Speaker addressed issues of energy alternatives

Lithgow Mercury, Page: 5
Tuesday, 16 May 2006

Forty Lithgow and Blue Mountains residents attended a workshop presented by the Lithgow Environment Group Greens at the Lithgow Workmens Club. Participants discussed ways of averting a climate catastrophe while also generating more jobs and making Australia a wealthier nation. Dr John Kaye, a university academic and energy and environment expert, led the workshop. He is also a Greens NSW Upper House candidate at the 2007 state election.

"Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities is the greatest challenge facing Australia and the world," Dr Kaye said. "If we do not reduce our use of fossil fuels like the burning of coal to produce electrical energy, the planet risks a very grim future, including prolonged droughts, food shortages and the spread of disease. "Australia is the highest per capita producer of greenhouse gases." Burning coal and gas to generate electricity accounts for 35 per cent of Australia's emissions.

"The good news is that it is possible to halve those emissions by 2040 using a combination of renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency."efficiency." Technologies such as wind energy, direct solar heating of water and bio-electricity using crop residues are already available and with small improvements would be highly competitive with coal. "These technologies are not only good for the climate but would generate more jobs and improve Australia's balance of payments." For example, investing in wind generation could generate four times the number of jobs as spending the same amount of money on coal generation.

"If the Lemma government goes ahead with a new 1500 MW coal fired power station at Mt Piper which would cost $2 billion, $1.5 billion would be spent overseas and only $0.5 billion in Australia." The same amount of money spent on wind generation could result in $1.6 billion being spent on Australian industry with only $0.4 billion going overseas.

"A clean green future would save the environment, generate jobs and help with our national balance of payments," Dr Kaye said. "Workshop participants left with a sense of needing to spread the message and put pressure on our local, state and federal representatives to make the big switch to a sustainable, jobs rich future," Ariel Elliott, coordinator of the Lithgow Environment Group, said.