A sustainable future, economically and enviromentally..

David Suzuki is quoted as saying that when viewing the planet earth from space you can’t see the economy. As an environmentalist Suzuki is passionate about the sustainability of our planet and the quote is emotive and clearly stirs passion amongst people. The quote perhaps gives the impression that it is an “either or” proposition, I do not necessarily subscribe to that, realistically economic growth and consumption will continue and the challenge will be how we manage those forces to ensure that in a carbon constrained future our planet and lifestyle are sustainable.
. The challenge for the community is to ensure that the approach to economic management and importantly to consumption and the provision of renewable sources of energy is structured in a way that not only protects the environment and ensures the long term future of the planet but also allows us to lives our lives with dignity.
In relation to the provision of energy the big criticism has been that current sources of renewable energy will not provide the current level of base load power generation required. The passing of legislation in the Senate that will see the introduction of an expanded Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme in Australia is a big step in allowing the economics of this industry ( importantly regulated and supported by Government actions and not purely left to the risk of market demand) to turbo charge renewable energy projects.
Tasmania is very fortunate, we are the single biggest producer of renewable energy in the nation and the introduction of this scheme will allow us to go even further – it will enable hundreds of millions of dollars of what can only be described as frustrated investment to be unlocked in areas such as wind, wave, solar and geothermal energy. It also represents an opportunity to supply our renewable energy expertise to the rest of Australia and the world.

We must seize this opportunity and not let it pass us by. There is now international consensus on the impact of climate change, we must not continue to waste our breath on arguing the toss of the impact of carbon pollution, what we must work on is one of the most significant things we can do, and that is create a base load power generation powered by renewable energy sources.

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend a public meeting in Lindsfarne where a proposal, soon to go to the Clarence City Council, was being presented for the creation of a truly sustainable medical facility. Sustainable environmentally, by the use of solar, wind and geothermal sources to not only provide all the power for the facility but also selling excess generation back into the grid and sustainable medically, by creating a comprehensive and high quality services to the community, in part funded by the savings made on power usage. A great concept and the Clarence City Council should move quickly to get this project up and running.

Projects large and small must be supported by all tiers of Government and fast tracked if we are to not only have an impact on reducing our carbon emissions and therefore saving our environment but it must be done to place Tasmania at the forefront of this industry.