Weird mob’s rush into a future without secure energy

We are indeed a weird mob. As our government struggles with the implementation of its ill-conceived intervention in the energy market and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission warns gas producers they will be punished if they withhold gas supplies (“Law of supply and command”, 17/1), one of the best solutions to the problem is stopped at the last moment (“Santos suffers setback to Narrabri gas project”, 17/1). Santos would be well advised to walk away. Even if the company eventually prevails and wins its case, gas consumption for cooking in homes and restaurants will probably by then be banned, thanks to the Greens (“Cooking with gas … while they still can”, 17/1).

With Santos gone and other gas producers also feeling the heat, only then will we realise what we have done. With no gas, and the situation compounded by our feverish but futile rush to renewables, we will soon be cooking by fire, using candles for light, watching the closure of many of our industries and wondering why we made such a mess of what was once a great country.

Ross McDonald, Gordon, NSW

It is commendable of Graham Pinn to champion “open debate” (Letters, 17/1). However, is he also aware of the expression “both-sidism”, in which opposing argument is presented as equally valid even though opinion and evidence may be overwhelmingly on one side? This is an argument style used by some climate change deniers who want to put their case in the face of overwhelming factual evidence.

The melting of Arctic sea ice is an observable fact. Satellite observations began in 1979. According to NASA, summer Arctic sea ice is shrinking by 12.6 per cent a decade as a result of global warming. As with humans whose environments are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change, polar bears may show some ability to adapt to these changes. But scientists predict that as sea ice melts, the polar bear will find it increasingly difficult to hunt, mate and breed; their populations will decline. Further, to state blandly that islands in the Pacific are not sinking is simply misleading: they are being inundated by sea level rise.

We have a responsibility to analyse data, face facts and act on them.

Fiona Colin, Malvern East, Vic

Unlike Graham Pinn, I find Amy Hiller’s letters well researched and interesting. A total of 7300 disasters in the past 20 years, climate-related or not, compared to 4200 in the previous 20 years is a massive cause for concern in anyone’s language. Pinn’s list, on the other hand, is unconvincing. The status of polar bears is “vulnerable” because their habitat, Arctic ice, is in decline. Villages are relocating on Pacific Islands because the sea level is rising. Strong cyclones are becoming more frequent. Of the 10 Category 5 cyclones to hit Queensland in the past 50 years, half occurred in the past 12 years. Bushfires are becoming more intense and Australia’s two worst bushfires occurred in the past four years. Former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins has said: “Hotter temperatures and drier conditions, driven by climate change, are the root cause of these fires. It is a dangerous distraction to suggest otherwise.”

Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Vic

I wonder if any of our leaders and those calling for more and more migrants have thought the situation through (“Immigration is not the answer to our troubles”, 171)? We are dismantling our coal-fired power network to rely on technology that could be years if not decades away from delivering sufficient cheap and reliable electricity. No new dams for delivery of water have been built for decades; only less-than-successful desalination plants have been delivered. Water-recycling plans have met with little enthusiasm and downright rejection. Our cities are overcrowded, accommodation, particularly for the lower-income groups, is far too expensive. Roads are overcrowded. Southeast Queensland and capital cities generally resemble parking stations and the less said about public transport the better.

Build the infrastructure needed today before cramming in more people.

Bruce Collison, Banks, ACT

In the march toward a centrally planned command economy, the Albanese/Chalmers government seeks to defy the laws of supply and demand, or Adam Smith’s “invisible hand”. What is next? A Prices Justification Tribunal? Shades of 1972-75.

Philip Shaw, Hayborough, SA