Thinking ahead to a world without oil

BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, published last week, appears to show that the world still has enough "proven" reserves to provide 40 years of consumption at current rates.

Forty years is actually a very short time and the latest official estimates is a signal that it is time for forward-looking governments to assist their societies to make the process of adjustment to a post-carbon world as smooth as is possible.

And in fact of course there is a great deal of informed dissent among geologists about whether or not the official estimates significantly exaggerate reserves.

http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2656034.ece

Many nations look to nuclear energy

Many governments are putting nuclear power near the top of their strategic planning list as they plan ahead to a post-carbon age.

For example, last week the military-backed regime in Algeria (which is only in power because the army overthrew the democratically elected government in 1991- which is why Ahmed Zaoui is seeking refuge in New Zealand) signed a nuclear co-operation agreement with the United States government.

Algeria currently maintains two nuclear reactors, one built in 1989 with Argentinean assistance and another that came on-line in 1992, with the assistance of China. The U.S. government is doing the bidding for U.S. based companies that want to get a foot in the door before the French get too far ahead of them.

http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070612-050911-2442r

Six Arab dictatorships want to join the nuclear race

In other parts of the Arab world, the U.S. has a huge advantage over France, China and others in the nuclear energy race.

Dictatorships with very close ties to the U.S., Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, all have an interest in using nuclear power for desalination purposes, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The regimes need affordable energy for their expanding economies and growing urban populations and nuclear energy is being promoted as the option most affordable and accessible when, as is as certain as the sun rising tomorrow, oil prices skyrocket in the years ahead.

It is incredible how quickly opinion has changed in the mainly Arab Middle East. Just five or ten years ago, the governments of the region used to promote a nuclear-free zone stretching from Morocco in the west all the way to Pakistan in the east. That campaign appears to have been lost the day that the mainly Sunni dictatorship in Pakistan, another key U.S. ally in central Asia, became a member of the Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction Club and set off a chain reaction. Once Pakistan had joined the club, it was inevitable that the mainly Shiia, Persian state of Iran would want to join it. And once Iran said it was joining, the mainly Sunni Moslem Arab world had to join as well.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article624855.ece

But there are lots of problems with nuclear energy, not least of which have to do with nuclear waste for which no viable long-term solution exists.

http://library.thinkquest.org/17940/texts/nuclear_waste_storage/nuclear_was te_storage.html

Energy demand rising quickly here too

The very strong employment and economic growth experienced in New Zealand has also, of course, been accompanied by a surge in demand for energy here.

Many New Zealand families already have trouble paying the power bill and the only way to slow the anticipated steep rises in energy prices which lie ahead of us is to significantly increase energy supply. Businesses, including the small businesses that create most jobs, require not only competitively-priced energy but security of supply.

An overwhelming majority of New Zealanders reject nuclear energy because of its by-products, but also want our economy to expand so that more and better paying jobs can be created so that we can make poverty history.

The best solution is to increase our energy production with renewable energy sources where possible. At the moment, around 75 per cent of electricity used by consumers in New Zealand comes from renewable sources including hydro-generation (rivers), wind power, geothermal (steam) and biomass and the big challenge - in the face of global climate change - is to expand our reliance on renewable, non-polluting sources of energy.

An issue to be discussed at Progressive conference Aug 25

I am looking forward to the Auckland Regional Progressive Party Conference (Buddhist Centre, Eaglehurst Road, Saturday August 25) as an opportunity for members and supporters to really get our minds around these and other issues that go to the core of our economic and social development agenda.

The Executive will be sending members details about how to register and attend shortly and it should be stressed that those outside of the Auckland Region are of course very welcome. We will accept all tips on fund-raising, which is going well so far, and our campaign to unseat one of the more useless National M.P.s that we will be targeting in Auckland in 2008.

Labour Progressive Government well represented at Indian Newslink launch

On Saturday night, the Labour Progressive government was very well represented at the launch of the new-look Indian Newslink website. Helen Clark, who came in directly from the airport after her Australian trip, gave a powerful, direct and from-the-heart address that was well-received.

http://70.85.190.98/indiannewslink/

Auckland is a diverse region with 56 percent identifying themselves as being of European descent, nearly 19 percent identifying themselves as Asian, nearly 15 percent identifying themselves as Pacific peoples and around 11 percent identifying as Maori.

New New Zealanders have added an exceptionally important and interesting dimension to the media scene in New Zealand and over the past eight years, there has been a near explosion in the creative industries - including film, video and theatre - all healthy offspring of intelligent partnerships between government and communities and between the government and the private sector.

Election 2008 is going to be a great contest between the centre-left government and its friends, who want to build further on our new-found independence and confidence as a multi-cultural, dynamic society as opposed to the National/ACT/United Future grey alternative of tax cuts, social services cuts, more social division and, in foreign policy, more toadying to every order that comes out of London and Washington.

I'm looking forward to it! (Robson-On-Politics is taking a breather because I will be in Europe for the next month meeting with sister parties)

ENDS

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