Carbon tax

Remember when the earth was cool
And consequences rare
When we could burn up energy
Without a thought or care

We did not know the Piper
Who piped his Siren’s song
Would one day demand payment
To make us right the wrong

We must now pay the Piper
Who piped our song of greed
And now demands his payment
If we are to be freed



The sea-level rose an average 1.8 mm a year last century but the rate of increase is accelerating alarmingly and currently exceeds 3 mm a year and three times that in some places. And as the icecaps melt and the warming seawater expands it is set to get a lot worse. Modelling showing metres of seawater rise by 2100 was recently considered pessimistic by but increasingly looks like being in right ball park. We are on the verge of global catastrophe. And if you doubt that, spare a thought for the people of PNG’s Carteret Atoll who are the world’s first Climate Change refugees. They have already relocated to Bougainville as their islands disappear beneath the waves and they will soon be followed by many others across the rising Pacific. This is a key point that seems to be lost in the current carbon tax debate. We don’t have time to argue the point about disadvantage or to delay action until other nations take action. We must start moving to a low carbon economy and Australia as a world eco-power with so much to lose from sea-level rise and climate change in general must show leadership.

I think the government is going about it the right way. Put a price on carbon to provide reasonable incentives to industry to reduce emissions without wrecking the economy whilst protecting the vulnerable as we transit to a low carbon economy. Moving too far too quickly will be political suicide and doing nothing is not an option. My guess is that we will end up with a carbon price of about $25/tonne similar to Europe. Australia missed a golden opportunity to take bipartisan action on climate change a couple of years ago and history will vilify those responsible for the demise of the Emissions Trading Scheme that followed the demise of the then Leader of the Opposition.

But while we consider the negative consequences of a carbon tax we should also think about opportunities. Investments in alternate energy and agro-forestry will likely prosper but our real advantages are in less obvious areas such as environmental science and technological leadership. Our geographical location close to the booming economies of China, India and SE Asia also gives us a significant advantage over our competitors with respect to mineral resources. The embodied emissions in a tonne of Pilbara iron-ore over its life cycle from mine to China will for example be much less than a tonne mined in central Brazil and shipped half way around the world.

Yes, it will be difficult to ensure adequate compensation for vulnerable groups impacted by a carbon tax. Industry will also be disadvantaged in the short term by moving more quickly than our competitors but there is a place for leadership and most industrial leaders understand the opportunities associated with first mover advantage. What should be obvious to everyone is that this is not an issue which will go away. We can take decisive and early (already a bit late for that) action or we can play catch up later when forced by circumstance. The main difference between climate change and natural disasters like cyclones and floods is the time scale. But unlike a flood or cyclone situation when everyone pitches in and helps regardless of cost we seem content to sit back and ignore the situation. We have enjoyed the dance and it is now time to pay the band.

The stuff of life

Place soil in pot
Then add seed
Add  light and water
Wait

Take tree from pot
Shake off soil
Weigh tree
Weigh soil

Invisible to visible
Air to wood
Light to dark
Death to life




Photosynthesis is the miracle of life. Light and air and water transforming to sugar and then to wood. Water molecules split by light release oxygen and hydrogen which combines with carbon dioxide to form sugar. Imagine a world where we could grow our own homes from Carbon dioxide. Just paint the ground with photosynthetic paint and wait for the house to grow. Wouldn’t that be miraculous and wonderful? Almost as marvellous as a forest! We do take a lot for granted and are often blind to the obvious.

When the experiment described in the poem was undertaken by early experimenters they found that the soil volume remained the same. They therefore concluded, almost rightly, that the tree that grew in the pot was somehow made of air. The carbon that ultimately formed the wood in fact came from carbon dioxide. Carbon, invisible and odourless in carbon dioxide gas, transformed to wood with the energy of light. Light trapped in darkness as the lifeless becomes living matter. And it can all be reversed.

When we burn fossil fuels we release the fossilised light energy trapped for eons, reversing photosynthesis and releasing carbon dioxide. And we burn so much so quickly that the world has no time to adjust. The solution to global warming and climate change is really quite simple. We must slow down the rate that we are releasing carbon dioxide and we must increase the rate it is absorbed. In other words we need to drive less and plant more trees. But we all have to do it. The problem is many of us don’t want to do it. We are addicted to energy and a soft life and rarely worry much about tomorrow or the fate of our children. We need an international carbon tax and we need to understand that sacrifice is necessary. But will a democratic society vote for hardship and sacrifice? Not likely, and definitely not when a sizable portion of a self-interested and gullible population has been persuaded to be sceptical by greedy and evil people! And so we continue to rapidly transform darkness to light as we rush headlong to the inevitable consequence of life to death.