And the tree huggers wonder why we don't take their theories about man made climate change seriously. I have never read so much crap as what Giles manages to make a living writing.

Although I am unconvinced that mere man could have any effect on climate at all and dispute the current theory that CO2 is a pollutant, I have no objection to any efforts to increase the use of economical alternate energy sources. But until Turnbull discovers a way to safely dispose of his Mercury polluted light bulbs, and no-one has any idea how to do that at present, I suggest that we stick with the safe old old.   Did he really save the planet or just substitute another form of pollution.  Those twisted mercury contaminated flouro bulbs at present end up in landfill.  I prefer LED but need to check on their disposal.

Workplace Health and Safety requires that if a flouro bulb smashes in the workplace  the whole area must cleared and all occupants decontaminated.

If Abbott does not get elected Malcolm will take over... But if Abbott somehow get’s elected, which is what Turnbull wants because he knows that the science will only continue confirming the need for transition and he will then challenge Tony (who shot himself in the foot), Malcolm then wins the leadership and becomes default PM and then wins the following election (in his mind). Or... the Greens sort out their ‘completely uncontrolled borders’ policy (We need to be a rock of stability and strength to lead and assist – we need to help them help themselves – this is not a contrived documentary - I wish we could have open borders but we are far from that yet) and more and more people vote for Greens in 2013 and labour sort themselves out and Australia rises above the current ‘opposition opposes everything’ 2 party style politics and we move into a new political paradigm.

I’m soon going Walkabout into Java and Sumatra to RECHARGE because this is far from over... and I will check out the vibe on the ground just North West of our borders and get a few waves... but I will be back because the majority of the Coalition and all of the The Climate Fools Party are going to lose and deregister due to irrelevancy and I want to be there on that day whenever it comes!

Calling an ETS a market based system is like saying it's gamlbing when you play with loaded dice, the outcome is already decided. It's an outright lie when to try to sell it as such. At least Nelson had the dignity to leave politics, something Turncoat would never do until we get a full dose of his self importance. It seems his decision to enter politics was based on how easy it may be to ascend rather than actual policy.

Not having sufficient space to develop a longer , more humorous , more imaginative story .....that was the best I could do in the space permitted.

I would like to have included lots of Comments along the lines of "Prince Lennard" from Hutt River Province had been re-appointed Governor General ,....... that  although the CO2 level was now approaching 450 ppm and ( despite the previous predictions ) the temperatures were continuing to drop and there was concern that the icing-up of many of China's ports was providing real difficulty for iron ore & LPG shipments,......... that the artificial reefs established on the continental shelf had expanded the fishing industry beyond the market's wildest dreams, .........that the "Uluru Rural Community" , depite the 'one-child-per-family' policy , was struggling to survive BUT the I-P-PACT had overturned the 'Xenophon-Wilkie Act of 2012' & permitted establishment of a Casino at Alice springs to help it economically due to money spent by visiting ( mainly Chinese ) gamblers ,....etc

A flight of fancy............but looking at the potential outcomes from the other side Giles ! 

Imagine this:

July 1 , 2030 Canberra.   Australia's last tonne of man-made Carbon Dioxide was interred in the long abandoned Parliament House today. Geosequestration was the preferred method of marking this event.  After sealing it inside the building, already substantially below ground level , it was then completely interred by a shovel-wielding team of labourers especially brought to Canberra for the purpose.

Since the destabilisation of the economy under the Greens-dominated-Ruling-Labor-party and the perception of sovereign risk by Australia's main customers necessitating the intervention of the Sino-Indian Economic Pact of 2021 there has been no  reason to maintain the defunct  facility.

The majority of the former inhabitants incurred sustantial collateral damage when the South-Western Economic Zone was established in 2019.The remainder were either integrated into the Uluru Regional Community based in Alice Springs or absorbed as labourers.This vibrant Economic-zone incorporating the bulk of the former Western & South Australian States is now co-operating well with the American Economic Free-Trade Zone , based on the former Queensland,NSW & Victorian States,having been established by invitation from the S-I- PACT to avoid further hostilities. The American economy has begun to improve rapidly since it gained access to the abundant Northern region's mineral wealth & it is expected to begin significant repayments of it's Chinese debt in the near future. 

The Indonesian President , speaking from the Capital at New-Darwin said that whilst he regretted the demise of Australia the acquisition of West Irian was fortuitious & he was working well with his new fellow-countrymen.

The live-cattle trade was again flourishing. 

Ha that was cool.... but if Malcolm idles with the formation of this new party why don’t you form this new party Giles ?(you have the knowledge)  – I would join and serve - we will back you up!

 And there are other possible endings - including those that involve Tony Abbot not being elected in 2013.... After Tone lost the election he then went for a surf to feel better and got knocked on the head going right instead of left and awoke to no transformation whatsoever which didn’t make him feel any better because it reminded him of why he lost the election – and he said to himself in his hospital bed ‘No! No! There must have been a mistake – it was rigged – ask Bill Koutalianos!’

Judging by some of the saddening comments from the 'Climate Fools Party' like Bill Koutalianos and the others (there will be some pleasure in watching the folly of Bill Koutalianos’s group rot away like all those before them as there is no sun shining on that garden) – but it seems we have more combat before they realise the errors of their ways... It makes no sense at all being against energy efficient light bulbs. To be against energy efficient light bulbs is to highlight yourself as not understanding the world in a global context. There are people below against energy efficient light bulbs - that is going too far....

I’m out of the office and back up in North Queensland helping my mum and step dad out in the Whitsundays and I’ve been talking to some towns folk – nearly all still do not understand the details of how an ETS works, which is a shame, and they are more worried about the decline in tourism than anything else – jobs have been lost. (However at the same time there has been a cull and flush out of those tourist operators left over from the boom times not good or strong enough to survive in these times – so it should get better for those remaining)

In the first year of the ETS, Australian businesses will need to purchase International Carbon credits to the tune of 3.2 - 4 Billion Dollars. De-industrialised countries will pocket these Aussie dollars and provide us with Carbon Credit Certificates.

The solid, trustworthy leaders of these countries will use these dollars for the development of their sustainable economies; they promise that no private yachts, luxury apartments in Monaco, gold, diamonds, 5 star holidays will be purchased with Aussie funds.

The Labor party, having great cost control and major project experience (Pink Batts Scheme, BER, NBN, Solar Energy Scheme) will audit and control Aussie dollars in these countries and enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling it gets when it assists other countries ahead of its own.

4 Billion dollars is enough to convert ALL of Australia's street lights to efficient High Powered LEDS. This 4 billion dollars would stay in OUR economy, provide a 75% reduction in carbon emissions and power use for street lights.

It costs Utilities $300 for each street light bulb to be changed. Two trucks, two crews, OHS requirements, traffic control etc. I'm not complaining its just that the Gas bulbs are changed every 3 years, HPLEDs need to be done between 10-12 years.

Now that 4 Billion would be a great investment in allowing us Aussies to keep the lights on, and enjoy a long term saving of both money, and emissions.

I guess such simple logic isn't good enough for sophisticated people designing UN approved programs.

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and fluorescent tubes each contain around 5-15 mg of mercury. There is one EPA-approved mercury recycling company in Australia, and they process around 5% of discarded fluorescent lamps each year. The rest go to landfill, taking about a tonne of mercury with them. See more at http://bit.ly/q6EhOb. 

From what I've seen of LED lights lately, they seem to use a fifth to a tenth of the power of incandescents. CFLs use around a fifth, so despite the promises some LEDs don't seem to be much of an improvement on CFLs. LED replacements for standard fluorescent tubes cost around $60 each, and use about half the power. However, according to one person from the industry I spoke to today, the LED "tube" only produces around half the light of the fluorescent. 

Australia introduced its carbon tax on 1st July 2012 and the political parties were gearing up for the 2013 election. Julia Gillard promised to overturn the carbon tax if re-elected and Wayne Swan accused critics of being hysterical. The 2013 election made history as the world's first low carbon election, with GetUp volunteers taking over the AEC's role and with energetic young AYCC volunteers cycling the ballot papers to the nearest paper recycling facility. The few remaining "approved" media outlets complied with the PM's edict not to print crap and so the election results remained unpublished out of fear of offending the PM. Following the election, Gillard clarified that this time she had only been joking about overturning the carbon tax. There were rumours circulating on the internet that Tony Abbott had in fact won the election, but this was generally dismissed as conspiracy theory. In coming years Australia would continue to lead the charge in the purchase of cheap Chinese wind turbines, in exchange for its productive farmland. By 2040 wind turbines were meeting 80% of our energy needs, which had been achieved by abolishing the private sector. Electricity prices had been kept in check by smart meters, that limited use to government approved activities such as televised messages by the PM, (subject to wind conditions). By 2040 satellite based global temperature readings were back in fashion as these clearly showed that temperatures had been falling since 1998 and this was cited as proof to school children that government carbon pricing policies had been a success.

For decades and decades commercial and industrial palaces have been using, guess what lads fluoro tubes. No one in their right mind would use incandesant in large work places, the bill would kill them. I don't like using the house hold fluoro also because of the mercury and nasty contents; however the days of the fluoro are numbered, and as factories are being built that will produce led lights (chuck your prayers are answered) that will blow the others away for quality and cost.

So for those on the right to talk about rights, next time they want to send 18 year olds off to fight phoney wars (conscription) let me hear you bleat about rights. The poor Vietnam vets were sent off to commit murder in our name, or prison if you did not want to go. Rights, you guys have no meaning of the word.

Life in Oz now imitates the USA, not art. Sad sorry country.

Great start to Friday, thanks Giles

You do all realise that banning CO2 emissions is the same as banning fire don't you? Betcha most people don't realise that yet.

Alternative energy is for people who can't do mathematics. Fortunately this pathetic attempt at government overreach may well backfire along with the concept of the welfare state  and humanity can then worry about fixing real problems.

Gary you would probably be able to see better if you took your tin foil hat off.

Excellent article in these hum-drum times.

What ever happened to the old "liberal" philosophy of "let the market operate"? I think the two political sides have swapped sides. They began as left and right then recently became boringly , much the same and now have re-emerged on the opposite side of the room from where they were originally.

I am reminded of an old Stan Cross cartoon, where the punch line was:" Stop laughing ......this is serious!"

That would make Mitch Hooke a smidge old!

Great stuff!

IKEA also offer a drop off service for recycling CFLs, other fluorescent globes, as well as the ol' incandescent kind.

From recollection, they also take batteries.

There might not be many stores, but you may be closer to IKEA than Mitre10.  And maybe other people could tell us about other places to recycle CFLs?

I agree with the Republicans. Governments should stick to governing instead of telling us how we should live. Perhaps if they listened to the majority view more often they would get it right more often. Right now we have a Governmnet who is driven by alarmists on climate (which are clearly in the minority in this country based on the recent polls).

I turned on the light in the kitchen last night which was replaced with a fluro energy saver supposedly at the equivalent wattage to the modest 60W incandecent bulb it replaced. I could not read any of the print on the cans or boxes I needed to use to make dinner because, despite the claim the wattage is equivalent, fluoro lights are useless for reading unless you use substantially higher equivalent wattage ... which actually then use more electricty than the incandescent lamp they replaced. But the science is settled on this too, isn't it?

But then, light bulbs are like a carbon tax which is "like eating your vegetables" according to the redhead headed for political dessimation ... yeah right. Get out of our lives alarmists and political nutters and let us get on with making our own choices based on commonsense instead of the nonsense you keep serving up to justify dictatorial Government.

David Mortimer, it is balanced.  After 2000 or so articles from Giles that accept the premise of global warming, he will then publish 40 (ie 2%) that are sceptical to reflect the current weight of scientific opinion.

This site offers a good forum for opinion exchange. In the interests of a balanced debate, can you also provide a commentator who is more sceptical about change please?

Yeah, Mercury content & recycling was a Govt short coming when forcing us to buy new energy efficient globes.

Anyway you can now take any Light globe to Mitre 10 hardware stores for recycling & the best part, no need to buy replacements there as unfortunately they do cost more than from the duopoly of Coles or Woolworths (perhaps elsewhere too or occasionally Mitre 10 when on sale?)

As to whinges about failed light globes well what do you expect if you buy the "Made in China" brands and really no difference to the old fashioned ones - some of them failed early in life too. If it fails early on hope you kept the receipt and return to point of sale for a replacement as it's obviously a manufacturing flaw.

Having said all above - hope LED gets cheaper & better and floods the market in future years.

p.s  Not sure if Mitre 10 are nationally based - plenty in SA, & their service in recycling does work for sales - bought a nice Kangaroo Paw 1/2 price plant while there on last visit with a globe to recycle.

This was about as cloying and trite as Tim Dunlop's recent political fantasy published on The (Hum)Drum.

The removal and eventual banning of incandescents in Australia has achieved nothing and was a sop to despondent environmentalists who saw the Coalition atrophied on "saving the planet".

Then in strode the Member for Wentworth to save the day; a man consumed by ambition and petty vindictiveness, to ensure his unique brand of environmental vacuity was indelibly imprinted on the Australian domestic landscape.

What's interesting is the rosy reverance for Turnbull from all corners of the Fourth Estate, yet the man is so clearly despised within his own Party.

How telling since failing to secure its stewardship he has regressed to sniping and vitriol through his various sympathisers and acolytes.

Paeans such as this posing as 'satire' only serve to underscore how little conservative calorific value lies within the man whose political colours are quite clearly nailed to the benches of the opposing side.

Low energy globes are one of the worst tricks to come out of carbon reduction.

Does anyone in the world own a compact floro that has achieved one tenth of the advertised life.

I have complained and the answer is that they fail early if you turn them off.   So the globes I have paid for now take an inconvient time to come up to full brightness and they fail early.  

The handling of mercury is part of the joke.   My council tells me they have no mercury and I should just send them to landfill.

Can I report this to the new carbon scamming watchdog?

Cheers

Graham

I find it somewhat interesting that India (via its Bureau of Energy Efficiency) recognised the real value of mandating a nation - wide switch from energy inefficient (incandescent lights) to their energy efficient (compact flouresent) cousins back in 2009, to the tune of some 6000MW of energy generation capacity translating into a potential saving of over USD 5 billion per annum.  This equates to an abatement of around 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gases - not bad for the world's largest democracy. 

Worth bottling!

In response to Chuck Solide: yes, CFLs contain mercury vapour, but when handled with care this can be recycled into new globes.  Using incandescents on the other hand will require us to keep more coal fired power stations running, which cause large emissions of mercury vapour.  The embodied energy is about 5 times higher in a CFL, but despite this a lifecycle analysis shows net energy usage of about a quarter of the equivalent incandescent.  Halogens generate less heat than an incandescent, hence why some energy saving lights contain halogens instead of CFLs.  Yes, LEDs are the way of the future, and we are starting to see them develop now, and this has been stimulated by phasing out incandescent bulbs in my opinion.

HCS founder Mitch Hooke...Giles, you're a ripper. I suppose this piece is pretty good therapy for you.

And I agree with Reuben."Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." Mark Twain

Back to fantasy land, Giles.

The debate in the US is ostensibly about light bulbs, but really about getting government out of dictating to people as much as possible.

Incidentally, I bought a dozen of the supposed 8000 hour energy efficient bulbs just two years ago. In that time, four have passed away peacefully and a fifth exploded (mercury vapour anyone?). Luckily, I stocked some boxes of normal bulbs at the then give-away prices. Funny though, these normal ones last a lot longer with no real change in the electricity bill.

Vale incandescant globes courtesy of M. Turnbull.

Knee-jerk reactions are never good. Nor is it good to justify your actions with "we did it because they did it!"   Just because "Canada does it" doesn't make it right. Mr Turnbull is guilty on both counts, but as in the old music-hall song "He is more to be pitied than censured"

Incandescent globes are energy gobblers, no dispute; but given your druthers, would you prefer the CO2 with unknown consequences, or the mercury cotamination with fatal consequences. An incandescent globe is 100% recyclable with no toxic components. Not so with Compact Fluorescents. (mercury, formaldehyde, petrochemical residue etc.)  The embodied energy in Compact fluorescents is many, many times higher than incadescents. Halogens generate huge ammounts of heat (which is fine in winter but requires gigawatt hours of airconditioning electricity to remove the waste heat in warmer weather)

Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) use almost negligble power, genrate negligble heat and can last 20 -30 years  If our Politicians were really sincere with their Save the Planet mantra, the NBN would have been scrapped long ago and the money would have been ploughed into further research of LED's, geothermal power and other alternative energy sources.

Instead, all we've heard is a load of Tosh from uninformed politicians of every stripe, and uninformed "commentators" pushing their individual ideologies on what is a very uninformed (and quite often very stupid) general public.

Chuck. Melbourne