Which is worse Mr Abbott – wind farms or fracking?
Posted by John, June 11th, 2015 - under Wind farms.
Tags: Capitalism, Climate change, Coal, Fracking
Tony Abbott said the other day that wind farms were visually awful and wants to cut their numbers (‘reduce, capital R-E-D-U-C-E the number of these things we are going to get in the future’ in his words.) He raised that old furphy about the possible health problems they supposedly cause. They don’t, but let’s not have the truth interfere with a political argument the Prime Minister wants to run.
On the other hand fracking can cause major health problems. Yet the Prime Minister remains supportive of it. He also thinks that coal, one of the key contributors to green house gas emissions and climate change, is good for humanity.
Profit explains the difference. Wind farms, and renewable energy more generally, threaten the long term profits of the big electricity companies and the coal miners.
There is a quick buck to be made in fracking too.
Abbott puts short term profit before the health of Australians and before the long term health of the environment and by extension, although he is too blinded by Profit Now! to understand this, the long term survival of his beloved but destructive capitalism.
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Comments
Comment from Peter
Time June 12, 2015 at 8:22 am
This is the often predicted result of demagoguery and party politics, coupled with the bastardised ‘democracy’ that refuses proportional representation. Only a parliament of true independents legislating by consensus has a hope of delivering the planet from human depredation and eventual extinction.
Comment from Mike
Time June 12, 2015 at 8:11 am
Profit explains the difference.
Profit or efficiency? If more money is spent on electricity than needed, this leaves less money to spend on other things like health, education or whatever takes your fancy.
Renewable energy is an indulgence of wealthy Westerners.
Hardly surprising then that developing countries, like China and India, are trying to produce electricity at the lowest cost possible with hydro, nuclear and coal.