‘Large percentage’ of Henbury money returns to taxpayers
Some quotes from a botanist near end.
Other posts re Henbury hoped for carbon farm

While reading the David Archibald book – Twilight of Abundance – I got to thinking about coal to liquids technology and when might Australia get serious about being independent from imports for our transport fuels.
David sent me this informative 1999 UK Govt summary “Coal Liquefaction” – Technology Status Report 010 – Cleaner Coal Technology Programme – 14 pages 652KB. There are many processes – there was a trial Australian plant at Morwell using the low grade brown coals there – The Brown Coal Liquefaction Process The BCL process was developed by NEDO of Japan to a 50 tonnes/day pilot-plant scale, constructed at Morwell in Victoria, Australia and was operated over the period 1985-1990.
I wonder if Australia has future plans in some Canberra bunker.

A new paper in Nature Climate Change – Greater ecosystem carbon in the Mojave Desert after ten years exposure to elevated CO2 lends support to Dr Gifford’s 1992 conclusion – “The present modelled rate of net sequestration is of a similar magnitude to CO2 emissions from continental fossil fuel burning and land clearing combined.”
This May 2014 paper in Nature says – […results “provide direct evidence that CO2 fertilization substantially increases ecosystem C storage and that arid ecosystems are significant, previously unrecognized, sinks for atmospheric CO2 that must be accounted for in efforts to constrain terrestrial and global C cycles.”]
In 2013 I commented – An amazing example of collective amnesia at CSIRO –
on a new Australian paper heralded in the Canberra Times with the headline – “Plant life losing battle with emissions”.

In just over five years Britain will have run out of oil, coal and gas, says “A report by the Global Sustainability Institute..”

What is it about the resources industry that it is fated to be misunderstood?

Ancient Romans – all that Dinari wasted building your roads. In every election – put the Greens last – always.

Thanks to michaelsmithnews.com for noticing this gem.
How the Australian Senate is structured. And info re Senate from your Government.

Last month I asked Minister Hunt and Senator Birmingham the following –

Dear Minister Hunt and Senator Birmingham,

With reference to this website of the Clean Energy Regulator –

I downloaded the csv file Register of Offsets Projects (CSV 86 KB) – and found 117 projects across Australia.

Can you please tell me what Commonwealth money has been expended on these projects to date ? Feel free to break down the amount re the previous Government vs the current Government – or any other breakdown like financial years – if that suits you.

I would also appreciate seeing an itemisation for the States and in the case of NSW I hope to see the amounts spent on individual projects.
Looking forward to seeing how much Commonwealth money is being spent on these carbon offset projects.

The reply just came in from the Senator –

Continue reading Reply from Canberra re carbon farming questions →

Hard working people want their lives improved.
I keep hearing on the mainstream media about the end of the Australian mining boom. So I was curious to see what was happening with steel production numbers.
All statistics from World Steel Association –
first chart 1980-2013 annual production.

Then 2009-Feb2014 monthly production – red M = March 2014

The first quarter 2014 is up over same period in 2013
China 1st qtr 2014 201053
World 1st qtr 2014 404030
China 1st qtr 2013 191745
World 1st qtr 2013 389740
and China in March 2014 produced 70million t.
I am not sure what “boom” is ending but if we can not manage prosperity out of this there is something wrong in our national life.

Good news for people concerned about energy prices and supplies. The hard working Marc Morano will make sure Energy Depot has lots of informative reading.

What do we have in Australia?

• Catallaxy often posts on energy issues – Stop renewable subsidies to allow lower electricity prices and competitive industry
• While the ABC runs a Greener line – Will New South Wales run short of gas by 2016? – checkout some of the comments.

This page describing The Land Sector Carbon and Biodiversity Board looks to describe an additional set of QUANGOS to that addressed in my previous post – A Quarter $Billion in climate change grants over three years 2010-2012 –
Downloading The Land Sector Carbon and Biodiversity Board 2011-12 Annual Report – taking the five or six year funding totals from pages 12-13 I make the grand total $1.7Bn.

We can only hope the new Govt has kneecapped the worst of these schemes before they can squander too much of our taxes. Apologies for my adding to their Calendar.