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I watched this program on the ABC & could not believe the stupidity of the reporter. He borrowed an EV & knew nothing about the cars capability. If he did he'd know that the satnav will tell him all of the chargers within range & guide him to one. You cannot fill a petrol car in 2 minutes & pay for the fuel etc. He should have already downloaded the apps before leaving. He was at an Evie 350kW charger & if he already had the app & registered the vehicle as most people do, all you do is plug the charger cable in to the car, it charges, you then click stop remove the cable & drive away. You are automatically charged & details are stored in the app. Everything Sam Evans said is spot on. I felt like complaining but then thought why bother. Anyone with half a brain & an interest in going Electric will make their own mind up. I did & it was the best car purchase decision i have ever made. My fuel cost is zero as I charge from my solar panels. When going long distance I check the location of chargers on route & know the range. The car has a longer range than my bladder so when I need to charge I take a break & have a bite to eat. If it is down to 20% charge 20 minutes later it is at 80%. This is usually quicker than than I am. Often I will go & unplug & move the car so someone else can use the charger. It is coming up to 3 years & 45,000 km since I bought my MG4. First service in 2 years & nothing had to be done except update the software. The only downside is that the new facelift model is now 10k less than I paid but now EVs are no longer an expensive way to get in to a new car with the latest small models cheaper than their petrol equivalents.

NRMA also have a battery on their vehicle to transfer energy to an EV. Battery to battery can be very high speed so it does not take long to get enough charge into the empty EV battery to enable it to get to the nearest charger. using a generator would take hours to get very little energy in the EV unless it was a massive generator capable of 150 kW plus. I don't know of anyone who has run out though. EV owners are good planners, partly because the public charging network has not kept up with EV sales. Also because the cars software knows the range and can list all the chargers within range. State & federal governments are now putting a fair bit of effort into improving the number of chargers particularly in regional areas. There are plenty in large centres and along major highways. Installing chargers is a lot easier than building a petrol station & once built at huge cost it has to be supplied with fuel. Portable units are being installed in the outback. They have a large battery and solar panels & get delivered on the back of a truck. Several companies are supplying these to Outback farms etc. Larger ones have a small solar farm & big batteries to supply several vehicles at once. NRMA have one in the NT somewhere with 4 chargers. Public EV charging is only in its infancy & some of the early ones were very unreliable. Not so now & there are plenty that are capable of 350 kW way more than almost all EVs can receive. I am off on a 350km round trip tomorrow. The battery is fully charged (free from my solar system) & I won't need to top up anywhere. If I did though there are heaps of charging options. I just hit the go to button & the Satnav guides me to the neared public charger & lists all within range. Simples.

Everyone is jumping up and down about the ISIS brides who want to return to Australia, and how they might be a threat to our security. Yes, there is a risk of that, but has anyone considered the other side? How many are there voluntarily? The Muslim religion has absolutely NO respect for women, and treat them as possessions of the males. The family (males) choose who they marry - girls as young as 9 or 10 get married off to the man chosen by the family. They do as they are told...or else! They must be covered from head to foot, including their face, lest they arouse the lust of males. They go where and when they are told. How many of them chose to travel to the Muslim countries with their "husbands", or were forced to? They have seen how bad things are over there and want better for their children, and want to bring them back to Australia. But everyone wants to throw up barricades to keep them out. Surely temporary visas would allow them to come back to be assessed, and thrown out if they don't conform to our requirements.

-I met a traveller from an antique land, -Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone -Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, -Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, -And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, -Tell that its sculptor well those passions read -Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, -The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; -And on the pedestal, these words appear: -“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; -Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" -Nothing beside remains. Round the decay -Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare -The lone and level sands stretch far away. (Shelly, circa 1800's)

One for the fishermen amongst us.....

Everyone goes on about rising CO2 levels in the atmoshere. But rising compared to what? How does science determine a base value for comparison. There must be some way to determine exactly what "fresh air" is. Just south of the isolated north-west tip (Woolnorth Point) of Tasmania, at a place called Cape Grim, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) fund and operates the Cape Grim atmospheric observational facility. The Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station first began measuring the composition of the atmosphere in April 1976 and has been in continuous operation since that date. The air sampled arrives at Cape Grim after long trajectories over the Southern Ocean, under conditions described as ‘baseline’. This baseline air is representative of a large area of the Southern Hemisphere, unaffected by regional pollution sources. Air samples are analysed at the station to determine concentrations of greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases, other air pollutants, including aerosols and reactive gases, and radon. Since sampling began at Cape Grim, more that 3 billion measurements have been taken. Among these are measurements of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and synthetic GHGs such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The number of atmospheric greenhouse gases measured at Cape Grim now exceeds 50, as well as concentrations of natural and anthropogenic aerosols (particles such as sea salt, mineral dust, carbon particles etc). Some of the air samples collected at Cape Grim have been archived for further analyses as required. This picture shows some of the samples stored in "fresh air archives". Because we have these measurements and samples going back 50 years, we are in the position of being able to say that the atmoshere has changed over that time. Happily, all is not doom and gloom. The growth of some GHGs (for example methane) has slowed recently and some are in decline (CFCs and halons for example). Read more here: https://capegrim.csiro.au/

GON - There's a classic old phrase, "a Pyrrhic victory". The saying comes from King Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Asculum in 279AD. But it was at horrendous cost to Pyrrhus and his powerful tribe, and the King was quoted as saying after the battle - "If we have another victory like this, we'll be ruined". The Americans, led by Trump, have just expended vast amounts of their high-tech war arsenal, had nearly all their Middle Eastern defence sites destroyed or damaged to the tune of multiple billions, lost billions in military aircraft losses, in Trumps attacks against Iran - and he has achieved very little, except to create an even more bitter and hardline enemy than he had before. This is simply due to Trumps lack of leadership ability, his lack of war strategy, his failure to consult his allies - who has constantly abused and denigrated since he came to office - and his failure to topple any of the hardline Islamic leadership in the country. This Islamic power bloc has 150,000 Revolutionary Guard troops, who are still largely intact as a resisting power force. Australia doesn't need an ally such as the America led by Trump, because he fails to treat any ally with respect, he fails to consult allies when he takes warlike action, and fails to produce a cohesive strategy for actually winning a war against Islamic hardliners. He always wants to go it alone as a King-like leader, but he fails to understand even the basics of military strategies, and the fact remains that America now always loses every war it ventures into, because it has no plan to deal with the aftermath of any warlike action. The full cost of this warlike action against Iran is yet to be felt by Americans and the American economy - but when it does, it's going to become another nail in the American coffin.

But in answer to your question - I would start a foundation with very smart and trustworthy people at the top, with the remit to determine the underlying causes of the most urgent problems affecting people - climate change, inequality, poverty, access to health care / education / justice / clean water / food etc, and the most effective way of lessening those problems. Every billionaire out there could give 99% of their wealth to endeavours like this and still live very comfortable lives. The fact that they don't speaks volumes about their character.

Anybody intersted in talking about EVs?

A Society divided unto itself shall surely fall. Trump thrives on division. Nev

Here is just one of the mistruths from a formal complaint that is being lodged about the Channel 7 story. 3.4 Environmental Misinformation (Koala Treatment) Broadcast Claim: The program alleged that wind farm clearing involves euthanising koalas with “blunt force instruments” [4]. Verified Fact: The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has confirmed this practice has never occurred in any Australian renewable project [1]. Its inclusion in a prime-time broadcast without evidence constitutes a failure to present factual material accurately under Section 3.3.1. Yes, they are claiming with no evidence that koals are being beaten to death in order to build wind farms. This comes from a viral claim several years ago and has no evidence. What astonishing overreach. I am confident that they know this to be untrue, but know a small number of viewers will believe this claim. According to AI In Australia are koalas killed to build windfarms Short answer: No—koalas are not routinely killed “to build wind farms” in Australia. But like any land development, there can be impacts on habitat, and that’s where most of the real issue sits. Here’s the clearer picture: 1) The viral claim about killing koalas You might have seen claims that koalas are being “clubbed” or deliberately killed for wind farms. These have been widely circulated in politics and media, but: A fact check found no evidence of koalas being killed during construction of a major wind farm (Clarke Creek). Companies involved said they use wildlife spotters and strict “zero harm” policies to avoid injury to animals. Claims about workers killing koalas were publicly repeated but later debunked or unsupported. So the idea of routine or intentional killing specifically for wind farms is misleading. 2) What does happen in reality The real issue is more mundane (and still important): Wind farms (like any big project) may require clearing land, which can remove koala habitat. Environmental laws require: surveys before clearing relocating animals where possible minimising harm Developers often pause work if wildlife is present and bring in ecologists. 3) How big is the impact compared to other threats? This is where context matters: Since 2012, mining has cleared far more koala habitat than renewables. Agriculture (like land clearing for grazing) is even larger again. Scientists consistently say the biggest long-term threat to koalas is habitat loss and climate change, not wind farms. 4) Important nuance There are legitimate concerns about renewable projects being built in sensitive habitats. Some proposals have been criticised or modified because of risks to koalas and other species. But that’s about where projects are built, not deliberate killing. Bottom line ❌ Koalas are not being systematically killed to build wind farms ⚠️ Some habitat can be cleared, which affects them ✅ The bigger threats are land clearing (especially agriculture), mining, and climate change If you want, I can break down one of the specific controversies (like Clarke Creek) so you can see exactly how these claims started and what’s actually in the documents.

Nobody gets it right 100% of the time, but the ABC are head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to accuracy.

One of our Liberal Senators is calling on the Government to have a serious chat with Trump. I don't think the chat should be too long. Just two words - F... off! The inflation figures come out today. They are up. That means interest rates will go up. Trump might not be dropping explosives on us, but he's certainly hitting us where it hurts. Not only us, but every country in the world, including China and Russia. The UAE is pulling out of OPEC. That can only mean further rises in oil prices since the UAE is avery major producer. Enough is enough! Trump and his cronies must be removed! Let's see the American people do something for the whole world.

Run a Diesel to empty and you don't just fill it and drive away either. Same if you get contaminated fuel. The Longer you delve into electric the BETTER it Looks, Independence from war causing Oil and It's greedy Price and supply manipulators.. The Modern ICE Piston engines are remarkable but Now becoming an obsolete technology. Time to move on in your conceptions of it. It will continue to be even better as engines did in their day. Nev

The USA has been on Israel's side since Day-1 if the State of Israel. At the birth of the State of Israel, the Middle East was territory overseen by the British and French under United Nations mandates. The USA shouldn't have had anything to do with things there.

To the extremely rich, it is Just a Game. Death is the final Leveller, You can't take it with you . Others will try to steal it from you. Your Health is much more important than Money .Nev

Post here or in the AI thread? An enjoyable use of AI to make a cute video.

How's this one for an example Nev. I'm only about 77kg but can't shake the belly fat no matter what I do. While not huge, it's not ideal either. I don't drink alcohol, the only animal protein I eat is seafood, don't have dairy products, gluten, sugar or any sugary foods or drinks. I eat almost no processed, packaged food and never eat junk food. Diet consists mainly of grains, fruit and vegetables. I get quite a bit of exercise for someone my age, partly targeted, the rest from physical work. Every day I do heaps of gut related exercise, sit ups etc., yet still maintain belly fat. There hardly any fat on my body, just around the midriff. There's nothing left to cut out of my diet, zero saturated fat and zero sugar, only the natural sugar found in fruit. There's a lot of people around like that who have the same issue. Also too many who eat all that stuff you listed.

A coal power plant may last 50 years, but during that time, it would undergo maintenance and upgrades. Private banks and investors are unwilling to finance new coal. The long payback means that even if it were viable now, the risk is that somewhere down the line it may become unviable due to advancing technologies. There is no law in Australia that prevents building new coal; there is simply no good business case. You keep talking about "intermittent power" without considering energy storage. Battery efficiency and cost fall every year. A builder of a coal plant that is burning coal whether it is generating at all, is competing with ever cheaper and more efficient battery storage. It is not just chemical energy storage. Underground Air Batteries — The Energy Storage You’ve Never Heard Of Generating electricity with renewables is extremely cheap; this is undeniable. However, the challenge is both long and short-duration storage. Batteries are being built at an astonishing rate, and there are other promising methods in the pipeline. An investor in coal would need to know that they could never be undercut during the payback time of the plant.

You’re assuming prices are high because we’re adding renewables, but that skips the key comparison—what would be cheaper instead? New coal isn’t being built anywhere in Australia because it’s not economically competitive. If it were cheaper, companies would be investing in it—but they’re not. Nuclear might be reliable, but in Australia it would take 10–15+ years and cost significantly more than renewables. That doesn’t solve current prices. A big driver of recent price spikes has actually been coal plant outages and high fossil fuel prices, not renewables. That’s been highlighted repeatedly by Australian Energy Market Operator. The idea that coal is still reliably holding the system together is outdated. Plants like Eraring Power Station are ageing, breaking down more often, and becoming expensive to maintain—that’s not ideology, it’s physics and economics. You’re right that redundancy is needed—but that applies to any system. The difference is that renewables + storage are currently the cheapest way to build that redundancy at scale. So the issue isn’t that renewables are making power expensive—it’s that we’re replacing an ageing, increasingly unreliable system, and that was always going to come with costs no matter what technology we chose.

Unfortunately, due to the mesh that is global economics, if the USA collapses, then so does the global economy. Don't know about the civic-minded bit, but the rest sure describes China. I really wonder if it is the goal of China to implant its form of communism on the rest of the world. I don't think so. I think China is happy with economic dominance. It has fought economic fire with economic fire.

What a pathetic loser. Imagine being in the most powerful office on the planet and still being so insecure you have to build gaudy oversized edifices in your own honour. Definitely compensating for an awful lot.

Nope. That's a balanced news organisation which actually fact checks.

Trump doesn't need any ballroom. He hasn't got any Balls. What do you think of his NEW Statue of Himself? Covered in Gold-leaf and cast in bronze. Remember the One Saddam Hussein had? The people cheered when that was toppled. Statues don't mean Stature. Nev

Feel free to point out when a journalist actually has worked for a solar panel or wind turbine manufacturer for 2 years.

The Trump photo passports are a special edition to celebrate the 250th anniversary & cost more than a normal one. It is a great way to get extra special attention from immigration officials around the world especially countries Trump has bad mouthed which is all of Europe, UK, China, japan, all of Oceania, most of central & South America & both immediate neighbours. No sane American who travels would want one. BTW the photo of the Aussie flag is probably genuine as the flags were being installed on lamp posts by workers from the Washington municipal authority. Someone discovered it fairly quickly & they were taken down but it is an indictment on the American education system that teaches only American geography, history etc so council workers & obviously some of their superiors wouldn't know the difference. King Charles speech to Congress was eloquent and covered a number of touchy subjects that criticised the US & Trump without naming names & he received a lengthy standing Ovation. Trump had no idea that he was being told to pull his head in & thought it was wonderful.

Maybe it's a cunning plan to stop despairing intelligent people from fleeing the US.

He wants his face and name everywhere. Some future Democrat government will have a lot of cleaning up to do.

This presupposes that we are the only country attempting to cut CO2. Yes, our share is small, but all of the countries that contribute under 2% make cuts adds up to 30% (I am happy to back that figure up) How are these actions abhorrent? When you say you don't accept the science, are you saying that CSIRO is incompetent or part of the malicious conspiracy that you alluded to? I approach climate science like any other area. I have had people tell me that vaccination doesn't work or causes autism, etc. I reject this because I can see what CSIRO says. Being extra cautious, I can cross-check this with other respected sources. This seems to me to be a solid method of determining what the likely "truth" is. If you believe this is a flawed method, then suggest a better method. If the outliers in climate science are right, then why not the outliers in medical science or any other field? Vaccine sceptics also tend to cite "grand conspiracies."

And you think CSIRO are gullible fools falling for this. Why does NASA or CSIRO? Are they dumb, or are they complicit in this "conspiracy" I do understand that China is a mixed bag, although it is interesting to note that CO2 emissions in China have remained flat for 21 months. "China's CO2 emissions have potentially peaked and remained flat or slightly falling for 21 months as of early 2026, despite producing over 35% of global emissions. This plateau is driven by a massive surge in renewable energy, including record solar and wind installations, despite increased chemical industry output" I would add to that nuclear as well. I am not anti-nuclear, although I am sceptical about the economic on this country. I’m not a climate scientist, so I can’t personally evaluate every dataset or model. The only way I can form a view is by looking at the balance of evidence from institutions and experts who work in the field. That’s the same approach I use for everything else—medicine, engineering standards, even things like aviation safety. For example, I accept the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and don’t cause autism, because the overwhelming published evidence supports that. So I’m struggling with why climate science should be treated differently. If I’m not meant to rely on the major scientific bodies and the weight of peer-reviewed research in this case, what alternative method should I use to decide what’s true? And how would I know that method is more reliable than the one I use everywhere else?”

When you run a diesel out it of fuel it will get air in the system will have to be Bled properly. Sometimes even changing a fuel filter has to be done by a competent person with the right equipment. Contaminated Fuel with water can cost thousands of dollars. None of this with EV's No turbos , No EGR Valves. No air cleaners No Mufflers to rot out. No need to warm the engine or watch it on a hot day. No starter Motor, gearbox or clutch to wear. Reduced Brake wear. Servicing reduced to tyres and windscreen wiper Blades. No fumes No tuning. . Dramatic revolutionary change. Nev

That's ironic. Isn't one of their beliefs that governments should have no control over the individual?

Ironically, $600-$700 per week would be sufficient to service a mortgage, if there was a house to purchase.

Trump's 60-day DIY war declaration power has expired. Will Congress kowtow to him, or stand up for the rights of the rest of the World?

Renewables and batteries drive down fossil fuel use despite record electricity demand Here is a short summary of this article. Australia’s latest electricity data shows that renewables and batteries are increasingly meeting demand and displacing fossil fuels, even during periods of extreme heat and record usage. Rooftop solar, wind and large-scale solar all contributed strongly, while batteries helped shift cheap daytime energy into evening peaks—cutting gas use to around 25-year lows. This shift has contributed to lower wholesale electricity prices compared to a year ago. While retail prices don’t fall immediately—because they include network costs, retailer margins and are often locked in through contracts—the trend suggests that continued growth in renewables and storage should put downward pressure on retail electricity prices over time. Now I am expecting someone to say "oh it is the bias ABC" I think it is fair to look at the source of any story. In this case it is the AEMO "Quarterly Energy Dynamics Report Q4 2025" Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q4 2025

I'm afraid I'm very behind the times with prices these days, I must get out more often. I had a session at physiotherapist falls and balance clinic this morning. One hour session $185. I don't know how much I will get back from Medicare. Have to do exercises so I can stand on one foot with my eyes closed. Try this if you are my age, early 80's. Stand upright with your feet together and eyes closed. Hold that for 30 seconds. Not easy. have something close to you that you can grab onto for support. Also, there's a 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car space home across the road from me up for rent - $690.00 per week with $3000 bond. That's more than the single pension, although a single pensioner wouldn't need a 4 bedroom home.

The battery management system in EVs is very sophisticated so all you have to do is plug the car in. You can't overcharge the battery. The original wisdom was that you should only charge NMC batteries to 80% for normal use & to 100% when going on a long trip. Real world use has established that it doesn't matter and that the batteries are lasting up to twice as long as previously thought to at least 500,000 km. This is reflected in the current battery warranties from CATL, the worlds biggest battery manufacturer, of between 1 & 2 million km. The only issues with charging to 100% is that the last 20% takes almost as long as the first 80% and that you should not leave the battery sitting at 100% for months at a time. This mistake has been made by people going away somewhere for a few months to a year or more & finding that the battery has degraded when they use the car again. Leave it in the garage with 60-80% charge & come back a year later & there will be little if any degradation. The advice is that LFP batteries can be charged to 100% all the time but the same advice for NMC is valid for LFP when not using the car for extended periods. So in the real world scenario it doesn't matter what type of battery the EV has, just charge it based on your own requirements. My MG4 has a 64 kWh NMC battery & i charge it when I get low cost electricity & from the solar panels, usually to 80% as that is sufficient for all my normal weekly use. So far the cost has been zero. Of course there was the up front investment in the cost of the car & the solar & battery system. The original payback was estimated at 5-6 years, but that has now reduced to 2-3 years on current charges.

This thread is about electric CARS, not grids and methods of generating.

We can also go further back by using ice cores. "Continuous ice core records from Antarctica provide direct measurements of atmospheric \(\text{CO}_{2}\) going back 800,000 years. [1, 2] However, specialised, discontinuous ice samples (specifically "blue ice" from the Allan Hills, Antarctica) have enabled scientists to measure \(\text{CO}_{2}\) from air bubbles trapped as far back as 2 million years ago, with experimental studies extending even further. [1, 2, 3]" Two million-year-old ice cores provide first direct observations of an ancient climate

Looks like Canada has his number.

I think governments around the world are keenly aware that standing up to Trump is politically popular. If Trump ramps up the rhetoric against Australia I reckon Albo will start being less restrained in response. At the moment it's only Andrew Hastie that publicly speaks common sense about Trump - I'm sure a lot of his sentiments are shared widely around the parliament but at the moment they're not done in front of the press.

Trump wouldn't last 5 minutes as Leader of China. If you don't deliver , you are gone. Nev

I suppose we should talk about the latest "attempt" on Trump. This the resolution of this incident is becoming a twisted tale, and we may end up with a piece of material that has more holes than a string vest. I invite you to watch this video which raises doubts about the inital statements issue by the White House. What has been said, and what has been published from other sources, coupled with the way the White House has been shown to handle the truth loosely, raises the level of our scepticism. If you do watch the video, skip the ad which runs from 3:00 to 4:10.

Most of the PEOPLE who Pay Journalists and control what they say are Pro Coal and Oil Nuclear and wars. and "despise" Unions who represent workers and strive to Improve their conditions. The Farmers Have their Federation. The franchise Chemist Warehouse has Plenty of clout, Too Much?? . Wars make money and sell Papers. The little Man can keep quiet and think himself lucky to not starve. Slaves were the Foundation of America's system, don't forget . How ironic that the downtrodden still don't Matter.. Nev

I know noting of economics, so this will no doubt highlight my ignorance, but can someone explain how, when inflation is increased by outside forces, such as the middle east crisis and the increased cost of fuel, that punishing the victims by increasing the interest rates is going to solve the problem? Surely this will only push prices, thus inflation, higher.

I'm not an economist either but I think it's intended to suppress demand. The basic idea is that forcing people to pay more on their home loan leaves less money for other things (yes I know - like food and medical costs) so demand across the economy goes down, supply remains the same, so this is meant to push prices down. That's what I think anyway - happy to be corrected by someone who actually knows.

People were stunned on Tuesday after a mock-up revealed the new potential design for U.S. passports featuring a scowling President Donald Trump. The redesign, which was officially justified as part of the 250th anniversary celebration of American independence, represents the first time a sitting president's image will appear on a modern U.S. passport.

You too can have a politician just donate a new Cirrus G7.