Do your energy research

In reply to Colin Bell’s letter on September 27, can I suggest you familiarise yourself with countries/ Australian states currently transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

Investigate the prices these countries pay for their electricity and also investigate the down time in supply from these renewable sources and what they do to maintain supply.

Assuming we all convert to ELVs, that will require an extra 30 per cent electrical supply over the existing supply.

Subtract the current 20 per cent supply from natural gas and that means NZ needs to find 50 per cent more in electrical supply.

Do you seriously think solar/wind/tidal can step up to this extra supply challenge?

Can I also suggest that you do some research on the real greenhouse gas contributors to earth’s climate temperatures.

Hint – look at the effect of water vapour vs carbon dioxide and compare the heat capacities of water (4500J/KgC) and carbon dioxide (840J/KgC) and their relative atmospheric quantities – water 0-50,000ppm, carbon dioxide currently 410 ppm and its doubling to 800ppm.

You will find that water vapour swamps the carbon dioxide effect on absorption by many orders of magnitude.

Can I also suggest some research into the medieval warm period and the Little Ice Age. And one final suggestion – look at the effect of El Nino/ La Nina/volcanic episodes on global satellite temperature responses and compare against the atmospheric CO2 graph.

Finally, as for New Zealand’s future energy supply, there is only one current technology able to replace fossil fuel supply continuity – nuclear power.

Sweden voted to get rid of nuclear power in 1980, but guess what – they still have it 38 years later.