Are DAMS the solution to "renewable" power?  You've got to be joking!  Dams are the original hate-object of the Greens

Notice that the word "dam" is not mentioned below.  They talk of pumped hydro without saying what the water will be pumped into.  Quite hilarious!  A pumped hydro scheme in fact requires TWO dams.  Is there no limit to deceptive journalism from the Green/Left?

Australia has more than 22,000 sites around the country that could be suitable for pumped hydro storage, according to a study by the Australian National University.

The report, details of which were obtained by Fairfax Media ahead of a public release on Thursday, extends work published last month. That partial study found 5000 suitable sites in Queensland and Tasmania.

The additional data shows that NSW has the most prospective locations in the country, with about 8500 identified by the ANU team led by Professor Andrew Blakers. Victoria had about 4400 sites, placing it second among the states.

Australia would only require a tiny fraction of these sites - for about 450 gigawatt-hours worth of storage - to underpin a 100 per cent renewable electricity system, Professor Blakers said in a statement.

"Fast tracking the development of a few of the best sites by 2022 could balance the grid when Liddell and other coal power stations close," he said, referring to the 1680-megawatt coal-fired power plant the federal government is trying to strong-arm AGL Energy to keep open five years beyond the 2022 scheduled close.

"We found so many good potential sites that only the best 0.1 per cent will be needed," he said. "We can afford to be choosy."

Interest in pumped hydro has increased in the wake of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's much-publicised twin visits to the Snowy Hydro scheme since March.

The ANU study, though, highlights the possibility of many alternative, smaller projects that could be completed sooner than the Snowy upgrade. Such ventures may also be less challenging than drilling many kilometres of tunnels under the Snowy region.

"Instead of propping up dirty old coal-fired power stations like Liddell, Malcolm Turnbull should be investing in energy storage now," Adam Bandt, Greens spokesman for climate change and energy, said.

"Snowy 2.0 is years away, but there are plenty of sites for smaller, flexible dispatchable pumped hydro that could be up and running in a couple of years if [he and energy minister] Josh Frydenberg showed some real leadership," Mr Bandt said.

Of the other states to be revealed in the new report, Western Australia has about 3800 prospective pumped hydro locations, and the Northern Territory 1500. Queensland has about 1770 and Tasmania 2050 and South Australia 185.

Fairfax Media sought comment from Mr Frydenberg's office, which declined to release the ANU report.

A spokesman pointed to comments made by the PM earlier this month, saying that keeping Liddell open for another five years would give time for Snowy 2.0 - with its proposed 2000 MW capacity - to come on line.

Making 100 per cent possible

With pumped storage, water is kept in an upper reservoir and run through a turbine at a lower altitude to provide electricity during periods when supplies are otherwise low. The water can later be pumped uphill from a lower reservoir when electricity supplies are in surplus.

Typically, the height difference between upper and lower reservoirs measured for the prospective sites was at least 300 metres.

"All the potential sites we have found are outside national parks and urban areas, and like all hydro power can go from zero to full power very quickly," Professor Blakers said in August when the initial study results were released.

That partial research, funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, identified pumped storage sites with capacity ranging from 0.9 to 100 gigawatt-hours – or as much as 1000 times being proposed for a giant battery being built for South Australia by Tesla.

At the time Professor Blakers said batteries also had the disadvantage of lifetime use of eight to 15 years at current technology, compared with 50 years for hydro plants.

Pumped hydro is one of the possible technology solutions to firming up renewable energy for when the sun is not shining or the wind blowing.

The Finkel Review identified the need to provide back-up capacity as one of the potential road blocks hindering much greater penetration of clean energy as a share of national electricity supplies.

The extended atlas of sites will build on the partial study of the states to reinforce the view that Australia could shift to 100 per cent renewable if enough pumped storage is made available.

 "About 3600 hectares of reservoir is required to support a 100 per cent renewable energy grid for Australia, which is five parts per million of Australia's land mass," Matthew Stocks from the ANU Research School of Engineering said in August. "Annual water requirements would be less than one per cent of annual extraction from the Murray River."

SOURCE





'I'm against same-sex marriage and I'm gay': Angry clash at university as teenager voting 'No' is shouted down and accused of 'internalised homophobia'

This is the moment a young, gay man opposed to same-sex marriage was viciously heckled at a university campus rally.

Wilson Gavin, 19, was shouted down as he fronted a 'No' case rally at the University of Queensland in Brisbane this week on the gay marriage postal vote.

'I support what marriage really is and I'm gay,' he said, standing on a retaining wall next to supporters holding placards with the words, 'You can say no.'

'I'm against same-sex marriage. You will see the effects it will have on the family, on schools, on politics, on churches.  'These people hate us. They call us Nazis, bigots and homophobes.  'Where's the real hatred here? Where's the real hatred coming from in this debate?'

The confrontation escalated when Mr Gavin said: 'You can't call me a homophobe.'  'The entire way they're going about their debate is shouting us down. They are trying to shut us down,' he said.

A young man heckled: 'How do you spell internalised homophobia?'

Internalised homophobia is a term often applied to homosexual men who make anti-gay comments so people think they are straight.

Mr Gavin continued by saying that gay marriage legalisation will pave the way for the contentious Safe Schools gender-theory program being rolled out in every school.  'They want to introduce radical gender theory,' he said.

At this point, the heckling became nasty with one man shouting at him, 'You have a mental problem.'

Seconds later, the male heckler who had earlier interrupted returned serve by suggesting Mr Wilson was sexually attracted to a conservative, former Liberal prime minister who is campaigning against gay marriage.  'Does Tony Abbott turn you on?,' he said.

In an interview played on the Mark Latham's Outsiders program after that rally, Mr Gavin said 'Yes' campaigners were particularly nasty to gay people opposed to changing the Marriage Act. 'They hate me because I'm a conservative and they hate me more because I'm a gay conservative,' he said. 'I'm not a homophobe. I love gay men. You can't call me a homophobe just because I'm opposed to same-sex marriage.'

Mr Gavin's interview also forms the basis of a 'No' case television ad.

Angry scenes have erupted at university campuses as the Australian Bureau of Statistics mails out same-sex marriage postal votes to households, with citizens given until November 7 to return them.

A rally this week at the University of Sydney, urging students to vote 'no' in the same-sex marriage survey, turned violent after hundreds of 'yes' campaigners launched a counter-protest.

The ugly scenes unfolded after a stall was set up by the university's Catholic society, with some holding signs which read: 'It's OK to vote ''no''.'

But the dozen or so 'no' campaigners were quickly outnumbered as a large crowd gathered and began shouting pro-gay marriage slogans into a megaphone, and smearing homemade hummus.

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Liberal MP called 'one of Hitler's children' after posting a photo saying it's OK to vote 'no' in same-sex marriage ballot

Half-Asian politician racially abused

A conservative Liberal Party MP has been called 'one of Hitler's children' and subjected to vile abuse online after declaring his intention to vote against same sex marriage.

Ian Goodenough, a politician from Perth, posted a photo to Facebook on Tuesday after placing his survey into a postal box ahead of the marriage equality vote.

'As a supporter of traditional marriage I posted my "No" vote in Joondalup today,' he captioned the photo, reminding his constituents to vote before the deadline.

But the 42-year-old was berated with countless insulting comments labelling him a 'd***head', 'w***er' and 'backwards homophobic idiot'.

The politician, who has been outspoken about his stance on same-sex marriage in the past, was even insulted about his ethnicity and physical appearance.

'You are a deplorable human being. If laws based on the same ignorance were in play in 1984, you wouldn't even be able to vote,' wrote one woman.

'Then it's OK to surmise you are a backwards homophobic idiot,' added another.

One angered social media user used the racially-charged insult 'chink' in his criticism of Mr Goodenough's opinion, while another made fun of the shape of his eyebrows.

The post attracted over a thousand comments and almost two-and-a-half thousand likes in just one day, dividing opinion within his electoral division of Moore.

Mr Goodenough appeared on the ABC earlier this month to explain his position on the upcoming postal vote. 'I believe in retaining the current definition of marriage, because I believe it involves the commitment between a man and a woman for the purposes of raising a family.'

'Children are best adjusted having a male parent and a female parent; a mother and a father.'  'It gives a balance, there are attributes which either gender bring that will help their development to the various roles within contemporary society.'

SOURCE






Public fury after Big W removes the word CHRISTMAS from its replica Christmas trees

Discount department store Big W has removed the word 'Christmas' from boxes and signage in the lead-up to the holiday season.

The decision to remove references to the Christmas tradition from product lines in their Australian stores has baffled and infuriated shoppers.

Big W's Facebook page has been inundated with posts accusing the store of bowing to political correctness and 'banning Christmas'.

'You are joking,' wrote one disgruntled consumer. 'Banning the word Christmas. Hang your head in shame.'

Fabian Iuele, owner of Christmas Tree Farm, called the move 'disappointing' and said the store was ignoring both history and tradition, The Herald Sun reported.

'That's really sad. It ignores the religious element and history of the holiday which is still important to people,' he said.

'We get people from other religions purchasing our trees regularly but they always know that they're called Christmas trees like everybody else does.'

Renamed trees include the Black Forest [Christmas] Tree, White [Christmas] Tree, Emerald [Christmas] Tree and Mayfair [Christmas] Tree.

Cameron Harrison, a Big W Highpoint customer, said the store was overreacting and using the word Christmas is not a problem.  'Christmas did have a religious meaning but we are not a religious country. I think it’s more of a tradition these days,' he said.

Facebook has filled up with furious customers claiming they will be shopping elsewhere for Christmas.

'Big mistake Big W, how many people decorate their houses with trees just for the sake of it? It is Christmas CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS stop the ridiculous wording on your CHRISTMAS trees,' wrote one irate shopper.

'I will be shopping elsewhere from now on! One completely offended (former) customer.'

'If you don't want to acknowledge Christmas, don't sell it! Lost this customer. Plenty of other places to spend my money,' wrote another.

The Big W website still has trees listed under their original names, and spokeswoman told The Herald Sun the chain was proud of its line of trees this year.

SOURCE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).    For a daily critique of Leftist activities,  see DISSECTING LEFTISM.  To keep up with attacks on free speech see Tongue Tied. Also, don't forget your daily roundup  of pro-environment but anti-Greenie  news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH .  Email me  here