A Zero Carbon Plan for Australia: Boy, what a no-brainer

Governments are stupid. Lacking balance. Lacking perspective. Lacking concern for their constituent populations. That’s politics for you: The art of compromise. The art of pandering to sectional interests. The art of granting rewards for favours bestowed; for donations given. And the art of maximising the probability of re-election; of retaining power. So I’m not surprised that – in this age of imminent or current Peak Oil, and in this age of rampant global warming – my nation’s government has decided to direct the future of Australia’s motor manufacturing industry to improving the efficiency of infernal combustion engines, rather than to innovative technology; especially zero emission technology, e.g electric, hydrogen fuel cell [1]? And it has the temerity to call its handouts the Green Car Innovation Fund [2]. What greenwash [3]. And hogwash. Talk about a dinosaur mentality. But unlike our government, some of our leading scientists are creative, innovative, and unafraid to aim high. The University of Melbourne’s Energy Research Institute [4] has just published a Zero Carbon Plan for Australia [5]. It’s a 10-year roadmap for 100% (yes, 100%!) renewable energy, at a cost of A$8 per household per week, using technology that’s available today. Should we implement it? Boy, what a no-brainer. Will we implement it? Don’t answer that – it’s a rhetorical question. Ho hum.

Lists: ‘15 Reasons to Eat Organic Food’ & 10 tips for optimum vegetable storage’

Today’s ‘List Friday’. After pitifully pathetic lists on the past two Fridays [1, 2], I promised you, dear readers, a much less soporific list today. And I’m a man who stands by his promises. Sometimes at least.

The book I read last week, about men’s health, was big on diet and eating habits [3]. And this week I’m on to a book about Gi [glycaemic index] foods and food preparation [4]. So health, food, cooking, and eating are on my mind right now. Front and centre.

To atone for the last two lists, today I’m offering you two: the first is planetgreen’s ‘15 Reasons to Eat Organic Food’ [5]. And what a broad list it is – embracing nutritional, safety social, environmental and biodiversity factors. Given all this, buying and eating organic food’s a no-brainer. Nutrition Diva agrees [6]. But if you’re a doubter, at least invoke the precautionary principle [7].

Today’s second list, courtesy of darling Emily’s heads-up, is also food-related. But not limited to organic food. It’s thestonesoup’s ‘10 tips for optimum vegetable storage’ [8]. Of these 10, the main one is ‘Don’t refrigerate your tomatoes’.

P.S. Thanks to darling Kate and Brendon for today’s photograph – of Daylesford Organics’ prize winning heirloom beetroot [9].

‘Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery’

Last night Sweetheart Vivienne and I enjoyed an extra hour of sleep. Because at 2 a.m. today, daylight saving ended in Tasmania [1]. To mark this auspicious occasion, the Tasmania Fire Service [TFS] and battery maker Duracell teamed up for a campaign urging all Tasmanians to ‘Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery’ [2]. CYC aims to ensure all smoke alarms are kept in working order. It’s message’s promoted via print media, radio and TV advertisements; and on the web [3, 4]. Also in-store promotions in supermarkets and hardware outlets ‘to promote the campaign where Duracell batteries are sold’.

Smoke alarms are important – nay, vital – little gizmos. They literally save lives [5]. So making sure they work’s a no-brainer. So, as a volunteer firefighter and citizen and doctor, I’m in favour of CYC. But I have a couple of caveats: First, changing smoke alarm batteries annually means a very large number of batteries are discarded before the end of their useful life. In this regard, when smoke alarm batteries run low there’s a warning tone; and batteries are a waste disposal problem [6]. Second, I’m bothered by a private sector corporation (i.e. Duracell) entering into a financial arrangement with a public body (i.e. TFS). I know I’m old-fashioned, yesterday’s man, a sheep man in cattle country etc. And I can’t point to a practical downside to the CYC arrangement. I just think it’s wrong. In principle. That’s all. Ho hum.

farmdoc's blog post number 645

In Australia the European Red Fox [1, 2] (Vulpes vulpes) is a major threat to lamb farming, and also the survival of native wildlife. In Tasmania the wildlife threat’s more frightening because Tasmania has many small native mammals for foxes to prey on. Tasmania was thought to be fox-free until recent years. But no longer. Since an established, self-sustaining fox population in Tasmania would impact severely if not catastrophically on our wildlife, agriculture and tourism, the State Government (with some Federal money too) has set up a Fox Eradication Program aiming to return Tasmania to fox-free status. The Program’s integrated approach includes a survey of carnivore scats from areas of suitable fox habitat across the State, to provide data for strategic baiting. It’s been dubbed ‘The Great Poo Hunt 2008-2010’. In 2008 in the North East, 3,000 scats revealed six containing fox DNA. In 2009 in the South East, 2,200 scats were collected; and the 1,000 analysed so far have included five containing fox DNA. The 2010 Great Poo Hunt is in North Central Tasmania – from 1 March to 4 June. As our property’s been designated prime fox habitat, we’ve been invited to participate. That’s a no-brainer, of course. Not all properties whose owners grant access will be surveyed. Stay tuned, folks.