August Contrary Winds

Sneeze Inducing Wattle Flowers

August is often a most contrary month. Spring seems in the air with flowering wattles but cold winds and rain batter the fragile flowers and keep hay-fever sneezing indoors.
The political landscape is heating up again with announcements of new tax hikes for smokers and a deposit levy on savings in Banks,as well as the Fringe Benefits Tax changes on cars. The much awaited Federal Election date, is still awaited with the Labor Government keeping mum.

The boats continue to float or capsize into Christmas Island leading to new, draconian measures to dissuade the people smugglers and refugees/migrants. None seems to be working.

Dick Smith, serial entrepreneur, pilot and social activist flew into ABC TV last night with "Ten Bucks a Litre", a very Dick Smithian look at Australia's energy use and future. The Conversation's analysis by Will Grant "Dick Smith flies planes, weighs energy futures" reflected my feelings pretty closely with the closing scene of Dick sipping a cuppa in a forest shack ringing somewhat hollow.
What was overwhelming was the visual representation of all those open-cut coal and uranium mines and the role Australia is determined to play in exporting carbon dense fossil fuels to the rest of the world, not caring about the climate or about how this will affect our economy, already teetering.

Loy Yang Coal Fired Power Station & Open Cut Mine, Victoria

Although the title of his film was "Ten Bucks a Litre" indicating the rising cost of petrol, little time was spent indicating possible negative effects on the population, a subject that can be found in blogs such as "Our Finite World".
The movement from our current complex societies dependance on fossil fuels to less energy rich resources including solar, wind, energy efficiency and nuclear (for some in th e world) depends heavily on doing it early enough before economic, political and environmental collapse makes it impossible.
By the time petrol is Ten Bucks a Litre, will it all be too late?