Labor resources minister savages "green faith"

Writing in The Australian, Martin Ferguson lays into the "renewable energy" myth that claims that we can power future generations by wind and solar.

Those who oppose the development of Australia's uranium and LNG resources, and low-emission coal technologies, need to answer the following two questions.

Do they want the world's poor to have access to electricity? If so, how do they propose to generate it? The answers would be yes and renewables. Admirable, but impossible today. I have yet to meet anyone who opposes the use of cheap, reliable renewable energy. However, the factors limiting the uptake of renewables remain technical, not political. We must have a rational, science-based pathway to overcome those hurdles. Faith alone will not get us there. (source)

Bob Brown, never at a loss for a hysterical response to anything, is outraged, and clearly inhabits his own little green fantasy land:

"Martin Ferguson is a total, 100 per cent, lackey of the mining industry," Senator Brown said.

"Renewable energy including baseload solar, but in particular energy efficiency, is not only ready to take down off the shelf but it's cheaper and will create more jobs than coal or nuclear."

You're truly mad, Bob.

Read it here.

UPDATE: The Australian writes in favour of nuclear power in an editorial:

But if environmentalists insist on increasing the cost of coal to compensate for its environmental impact, alternatives are essential. And nuclear energy is the obvious option. Despite the opposition of ageing activists, still arguing as if it was the 1980s when the risk of nuclear war was real, the government is rightly encouraging uranium exports. (Although excluding India because it will not sign the non-proliferation treaty when it has an otherwise solid commitment to peaceful nuclear power makes no sense.) Nor should Canberra rule out ever allowing a nuclear power plant at home. With a permit price for greenhouse emissions the industry, and consumers, can afford, Australia's enormous coal reserves make it impossible to beat as an energy source. But it is more than passing strange that people who hate coal are equally opposed to the only practical low-emission alternative. While it is essential Australia gets the ETS right, we need a broader debate on energy sources. And all who argue that solar and wind power are the universal answer deny powerless people all over the planet a human right we all take for granted: electricity.

Read it here.