DEAR News Of The Area,

Lynette Hyde (NOTA 12/8/22), says increased carbon in the atmosphere “will send us back to a primaeval festering uninhabitable planet”.

If she had not looked back into the past, when atmospheric CO2 was ten times greater than today, she might have noted that life not only thrived but proliferated.

The high standard of living that she enjoys today is the result of cheap, reliable 24/7 electricity provided by fossil fuels.

Never has there been a better time to be a human on this planet.

Fossil fuels have turned a natural primaeval festering deficient and dangerous planet into an unnatural liveable planet.

Life expectancy, population and gross domestic product (wealth) all increased exponentially with the increased use of fossil fuels.

Machines powered by fossil fuels released mankind from the daily grind of trying to find sufficient food to sustain himself.

Because of their use, we were able to produce more food in a shorter time resulting in food surpluses and spare time, releasing us to pursue other activities.

We could develop better and more diverse machines, expand our scientific knowledge and create medicines against previously incurable diseases.

Fossil fuels gave us leisure time to pursue recreational activities.

They enabled us to insulate ourselves from the climate, resulting in a 98-per-cent reduction in deaths from extreme weather events.

Now, because of “Net Zero”, we are under pressure to reduce our food sources.

We “should” reduce or eliminate our livestock, diminish crop yields by banning artificial fertilisers, do away with the machines that enable us to produce food surpluses.

But that is not enough, land is being taken out of food production to be smothered with solar panels which have to be renewed every 15 years and are not recyclable.

The developed world is currently able to use its surplus food to provide emergency relief to the developing world in times of crisis.

If we continue on the path we are on there will be no surplus available.

Every person knows that the weather is chaotic and as a consequence, energy production relying on the weather will be chaotic.

Battery technology is nowhere near able to provide back-up, base-load power, not now or in the near future.

But we continue to march down the road to ruin with our virtue-signalling banners held high.

All with the aim of reducing Australia’s CO2 emissions, which to date have contributed 0.000005 per cent to the atmosphere based on the IPCC estimate that 3 per cent of emissions are from human activities.

Lynette is right, we are heading back to a primaeval festering uninhabitable planet, not as a result of fossil fuels but because of our insane belief that renewables will magically be able to replace fossil fuels.

That great line from “The Castle” is most appropriate here, “tell ‘em they’re dreaming”.

Regards,
Wayne DUESBURY,
Bombee.