A point on your comments...
"And while we are at it, why do we ship ore to China to smelt with coal, why not refine the metal where it is dug up using solar thermal and "value add" to our product"
The fact is that to create iron from iron ore you must add carbon (in the form of coking coal) to reduce the iron oxide (iron ore) into pig iron. Using solar energy to provide the heat for this process will still release huge amounts of C02. As for you aluminium smelting comments I get a bit lost. Coal has nothing to do with smelting alumina to make aluminium. However it does require a huge amount of electricity - via coal fired power plants to do.
And please do tell which diamond mine is run by a dozen people?
Last time I was on one there were quite a few dozen more than that (there were over 2 dozen cleaning staff).
Ok I agree, but with all honesty I cant see our goverment spending the money to fund projects to provide a significant percentage of our power requirements from these types of renewable energy. It is possible but how do you influence the idiots that run this country. When you vote you vote for the idiot you hate the least. IMO
I agree - however its a shame a smart aussie David Mills had to travel to the US to implement his solar technolgy.
Schwarzenegger this week opened on a 5-megawatt Ausra (Australian technology) solar thermal plant near Bakersfield, California.
However Ausra has also built a 1.5MW solar plant to add to the Macquarie Energy Liddell coal power station in the New South Wales Hunter Valley that has just been commissioned. Apparently there are plans to build 175MW plants in the US
However given the huge uranium resources we have and how anal Australia is with regulation and safety I am still frustrated that we do not use nuclear power - it always comes down to an election issue praying on misinformed and emotionally charged voters.
But hey we have millions of square kms or miles of red dirt perfect for solar plants but it all comes down to $$$
As for the electric car charging idea - I havent heard shite about that.
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My wifes mushroom pasta has tasted like diesel for years.
A point on your comments... "And while we are at it, why do we ship ore to China to smelt with coal, why not refine the metal where it is dug up using solar thermal and "value add" to our product" The fact is that to create iron from iron ore you must add carbon (in the form of coking coal) to reduce the iron oxide (iron ore) into pig iron. Using solar energy to provide the heat for this process will still release huge amounts of C02. As for you aluminium smelting comments I get a bit lost. Coal has nothing to do with smelting alumina to make aluminium. However it does require a huge amount of electricity - via coal fired power plants to do. And please do tell which diamond mine is run by a dozen people? Last time I was on one there were quite a few dozen more than that (there were over 2 dozen cleaning staff).
Ok I agree, but with all honesty I cant see our goverment spending the money to fund projects to provide a significant percentage of our power requirements from these types of renewable energy. It is possible but how do you influence the idiots that run this country. When you vote you vote for the idiot you hate the least. IMO
So offloading global warming thru buring fossils fuels is ok? Thats 99.9% probable. I'll take the 99.9% on nuclear anyday.
I agree - however its a shame a smart aussie David Mills had to travel to the US to implement his solar technolgy. Schwarzenegger this week opened on a 5-megawatt Ausra (Australian technology) solar thermal plant near Bakersfield, California. However Ausra has also built a 1.5MW solar plant to add to the Macquarie Energy Liddell coal power station in the New South Wales Hunter Valley that has just been commissioned. Apparently there are plans to build 175MW plants in the US However given the huge uranium resources we have and how anal Australia is with regulation and safety I am still frustrated that we do not use nuclear power - it always comes down to an election issue praying on misinformed and emotionally charged voters. But hey we have millions of square kms or miles of red dirt perfect for solar plants but it all comes down to $$$ As for the electric car charging idea - I havent heard shite about that.