Could hydrogen energy be Australia's future? This village might show us how

Running a luxury resort in the middle of a desert is no easy task. Grass must be kept green and sweaty tourists cooled. There are shuttle buses to power, buffets to cook, phones to charge. The lights must stay on at the souvenir shop.

Chief Scientist Alan Finkel.

Until recently, the Ayers Rock Resort near Uluru relied mostly on natural gas, brought in by truck, to keep things running. Solar panels were installed a few years ago and the buses use diesel. But now there is a new plan to power the place: limitless, zero-emissions hydrogen.

The release this week of a Council of Australian Governments consultation paper on a national hydrogen strategy was another signal that finally, hydrogen's day may have arrived.

Adding to the momentum, the International Energy Agency last month declared 2019 a critical year for hydrogen, saying the resource could be poised to "fulfil its longstanding potential as a clean energy solution".

Read the story from The Age by Nicole Hasham - “Could hydrogen energy be Australia's future? This village might show us how.”

Mildura deputy mayor joins climate-driven challenge to Nationals in Mallee

The deputy mayor of Mildura, Jason Modica, will become the second independent candidate to challenge the National party in the seat of Mallee – running on the issues of water, climate change and people power.

 The deputy mayor of Mildura, Jason Modica, will become
 the second independent candidate to challenge the
National party in the seat of Mallee.

Known as “Jake the Tradie”, Modica served on Mildura council with Ali Cupper, who unexpectedly won the state seat of Mildura last year as an independent, a seat held by the Nationals on a 8% margin.

Modica enters the field after the sitting Nationals MP, Andrew Broad, a vocal supporter of traditional marriage, announced his retirement following New Idea allegations he met up with a younger woman in Hong Kong via a sugar daddy dating website.

Read the story from The Guardian by Gabrielle Chan - “Mildura deputy mayor joins climate-driven challenge to Nationals in Mallee.”

Divided by drought

What do you do when your city is running out of water? The answer, at least in one of the world’s most unequal countries, depends on how much money you have.

Within the next few months, Cape Town’s taps could run dry, the result of a protracted drought and a government failure to provide an alternative water source to this city of 4 million. Now, residents are scrambling to find their own private solutions.

For the wealthy, that means hiring companies to dig boreholes and wells. It means buying truckloads of bottled water, even at inflated prices. It means ordering desalination machines to make groundwater drinkable — or safe enough to fill a swimming pool.

For the poor, it means waiting to see what the government comes up with, and contemplating whether you can afford to cut back on food to be able to buy water.

Read The Washington Post story by Kevin Sieff - “Divided by drought.

New study reaches a stunning conclusion about the cost of solar and wind energy

In one of the fastest and most astonishing turnarounds in the history of energy, building and running new renewable energy is now cheaper than just running existing coal and nuclear plants in many areas.

Stunning report - wind and solar now cheaper
than existing coal and nuclear plants.

A widely-used yearly benchmarking study — the Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis (LCOE) from the financial firm Lazard Ltd. — reached this stunning conclusion: In many regions “the full-lifecycle costs of building and operating renewables-based projects have dropped below the operating costs alone of conventional generation technologies such as coal or nuclear.”

Read Joe Romm’s on ThinkProgress  story  - “New study reaches a stunning conclusion about the cost of solar and wind energy.”

Morrison and co are kneecapping my generation's future. And laughing about it

 Smiles and back slaps for the Government as
 the Carbon tax repeal bills pass in the House
of Representatives on 26 June 2014. 

Speaking in parliament on Thursday, treasurer Scott Morrison held aloft a large lump of coal and made the funniest joke he’ll ever think of in his life.

“Mr Speaker, this is coal. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be scared! It won’t hurt you.” Morrison yelled at the opposition as his colleagues jeered and hooted behind him. 

It was a comedic performance on-par with the guy at an open-mic night who opens with a joke about women shopping, but the people in charge of running the world’s twelfth-largest economy couldn’t get enough.

Read Alex McKinnon’s opinion on The Guardian - “Morrison and co are kneecapping my generation's future. And laughing about it.”