Beam me to Planet Gore !
************************************EXCERPT*********************************************
ShaneCMuir says:
Look to make a buck, says Gillard
November 30, 2010
JULIA GILLARD has called on business to help put the case for a carbon price, stressing the commercial opportunities in the transition to a low pollution economy.
The Prime Minister told a business breakfast in Sydney yesterday that on a visit to California she noticed that the climate change dialogue was focused on opportunities to ”make a buck”, and called on Australian business leaders to ”channel that spirit into Australia”.
As she pledged to push for a carbon price next year, Ms Gillard said there was a broad view in business that Australia needed to ”get on with this job … and I’m determined to do that”.
Advertisement: Story continues below With United Nations climate talks getting under way in Cancun, Mexico this week, GE’s Australasian commercial director, Ben Waters, asked whether Australia’s unilateral emissions reduction target – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020 – would be reviewed since it was not strong enough to prevent dangerous climate change.
Ms Gillard said Australia would be holding to its unconditional emissions reduction target of 5 per cent, while keeping open the possibility of lifting the target to 25 per cent depending on international action.
”We’ll be holding to these [targets] as we design the pricing mechanism that will get us there,” she said.
A report published yesterday by the Australian Conservation Foundation said a 5 per cent cut in the economy’s emissions by 2020 would require more than $100 billion in investment in energy, transport and infrastructure.
As any carbon price was likely to be modest, it would not provide a strong enough incentive to raise $100 billion worth of investment, the report said.
To address this, the foundation said other incentives would be needed to mobilise green investment. For instance, governments in Scandinavia have issued ”green bonds” to help fund renewable energy projects and energy efficiency programs.
The British government has formed a ”Green Investment Bank” to help lower the risk of investing in green projects today, before a global agreement on carbon has been struck.
The foundation’s economic adviser, Simon O’Connor, said these types of measures could boost private investment in clean energy and minimise the need for extra government borrowing.
“In Australia, governments use a suite of financing tools to support other industries – loan guarantees and risk insurance for exporters, tax credits for the film industry and off-take agreements and co-investment for major utilities,” he said.
“It’s time government got smarter in applying the available tools to deliver the low carbon economy.”
http://www.smh.com.au/business/look-to-make-a-buck-says-gillard-20101129-18dza.html
The cracks are pretty obvious now..
But still..
..there is much desperation..
**********************************EXCERPT*******************************************
E.M.Smith says:
What a phenomenal article!
I suppose it would be too much to ask for to have a little cold rain wander past…
Just a little ;-)
ShaneCMuir says:
Look to make a buck, says Gillard
November 30, 2010JULIA GILLARD has called on business to help put the case for a carbon price, stressing the commercial opportunities in the transition to a low pollution economy.
The Prime Minister told a business breakfast in Sydney yesterday that on a visit to California she noticed that the climate change dialogue was focused on opportunities to ”make a buck”, and called on Australian business leaders to ”channel that spirit into Australia”.
California has been all about making the “Fast Buck” ever since the ’49ers Gold Rush. It’s all ‘fast put up’ and ‘fast fold up’ when the game ends. I’d not suggest it as a model of ‘sustainable economics’… Witness our present $14 Billion bond offerings that are not going very well and our $40 Billion (or more depending on who’s rosy projections you believe) deficit that we can’t pay. Oh, and business is fleeing the state (what hasn’t already fled…) now that Governor Moonbeam is back in power. But hey, he did such a great job as Mayor of Oakland that they could almost pay their police… and they are now planning that if they sell indulgences licenses to grow pot, maybe that will get enough money to pay the cops to guard the pot farms…
http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/maybe-grass-can-save-california/
at least the ones that pay their protection money fees to the Mayor Moonbeam…
Is this really a business model for Australia to emulate?…
Oh, and we’ve been setting new cold records in California, too:
http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/now-thats-low-in-tahoe/
Along with a very very early opening to a very snowy ski season:
http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/record-early-skiing-and-snow/
Wonder if there are any ski resort in Mexico…
From a site that gave me pop up crud, so no link…
In some parts of Mexico, such as near the US border in Juarez, and in higher elevations in the mountains of Mexico, it does snow, yes.
In Mexico gets snow in all the mexican plateau from Mexico City to Ciudad Juarez: here some las snow falls records in Mexico. (Last snow falls records)
Juarez january 2007, Chihuahua City january 2007,Creel Janaury 2007,Parral december 2004,Matamoros December 2004, Monterrey december 2004 Saltillo december 2004, Torreon december 2004,Durango december 1997,Zacatecas City december 1997,San Luis Potosi december 1997,Leon december 1997,Guanajuato december 1997,Guadalajara december 1997,Toluca january 1967 Mexico City janaury 1967,(january 12 1967 was the las snow fall at Mexico Citys downtown.)Tecate february 2008,Tulancingo janaury 2008.
And Tampico (a mexican seaport at the gulfo of mexico at sea level reports snow in february 14 1895 and is the fare south gets snow in the western hemisfer at sea level. ( in february 14 1895 a masive snow storm cover the gulf of mexico from New Orleans and Houston all the way to Brownsville texas and Tamaulipas cost to Tampico.
Yes, specially on the northern, mountainous regions of Chihuahua and Coahuila states.
Might be interesting to have an article on Mexican Snow now compared to historical…