up running or vigorous exercise. Perhaps it is better to head for the country and stay away from smokers. Your body needs clean air in order to stay healthy.

Living in cities is a no, no. If you live in London you will already have lung damage. Spending just 48 minutes there is equivalent to smoking a cigarette. It is not only cigarette smoke that is troublesome. Fumes from cars and diesel buses is something you can't avoid.

Heading indoors is a waste of time. Pollution condenses down into corridors, tunnels and homes. Toxins are more than double that of the external environment. Plants help to clear the air. Don't use artificial air fresheners. Even the television pumps out volatile organic compounds (VOC).

Unfortunately there is not a lot we can do in the modern world to avoid toxins. It's everywhere. Doing exercise will make the body take in more pollutants. Taking a holiday in the country is no answer - ozone from cities ends up there.

~~~~~Health~~~~~

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Jumat, 10 Desember 2010

Don't Get Excited About Nuclear Power

The world is in a tight corner and people are far too optimistic. Thinking that carbon pollution will cure itself is not scientific fact. Only a fool would hang onto the notion that nothing is wrong. The poles are thawing out and that is fact. Polar bears are dwindling in number as their traditional frozen feeding grounds get warmer. Butterflies that used to stay on in winter in southern England have moved north to colder climes. Those species that stay are getting larger.

Despite coal power stations being the main culprit more are being built to meet Mankind's increasing demand. Much is said about nuclear power stations holding the key to a "clean" future. Used uranium is going around Europe at this very moment without finding a home in any country. Where will this dangerous product be put in the future? Unless it is blasted into space toward the sun there is no where for it to go. France gets more than 80 percent of its electric power from nuclear means, but this is the country with the used uranium problem.

Even some scientists say the carbon footprint of nuclear power will be reduced to zero. This is hogwash. If you ignore nuclear waste everything looks good. Include it and it all looks very bad indeed. Nuclear power isn't cheap. Building a nuclear power plant requires long term planning. Safe guards are costly. Their useful life is also limited. Coal plants can stay in operation for much longer.

Within twenty years all 25 of China's new nuclear plants will come online. The world will be a militants' paradise with used uranium for sale on the open market. The consequences will be catastrophic. Saying there is no carbon price is absolute rubbish. If a bomb goes off there will be plenty of pollution.

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Minggu, 27 Juni 2010

Dump Green, Family First and Independent Senator

As many implied when the Greens did not support the Labor Government's Emissions Trading Scheme: They will live to regret it. This certainly seems to be the case when the new Prime Minister Julia Gillard says an ETS will have to wait until a clear majority of Australians support such a scheme. The Greens acted to block the ETS when they did not get everything they wanted. It was a silly thing to do. After all, any scheme is better than no scheme at all.

Labor bent over backwards to get the Greens to support the policy. The scheme was extremely weak compared to the original plan. But no, the Greens wanted a draconian pollution reduction program in place. Now there will not be an ETS for many years. Even if Julia Gillard calls a double dissolution and wins the next election it seems unlikely that Labor will get control of the upper house. Indeed, the troublesome Family First and Independent could lose their seats to the coalition.

Ironically, the Greens actually did Labor a favor. By killing the ETS more money was there to fatten up government coffers. This took some steam out of the opposition's ongoing complaint about the government deficit.

Australians clearly have a choice at the next election. Either give Labor control of the upper house or forget about ever having an ETS. For a start, the Family First, Independent and Greens could be dumped. This would end the problem of disruptive deadlock on issues. It is not really the opposition that causes legislation to be reviewed constantly. It is those who actually hold the balance of power - the minor parties and Independent.

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Senin, 03 Mei 2010

Greens Say Too Much for Their Size

The Greens want the fame without playing the game. In the recent Government attempt to introduce a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme the Greens voted down the new legislation because they wanted more. The Labor Government didn't have the tax high enough. Now the Greens are saying they want a carbon tax of $20 a ton. If they had supported Labor they would have been somewhat on the way towards this. But no, they chose to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Note, the $20 a ton is only to be an interim measure. They are in gaga land. The Australian people and business cannot afford such a high tax.

Compensating some sectors of society is completely ruled out by the Greens. What about people on low fixed incomes like the elderly who worked before compulsory superannuation and have to live on the meagre government pension, or single parent families? This is too tough for the Greens. The Greens are in the position of all minor parties - they never have to pay the price of actually being in government. Hard things must be done and voters remember this. The Family First Senator is a case in point. He has the real balance of power when the Coalition votes en bloc against legislation. He talks a lot a rot and Labor has to give him what he wants, no matter how trivial, to get legislation through.

The Greens can huff and puff as much as they like. People aren't really listening. Voters know they talk a lot of idealistic clap-trap. Whatever the Government does they have something to say to knock it. This is to be expected from a loyal opposition like the Coalition. From minor parties, however, it is just an irritation.

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Rabu, 24 Maret 2010

New Fuel Will Be Cheaper but It Still Pollutes

There is hope for a new fuel that will reduce the price of oil, but carbon pollution of the earth will still be a problem. In Mackay, north Australia, a farmer is planting "diesel trees".

Oil from the trees will be tapped and used in diesel engines without refining. A tree can produce 40 liters a year. This means that a farmer can grow a hectare of the trees, and this will be sufficient for all his farm needs.

This is good for the cost of fuel. However, it will do little to reduce carbon pollution.

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