Blackheath Climate Action Now

Submitted by Bhodi on 15 March 2007 - 1:27pm

General Discussion

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Just a short note to let people know that there is a new group in Blackheath upin the Blue Mountains, looking at ways to tackle issues to do with Global Warming andClimate Change. Obviously part of the groups agenda looks at Energy and Coal Miningobviously comes under this.......We are relatively new group......We are interested in your campaigns and adding support to your group when we can,you guys have a great reputation.......Just wanted to say hi........Bhodi from Blackheath CAN

great to hear!

Submitted by naught101 on 29 March 2007 - 1:40pm.

It pretty inspiring seeing all these small grassroots groups popping up all over the place. what's going on in your area?

Tell me what you think?

Submitted by outside the square on 20 May 2007 - 10:12pm.

Most people only think of one way to end climate change, and that is to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. But to really end climate change we would need to do more than just reduce CO2 emissions. We need a three pronged approach, and that approach is;

1. Eliminate the Symptoms - Mostly the planet has, so far, just tried to shore up against drought and the chances of extreme climate conditions. But is there really a silver bullet that will end all symptoms until we get our act together and have converted to more environmentally friendly energy? I don't know, but I have seen some promising things that could delay the onset for a few hundred years. We all should know one, reflective sulphur dust, how about another, a large shield in outer space, or a third, fertilizing the ocean. So they are out there, but before I go on here is another one, my suggestion. It is the Seven Islands of Floating Mirrors.

Seven islands floating with anchorage on top of currents that travel towards the poles. The water underneath cools as there is no sunlight on it. The water then keeps on travelling towards the poles a few degrees cooler. How does this help? Firstly the poles will refreeze up lowering sea levels back to normal. Secondly the colder waters will affect the climate more favorably then warmer waters. Okay, my predictions of what will happen is, The Great Barrier Reef will not bleach and die, The 1000 year drought (worst drought in a thousand years) in Australia will disappear with the el'nino side effects. America will have a lot less chance of Hurricane Katrina of ever happening again and Europe will not have to go through the predicted ice age when Greenland melts. Now the whole 7 islands will cover 477,000 square kilometres, which is 250*250 kilometres each, that will completely offset the heat increase of 0.33 Watts per metre squared per year, as is the current trend. But because they will be placed in strategic locations, you could shrink their size if the cost is too excessive. These islands can have a dual effect where if you place slow dissolving phosphorus blocks underneath, you can increase seaweed and algae growth underneath. There should be at least one fifth of the light hitting the ocean in between the panels to preserve ocean life underneath. There will be a new ecosystem underneath the mirrors, to which some fish stocks will thrive. They can be fished without worry to the overall planets ecosystem. And if you are worried about cyclones and hurricanes of destroying them, try lifting an upside down bucket with no air inside out of the water. Yes it will be expensive but any nation could build them without any new or fancy technology. Want to end Africa's starvation crisis and climate change in one hit. A trillion dollars from the G20 could easily do it. Are mirrors too expensive, well check out China and their two dollar plastic cars with chrome finish all over them.

2. Lower CO2 emissions - Should I say enough said. Well no, how about extra incentive schemes with interest free loans for individuals to convert to solar power by having solar panels on his or her house. Why hasn't the world followed Australia yet in getting rid of incandescent globes. Etcetera etcetera etcetera..

3. Removing CO2 from the atmosphere - The only things that have been happening so far is some offsetting schemes have been established. Such as growing trees, which take 88 years to suck down the required CO2 the person has paid for. Others are schemes that turn bad polluters into lesser polluters, which should be legislated anyway rather than do gooder greenies being thieved to help a company do what they should be doing anyway.

So where is a genuine scheme that will help remove the paid amount of CO2 immediately? I haven't found one yet. But here is a suggestion which whoever runs it will make a profit and we don't have to strain our back pockets to pay for. Why don't we use the old finished opencut and underground mines and fill them full of organic material, then cover it. Now 1 ton of organic material equals 2.5 tons of CO2. One mine could net 10 million tons of coal? maybe, but help bury 100 million tons of organic material. What is so good is the fact that you can choose any plant to grow, only use sewerage as fertilizer and watering and at $40 per ton buried, you don't need much transport, no shipping, no real preparation and you can use the leftover of plant crops we eat to bury. It would only add 8 cents Australian per litre of fuel to make carbon neutral, 1.2 cents for E85 fuel. Even better, car companies could sell carbon neutral vehicles for the first 300 000 kilometres for $900 Australian dollars. And that is a 12 litre per 100 kilometre gas guzzler (around 6 gallons per 100 miles). Even Arnold Schwarzenegger would allow those cars into California but make sure they're scrapped on their 300 000 kay birthday. Unless the owner pays for his own carbon neutrality for a few more years worth. It's an export business without physically exporting anything. Only franchising and the net does anything like it. Oh by the way, once an opencut mine is full of organic material and is buried, it will become the best farmland around eventually as the nutrients travel towards the surface while the carbon gets trapped underground.

Well if that is not the answer then I hope someone gets Richard Branson's 25 million dollars soon, then I'll know the planet will be saved eventually.

This is great news. The

Submitted by Algae Biofuel (not verified) on 11 April 2008 - 8:19am.

This is great news. The more we can do to increase our energy independence and supply, the more free we become.

About us. Rising Tide Australia is a grassroots Newcastle group taking action against the causes of anthropogenic climate change and for equitable, just, effective, and sustainable solutions to the crisis. We are committed to the principals of Non-violent Direct Action. We are part of the global Rising Tide climate justice movement. We live in the biggest coal port in the cosmos.