PM Kevin Rudd takes control of mining talks
PM Kevin Rudd takes control of mining talks
- From: The Australian
- June 02, 2010
- 47 comments
KEVIN Rudd is preparing to deal directly with senior mining bosses over the proposed resource super-profits tax to head off a damaging public brawl between the industry and the government and reach a genuine compromise on tax reform.
The Prime Minister yesterday appealed for “direct” negotiations between the resource industry and the government instead of the megaphone trading of insults that had been conducted “through the media” in the past month.
Mr Rudd declared he refused to be bullied by the miners, who had to pay “their fair share of tax” and warned the talks could last until the election.
After Mr Rudd’s public appeal, the Minerals Council of Australia last night released an economic study suggesting the proposed tax would kill off new projects in nickel, gold and copper mining and cut 57 per cent off the value of new black-coal mines and 46 per cent of iron ore projects.
Finally: Obama halts new offshore leases and stumps for climate bill
Finally: Obama halts new offshore leases and stumps for climate bill 8
See, I have a Decider pose tooCourtesy White HouseNow we’re getting somewhere on the offshore drilling problem. Some progress from the top:
Mr. Obama ordered a further six-month moratorium on new permits for new deepwater oil and gas wells; suspended the planned exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the coast of Alaska; canceled a planned August lease sale in the western Gulf of Mexico; and canceled a proposed lease sale off the coast of Virginia. Environmentalists who had opposed the Alaska and Virginia projects hailed the decisions.
Mr. Obama said further moves will be made to strengthen oversight of the drilling industry and enhance safety as a commission he is appointing opens its own six-month inquiry.
(Side note to New York Times: Self-identified “environmentalists” aren’t the only people opposed to putting major marine ecosystems, fisheries, coastal economies, beaches, and rig workers at risk. More Americans now oppose increased offshore drilling than support it.)
Better still, Obama used a White House press conference today to personally stump for clean-energy legislation as a response to the Gulf spill — something we’ve been begging and pleading for.
The Times’ EU climate targets ‘exclusive’ is gibberish
The Times’ EU climate targets ‘exclusive’ is gibberish
The Times falsely reports that the EU will have the most ambitious emissions targets in the world. I wish it were true
The Times’s splash on EU emissions targets is untrue. Photograph: The Times
What is it about the European Union that encourages newspapers to write such nonsense about it? Is it because it seems so far away that no one is expected to check? Is it that the European commission fails to respond effectively to false stories?
I don’t know, but the stories told about it rank among the most outlandish and entertaining of all urban myths. Among my favourites are the Sun’s claim that the European commission had ruled that Bombay Mix must be renamed Mumbai Mix; the same paper’s insistence that “red-faced women … must take back old vibrators for recycling before they can buy a new one“; and the reliably barmy Christopher Booker’s assertion in the Sunday Telegraph that under EU rules you’ll be able to bury dead pets only after “pressure cooking them at 130 degrees centigrade for half an hour”.
EPA’S ”Tailoring Rule’ and the Biomass Industry
EPA’s ‘Tailoring Rule’ and the Biomass Industry
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued is final statement for its “tailoring rule” that outlines how the agency will regulate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) under the Clean Air Act. The “tailoring rule” determines which polluters will be required to account of their greenhouse gas emissions when the EPA begins to formally regulate the gases beginning in January 2011. The ruling did not exempt biomass-fueled power producers from GHG permitting requirements, which came as a surprise to many in the biomass industry. The reasoning behind exempting biomass from these requirements is because the combustion of biomass is widely considered “carbon neutral,” in regulation and policy in the United States and abroad. For example, when wood waste is combusted for energy, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which the trees had already adsorbed from the atmosphere when the trees grew. The assumption is that this released carbon dioxide will be reabsorbed by new trees as they grow naturally. This carbon neutral consideration is why biomass power plants assume net CO2 emissions of zero.
Co-firing Biomass with Coal
Co-firing Biomass with Coal
Oklahoma, United States — As nations focus on controlling carbon, global demand for and production of coal-based electricity continues to increase. According to the International Energy Agency, the world’s power demands are expected to rise 60 percent by 2030, with fossil fuels, including coal, accounting for 85 percent of the energy market. Ultimately, building towards a sustainable generation future, means balancing carbon objectives, energy demand and affordability. Biomass co-firing technology can provide a path to addressing climate change while mitigating costs to the world’s coal-generation base and the customers served.
Integrating Solar: CSP and Gas Turbine Hybrids
Integrating Solar: CSP and Gas Turbine Hybrids
London, UK — Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) technology aims to draw the environmental benefits of solar energy together with the operational advantages of a ‘conventional’ gas turbine-steam turbine combined cycle plant. While the solar resource partially substitutes fossil fuels, the installation can also supply energy to the grid whenever it is required. In addition, by taking advantage of the existing infrastructure associated with the development of a conventional thermal power plant – including but not limited to site access, power transmission links and a steam turbine power island – the economics of the concentrating solar thermal component are likely to be significantly enhanced.