Zur Information,

Dieser Pfosten ist in der deutschen meinen Arbeitgeber zu verwirren zu vermeiden bitte Sprache (verzeihen Sie der groben, maschinellen Übersetzung), dem freundlich ist und mit dem ich 10 wundervolle Jahre verbracht habe. Ich bin nicht mit der falschen Firma - ich bin in der falschen Industrie.

Letzte Woche zog eine deutsche Tochtergesellschaft der Solar industrie, die im inneren Sydney-Vorort von Rosebery gegründet wurde, einen technischen Kundendienst direktor ein. Leider erlernte ich von der Position zu spät - sie hatten bereits zwei Anwärter in die engere Wahl gezogen, als meine Anwendung ankam. Sie schien, dass sie nach einer begabten Person, eher als der vollkommene Satz der vorhandenen Fähigkeiten waren, weil sie Training in Deutschland anboten. Der Job war vollkommen. Ich träume vom Arbeiten in der Energieenindustrie und habe viel zum beizutragen.

Dieser Blog prüft viele Sachen über mich:

• Ich bin in den Buchstaben des Schreibens 1425 zum Sydney-Morgen-Verkünder (Sydney Morning Herald) hartnäckig.

• Ich habe eine Geschicklichkeit in den Aufdeckungschlüsseltendenzen unter den Geräuschen. Alles Folgen wurden als identifizierent "winners" in diesem Blog lange vor den hybriden und elektrischen Trägern des Mainstreams -, vorgerückte Batterien, V2G, CPV, CST, Dünn film, niedrige Wartungs wind turbinen, Kevin Rudd, Barack Obama. Ähnlich identifizierente ich die Schlüsselfragen unserer Zeit als Höchstöl- und Klimaänderung, zu einer Zeit als die Mittel auf Terrorismus fixiert wurden.

• Ich interessiere wirklich mich und morgens, das an der Ursache der Nachhaltigkeit festgelegt wird.

• Ich habe gute Schreibensfähigkeiten.

• Ich habe einen trockenen Humorsinn.

• Ich habe hoch qualifiziertes Wissenschaftsverständnis.

Logisch muss es viele wie gekümmerte Leute in der Welt geben und, einige müssen für Firmen wie die arbeiten, die vor kurzem einen technischen Kundendienstdirektor in Rosebery einzog. Wenn Sie solch eine Person sind, die mit Verstärkung beschäftigt gewesen wird, mailen Sie mich bitte und gestehen Sie mir die Gelegenheit zu zuzutreffen.

Shai Agassi sagt dass er doesn't haben einen Job, er hat einen Auftrag. Er ist sehr glücklich. Mein Auftrag ist, die folgenden Zwanzig Jahre meines Berufslebens zu verbringen sicherstellend, dass die Energie revolution mit einer halsbrecherischen Geschwindigkeit auftritt, die mit der Drohung der Klimaänderung angemessen ist. Ich habe das Gespräch für zu lang gesprochen. Es ist Zeit, zu gehen der Weg.

Freundlicher Respekt,
Karl Sparre
email: carl*at*adenergy.com.au

Dear Editor,

This is roughly letter number 1425 in my protest campaign. I have decided to stop writing daily. The reasons are several.

The evidence that we are on the cusp of a green energy revolution is now overwhelming. A new generation of solar panels at or below "coal parity" has arrived [First Solar, Applied Materials (Sunfab), Ausra]. Electric cars to be proud of are entering the market [Project Better Place, Tesla, Mitsubishi iMiev]. Battery technology has passed the point of being suppressible. GE's announcement last week of a new battery facility in New York confirms this.

It was Rudd's announcement of the world's largest solar power station for Australia using four different solar technologies which dissolved the last of my angst. The solar revolution, having begun, is now unstoppable. The application of V2G, the missing link, will become obvious as the question of storage arises. I believe I will live to see 100% renewable energy in Australia. Wind turbines might not be oak-tree-attractive, but clean energy is a beautiful thing.

It is my expectation that 10 younger, more motivated, better writers will take my place. I will write only when the letters page fails to express an important point of view. Given the swing in public opinion I have witnessed, this will not be often. At the outset of this campaign, the view that thermal coal must be phased out was considered extreme – it is now commonplace. Financial experts are advising coal stock-holders to sell while they can - "coal is under siege".

I exit with some bullet points on which future writers should focus:

• Obtain a strong outcome from Copenhagen - 25% cuts by 2020 would seem about right.

• Obtain a generous uniform national feed-in tariff.

• Specify standard plugs (V2G compatible) globally for electric vehicles.

• Redirect defence spending. Peace is negotiable without weapons. Wars are fought over resources. A sustainable world does not use virgin resources.

• Environmentalism beats religion any day of the week - especially Sunday.

• Coal liquefaction is the ultimate sin.

My confidence that mankind will make a reasonable attempt to save Earth is not matched by my confidence of success. Biochar and carbon negative concrete can help make up for lost time, however it may already be too late. I am deeply sorry, kids, but that is not my problem; it is yours. May the laws of physics be kind.

Regards and thanks for reading.
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Blame Eve, I suppose. We seem incapable of learning the lesson that not all low hanging fruit is for picking.

Perhaps apples, back next season, are not the right analogy. When the Darling Downs coal seam gas is exhausted, the only clues to its having existed will be the salt pans and higher greenhouse gas concentrations. When that day comes, the options are solar, wind or geothermal. Heaven forbid we exercise these options now instead.

("Salt water dilemma behind a gas bonanza", May 18)

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Oh dear, the god of the gaps has shrunk again ("Scientist has clue to the origins of life", May 15), and just in time for the film release of "Angels and Demons" too. The camerlengo will not be happy.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

p.s. My vote for story of the day goes to "Secret plan for recycling levy on bottles, cans". The industry is furious at having to take responsibility for their rubbish? Says it all, really. I don't know who Matthew Johns is.

Re: "Ineffective solar rebates should go, says report", May 14

Dear Editor,

Where has Roger Wilkins been living this past quarter century? In a stable? Technophiles know that the price of any given technology plummets on reaching the mass market sweet spot. We have witnessed this with computers, mobile phones, digital storage media and flat screen TVs. Solar panels, thanks to aggressive use of feed-in tariffs in forward looking places such as Germany, have arrived at the sweet spot. Prices are falling.

For Mr Wilkins to say that a carbon price of $300/tonne is required to make rooftop solar profitable, he his looking at yesterday's market, living in yesterday's world using yesterday's thinking. The CPRS has been delayed a year. It would be a tragedy to reign in the local solar market at this crucial juncture. A horse that gains speed with every stride is a sure bet in a very long race.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

For the umpteenth time we read that the greenhouse situation is grim ("Fears of collapse as coral reefs feel the heat", May 13) and the time for urgent action is now.

We also read of Joe Tripodi's round-the-world attempt to flog the states coal fired electricity assets ("Tripodi's $290,000 power trip"). I wonder if at any time, perhaps whilst standing on the balcony of the New York Palace on Madison Avenue, did Joe feel a twinge of guilt over his role in relinquishing control of these crucial pieces of infrastructure (the right to pollute is implicit in, and obligated by, a sale). On second thoughts, no, I don't.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

There's nothing I enjoy reading more than news of another solar energy technological advance. Each breakthrough shoots a hole in the "jobs" argument of the coal lobby and gives hope to environmentalists fully aware that saving Earth, sadly, must be economical.

In recent times, excitement has followed the new market entries: thin film, concentrated thermal and concentrated photovoltaic. All three are for big players; utility scale solutions measured in megawatts and hectares. For a time, rooftop solar appeared destined for niche - remote locations, show-offs and conscientious objectors.

Kerf-less wafering has restored the buzz. The biggest cost in rooftop solar panels is the silicon wafer. Slice the material thinner, reduce the cost. Halve the wafer thickness, halve the cost? No, because the wasted thickness of the cut itself, the kerf, comes into play.

If you could somehow cleave the material into super thin slices without cutting, Moore's Law applies (as computer users, we all love Moore's Law, whether we realise it or not). Amazingly, that's exactly what leading manufacturers are doing.

Last time I looked at the viability of rooftop solar for my house, it wasn't. Not without either a feed-in tariff or a panel price reduction. Looks like both are coming. Halleleua, praise science.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

If NSW is looking to replace old buses ("Drive me to the moon, city's buses worn out", May 11), one hopes the decision makers are aware that battery electric buses are now a reality.

In considering all the factors: maintenance, vibration, fumes, emissions, noise, comfort, fuel cost, even our image as a first world nation, the electric bus is a clear winner on fixed routes.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

References:
Proterra - electric bus manufacturer
http://www.proterraonline.com/products.asp

Reuters article - "The Green Bus Rush"
http://www.reuters.com/article/earthToTech/idUS338069313120090506

Re: "Climate plan so close and yet so far", May 9-10

Dear Editor,

I keep reading that a strong global climate agreement is unlikely to emerge from Copenhagen. Why do people write this? Penny Wong has already put Australia's 25 percent offer on the table. President Obama is keen. Europe has always been keen. The last time a country thumbed their nose at that power bloc, bombs fell. Take Kyoto strength, add the United States, you've got an unstoppable force.

It's three years since Al Gore gave all the opportunity to see the truth. Most have. I'll be surprised, nay shocked, if Penny Wong returns from Denmark without a big fat stamp of approval.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Re: "Money to burn no longer", Editorial, May 8

Dear Editor,

Humans; what an odd species. Lock them in an airtight chamber or place them on a deserted island without water - they panic. Put 6 billion of them on a little blue-green planet with a limited supply of oil, they form motoring lobby groups to fight for the right to burn it faster.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Re: "Remove freeze on petrol tax, Swan told", May 6

Dear Editor,

When petrol was $1.50/L or more, mid last year, it was like watching a transformers scene - with 4WDs metamorphosing into Prii/Priuses (is it latin?). For climate change activists, every new hybrid sighting offered a glimmer of hope. Hybrids are, enthusiasts believe, a stepping stone to all-electric cars charged only from green power accounts.

This year, sightings of newly plated monster vehicles outnumber. Electric vehicle manufacturer Phoenix Motorcars (US) is in receivership. The gloom is back. Petrol taxes should not only be reimposed, the pump price must never be allowed to fall below $1.50/L (indexed) again. The next time peak oil thumps us, we've no excuses for being unready.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

"[Greens] seem to regard burning or exporting coal as an immoral act that should cease forthwith, deluding themselves that job losses would be instantly and painlessly overwhelmed by the far greater job opportunities created by the expansion of renewable energy", writes Ross Gittins ("It's gamesmanship, and we all lose", May 6).

Yes, no, no and yes.

Agreed, combusting coal and leaving future generations to deal with the planetary effects of the byproducts is immoral.

"Cease forthwith" is sensationalist journalism. A phase out over ten years is perfectly acceptable.

Jobs cannot be discussed objectively without separately considering jobs in energy infrastructure construction, jobs in maintaining energy output and jobs within energy intensive industries. Under rapid RE expansion, the first increases, the second decreases (modern infrastructure is automated to the max - the reason a declining proportion of us wear overalls to work) and the third is barely impacted if there is a global Copenhagen agreement to prevent "carbon havens".

Gittins also suggests Greens are drawn to empty symbolism. Putting a 25% offer on the table in Copenhagen - daring others to match it is anything but empty. That's concrete. Actually, it's better than concrete - it's carbon negative concrete.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Re: "Carbon bill burns as Rudd fiddles", May 5

Dear Editor,

Call me optimistic, but I'm excited by Rudd's carbon trade-off. Putting a 25% offer on the table in Copenhagen outweighs other considerations. Knowing that serious cuts are coming, albeit a year delayed, is very nearly the same as starting on time. We must remember it's not a belt tightening exercise (never listen to whingers), it's about technology transformation. A meaty target moves the emphasis from deckchair "solutions" - transit lanes, light bulbs and blended ethanol to real solutions - electric cars, smart grids, energy storage, wind, solar and geothermal. During the year of delay, the creative process of invention won't stop. The knowledge of imminent and sizable change will likely accelerate it.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Dumb it down, says ecoAmerica; fight vague with ambiguous ("Environmentalists warned they should mind their language", May 4). Rather than discuss the accumulation of carbon dioxide, they recommend discussing "our deteriorating atmosphere".

No. It's just plain wrong. Science has a handle on the problem precisely because it is, well, precise. In science, heat and temperature are different, as are energy and power, speed and velocity, the greenhouse effect and the enhanced greenhouse effect. Precision makes science possible and, in turn, knowledge and understanding.

If voters understand "50% off sale", they also understand "two degrees of warming".

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

This decade has seen general acceptance of the idea that our fossil fueled existence is out of kilter with nature. The oil supply is finite and when demand periodically exceeds supply, economies collapse. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have been climbing since the industrial revolution and continue to climb. The solution to both problems is carbon constraint.

Fast thinkers have noted that a world capable of agreeing to greenhouse gas emission targets is also a world capable of agreeing to arms reduction. Green and peace arrive together (some faster thinkers worked this out last century and named an organisation accordingly). Steel for submarines and tanks is infinitely more useful supporting the nacelle of a wind turbine.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is proposing increases in Australia's defence spending. By definition this is a xenophobic proposal. Very disappointing, Mr Rudd. If I'd wanted twentieth century thinking, I'd have voted for Mr Howard.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Well done Target, for taking the lead ("Target calls it a wrap on plastic", May 1). You have secured my business, and I've been deferring clothes shopping for about 5 years now. In a single stroke, you have created a bigger impact than all your previous advertising.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

I am in awe of Elizabeth Farrelly's superior intellect. Ergo, I must nitpickingly point out her trivial error.

Gravity is not measured in metres per second per second ("How gravity foiled the ABC's bloodless Anzac website, April 30). Gravity is a force and like all forces is measured in newtons. As Ms Farrelly points out however, gravity applies to every gram, thus its effect is proportionate to mass and the acceleration due to gravity on Earth is roughly constant at 9.8 metres per second per second. Her mistake is akin to measuring heat in degrees - that's temperature.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

You're a funny man, Mitch Geddes (Letters, April 29), suggesting to anti-coal activists we pull our fuses. Fortunately, there are painless options: an aggressive Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme target will have the desired effect over time, as will feed-in tariffs and mandatory renewable energy targets. We will have our cake and eat it, and it will taste infinitely better without three cups of guilt. If the cake is a tad smaller; tough bickies.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood


Re: "Congestion charging 'would fix Sydney's traffic woes', April 29

Dear Editor,

London has created a nascent electric car movement by exempting EVs from the congestion charge. The vehicle of choice is the Reva, a sluggish sardine can on wheels - yet it does the job without fouling the city air. By the time Sydney follows suit there will be more stylish options with petrol car performance, such as the Mitsubishi iMiEV or Think City. Designers of the new charge must think ahead and offer EV exemption on day one - even if there are no cars ready to take advantage. There soon will be.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Anthony Callan describes coal and oil as affordable and abundant and renewable energy as limited (Letters, April 28). Having checked the definition of "renewable" and the current price of sunlight and wind, I can assure Mr Callan it is the other way around.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Re: "We must act to close down coal-fired power stations", First Word Letter by James Goodman.

Dear Editor,

Ask 10 people in the street whether Australia should phase out coal and 6 will say "yes", 1 will say "no" and 3 won't understand the question. Support for the proposition isn't lacking. Unfortunately, Penny Wong is swayed more by the lobbyists queued at her door than by the concerns of voters. Strategy one is to remind our local MPs that our votes are on the line. Then hopefully it won't come to strategy two - chaining ourselves to coal trains.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Believing in a 100% renewable energy future for Australia requires just a little imagination ("Coal burning must end, says scientist", April 24). The lucky country is spoilt for choice with wind, sun, wave and geothermal options. The snowy mountains scheme (the split level dams are effectively a giant battery) demonstrates we know something about energy storage. V2G electric cars and smart grids are an inevitability (can't wait for the Mitsubishi-iMiEV - at last, guilt free driving).

Imagining the same for China however, is beyond my ken. With no western or southern ocean facing coastline for reliable wind or waves, grey skies and high population density, I'm not surprised I've never met a Chinese greenie. Even electric vehicles are a trap for China - a billion cars with bi-directional energy flow is not grid salvation, it's grid lock.

The trade off is clear. China needs modern, safe, nuclear power ("Uranium - more gains than pains", Editorial in same edition). Australia needs an export to replace coal. This greenie has no protest, provided the deal is honored: uranium instead of coal - not both.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

I'm confused ("Religious leaders unite to fight vilification laws", April 23). We actually have a group of grown-ups fighting for the right to say really nasty things about each other? That's absurd. Though admittedly, no more absurd than virgin birth, water-walking and resurrection.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

p.s. I note that the first group to blink in the Mexican stand off over the ETS is the Australian Conservation Foundation ("Rare support for climate scheme", April 23). The Coalition and coal lobbyists would like us to believe Rudd's ETS has no support. At this moment there may be little support for the ETS, but there remains majority support for an ETS. As the Copenhagen deadline approaches, watch for more signs of resignation that a little progress is better than none. Getting the framework in place is the hard part. Adjusting the target as the public mood intensifies (globally) is a keystroke. As I've asserted before, the solar revolution needs just a little encouragement and, once sparked, is unstoppable.
Cheers,
Carl

Dear Editor,

James Wolfensohn, ex president of the World Bank, is to chair an international advisory panel for our Government's carbon storage institute i.e. promote "clean coal".

Given the scientific nature of the assignment and the high stakes, you might expect the holder of such a prestigious position to have a rudimentary understanding of science. Wolfensohn made a telling comment in his interview with Leigh Sales last week on Lateline.

"If carbon is emitted and if we get CO2 emissions at the level that some people are projecting, we're going to affect our global temperature by 2 - 3 per cent by 2050 and that's not acceptable" said Wolfenson.

Hmm, a percentage increase in temperature? What might that mean? We don't often hear temperature increase described as a percentage, with good reason. There are three commonly used scales for temperature, Celsius, Kelvin and Fahrenheit. Only the Kelvin scale starts from absolute zero and is thus the only scale on which a percentage increase makes sense.

A 2 - 3 percent increase on the Kelvin scale translates to 6 to 9 degrees Celsius, clearly not what Wolfensohn intended. His remarks only make sense if he was referring to the Fahrenheit scale and had no understanding of the concept of absolute zero.

I contend we can summarily dismiss anything further James Wolfensohn has to say of a scientific nature i.e. in relation to "clean coal".

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Full interview transcript: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2008/s2544001.htm

Re: "Coalition 'wants to wreck new Kyoto'", April 21.

Dear Editor,

To whom should I direct my bitterness that Rudd's ETS, and the global agreement due to emerge from Copenhagen, are in jeopardy?

While the ETS target of 5 to 15% reduction to emissions by 2020 is inadequate, Penny Wong's excuse of aiming low to embarass the Opposition into support is plausible. I don't hear Mr Turnbull pleading for 20%. And the Coalition's scaremongering over jobs isn't helping: regular readers of renewableenergyworld.com know that green energy is a rare and precious growth sector in this recession - a boot strap to pull economies from the mire.

We now suffer the embarrassment of visitors from colder climes asking where all the solar panels are. Screwing the planet is one thing; stealing our pride is another. Rot in hell, Malcolm Turnbull.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

The world is unable to agree on greenhouse targets to satisfy the majority of climate scientists. Australia is unable to fashion an emissions trading scheme to satisfy anybody. Our power companies are working hard, not to reduce emissions, but to expand capacity to supply a growing number of air-conditioners.

At what point does Freddie Krueger appear? Oh, I almost forgot, mining geologist Ian Plimer has released his new book.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

If Evan Thomas or June Swan (Letters, April 14) would like free tickets to see "The Age of Stupid" ("Fiddling at the edges as climate goes into tailspin", facing page), I'd be happy to pay for them.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Curious, how we state the rate of climate change in degrees of warming over this century ("Temperature rise not so great but effects still grave", April 9). To the best of my knowledge, Earth will keep spinning and orbiting the sun for centuries after 2100. We're on a permanent lease, not a 100 year rental. While the talk is of rates, not absolutes, the end of the century has no relevance as a marker. The clock doesn't stop at midnight on December 31, 2099. Nobody is coming to save us. There's us, and the decisions we make on behalf of our progeny.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

I am IT Manager for a small company. I sense that many will have an opinion on Rudd's broadband scheme, but few will have a clue. No doubt the reaction will be positive, after all, "it's the future" (whatever that means), but how bad is the present?

When we wait for a page to load, it's not always the network's fault. Often, the poor server delivering the content is overloaded. Mandi Gunsberger's internet slows down when she reaches her download limit ("Take it through the limits, urge wired surfers", April 8). Download limits are an artificial restriction imposed by ISPs to maximise revenue. Mandi needs to change plan, or pace her usage to her current plan.

True, those outside of ADSL2+ range are deprived. Fibre is also brilliantly low latency (the wait to get the first byte is a different issue to the time between start and end of the download). But if my ADSL2+ service was upgraded to fibre, it would save around 3 seconds per month, and I'm a regular user. Is that worth a thousand dollars in installation?

The killer app, no doubt, is HDTV on demand. Is that "the future" - another way to turn us into couch potatoes?

If Rudd wishes to sell his plan to people already over-supplied with commercial content, he must explain how fibre will reduce our carbon footprint. It might (smart grids, convergence) and it might not (a dozen more gadgets for every home).

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Psychology is underrated. I postulate that it's no co-incidence Japan and Germany lead the world in renewable energy and clean-tech. Within these places there are dedicated people working to erase the stigma of WWII. Germany has just announced a 100% renewable energy target for 2050 (NB: no coal, no nuclear). They will reach target ahead of time. The Sahara, world's biggest solar resource, is a stone throw away.

The USA has been judged guilty of delivering the global financial crisis. Their beloved American Dream is tarnished with the sin of greed. Watch how quickly the new Green Dream takes its place. Save us Uncle Sam. We're all on the same team this time.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Gareth Evans says the nuclear threat is equivalent to the threat from climate change ("No nukes, vows Obama", April 6). It's a flippant use of the word "equivalent". It's difficult to imagine a scenario where a nuclear detonation would provoke a nuclear response and escalate from there. We know from experience that Earth survives an occasional blast. At most you're talking millions of deaths, compared to the billions of lives which become unsustainable in the event of runaway climate change.

Sure, hats off to Obama and Rudd for being the first world leaders to speak rationally about nuclear weapons. We can't pretend to be the smartest species while these obscenities exist.

But a standing ovation to Marian Wilkinson for telling the truth about coal ("Clean coal remains a faraway dream", April 6). Not everyone is capable of putting their unborn grandchildren ahead of $24 billion per annum in exports. There's your real hero.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Two young female opinion writers this week have equated gym membership with fitness ("If men want more sex, they could try improving their appearance", Friday, April 3). Have we forgotten this is Australia, land of sporting madness? I'd bet on any Laser sailor from my local club to complete more sit-ups than a typical weekly gym attendee.

Gym is to sport club as 4WD is to train ticket. Gym membership, as an alternative to sport, is for people afraid of whistles, duty rosters and committee nomination and uncomfortable with the concepts of community, commitment and putting back.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

p.s. The second reference I have lost, from earlier in the week. It was the young woman who writes in place of Ross Gittins. In the unlikely scenario this goes to print, perhaps you would be kind enough to complete the reference.

Dear Editor,

It's unsurprising that Obama has shamed Rudd ("US unveils ambitious greenhouse target", April 2), the bar at 5% was too low to fit under, even for a skinny president.

Yet it's the most uplifting headline I can recall in 15 years of monitoring the greenhouse saga. It means "we" (the US, but mankind by extension) have turned the corner attitudinally. Americans (Exxon and Peabody excepted) no longer see carbon constraint as a threat, they recognise innovation as the way back to the top.

Hold onto your caps, kids; the energy revolution is coming at you. Not like a steam train - more like a fully charged Tesla Roadster.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

p.s. More proof has emerged since I dismissed Ben Cubby's "experts" suggesting grid parity for renewables was a decade away. Hot on the heels of First Solar producing PV panels for less than the industry target of $1 per peak watt, Applied Materials (AM) are shooting for a new target of 70 cents. They will reach it quickly, through a single stroke of mathematical genius.

Somebody at AM (I'd love to hear their story) looked at the total cost of solar farms and woke up with the answer: bigger panels - eight times bigger! One eighth as many factory movements, one eighth as many connections to fit and plug, one eighth as many panels to fix to rails at the farm. The video on AMs website shows 5 men fitting a panel in a minute and a half using a crane with vacuum grips. In China and India one suspects they'll use extra men to manhandle the panels into position and reduce that to 15 seconds a panel - the Great Wall was not built without a few lessons in logistics. 20,000 panels to a power station. 4 panels a minute. 5,000 minutes of critical path. I look forward to the time lapse movies of communities transformed from poverty to powered in under a week.
Cheers,
Carl

Dear Editor,

The city emergency PA system fails due to its reliance on grid power (Letters, April 1); funny, yes, but who spotted the metaphor?

It's a classic case of our blindness to interrelationships within complex systems. Take out the grid - take out a single cable supporting the grid - we're cactus.

In biology, the rate of species extinction, thank man, is speeding up. Tens of thousands each year, gone forever. At some point we'll knock out the bees. Who's going to pollinate the crops? You? Me? The climate sceptics?

In IT, lose your mail server, your lowly DNS server, or that tiny bit of copper on the blue cable that connects the lowly DNS server might corrode. It doesn't even have to be your own server. Our business was recently put on hold by an outage of third party mail filtering. Redundant systems? Sure, looks good in print.

Then there's the economy, which appears to be a tad reliant on credit. The banks relied on loan repayments which stopped coming from marginal borrowers when the oil price put the squeeze on everything.

Life is simple, for climate change sceptics. For the rest of us, it's too bloody scary.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

p.s. Hero of the week award to Professor Peter Newman, for his courage in speaking out against the expansion of coal facilities in Newcastle and misplaced Government faith in clean coal technology ("Scrap coal plan, says Rudd's man", April 1). Prof, I salute you. May your actions be an inspiration to others.

Dear Editor,

Fortunately the city blackouts did not coincide with Earth Hour. Climate sceptics asserting their right not to "vote Earth" would surely have screamed "CONSPIRACY!"

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood


Dear Editor,

On a high following Earth Hour? Take the pledge: "I will never buy another fossil fuel powered vehicle". It sends a message to the car industry: get your EV on the market, or rust.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

p.s. I can't personally take the pledge due to an occasional requirement to tow sailing dinghies and I'm yet to hear about towing characteristics of EVs (perhaps, like hybrids, they don't). I can, however, effectively take the pledge on behalf of my children, offering them cash towards their first vehicle on the proviso it's electric. Call it guilt money if you like.
Cheers,
Carl

Dear Editor,

It's possibly true that twitter subscribers in receipt of bogus copy ("When a ghost is behind the twitter", March 30) have been short changed... at birth.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Cowardly cowardly custard, Mr Rudd ("Financial storm delays climate solution: PM", March 28-29). Every defeatist knows that trick. Rather than risk losing in front of your peers, you make it out to be mission impossible and surrender. Sorry, not good enough.

Before taking the stage at Copenhagen, buy of copy of Mel Gibson's "Braveheart". Play it as many times as required to get a feel for what we're expecting. Paint yourself blue, if it helps. This is the moment you were elected for. The world needs you. Earth needs you. My kids are depending on you. Failure is not an option.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Great to see Ben Cubby promoted to the opinion pages ("We saved the ozone layer; now it's time to save the climate", March 27). He's done an excellent job conveying the despair of scientists over the chasm between action required (reinvent everything) and action taken (bugger all).

So who's reporting the news then? The story of the week, to my reckoning, is that sporty little Mitsubishi i-MiEV driving around Adelaide. At last, a real electric on our shores. It's front page, not buried-in-environment news, exciting for all sorts of reasons.

First, the i-MiEV has already passed the crash tests, so we won't suffer the Reva's agony of rejection.

Second, it has in-wheel motors (two rear). Imagine the candid camera skit: drive into the mechanics and ask them to take a look at the engine! "Mam, you have a problem, your motor has been stolen". "Seriously?" you do your best to look concerned, and drive off.

In-wheel motors promote efficiency, since there are no drive train losses. They also facilitate active suspension. Smoothness of ride, even on a bad road, is in future a function of how fast the computer chip can tell the wheels to neutralise vertical movement.

It's pricey, but let's hope governments have the wisdom to recognise the chicken/egg problem and offer incentives. We can't have cheap electrics till we have mass production of EVs and batteries, and vice versa.

Who said "long tailpipe"? Lash them to the blade of a wind turbine immediately.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Chris Bowen is right to be anti-protectionist ("Innovation is best protection for jobs", March 26). It makes as little sense to favor product "Made in Australia" as to favor product "Made in NSW". Nationalistic purchasing fights a battle already won by the floating dollar: export less, dollar weakens, exports rise.

But wait, there's an exception. It's wrong to subsidise trade by externalising the environmental cost of shipping. Forget tariffs - the right kind of protection is Earth protection i.e. a carbon impost on the sludge used to fuel super-tankers. If this topic is not already on the agenda for Copenhagen, it should be.

Let's consider an example. The good news for Earthlings this week: not only has the solar revolution begun (full marks to author Travis Bradford who forecast it), it's progression is geometric, not arithmetic - think timelines comparable to mobile phone and internet adoption.

The word that makes all the difference is "turnkey". To become a player in the solar market, R & D comes first, right? Wrong. Sign the contract with Applied Materials Inc and a year later you're the proud owner of a "SunFab" PV factory producing more than 40MW of gorgeous 5.7 square metre state-of-the-art frameless PV panels annually. Gone is the risk, the uncertainty, the gee-do-I-have-to-do-everything-myself. Simply brilliant.

Moreover, it scales exponentially. In recent months three SunFabs have commenced production - in India, Spain and China. Eleven more (that we know of) are in the pipeline. See what's happening? We no longer need to wait for more panel fabricators - that part is easy. We need only to wait the time it takes for Applied Materials to double their turnkey capacity three, four or six times. Sure, other turnkey suppliers inevitably get involved, but the idea is the same.

Returning to the story - what does this mean for Australia? Is this the right location for a dozen or ten SunFabs? Labour costs are higher here than India or China, though on PV panels, labour is a small input. Reduced transport costs on panels for the local market should offset, especially if fuel includes fair payment for carbon globally. I'd like to think the answer is yes. If Australia can't compete in the solar business, we don't deserve to escape from the quarry.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Victoria's bushfires are statistically linked to the Indian Ocean dipole. The dipole events appear to be linked to climate change ("Suffocated by smog and heat", March 25) which is infamously linked to fossil fuels. Does this mean insurers of houses in Victoria will be commencing a class action against Xstrata and BHP? Coal mining companies have deeper pockets than God, if indeed God has a motive to change the climate, and a need of pockets.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Yesterday, I read the name Martin Ferguson on the Opinion page ("Labor's dirty coal dependency", March 23), saw red and went (clumsily) on the attack. In my haste, I failed to explain why Martin Ferguson is a threat to life on Earth.

Martin Ferguson is a vocal supporter of coal to liquids (CTL). He is also Federal Minister for Resources and Energy.

James Hansen recently declared quitting coal to be the sin qua non for solving the climate problem. One doesn't need to be a world leading climate scientist to work this out. The relative quantities of uncombusted coal and oil make it plain.

Our addiction to oil will solve itself through depletion and price volatility - electric transport eventually becomes easier, cheaper and more reliable.

Renewables, once given a kick start, will displace coal through the inherent advantages of free fuel and reduced transmission losses.

There is a way, however, this rosy scenario might fail to eventuate - should some profit-at-any-cost-scumbag pursue the conversion of dirty cheap coal into the heroin of mobility, aka, oil. Should that occur, the temptation to keep burning could overpower our instinct for survival.

To be fair, there is the possibility Martin Ferguson does have respect for the sanctity of life and is guilty of the lesser crime of stupidity in failing to understand the enhanced greenhouse effect. Either way, he must go. The Minister for Resources and Energy is the thinking person's nightmare.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

I don't like Martin Ferguson, or anyone else who fails to respect the sanctity of life ("Labor's dirty coal dependency", March 23). At least we know that fossil fool Martin Ferguson is racing towards political oblivion. The trend is as obvious as the melting Arctic: John Howard, Michael Costa, Morris Iemma, George Bush... next please.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

I applaud the Herald for framing Earth Hour 2009 as a referendum on climate change action. It's smart for at least three reasons.

One, it silences the pedants (I know one rather well) who would argue that little is saved in terms of emissions and that green-power subscribers should be exempt.

Two, it emphasises the peer group pressure (or call it morality) aspect essential to a solution. When one wouldn't dare be the only house in the street with lights on, the status of symbols becomes inversely proportional to fuel consumption. Maths tells us how easily the good work of many is undone by one big polluter.

Three, it fosters the association between climate change and the word "vote". Gone are the days (if they existed) where voters might address global warming by changing light bulbs, to later exit the polling booth guilt-free having voted for a "brown" candidate. The coalition is fence sitting while the Rudd government leaves ample room to be out-greened. Earth Hour will help Malcolm Turnbull summon the courage to speak.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

"When I grow up, I want to be a coal miner."

"Really, Stephanie? Wouldn't you rather build solar or wind farms, or design geothermal plants and help save the world?"

"No, Dad, I want to be a coal miner."

If you believe the above conversation is genuine, apply immediately to Xstrata for the position of lobbyist. ("Big coal digs in on emissions", March 20)

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

On Monday, Ben Cubby reported that "experts" believed grid parity, the point at which renewable energy is less expensive than coal power, was more than a decade away ("Uni's solar panel captures more light", March 16).

I laughed, assuming it was a Miranda Devine style comment tossed in to evoke a letters page response. Being busy, I left the letter writing to others. It seems I should have made the time.

One US dollar per watt has been the target of the photovoltaic (PV) industry for some time, the price at which it competes head to head with coal, indeed, has the advantage in areas of high insolation (most of Australia, for example).

Last month, on February 24, First Solar announced they had reduced the manufacturing cost of solar modules to 98 cents per watt. Note that we are not discussing lab results or forecasts. These are the quarterly figures of a huge company producing megawatts of panels. Huge and growing. First Solar will be first to have "gig fab" - a gigawatt of annual production, after replicating their facility in Germany three times in Malaysia. One suspects they know something - First Solar display rock solid confidence that they are the Intel of power.

When you do get around to reporting that solar is now the cheapest form of electricity, please brush up on land use statistics. The standard claim that solar eats up land is also a furphy - coal uses more. Readers need to be reminded that coal power is not merely Liddell and Erraring, it's open cut mines, dangerously subsiding landscapes and pristine streams drained, blocked and polluted.

Then there's the enhanced greenhouse effect of the carbon dioxide emissions. What percentage of blackened Victoria shall we apportion to coal?

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Reference to First Solar press release:
http://investor.firstsolar.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=201491&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1259614&highlight=

Dear Editor,

If I fail to worry about the aging population and the issue comes to a crunch in coming decades, a stroke of the pen will redefine retirement age. Problem solved.

If I fail to worry about greenhouse pollution and the issue comes to a crunch in coming decades, we're fucked. Four billion years of evolution wasted.

It's no mystery why climate change activism is "in fashion".

("Time to stop favouring the grey", March 18)

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

"New fangled motor car will kill jobs, blacksmith says" (March 17, 1909). Oh, sorry, 'tis just my eyes playing tricks. In truth the headline reads: "Carbon plan will kill jobs, miner says" (March 17, 2009).

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Sid Wolifson (Letters, March 16) is perfectly reasonable, yet I must be mean and say that his passive stand is not enough, because the default outcome, the one we may expect if we fail to take to the streets, is more of the same till the last tonne of coal is combusted.

It doesn't require a degree to follow the science in "An Inconvenient Truth". A high school education is sufficient (pretty much a given for Herald readers), along with the ability to extrapolate, the same skill used to catch a ball.

Those content to sit back and see what eventuates ought watch the DVD, appreciate the stakes and become active campaigners. Prince Charles is not my favourite person and I've no respect for his birthright, but at least he has a clue and he's speaking out.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

"The world has shifted: stay ahead", says a big budget motor vehicle ad campaign. It reminds me of tricky John Howard's assertion that we were experiencing a "climate shift"; nothing so terminally unterminated as climate change. A shame, with truth in advertising we might have read: "The world is changing: buy our car and accelerate it!"

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

Dear Editor,

Two Earths, one for the sceptics and one for the rest of us, is the answer ("Climate sceptics fight tide of alarmism", March 14-15). Twas most inconsiderate of God to provide just one.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood