The ACT's greenhouse gas emissions on the rise

I also switched most of the globes at home to energy efficient ones. Seems the ACT Government was doing the same with all the street lamps around the ACT. Chief Minister’s press release last year 3rd August 2008:
http://www.chiefminister.act.gov.au/media.php?v=7193

They’ve switched 7,700 globes and saved 3,000 tonnes of emissions annually (about 700 cars).
Great going. However, we’ve run out of street lights to switch now though and it’s piddly numbers compared to the turbines.

Next…

I planted a few trees, including the gum I was given when I became an Aussie Citizen last year. Apparently it’ll be a big ‘un; good for carbon sinking. 🙂

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

… farting into a cyclone,…

Now there’s an idea. Something along the lines of whether all the traffic in the world starting off at the same time and in the same direction would affect Earth’s rotation.

Instead of worrying about hugely expensive technologies that make about the same real difference as farting into a cyclone, let’s spend all the money on green research and technology planting trees. An added bonus is it will keep people off the dole.

Great points, so Pandy’s right but it’s all so late in the day, how many people switched to power hungry flat screen TVs and only now is a star efficiency rating introduced and manufacturers didn’t have to comply with any kind of energy consumption limits?

I’ve switched to energy efficient light globes, because you can’t buy normal ones any more and how much do I save that way? Half a car, I doubt it. The Government’s own replacement of all street lighting with energy efficient was around a 1 or 2,000 tonne saving a year. Whoopee. Wow.

And the solar power station? It has to be co-located with gas-fired generation! It’s not enough power for clean energy to 10,000 homes when you have to fire up turbines too; it’s a partial solution at best. Parsons Brinkerhoff pointed this out last year in ActewAGL’s feasibility study (who incidentally want the big gas-fired power station at Williamsdale and presumably want the solar facility alongside either at Williamsdale itself or the former Ingledene Forest site the Government was “consulting” on earlier this year – as if the site at Kowen Forest near Queanbeyan was a realistic option when all of ActewAGL’s infrastructure is going south-side (Williamsdale sub-station, high voltage transmission lines to Theodore, 600MW gas-fired power station at Williamsdale) etc.

Simon got a tad upset when the Greens voiced their disapproval:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/23/2634029.htm

(We know these tiffs are just for show, but it is fun to watch them try to convince us.)

FYI,
It takes 10% of the power generated through a gas fired system just to cool the computer banks, also this varies greatly relative to ambient temperatures.
The biggest problem here is the inversion layer of the atmosphere which actually condenses the pollutants and therefore the overall effects and is the most important component. Try changing that?

…and the power that would be used by the computers in other data centres that are being replaced by these ones would otherwise be generated how? The computers aren’t being installed solely to turn gas-fired electricity into heat.

Hey Digga, The ACT Government could ban ACs in new homes and ensure all applicances ar3 5 star rated. Including those big TVs.

caf: the gas-fired turbines are to provide power solely to the computer systems in the data centre; not to generate clean energy for use on the grid and in your home as an off-set to the coal fired units being consumed via the grid in all our existing use.