If we weren’t renting I’d love to get a solar panel set up. However I settled for getting the air leakage into the garage fixed up; the gaps around this sliding door were big enough to poke a finger through. Got a door specialist to do a perfect install of air blockers to prevent this huge energy loss so that we’re all ready for the winter. It’s pretty mind boggling how bad the house construction standards are here in Australia.

Also, just noting that Rudd’s first action as incumbent Prime Minister was to sign Australia’s ratification of the Kyoto agreement. Well done.

On Howard’s CV we have … Children overboard, The Tampa, Kyoto, Iraq, decimating the Aboriginal communities, lying about GST…

It’ll be an interesting time to see if Rudd will be able to be bring some of the compassion he is reported to have to his new role as prime minister.

Good luck!

On the topic, a couple of key issues have been annoying me a great lot. The first of all is, why is Australia 1) not an underwriter of the Kyoto protocol that mandates things like energy points etc, and 2) not doing more to actively influence the environment in a positive way.

Whilst 5 Star Energy building standards have finally been mandated – there is still so much that’s not happening. First of all is the issue of clean power. We are using dirty coal in this country, and a vastly more efficient source would that of nuclear power. Failing the implementation of that, however, would at least be the fall back of more modern coal cleaning facilities. But all we hear about is the prospect of doing such modernisations. Are they ever going to happen? Personally I think a combination of nuclear energy and more modern coal is the way to go – one step at a time.

Whilst there are obviously a large number of issues that influence the total CO2 emissions, we’ll have to look at one of them at a time and hopefully make enough contributions so that they’ll all stack up. Even a 2% reduction of our emissions in one area (such as better housing) is definitely worth while.

Then on the matter of things automotive, which I have a particular interest in, why at this stage are there still no incentives towards buying an environmentally friendly car? Australia is far too relaxed on emission laws, and there seems to be virtually zero incentives for someone to choose e.g. hybrid cars. When the greener cars receive zero grants from the government, the amount of pull happening in the market place is just about the same amount. Whereas if elimination of taxes from reaching a very high mileage per gallon rating – and conversely additional taxes for failing to reach adequate ones – would positively influence the market forces.

How about Australia grow some balls and introduce the tough-as-nuts Euro 5 emission standards from 2009 onwards, and in the mean time provide economic incentives to channel the market in that direction from the day today.

Furthermore, whilst on my soap box, I’d like to say that there is a huge economic opportunity in mandating the deployment of certain environmental technologies and standards. Whilst the dinosaurs will fall over and die unless acting (e.g. the market researchers used by Holden to predict that Australians will forever be wanting hugely inefficent, large crs), there’s an immense amount of opportunity to be grasped by those being able to see the plot as it stands (i.e. what if someone managed to bring 3 or 4x efficient solar panels to the market at a lower price).