Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore’s personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way. “Al Gore strips his presentations of politics, laying Continue Reading →
Goverment subsidies to some of Australia’s electricity generation companies are so big they exceed the profits made by those companies
Government subsidies to some of Australia’s electricity generation companies were so big they exceed the profits made by those companies, a report on energy and transport subsidies says. Government subsidies appear to be creating profits for coal-fired electricity generators.
• "Macquarie Generation, which operates the Liddell and Bayswater coal-fired power stations, earned a beforetax profit of $267.1 million in 2005-06 …
• the annual fuel subsidy to Macquarie Generation is between $122 million and $304 million," the report says.
Government support for the coal industry and coal-fired electricity was so generous that in some cases it has led to the construction of coal-fired power plants when other types of electricity generation would have been cheaper, the report by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney has found, said The Sydney Morning Herald, 8/5/2007, p. 7.
Worth close to $10 billion:Subsidies to fossil fuel energies, worth close to $10 billion, result in a serious market distortion, create an unfair disadvantage to renewable energy, and help increase greenhouse gas pollution, says the report, written by the institute’s research principal, Chris Riedy, and commissioned by Greenpeace. The report identified energy and transport subsidies in Australia during 2005-06 of between $9.3 billion and $10.1 billion.
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Photo : AFP
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BANGKOK (AFP) – Climate change experts battled for agreement Thursday on how to fight global warming as crucial UN talks here entered their final phase, with China railing against the cost of action, delegates said.
Week-long negotiations between scientists from 120 nations are expected to go well into the night here in Bangkok, before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveils its findings on Friday.
It will be the third and last of their reports this year, after the first two looked into the evidence and potential impact of global warming, but countries are struggling to find consensus on exactly what should be done.
The first large-scale wave farm, set to be built 10 miles off the coast of Cornwall in South West England, is now one step closer to becoming a reality with approval of GBP 21.5 million [US$42.9 million] in funding. The investment means Wave Hub could be operational as early as summer 2008, subject to final UK Government and EU approval.
Being developed by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA), the wave farm will feature a high voltage cable on the seabed and be connected to the National Grid via an electricity substation on the mainland.
Groups of wave energy devices will be attached to Wave Hub, and float on or just below the surface, allowing wave energy developers to test new technology, assess how well their devices work and how much power they will generate before going into full commercial production.
"This is public sector investment at its best — taking the long view, taking risks the private sector can’t take, and making significant investment in the technology we need to tackle climate change. Wave Hub will help make the UK the location of choice for companies developing wave energy, and should see British and overseas businesses making long term investments in Cornwall," said Matthew Spencer, chief executive of Regen SW, the renewable energy agency for South West England.
Kansas is among a dozen north central states in the U.S. with the potential to produce up to two-thirds of the nation’s perennial bioenergy crops and crop residues. This brings the region into the national spotlight as the U.S. Congress considers federal farm policy to shift energy reliance from the Middle East to the Midwest.
To help guide this transition and ensure coordinated policy and research, directors from 12 state departments of agriculture, the Cooperative Extension Service and university agriculture experiment stations formed the North Central Bioeconomy Consortium. The states are Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
"The north central region currently leads the nation in ethanol production, and we plan to also lead the transition to cellulosic biofuels from perennial bioenergy crops and other biomass sources," said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky. "This shared goal will align our states to achieve the most possible from our abundant renewable resources while protecting our environment and boosting our rural economies."
A study conducted by the Australian National University and the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting found that Australian forests can sequester and store up to 1500 tonnes of carbon per hectare if maintained as mature old growth, according to a statement from beyondzeroemissions.org.
PM allows Tasmanian old growth forest clearfelling: The Howard Government however continues to allow Australia’s unique forests to be logged at disastrous rates. In Tasmania alone the equivalent of forty-five football fields of old growth forest is clearfelled each day. These forests are first logged then burnt, releasing huge quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.