"The Carbon Sense Coalition today accused the big farming lobby groups, government departments, politicians and Ministers representing agriculture of ignoring science and abandoning farmers to unjustified carbon taxation.
The chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, claimed that there was no justification whatsoever for including emissions from farm animals in any carbon emissions tax scheme.
“Every intelligent farmer can understand the carbon food cycle whereby every bit of carbon dioxide released by farm animals or plants into the atmosphere has previously been removed from the same atmosphere.”
“This simple process is surely not beyond the understanding of all the lobbyists, bureaucrats, researchers and media living off farmers?”
“In the farm sector carbon balance, apart from any fossil fuel used, it is a zero sum game, and all farm animals have zero net carbon emissions.”
“Grazing animals have not yet learned to live on coal or diesel fuel, and they cannot create carbon out of rocks, soil or water. Therefore they must extract it, via grasses and grains, from that marvellous gas of life in our atmosphere, carbon dioxide. All foods and organic matter represent carbon that has been sequestered by life processes into living matter. The carbon is simply recycled at zero cost.”
“Farm plants and animals are every bit as green as forests. Both farms and forests extract carbon from the air and store it in organic life forms until that organic matter is burnt or decays in the open air, thus returning their borrowed carbon to the atmospheric storehouse.”
“Why then do those who grow forests attract a carbon credit and but those who grow cattle and sheep cop a carbon tax?”
“Australia and New Zealand lead the world in harvesting solar energy and carbon dioxide to produce an abundance of clean green food. Why then are both the New Zealand and the Australian governments proposing to force farm animals into their emissions trading quagmire? And why are they subsidising the conversion of farmland producing food into forests producing nothing but carbon credits or crops producing ethanol motor fuel? What are future generations going to eat?”
Forbes claimed that farmers need to start agitating now or they risk being the only bunnies still paying carbon taxes.
“Motorists who vote and use petrol will escape the carbon tax by sleight of hand – petrol excise will in future be called “carbon tax”. Exporters will get an exemption to enable them to compete with more sensible regimes with no carbon taxes. Other protected species like working families in marginal electorates will get subsidies to cover carbon taxes on electricity bills. Truckies will blockade the roads if politicians add carbon tax to diesel prices. That leaves farmers as the only big group with so few votes and such incompetent leadership that they will pay the carbon tax.”
“Farmers have been abandoned by Ag Force, the Meat and Livestock Authority, CSIRO, the National Party, our “working families” Government and most of the similar organisations in New Zealand. It is not clear whether this is because of a lack of scientific logic or cowardice in the face of electoral hysteria on global warming.”
“But the politicians representing the treasured “working families” in the battling suburbs had better start taking notice of rising food prices or a more soundly based hysteria about the growing shortage of food will sweep emissions trading nonsense from the political landscape.”
Viv Forbes, BScApp, FAusIMM, FSIA
Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition
www.carbon-sense.com
He won't read it - but for the record -
"And that makes you either an accessory to a criminal conspiracy or a blatant excuser of it." - err neither !
I note none of your numerous assertions in the last few comments will be answered.
"So can you get your tiny brain around that, Luke? The area of the natural saline ecosystem is substantially less than its original extent." well can you get your tiny bird-brain around that this is due to clearing of vegetation - not necessarily changes in salinity status.
No list of corrupt grazing papers either.
If you have to do spade work on macropod impacts tells me that you don't have this material or have it well understood. As we all know !
And by the way, Luke, I'm off to the farm where we know for certain that there were next to zero Kangaroos prior to settlement due to the type of closed forest that was there. The previous owner was forced to clear that forest or lose his title and that compulsory clearing has now produced conditions that support a number of Kangaroos.
So by what moral authority gives the state the right to demand that we feed these roos that were never there before?
And while I'm away I will be doing the spade work for demolishing your precious roo stocking rate bull$hit.
And by the way, Luke, I'm off to the farm where we know for certain that there were next to zero Kangaroos prior to settlement due to the type of closed forest that was there. The previous owner was forced to clear that forest or lose his title and that compulsory clearing has now produced conditions that support a number of Kangaroos.
So by what moral authority gives the state the right to demand that we feed these roos that were never there before?
And while I'm away I will be doing the spade work for demolishing your precious roo stocking rate bull$hit.
Like I first mentioned, Luke. Yelarbon represents almost 50% of the total area of saline land in Qld. And it is officially identified as a Remnant Ecosystem. That is, it is an ecosystem that was there prior to european settlement. And for the record, the total are remaining of this Remnant ecosystem is described as "more than 35% of original extent".
So can you get your tiny brain around that, Luke? The area of the natural saline ecosystem is substantially less than its original extent.
This was clearly on public record, and certainly known by most of the departmental people with any input to the vegetation management process. Yet, no-one spoke up to correct the Premier and the Minister when they spoke both publicly and in parliament, describing land clearing as posing a serious threat to, and exacerbation of, the so-called 'salinity menace'.
And that makes you either an accessory to a criminal conspiracy or a blatant excuser of it. So which which one ARE you, Luke?
No don't you try that side step yourself you shonk. Ah - so you admit you are prone to exaggeration now - nobody was wearing jack boots. No thugs. You like to make shit up don't you. I know by now mate - what a spiv you actually are yourself - a rhetorical bulldust artiste.
List the clearing cases and their outcomes by broad stats. I don't know what the numbers are - but if you're making the charge - where's some basic information? You haven't a clue I'll bet.
List the suicides (to district and number will do) - or would this be another bit of Mottsa hyperbole? (see jack boots) Perhaps we might hear the stories of officers being threatened with firearms - your mates were they?
And I know about the Yelarbon salt patch - I drove through it just the other day - what has that patch got to do with the rest of Queensland. And surely you're not quoting the EPA as source now - as the rest of the time you're telling me they're incompetent at species ID and wouldn't know. But now you're quoting them. So when you like the answer you'll quote them - when you don't they're wrong. Would this be what we call "hypocrisy".
And what does that patch have to do with the rest of Qld - if there is another map - where is it?
And how is that list of papers going - having trouble with accessing your personal library - or was that a bit of bluff like "jack booted thugs".
You're full of crap mate !
Don't try that side step. I refer you to an actual sequence of court cases that has resulted in legal action against DNRM officers for altering evidence and perjury and you try to negate it all on the basis that there is no photo of someone in jackboots.
And that is just the mild stuff. Would you like me to list the suicides that have a major government natural resource management element in them?
As I said before, get the RE map covering Yelarbon and then look up the official description of the big blob in the middle of the map, you clown.
"Consultants don't have DG's" indeed. What a slime-out.
Well yes I agree about body language after seeing that Youtube video of yours.
Director General? Consultants don't need such things mate. You'd know about the benefits of consulting I'm sure.
But anyway as I was asking:
"Jack booted thugs" - so do you have a single picture of such persons "persecuting dissenters" .... don't think you do. Wouldn't be exaggerating would you?
And still looking for the salinity map of Qld marked remnant saline ecosystem.
And still waiting for that list of papers. Suspect it's not coming. Oh well.