Home truths about wind and solar power

This year the Greens sponsored a Senate select committee to investigate the circulation consider the problem of information and misinformation about climate and energy matters. Clearly the intention was to reveal the hidden hand of fossil fuel interests funding groups that are resisting the transition to so-called renewable, clean and green power

For a start, It is interesting to note the amount of misinformation in the language of the net zero program.

"The sun and wind are free." You could say the same about coal, gas and oil, we just have to build expensive machinery to harness the power.

Renewable, clean and green. The turbines and solar panels are not renewable because they have short lives compared with conventional power facilities and the end-of-life disposal will soon be a serious concern.

They are not clean unless you think carbon dioxide, the breath of life on the planet, is a dangerous pollutant.

They are not green when you realize the heavy environmental footprint through their life cycle from the of exploration and mining, the transport, manufacture and construction of the equipment and finally then the disposal of toxic waste at the end of the road.

Just contemplate the volume of rocks that have to be processed in energy-intensive processes to build an electric vehicle!

The state of play in the green transition

Trillions of dollars have been spent worldwide, including tens of billions in Australia, to roll out RE infrastructure. This has produced a long list of negative consequences, including mountains of public debt.

Power is more expensive, causing domestic fuel poverty, closure of power-intensive industries and the diversion of investment to the US to take advantage of cheaper energy.

Blackouts are looming, and we can't afford to lose another coal power station.

Massive damage had been inflicted on the environment both at home and abroad.

Rural communities have become bitterly divided.