Issues 68, September 2004

Editorial

Climate Change and Australia: Observations, Projections and Impacts
Penny Whetton, CSIRO Atmospheric Research
Global warming will dramatically change the Australian climate. Some regions may benefit, but for most the results are likely to be devastating.

Climate Justice
Tristy Fairfield, Conservation Council of WA
Wealthy nations release most of the world’s carbon dioxide, but the worst consequences will be felt by the world’s poor.

Is the Greenhouse Effect Real?
Stephen Luntz, Editor, Issues
Some people say that the human-enhanced greenhouse effect is a myth, but they’re almost certainly wrong.

Renewable Power: Zero Emission
Julia Birch, Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy
Renewable energy has the potential to play a key role in Australia’s energy future, enabling substantial, long-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Drill on Geosequestration
Gemma Heddle, Technology Policy Analyst, Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies
Research is taking place on the best ways to capture and store the carbon dioxide emitted in burning coal and other fossil fuels underground, where it will not contribute to global warming.

The Solar Tower: A New Sort of Solar Energy
Enviromission
The solar tower combines a greenhouse, the chimney and the turbine to turn the Sun’s heat into electricity. Australia is planned as the site of the world’s first commercial solar tower, a structure that would be the world’s tallest building.

Cleaner Coal
Stephen Luntz, Editor, Issues
A number of research projects are under way to make coal emit less carbon dioxide. These may even lead to cheaper electricity with lower amounts of other pollutants.

The Cord Isn’t Long Enough: Balance of Systems for Renewable Power
Virginia Graham, Plasmatronics
There’s more to solar power than photovoltaic cells. Australian companies produce the best regulators and inverters in the world, and are increasingly selling them overseas.

How to Replace the Worst Greenhouse Gas of All
Cooperative Research Centre for Cast Metals Manufacturing
Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas. New Australian technology will cut the production of sulfur hexafluoride, the most powerful warming gas of all.

How to Reduce Energy Demand
Allan Pears, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
If we didn’t waste so much of the electricity we use, we would have more time to work out better ways to produce it. Saving energy is something everyone can do, usually saving money at the same time.

Tips on Efficient Heating
Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria
About half a house’s energy bill goes into heating and cooling. This article explains how you can reduce this bill while cutting down on the greenhouse gases you produce.

Personal Energy Conservation
The Moreland Energy Foundation
More ideas on what you can do to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and some of the ways local groups are helping you do it.

Taming Transport
Paul Mees, University of Melbourne
One-seventh of our greenhouse emissions comes from moving us around. There are a lot of ideas on how to reduce this, but the answers are not as simple as they may seem.

Securing Australia’s Energy Future
John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
Renewable energy sources will play a part in meeting Australia’s growing energy demands, but fossil fuels will meet the bulk of Australia’s energy needs for the foreseeable future.

Energy Policy: It Isn’t Green versus Black
Brad Page, Energy Supply Association of Australia
Our way of life depends on cheap available energy. We need to move beyond a simplistic debate about fossil fuels versus renewables and learn to use the best of both.

A Clean Energy Future for Australia
Mark Diesendorf, Director, Sustainability Centre and Adjunct Professor, Sydney and Murdoch universities
The Clean Energy Future for Australia study has shown that it is possible to reduce greenhouse emissions by half by 2040 with only small improvements to existing technologies.

Keeping the Fossil Fuel Industry Alive
Adrian Whitehead, Futureenergy.org
The government’s energy strategy is about protecting the fossil fuel industry, not about finding the best way to cut CO2 emissions.

Government’s “New” Climate Funding Is Smoke and Mirrors
Helen Oakey, Greenpeace
Government funding for greenhouse abatement programs is often left unspent.