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Saturday, July 9, 2011
An Environmental Officers take on Australia's Carbon Tax
The specifications, as given...with my comments in red
- Planned to come into effect on July 1 2012
- $23 per tonne of CO2 emissions
Will increase by 2.5 per cent above inflation until July 1 2015, as reported . I recall Ross Garnaut suggesting $26 per tonne, so Labor didn't adopt the recommendation as given.
- Targets the "500 highest polluting businesses"
- Projected to cut 159 million tonnes of carbon pollution from the atmosphere by 2020
(19.875 Million Tonnes per year) - Touted as the equivalent of tasking 45 million cars off the road...or 5.625 million cars per year for 8 years to July 1 2020...based on what factors, I have no idea (i.e. age of vehicle, how many km's, fuel type, etc)
- A transition to a market-based emissions trading scheme in 2015
- Average households will pay an extra $9.90 per week while average assistance will be $10.10 per week
$1.41 per day (rounded down). For an interest bearing account with an interest rate of 4.75% p.a, one would need in the range of $11,000 just to cover this new, additional expense imposed. LOL @ giving people 20c per week...that's $10.44 a year, that might cover the cost of running a light bulb for an hour or two.
- All taxpayers with incomes below $80,000 will get tax cuts - most about $300 a year
At the rate of $9.90 per week it costs around $515, so even with this "sweetener", working people are still $215 out of pocket every year or 59c per day
- Pension increase to protect them from higher prices
The Government says compensation will be equal to a 1.7 per cent increase in pensions, allowances and family payments - So young, single, working people are discriminated against. If you do the math on the aged pension rate and the 1.7% increase it breaks at about the say $300 figure - same as the tax cut as above.
- Fuel is exempt for individual motorists and small business, however, diesel for heavy vehicles like semi-trailers will be paying the carbon price from 2014
According to http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/transport/fuelguide/environment.html Diesel emits 2.7kg of CO2 per Litre of fuel used, so it takes around 370L to produce 1 tonne of CO2 ($23). According to Western Australia's Government 'Fuel Watch' website (as of 1:45pm AEST) the price of diesel for the 'metro average' is 143.9c/L - Remembering of course this is 2011 prices, and the tax is hitting them in 3 years time...who thinks the fuel price will DROP?!? If it was imposed today it would add 6c per L extra, so the average price per Litre would no longer be 143.9c/L, it would be 149.9c/L
- The scheme will be administered by a new Climate Change Authority
- $9.2 billion from the revenue stream to help businesses and workers impacted by the plan.
Note the acknowledgement of impacts on workers.
- Australia's most polluting electricity generators will be closed and replaced with gas-fired units by 2020
Are Labor getting kickbacks from the Gas industry or something?
- A $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation to fund new clean energy technology.
- An Australian Renewable Energy Agency to manage a $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation to fund new clean energy technology.
- A target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020
The N.S.W Government already had this target before this announcement
- Agriculture excluded from paying the carbon price
According to 'Environmental Conscious Technologies, Australia' using the Australian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory; Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics as sources "Agriculture created 15.6 percent of emissions, or 90.1 million tonnes"
Well there it is,
No (clear) mention of the 10% of the funds that go to the U.N Climate Change Fund: See Video:
- Planned to come into effect on July 1 2012
- $23 per tonne of CO2 emissions
Will increase by 2.5 per cent above inflation until July 1 2015, as reported . I recall Ross Garnaut suggesting $26 per tonne, so Labor didn't adopt the recommendation as given.
- Targets the "500 highest polluting businesses"
- Projected to cut 159 million tonnes of carbon pollution from the atmosphere by 2020
(19.875 Million Tonnes per year) - Touted as the equivalent of tasking 45 million cars off the road...or 5.625 million cars per year for 8 years to July 1 2020...based on what factors, I have no idea (i.e. age of vehicle, how many km's, fuel type, etc)
- A transition to a market-based emissions trading scheme in 2015
- Average households will pay an extra $9.90 per week while average assistance will be $10.10 per week
$1.41 per day (rounded down). For an interest bearing account with an interest rate of 4.75% p.a, one would need in the range of $11,000 just to cover this new, additional expense imposed. LOL @ giving people 20c per week...that's $10.44 a year, that might cover the cost of running a light bulb for an hour or two.
- All taxpayers with incomes below $80,000 will get tax cuts - most about $300 a year
At the rate of $9.90 per week it costs around $515, so even with this "sweetener", working people are still $215 out of pocket every year or 59c per day
- Pension increase to protect them from higher prices
The Government says compensation will be equal to a 1.7 per cent increase in pensions, allowances and family payments - So young, single, working people are discriminated against. If you do the math on the aged pension rate and the 1.7% increase it breaks at about the say $300 figure - same as the tax cut as above.
- Fuel is exempt for individual motorists and small business, however, diesel for heavy vehicles like semi-trailers will be paying the carbon price from 2014
According to http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/transport/fuelguide/environment.html Diesel emits 2.7kg of CO2 per Litre of fuel used, so it takes around 370L to produce 1 tonne of CO2 ($23). According to Western Australia's Government 'Fuel Watch' website (as of 1:45pm AEST) the price of diesel for the 'metro average' is 143.9c/L - Remembering of course this is 2011 prices, and the tax is hitting them in 3 years time...who thinks the fuel price will DROP?!? If it was imposed today it would add 6c per L extra, so the average price per Litre would no longer be 143.9c/L, it would be 149.9c/L
- The scheme will be administered by a new Climate Change Authority
- $9.2 billion from the revenue stream to help businesses and workers impacted by the plan.
Note the acknowledgement of impacts on workers.
- Australia's most polluting electricity generators will be closed and replaced with gas-fired units by 2020
Are Labor getting kickbacks from the Gas industry or something?
- A $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation to fund new clean energy technology.
- An Australian Renewable Energy Agency to manage a $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation to fund new clean energy technology.
- A target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020
The N.S.W Government already had this target before this announcement
- Agriculture excluded from paying the carbon price
According to 'Environmental Conscious Technologies, Australia' using the Australian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory; Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics as sources "Agriculture created 15.6 percent of emissions, or 90.1 million tonnes"
Well there it is,
No (clear) mention of the 10% of the funds that go to the U.N Climate Change Fund: See Video:
Friday, July 8, 2011
'Bricks and Mortar' stores selling printed books - Going the way of the Dodo?
Hey, sorry for my absence of late and blah blah blah...
Today my thoughts are on books, from an early age I read, and was read to...I have a quite large collection of books and assorted periodicals that I've accumulated over the years. One of the first things visitors to my place is my fully stocked bookcase with books covering many different subjects...but particularly non-fiction reference items.
Things are changing, by coincidence I was at my local library today. One person was reading the complimentary newspaper and the rest were making use of the internet enabled PC's, whilst I looked at most things whilst attempting to avoid the attention of, well everyone...the silence is deafening and it unsettles me, it just makes me wonder what's behind the facial expressions of others :P
Anyhow in Australia the bookshop giants Angus and Robertson and Borders stores "...have been closed or are closing as a result of the Voluntary Administration restructure" according to the official sites of both.
From what I understand, it's not e-books that are completely the reason for this. Instead I think it is the combination of cheap online books, the strong Australian Dollar, ready access to free information via the internet including "easier" mediums such as videos or image 'infographics'...but Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle aren't doing anything to help 'traditional' book sales either.
It's not all bad though, think of the paper and ink everyone's saving, we just have to make sure the internet and all connected devices are powered in a sustainable and clean way...
On a related note the most recent book purchase of mine was "The Shulgin Index" signed and personalized by 'Sasha' himself!
My Dymocks Bookstore (the big book shop that have yet to topple) gift card of $40 that I recieved at Xmas however, is yet to be used. I can only hope they can offer a title I want, and do it before the card expires, or the company does...whatever comes first.
As always I like to include a picture. This time it's a closed bookstore.
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