Coal still doing the heavy lifting
THERE are lessons for Australia in the energy crises facing Europe, the UK and China. Germany has spent over 500 billion euros on renewable energy over the past 15 years, yet in the first half of 2021 more electricity was generated from coal than wind and solar. Putin is squeezing natural gas supplies, forcing the UK to fire up coal-fired generators. Meanwhile in China, the majority of provinces are faced with power restrictions and blackouts. The official line is these “unscheduled interruptions” are for environmental reasons.
The delicious irony is without China’s ban on Australia’s highly calorific, lowsulphur and low-ash thermal coal, their lights would still be burning brightly. David Hurburgh
South Hobart
KEEP FIGHTING
TO the good people of Derby who are trying to preserve their environment and livelihood, keep up the good fight. We here in the Far South are certainly not against logging as it is in our blood, but any hint that selective logging can happen is a pipe dream. Years ago, when Forestry hadn’t changed its name, we were told that oldgrowth forests would be selectively logged, keeping islands of oldgrowth intact.
That all sounds good in a fourth floor corner office, but on the ground, where the bulldozer meets the road, it was a different story. It was “Oh, did I do that? Silly me, I guess we will just have to knock down the rest of it” and “Was that outside the boundary? My GPS must be off. Oh well, can’t stop now.”
Suddenly leatherwood groves that were thousands of years old had vanished, and huge trees that had survived millennia of natural challenges were ground into wood chips.
Until Tasmania relearns that the only way to selectively log forests is the
way they do it in Europe, which is one tree at a time, which is how Tasmanians did it 100 years ago, the only way to stop clear felling is to stop the logging completely in that area.
We have plenty of plantations, some of which are deteriorating because they are past due for harvesting, so stick to your guns.
CARBON TAX
SO the airlines are looking to charge a carbon tax on flights. It would be good if they explained how a tax is going to help their emissions. Are they going to plant forests to prove that they have spent the money and let us all see the results? Or can we be cynical and watch them add the money to their bottom line? Maybe the ozone layer will shrink!
Toni Oost Bonnet Hill
TRUMP DOCTRINE
Miles C. Pitman Dover
A FEDERAL election must be only a few weeks away because Scott Morrison appears to be doing what he knows best — marketing for Liberal Party reelection. This observation is based on the large number of expensive taxpayer paid “Australian Government” (read Liberal Party) TV advertisements extolling our government’s stellar achievements in respect of climatechange mitigation measures and the Covid-19 vaccination program. It would seem our government is following the Trump doctrine — tell really big lies often and long enough and the mugs will believe it and vote for you.
Miles Harrison Blackmans Bay
MANDARIN FIRST
THE intentions of Alfred Nobel who left his fortune to finance awards for “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” have been deeply sullied by some previous awards.
Obama, Abiy Ahmed, Yasser Arafat and others come to mind. The Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce the winner of the 2021 Peace Prize on Friday. Apparently, climate activist and teenager Greta Thunberg is among the favourites. Were she to learn Mandarin and spout her cause from the streets of Beijing, her simple beliefs might be received with less laughter?
PEER DEEPER
James Turley Geilston Bay
IN response to reader Anne Francis (Letters, October 4) I would encourage her to look a little deeper into our wellbalanced forestry industry. In Tasmania our managed forests have regenerated trees of varying ages, some that have been harvested multiple times. As well as production forests Tasmania has vast areas of untouched, protected forests and we are fortunate to also have a growing plantation sector. The key is balance. We need to use more forestry products (even woodchips) and not less as wood is the most environmentally responsible solution to climate change. It stores carbon, replaces non-renewable construction materials and fibre replaces single use plastics. Forestry is an important part of the solution and this “anything but forestry” mindset needs to stop.
Stuart Harris Tasmanian Forest Products Association
WE NEED ANSWERS
WHAT the hell is going on with Minister Ley’s continuous issue of new coal licences?
You’d think that the inevitability of transition towards renewables would be pretty obvious, even to the blindfolded minions of the federal Liberals.
Election coming up? Need to secure the coal-vote quickly? Can’t quite admit to betraying the coal workers? Nationals causing a bit of a problem? Get the promises in early to ensure compensation payments? Who actually owns these mines? Who will benefit from stranded assets?
We need some answers and I’m not voting for the Coalition until I get them. Join me?
NET-ZERO MYTH
Bill Tomalin Ranelagh
JOHN Ross’s Talking Point piece makes it clear that a new timesaving strategy urgently needs to be taken from where we are now on climate change (“Led up garden path by netzero myth”, Talking Point, September 30). As a start, may I suggest a target of net-zero emissions from the engine room of mutually assured distractions — the ScoMotion mobile.
Stephen Jeffery
Sandy Bay