Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/05/26 in all areas

  1. 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.
    5 points
  2. -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)
    5 points
  3. A Society divided unto itself shall surely fall. Trump thrives on division. Nev
    4 points
  4. 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.
    4 points
  5. Nobody gets it right 100% of the time, but the ABC are head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to accuracy.
    4 points
  6. One for the fishermen amongst us.....
    4 points
  7. 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.
    4 points
  8. 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/
    3 points
  9. 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.
    3 points
  10. 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.
    3 points
  11. 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.
    3 points
  12. Nope. That's a balanced news organisation which actually fact checks.
    3 points
  13. 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
    2 points
  14. Even those without solar are better Off. You can Have electricity for free at certain times and the Price is less because of the Cheap % which will only become Greater if we get on with it. Nev
    2 points
  15. If you want more expensive energy build new coal fired power stations and you will also get added pollution and greenhouse gasses we are trying to reduce. Plus it would take up to 8 years to build. The problem is venture capitalists and banks won't touch this option with a barge pole. Why? Among many reasons it is just not financially viable. The grid was neglected for 20 years by successive governments & population increase along with increased demand for electricity and the costs associated with upgrading the grid are enormous. Add the constant complaints from people who don't want transmission lines on their land and the costs of compliance and you get a logistical and financial nightmare. Storage is the answer. See Octaves comments. I have 9kW of Solar & an 18.6 kWh battery & don't use any grid power and I charge my EV for free as well. Rooftop solar produces more power during the day than all of Australias fossil fuel power generators combined. There is so much the wholesale price in the middle of the day is almost always negative. I sell most of my stored energy during peak demand & keep enough to cover my use overnight & during the peak morning period. Not everyone can do what I do but there are 4 & a half million houses with rooftop solar & all of these could have a home battery. The state and federal home battery subsidies have been so successful that half of the original $2.3 billion expected to last to 2030 was used up in 6 months. Now an additional $4.9 billion has been added along with changes based on battery capacity.
    2 points
  16. Looks like Canada has his number.
    2 points
  17. 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.
    2 points
  18. Recent reports based on what people close to him have allegedly said have suggested that in his second term, Trump has begun to view himself less as a peer to past U.S. presidents like Lincoln or Washington, and more as a "world-historical" figure on par with figures like Alexander the Great or Napoleon.
    2 points
  19. There's nothing LESS reliable that an old obsolete Coal fired Power station. They FAILon Hot days without warning and take ages to repair which can be Impossible for Many technical reasons. Having steam in the equation means danger and inefficiency. Coal combustion is a a polluter on a grand scale. You continue to Ignore STORAGE. You are the one flogging dead horses and using the Worn out slogans of the Deniers. It doesn't CUT. Why is Dutton Not around anymore? Nev.
    2 points
  20. He also attacks those who say anything against him. Criticism is not permitted..Nev
    2 points
  21. He wouldn't last 5 minutes anywhere else either. The US is the only place where there are enough stupid people to elect a convicted felon, 6 time bankrupt, accused rapist, malignant narcissist, poorly educated conman because he appeals to fundamentalist christians and is a billionaire.
    2 points
  22. You obviously haven't studied what is happening in W.A. The W.A. State Govt has thrown multiple hundreds of millions (possibly billions by now), trying to keep W.A.'s coal-powered power generation going. W.A.'s coal powered electricity comes from two coal power stations at Collie. Muja (owned by the W.A. Govt) provides 85% of W.A.'s coal power, and Bluewaters, a privately-owned power station, provides the other 15% of W.A. coal power. First, about 10 or 12 years ago, it was $380M of W.A. taxpayers money sent down the drain trying to refurbish a rotted out Muja power station, under a State Liberal Govt. Like trying to restore a rotted-out vintage car, the more they repaired, the more corrosion they found. They gave up and called it a day before a billion or two went down the drain trying to fix the wreck of a power station. Enter Griffin Coal and Premier Coal. Griffin Coal is one of W.A.'s major coal producers. It has lost $1.3B since 2011. It is owned by an Indian corporation, it has been in receivership for several years, and it's almost certainly facing bankruptcy. But the W.A. Govt keeps pouring endless amounts of money into Griffin, to ensure it has adequate coal to keep the W.A.-Govt owned Muja coal-fired power station going. Over $300M at last count. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-21/roger-cook-extends-griffin-coal-financial-lifeline/106250998 Then we have Premier Coal. Premier (privately owned - by the Chinese) has too much coal, and can't sell what it produces, so the W.A. Govt pours money into Premier Coal to ensure hundreds of Collie workers don't end up unemployed. Despite all that subsidising, Premier have just announced around 70 to 100 jobs are to go at the company as they "readjust production" to suit the declining coal market. All this State Govt money going into coal-powered electricity production in W.A. means power prices aren't rocketing, and the power cost rises are being kept to an acceptable level. But the subsidies are a major burden on all W.A. taxpayers, and a hidden cost to W.A.'s coal-fired electricity production. So much for the "cost burden" of going over to renewable energy. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-22/collie-job-cuts-coal-mine-merger-push/106591996
    2 points
  23. Trump wouldn't last 5 minutes as Leader of China. If you don't deliver , you are gone. Nev
    2 points
  24. 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
    2 points
  25. This thread is about electric CARS, not grids and methods of generating.
    1 point
  26. Anybody intersted in talking about EVs?
    1 point
  27. I agree with Nev. It's not ideal and there is a potential risk but if they are Australian citizens and legally entitled to live here, then the Government has a responsibility towards getting them out of the refugee camps and facilitating their return. The rest is a rehabilitation and risk management exercise.
    1 point
  28. People are being subject to Propaganda a constantly everywhere.. Look at the Non ISIS Hate here and in the USA. WE have obligation under Law . It's a bit of a No Win for us but I'm sure it can be handled. IF they get Here and really, where else should/could they go? A lot of them are Just Kids.. We have Bigger Problem than this to worry about. Nev
    1 point
  29. (Common? Decency)? Humanity.. It's nothing to do with Helping ISIS. Nev
    1 point
  30. A concern that I have does not involve future terrorist activities of the wives, but the attitudes of their children. Those kids have grown up an an certain environment. They have been indoctrinated by the controllers of that environment. Just consider the outlook of German kids who grew up under the NAZI regime. At the end of WWII, when the world hey grew up in came to an end, they lost all that they knew. They had to undergo education to let them learn that what they believed in, one could say their morality was not the truth. I wonder how many of them were mever able to fully change their ideas. The same can be said for all children, no matter what ideological system they grew up in. Isn't the Aussie Spirit we try to instill in our children just another ideological system? I say, let those adults amongst them who were Australian citizens, return. However, let us give the children of those people all the help we can to detoxify from what they have been lead to believe was acceptable.
    1 point
  31. When I’m asked what I pay per kWh, I’d usually say around 30 cents. But thinking about it, that’s not really accurate for my situation. Because I have rooftop solar—and the system has already paid for itself—a portion of the electricity I use is effectively free. A better way to look at it would be to take my total electricity bill over a period and divide it by the total kWh I’ve used (including both grid and solar generation). That would give a blended cost per kWh, which is likely much lower than 30 cents—probably somewhere around 10–15 cents. When you think about it this way, electricity doesn’t seem especially expensive for households with solar. Given there are now over 4.5 million homes with rooftop solar in Australia (roughly a third of households), that’s a large number of people benefiting from relatively low effective electricity costs. That said, this raises a genuine equity issue. Not everyone can access rooftop solar, particularly renters or lower-income households. The solution, in my view, isn’t to reduce the benefits for those who have solar, but to expand access for those who don’t.
    1 point
  32. Any new generation, regardless of method, imposes a cost on the electricity they generate. New renewables impose a cost, but so would a bunch of new coal power plants. This cost would need to be paid for for many years to come.
    1 point
  33. Cheaper would be to replace coal fired power stations with new coal fired plants in a controlled manner. Nuclear would take a long time but newer reactors will last a long time and be cheaper in the long run. Best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, second best is today. The problem is we aren't just adding renewables, we are adding intermittent renewables. If we replaced our coal with new coal and gas we don't need battery's (although some would be beneficial) extra transmission, artificial inertia etc it would be cheaper.
    1 point
  34. Can you name a country where building new coal or nuclear power plants recently has kept retail electricity prices flat or below inflation? You’re asking renewables to reduce total electricity bills while we’re simultaneously replacing an entire ageing system and building new infrastructure.
    1 point
  35. What's your point?
    1 point
  36. This paper examines the correlation between end-user electricity prices and the share of solar and wind energy in total electricity production in OECD countries. It is shown (i) that end-user prices in recent years (2020–2022) are positively correlated with the share of solar and wind and (ii) that the price of electricity in the majority of countries has risen with the solar and wind share since these types of energy came on the scene. (paper published 2024) Green Electricity Prices | Biophysical Economics and Sustainability | Springer Nature Link
    1 point
  37. Malcolm Turnbull had to get that from a Golfer. I think that Not overly stirring the Possum is the way to go.. King Charlie made a Point of saying to Trump that He was very Fond of Australia and I know he means it. Hastie has personal experience of Wars that can't be won. (Afghanistan). Nev
    1 point
  38. IF they get here they will be subject to the due Processes of the Law. Nev
    1 point
  39. He's the BEST at showing us what NOT to BE. It's ALL about HIM (and his Giant EGO.). He's the "Most POWERFULL Person in History. (So He says) IF that doesn't scare you, Nothing will. What IF he turns (More) on AUSTRALIA? Nev
    1 point
  40. Bull$#!t baffles Brains. We are drowning in it. Nev
    1 point
  41. No koalas around the proposed site of the windfarm near me. However, it would be good if they got rid of the pigs and foxes. I mentioned in another thread that BEFORE approval was given for construction a two-year study of flight patterns of bats and birs had to be conducted. I can't see the developers killing off bats and birds. I suppose a good anti-windfarm claim could be an application of the butterfly fluttering in the Amazon causes hurricanes in the Carribean.
    1 point
  42. The ABC is not above manufacturing hatchet jobs against EVs AI summary: "In April 2026, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) faced intense criticism from electric vehicle (EV) advocates following a 7.30 report focused on the difficulties of long-distance EV travel. Primary Criticisms of the Report Advocates and experts, including The Driven, accused the ABC of adopting a "petrol tank mentality" and producing a "hit piece". Key points of contention included: YouTube +1 Choice of Vehicle: The report featured a 2021 Hyundai Kona, an older model with slower charging speeds, which critics argued was used to unfairly represent the entire modern EV market. Poor Timing: The segment was filmed during the Easter long weekend, the busiest travel period of the year, which naturally led to atypical charging station queues. Lack of Context: Critics argued the report failed to mention that roughly 95% of EV charging occurs at home, rather than at public fast-chargers. Technical Exaggeration: Claims that using Bluetooth audio or cabin heating significantly drained the battery were labelled as "ignorant or deliberately misleading" Review of ABC story by the Driven “Petrol tank mentality:” ABC’s 7.30 report on EV charging problems rated a fail
    1 point
  43. 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.
    1 point
  44. Here's how his new arch will look, if it ever gets built.
    1 point
  45. PM, the media watch segment does note the journalist's history; however, its main thrust is about mistruths. The journo says "it (cobalt) has been the key element in practically every storage battery on the planet" Whilst cobalt was a common ingredient, this is no longer the case. This should have been pointed out, but that would detract from the purpose of the story. If the problem is cobalt, then why limit criticism to its (diminishing) use in EVs and renewables? My understanding is that about a third of all cobalt is used in laptops and smartphones as well as jet engines, medical implants, car tyres and pigments. But this would not fit the narrative. Whilst the vast majority of EVs and storage batteries are now LFP those other uses still remain, but this seems to be OK. I am intending to buy an EV within the next year and I am only considering LFP (which is pretty much the vast majority), so there is no story here. Awareness of the problems with cobalt is fairly recent, so I certainly would not point at someone in their EV or hybrid (Corolla Cross?) and yell, "blood battery". I am also keenly aware that cobalt is used in my phone, PC, etc.
    1 point
  46. Just in time for Cinco De Mayo, it looks like Wall Street has coined a new insulting acronym for President Donald Trump. And like the infamous TACO, or Trump Always Chickens Out, it also has a connection to Mexican food. Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas claimed on X Wednesday that one business analyst is mocking the president’s handling of the Iran war by replacing TACO with NACHO. The acronym is more spicy than cheesy, as it bluntly stands for “Not A Chance Hormuz Opens,” a reference to Iran’s decision to restrict movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf where 20% of all traded oil and natural gas normally passes.
    1 point
  47. He wants his face and name everywhere. Some future Democrat government will have a lot of cleaning up to do.
    1 point
  48. Imam Albo and Tony Burqa said the Govt is not going to help them.
    0 points
  49. So, what next? all possible paths look too bleak. People assumed it couldn't be -that- bad, that "the system" would curb him. Life would go on. But now they are on track for a busted country? With slave labor camps, gov't death squads in the streets? (such as ICE) Will stupid brutal people rise under this regime, too dumb and short-sighted to keep it together?. The USA may yet collapse and the ruins will be colonized by smarter, more industrious, civic-minded, neighbors. Alternatively, one of the even dumber trumpalo successors will lose another war and cities will be turned to rubble.
    0 points
This leaderboard is set to Melbourne/GMT+10:00
×
×
  • Create New...