The Plastic Bag Ban, a year on.

Many things in garbage bins are no longer bagged. There were numerous blowflies around this bin.

Not so long ago, we hardly ever saw blowflies around bins. 

Decades ago, of course, before rubbish started being routinely bagged,  it was usual.  There are not nearly as many flies now as there were then, but, I think, more now than there was a year ago.

Some people are using the 'Re-usable' plastic bags to contain their rubbish, reduce odours and limit the breeding of flies. But they are made of much heavier plastic, which will take longer to break down, and they are far more difficult to tie off.  They are not as useful as what were erroneously called 'single use' plastic bags.



The ban has given rise to some odd contradictions.  A volunteer in an Op Shop started to routinely put some items in a plastic bag taken from the bin kept handy, when she suddenly scrambled the bags out of sight, and used a much heavier plastic bag instead.  The 'single use' plastic bags could no longer be re-used on penalty of a large fine.

Those who sincerely want to reduce plastic waste, and those who noisily say they care for the environment but only want to tell everyone of their virtue, have chosen the wrong target.
They should have targeted the totally unnecessary plastic wrapping that so many of our things come in. They are truly 'single-use.'  Or maybe they should have targeted those giveaway plastic toys that one of the supermarkets handed out to customers as a way to distract from their annoyance at the reduced convenience when shopping.

One of the stated reasons for reducing the use of plastic bags was supposed to be to reduce the numbers of them going into the ocean, and littering our beaches.

And behold.  No plastic bags in the ocean, no plastic bags littering the beaches. (Some seaweed.)

Except that that photograph was taken several years ago.  In most places in Australia, most people do not leave a great deal of litter.  In the litter that is left, for example after a music festival, or after the Climate Protest by brainwashed children, there was a lot of litter. But only a very small component of that litter was plastic bags. It never has been a big problem in Australia.

Yes, I have seen awful pictures of litter covering the ocean.  But blame the ones who allow this.  The virtue-signalers, as always, are missing the mark.


Postscript 23rd March, 2020.

And now we have a Pandemic.  Is the Virus being spread at the supermarket checkout?  Probably.  Will the hygienic practice of using new plastic bags come back?  I very much hope so!  

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The new push for nuclear energy

Nuclear energy.

Early June, 2019

The Global Warming theory became widely known around 15 - 20 years ago. The rising of sea levels was the problem most emphasized then. And I was dubious from the start, as I could perfectly well see that homes close to the beach were still much in demand, and still cost a fortune. There was also that I never believed that humans were sufficiently powerful to influence the climate.

Those who have always lived in cities seem to forget that most of the country is not composed of dense city with its air hazy with pollution, but is instead covered in farmland and forest, mountains and lakes and plains and ocean. It is only a tiny percentage that is covered in city. (And thank goodness for that!)

 I wondered then whether it was a ploy from wealthy industrialists wanting to make themselves more
wealthy by investing in nuclear energy.








But if the promotion of nuclear energy was the purpose of the scare, then progress has been slow. The same ones who are most eager to embrace the idea of human-caused Global Warming are also those most adamantly opposed nuclear energy.

Evacuation areas, 2011

And then there was Fukushima, 2011. This was a disaster caused by an earthquake and the consequent tsunami. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated, though there were no deaths directly related to it.

http://fukushimaontheglobe.com/the-earthquake-and-the-nuclear-accident/whats-happened

This was a nuclear disaster. There have been other nuclear disasters

Chernobyl

.

   Left:  Chernobyl, USSR, 1986. 

Three Mile Island

Right:  Three Mile Island  The well known accident was in 1979, Pennsylvania, USA.

One reactor is still working at Three Mile Island, though it is due to be shut down by the end of September, 2019.






There have been other accidents, less well known,, even when those very first reactors came with the assurances to the public that were absolutely and totally 100% safe. There are good reasons why the populace is wary of nuclear energy, especially when we have abundant coal in Australia.

Al Gore, preaching.
This man uses far more energy
than any of we normal folk. 

2019, Climate change protesters
London

It is 2019. The climate has not warmed, and the sea has not risen, but the alarmist cries have only become more shrill. 'Global Warming' has become 'Climate Change' and now it is spoken of as a 'Climate Emergency.'



 Children are taught it as fact, and to say that it is all nonsense is absolutely not politically correct.



But now, it appears, the time has come to start pushing. From several different sources, but almost in unison, suddenly the cry has come. They are not saying we have to have nuclear energy - yet, rather they are saying 'we have to have the debate,' and 'we are mature enough to talk about it.' Craig Kelly, Liberal MP, for instance, that it 'must be on the drawing board' and the fear of nuclear energy 'must be overcome by an education process.' (Bolt Report, 6/6/19) And Peta Credlin, 'We are a grownup country and we have to have a grownup debate about it.'

The message is that we must go to nuclear energy because it is 'nil emissions' (so they say) and because the price of electricity has sky-rocketed. 

Wind farm in South Australia

But the price of electricity has sky-rocketed because the subsidies for inefficient renewables are very high and the provision of coal and gas energy has been actively sabotaged. Look at the fight against the proposed Adani coal mine, and Al Gore's nonsense that 'India will not want coal anyway.'








Maybe there are other reasons for this Climate Change scare. I assume some of the powerful might believe in it, though there never was a 97% Consensus of Scientists. There is also the fact that it has given more power to the Globalists of the UN.  A theory is that it is all about the redistribution of wealth from richer countries to poorer countries.

So maybe soon, we will see the first nuclear power stations in Australia. There was a headline (WIN TV, 13/6/19) that 'the government is more than willing to consider nuclear energy if it is economically viable.'

 And 14/6/19, a headline 'the NSW treasure is 'open' to nuclear energy, and 'there is no doubt that it is a cleaner form of energy.'

Nuclear Power Station, maybe coming soon to Australia

Coal is dirty, and always will be dirty. But the dirt is visible and can be reduced.

Nuclear energy is dirty as well, but the 'dirt' is invisible and lasts thousands of years. Look at the way that nuclear waste has to be managed. It is a problem that has no solution that will last as long as it needs to last.

Think of the children

They say that we should think of our children and reduce emissions in order to reduce the human-caused warming of the climate. But I consider the risks of nuclear energy as a far bigger threat to our descendants. Radiation does not just go away. It lasts - for a very, very long time. And damage to genes can result in a deformed child in the tenth or twentieth generation as much as it can in the first or second generation. While there is a viable alternative, it would be foolish to go down the nuclear path.

*

25th June, 2019:

And the fight back against the prospect of more nuclear energy has begun. Not this blog (which has zero influence) but there was a news report yesterday about someone who collected a large dose of radiation when something went wrong at the Lucas Heights reactor in Sydney, and then today, a story about people 'risking their health' by visiting the site of the Chernobyl disaster.

So how will it go now? A few more stories of people being harmed by radiation maybe? And then the promoters of nuclear energy again speaking of how the technology is vastly improved and the dangers have been grossly exaggerated? The number of fatalities from Chernobyl has been estimated at under a hundred to 93,000. It was 1986, the time of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union was secretive. I have read (years ago) that anyone who worked on bringing the fires under control and sealing off the reactor were deliberately dispersed and no records kept.

And there is a film about Chernobyl just released, that 'gives a strong sense of the catastrophic effects' of nuclear accidents.

I have also seen an expert, Robert Gale, bone marrow expert, who treated the victims for burns in the immediate aftermath, knew about subsequent instances of cancer, especially thyroid cancer attributed to the radiation, and asserts there were nearly as many cases as alleged. He is an advocate of nuclear energy. ('The Bolt Report',  June, 2019)

As usual, 'facts' are contradicted by 'facts' on the other side of the argument.

But there is no denying that a large area around Chernobyl is still empty, the same as a large area around Fukushima, too much polluted by radiation. They will be radioactive for more generations to come.


I guess we will see in the next few years how it will turn out.  Nuclear energy with its inherent risks, or a return to coal, which is relatively cheap and plentiful?  A whole generation has been convinced that climate disaster is just around the corner.  Will they shun electricity, cars, aeroplanes, and all the other conveniences of modern living?  Will they opt for 'zero-emissions' nuclear?  Or will they look at the evidence of no actual 'climate emergency' at all, and accept more traditional forms of energy?

Grey Nomads at Cape Hillsborough

There is a comfortable caravan park in the most beautiful place I know in the whole of Australia. It is at Cape Hillsborough, surrounded by National Park. The nearest little town is Seaforth, and that is around 40 kms north of MacKay, Queensland. And yet there has been a falling off in the number of Grey Nomads that are enjoying this place.

Perhaps some think that the area has been too much damaged by cyclones Marcia and Debby. But if Cape Hillsborough was knocked about, it has recovered, and again, is the most beautiful place that I know.

These days, while the Grey Nomads are comparatively few, on the weekends it fills up with young families. Many of them are young men working in the mines, and enjoying the high incomes they earn from their hard work. They tend to have big, new vans, powerful towing vehicles - and that is fine - but what sometimes irks us is that they invariably back in, quite fast, and always exactly right first time. Most of us, of course, take a few tries and adjustments before the van is lined up exactly next to the cement slab (or near enough.)

But aside from that flaw, they are nice people, friendly and the children reasonably well behaved.







All the same, I think that owners Ben and Renee would be very happy to see more wonderful, trouble-free Grey Nomads (like us) that stay for weeks rather than just a couple of days.


Features:

* The best beach, great for walking, good for swimming (in non Stinger season.) If you are there at dawn, you will see kangaroos and wallabies on the beach. There are rocks, where you can spot the occasional crab quickly disappearing into a crack, and rock pools, where you see tiny fish darting about. On the sand, there are soldier crabs. These are the tiny ones who make patterns on the beach when they push little balls of sand out when the tide recedes. There are shells. There are caves for children to explore. There is a certain rock that makes a good backrest for a grey headed lady to sit and wonder if a certain blue blur is one of the islands or maybe a ship standing out to sea.

* there are palm trees and almost-jungle. There are the constant calls of birds. There are Hibiscus flowers that are visited by the most gorgeous little birds known as sunbirds. Tiny, colourful, and they hover like a humming bird.









* walking tracks.

View from one of the walking tracks

View from the most challenging of the tracks

* There is a kiosk that stocks holiday clothing, souvenirs, some basic groceries, plus a hot food service. I particularly recommend the 'stone-fired' pizza.




*There is a particularly nice swimming pool, plus all the usual amenities of a well run caravan park.








Drawbacks:

There is just one drawback, and then only for those of us who have a particularly nice taste. The tiny midgies referred to as sandflies are prevalent, so some of us have to take care to avoid too much exposed skin in the late afternoons and evenings. The rotters are invisible, you don't feel them bite, but you do feel the effects afterwards in the form of itchy red bumps. So if you are a particularly tasty human being, pack long-sleeved shirts, long slacks and socks.

But this only applies to some of us. Most have not the slightest trouble, my husband, for instance. It reminds me of a story I read once, a vampire story. The humans were held like pets, but they were valued, some more than others. As I recall, they had grades of tastes. Some were especially desired, but some were nasty, occasionally used just for a change. I think my own taste must be especially nice, but (luckily) for sandflies, not vampires.

Molly:

Molly is a half grown kangaroo rescued from the pouch of its dead mother. She was not found immediately, and her ears have been attacked by crows, so are scalloped. Ben, Renee and the staff are looking after her until she is big enough to be released.

Other kangaroos and wallabies wander the park, but Molly is special. Even when fully grown, we will know her by her scalloped ears.


 I do not know another place as truly lovely as Cape Hillsborough. I recommend it.

Be Outraged for a Reason!

George Burgess

28/6/19. A footballer was filmed eye-gouging during a footy match. Now eye-gouging is one of those very dirty tactics used in the dirtiest variety of street-fighting.. Such an attack can cause very severe injury. And yet no-one seems particularly outraged.

What penalty will this thug get? Maybe a few games missed? It seems to me that he should be banned from all contact sports for life, plus serve several months in prison. That is a serious crime, worthy of outrage.

Israel Folau

And yet, the outrage is saved for people who merely say something that can be slanted as 'homophobic' or 'transphobic' or racist or sexist or any of the others 'phobes' and 'ists' - words that are bandied about to stifle free speech. Israel Folau, another footballer, lost his job because he spoke of the bible's teaching that various varieties of sinners would go to hell unless they repented and turned to Jesus. This is standard Christian teaching. 'Repent and be saved' and all that. But as homosexuality was one of the categories, (directly from one of the Letters of St. Pauls, New Testament) it is routinely referred to as 'homophobic,' though no-one has bothered getting offended for any of the other categories destined for hell if they don't repent - thieves, liars, drunkards, atheists, idolators (sometimes interpreted as Catholics) and adulterers.

  
So Folau lost his job. How will the eye-gouger be punished, an act that really and truly is outrageous. So far, the reporter said 'he could be due for a sit on the side-lines.' That reporter was, quite obviously, not feeling any outrage at all.

From later news reports 28/6/19, His name - George Burgess, South Sydney, NRL. It seems he's done it before and was banned for 4 matches. But also, others have done it, one banned for 6 matches. One commentator said 'the point is that it was not necessary.' I am appalled that he apparently thought that if it was a matter of getting the ball, then it would have been 'necessary.' The point is that clawing at a person's eyes can result in severe eye damage, all the way to the loss of an eyeball. 'Eye-gouging' as they call it, is outrageous and unforgivable. Any man who commits this act should never play in a contact sport again, and should also face criminal charges.

2/7/19: Burgess's punishment, suspended for nine weeks.