Australian Prime Minister John Howard has announced that climate change crusader Tim Flannery is the winner of the nation's highest honour Australian of the Year.
At a ceremony in Canberra earlier today, Mr Howard said as an explorer, writer and climate change crusader Professor Flannery has helped millions better understand the environment.
In his recent book 'The Weather Makers' Tim Flannery makes various claims many of which are very fashionable, but appear to lack a scientific basis.
For example, he writes that animal species are vanishing as a result of climate change right now and that a dramatic decline in rainfall along the east coast of Australia may result in the extinction of various species of frog:
"In the early 1990s, frogs began to disappear en masse from the rainforests of northern Queensland and, as with the golden toad, these vanishings occurred in otherwise undisturbed rainforest. Today some sixteen frog species (13 percent of Australia's total amphibian fauna), have experienced dramatic declines. The cause is still debated, but the climate change experienced in eastern Australia over the past few decades cannot have been good for frogs, for a persistence of El Nino-like conditions has brought about a dramatic decline in Australia's east coast rainfall. The latest analysis suggest that at least in the case of the gastric brooder and day frog, climate change was the most likely cause for their disappearance." (pg. 121)
Yet data from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology doesn't show the claimed dramatic decline in rainfall.
Here' the graph for eastern Australian from 1900 to 2006:
In fact the 11-year running average looks pretty flat.
Maybe there is life in a maligned old horse yet. Have a look at
http://people.bath.ac.uk/ccsshb/12cyl/
While Luke is marvelling at the potential for a D much bigger than 11, check out the fuel efficiency of >50% vs about 25 - 30% for auto and light aircraft IC engines.
Concluding on the original topic, it's just a ploy by the govt to appear environmentally concerned as they realise it's an influential election issue where the opposition has strengths. Meanwhile they'll feather the nest for big businesses that fund the party, sponsor jaunts, and one needs a good job after office.
The electric vehicle example was about how MNCs can stifle otherwise viable innovations that threaten bus as usual for the incumbent interests, not about electric vehicle technology itself. But if markets really count above vested powers, there was sufficient demand for the EV1 and a waiting list above GM's requirement, but the technology threatened traditional power bases - hell, it even undermined the excuse for war oops I mean Christian peace missionary operations.
Electric vehicles are definitely the better option Luke. More efficient. They keep the air clean and reduce noise in the hub-of-the-nation cities (nice cities attract more investment) and draw electricity from the power stations located out woop woop releasing pollutants among the housos and inbred caravan park scum where rog is. If we're as sinister as argued then it's time we properly exploited that urban-rural divide. We'll build (fireproof) walls and checkpoints too to stop those country kids moving by the thousands to the cities and away from their embarrassing redneck families. Our pink ally China could advise us on this.
Yes, we could all live like pommy milkman and drive our electric utes whilst giving service to the early risers, all in the name of research and the environment *beep* *beep* http://www.milkfloats.org.uk/ .
Electric vehicles seem quite useful for an urban environment in terms of utility and driveability - off-road rally applications may not be useful - the issue really is what is the whole of life greenhouse cost in terms of embodied energy and the fact that really we're simply substituting power station electricity for gasoline. If the power station electricity is from coal generation you haven't achieved much in terms of CO2 (unless you can capture that at source). However I commend further research efforts and it's good that a few hardy souls are testing early models on the street. We need to know how the technology works in the field.
Oh shattered my gem! Good faith is lost. Tell me what percentage of innovative ideas that reach prototype or testing stage are successes, and what original technological innovations don't need refinement time to surpass the old. Give me the (researched) story how most innovations arise and you might fine the gem that opens your eyes.
Note The GM EV1 was hardly a turtle! Lowest wind resistance, decent acceleration, quiet, great for urban trips. There were superior batteries available for it too. There was plenty of demand for it but it was quashed because of internal turf wars - the incumbents in business as usual and oil interests won again.
Gavin: How do you fire up your computer? Pedal power? Who are you trying to kid here?
Luke: short term energy efficiencies are in the order of 30% starting with your home, bulbs versus tubes and so on. The next step is mandatory reductions across the board.
A while ago I went back to basics, tents, dishes and a vintage cast iron stove in-between.
Daytime I watched my kids in their science classes from the dissection bench while I fixed some incubators. Their most important experiment was on our hobby farm.
My other task was our industry here and there. Water, power and transport have traditionally all been too cheap. Marvelous how quickly one can get a fire going after school on a wet night with some damp bracken with a bit of practice.
Most people on mother earth live like this. Who are we kidding here?
Pantera,
Consider this a request for your "fantastic gem." meanwhile, electric cars are turtles, I'd never take one to a road rally.
Innovative solutions often come from small concerns Schiller, equally MNC's can stifle innovation to maintain internal power bases or market control (eg electric car). Big corporations often snap up smaller innovative businesses or ideas or often, very often(!), rely on solutions provided by smaller consultants and techies etc. And then there are important organisations like the CSIRO of course. If you're interested I have a fantastic gem, you only have to ask...