Different to Business As Usual

Finally, some action on climate change that may actually make a difference!  Certainly a difference to business as usual of inaction and shallow promises that we have experienced over the last 10 or so years.

If you believe some of the crap in the press today, which I don’t, the Carbon Tax package is a big gamble for our government.  With the numbers necessary to pass this legislation in both the Lower and Upper houses of parliament, it is essentially a done deal.  Just the detail needs to be thrashed out, but once legislated it will be very difficult to rescind by any future government.  Once legislated, it comes into effect on the 1st of July, 2012, which is ample time for households and industry to cut their emissions before it kicks in.  With the opposition party presenting no real alternative solution or policy, this is as about as good as it gets, which by the way is not that bad.

I personally think that on the face of what they have presented, it will not only reduce our countries greenhouse gas emissions over time, but it will fairly compensate or shield the average Aussie from most of the costs expected to be passed on by those 500 companies that will most probably pass on these costs.

It provides a financial buffer for pensioners and low income earners, and compensates some trade exposed industries, like steel and coal.  So much so that the Coal industry gets a $1.2 billion bonus.  Simple way over the top for this industry that already records incredulous profits.

I really like the $10 billion being allocated to Renewable energy over the next few years.  It will really give this clean energy the boost it needs, and hopefully reduce our dependence on coal power stations.

To get the gist of it in two minutes, here is a short vid produced by the ‘Say Yes’ campaign.

So over the next few weeks, as more details come to hand I will have a stab at trying to explain the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of the Clean Energy Future.  If you are after more information straight from the horses mouth, a good place to start is www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au.  The site has a lot of information and even a household calculator to see if you are better off under the proposed scheme.  After all, we must remember why we have asked our government to take action on climate change.  It is for future generations to come that this will really make a difference.  Our culture may have finally grown up, and possibly will stop borrowing from the future and start paying back our debts to our unborn descendants.

However, all being said and done, actions speak louder than words, so if you want to see what can be really done to lower your carbon emissions and therefore the hit to your back pocket, have a read through some of the actions that our family have taken over the years.  Here is a list of posts that will help you out that I have achieved myself;

• Low Emission Transportation – Bought a Hybrid Car
• Water Saving Front Yard – Ripped up the lawn and landscaped the front yard
• Electricity One and Two – Electricity efficiency and the steps I took over the first 16 weeks.
• Natural Gas – How we reduced our natural gas bill
• Water – rainwater harvesting and grey water reuse around the home.
• Waste – how we reduced our landfill and began composting and worm farming
• Reducing Food Miles One and Two – How to build a veggie patch and what we grew in the first season.
• Solar Hot Water – Installation of our hybrid solar hot water system.
• Solar Photovoltaic – Installation of our 2.8 kW Solar PV system
• Making Jam – My first plum jam, one of many types I have made over the years.
• Preserving Fruit and Vegetables – Our first preserves made with our Fowlers-Vacola kit bought on Ebay.
• Recommenced Beer Making – The first time I made beer in many years to finally drink something that had taste.
• Decided to get Chickens (April 2008)
• Chateau le Poulet – Building the chicken coop over many months
• Stockpiling Food and Essentials – What to do for food in case of natural disasters or emergencies.
• Home made Bread One and Two – We began to make our own bread and bread rolls
• Chicken Day, and Chicken Day – The Movie – Arrival of our first four chickens (we now have 8 feathered girl friends)
• Very Eggsciting! – Our first egg.
• Carbon Accounting Course – (January 2009) Started to up-skill for a low carbon economy
• Homemade Feta Cheese – Learning how to make cheese for the first time.
• 160 Km Diet – The family starts to eat locally
• Soap Making – Our first attempt of making soap.  We are still using it and we haven’t looked back.