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ENERGY TRANSITION PROGRESS REPORT
From Brisbane, Australia, May 16th 2023
Australia has enshrined in law its targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
In a group discussion today, these points were mentioned in our U3A discussion group, not in any order.
State centralised power stations from 1980 to 2010 met electricity demand with reliable low cost supplies.
Growth in peak demand was met by installation of gas turbine generators.
Natural gas supplies are limited.
Solar panels and wind energy cost more than base load fossil fuel energy.
Domestic solar panels relieved peak supply.
Solar panel farms have been built but are unable to meet 24 hour base load supply.
Batteries and pumped storage are expensive.
Shutting down of base load fossil fuel energy has increased the cost of electricity to consumers.
Restriction of coal production has reduced coal taxes, the mainstay of the Australian economy.
Increased payment for electricity takes a larger proportion of workers’ earnings than from middle and upper classes.
Cost of other products is also increased by rising electricity and petrol prices.
Effect of the energy transition is being borne predominantly by workers as a fall in their standard of living.
The energy transition is having a socially retrograde effect, penalising the have-nots.
The benefits of the transition are expected to be improving climates worldwide, which might result in better living conditions for some peoples.
Is the Australian government behaving responsibly?
My novel Animal Farm 2 is a sequel to Orwell’s totalitarian satire with the farm animals learning about climate change and electricity supply. Reviews: martinknox.com
HOW COULD CLIMATE CHANGE FARM ANIMALS?
Animal Farm is a novel written by George Orwell on the cusp of peace in 1945. It satirises a new world of peace threatened by totalitarianism. He uses farm animals to portray, simply and honestly, the inhumanity and logical deficiencies of the incipient Soviet system.
Martin Knox has written a sequel, Animal Farm 2 (2021). The story is a new episode of the satire, with farm animals struggling under totalitarianism which continues after the end of the Cold War up to modern times. It updates us on a world that is adjusting to central control of responses to climate change and a new world without access to fossil fuels. The animals debate changes imposed on them, revealing science that has been faked. They want to revolt again, but will they be able to escape from rule by pigs this time?
Available on Amazon. For reviews see martinknox.com
Animal Farm 2 – satirical fiction
Martin Knox’s sixth book – an action-packed, comical, totalitarianism, animal liberation and climate change.
Farm animals investigate philosophies of climate science within a new paradigm.
Reviewed by Brad Ahern, Science Educator
Following Orwell’s masterful satire, Animal Farm, 1945, Martin Knox continues the story in the aftermath of the Animal Revolution up to modern times, with an insightful account of the progress and difficulties of the Socialist Animal Collective. An action-packed story of farm animals seeking liberation. They mine coal and their work is restricted by bourgeois management and superpower influence. They discover and carefully explain a paradigm shift within climate science. Another prescient and engrossing cautionary fable satirising the threats posed by modern-day totalitarianism and globalism. The satire is humorous with animal characters based on leaders of superpower nations, animal liberation and climate campaigns.
Reviewed By Divine Zape for Readers’ Favourite. Rating: 5 Stars
Fans of Animal Farm by George Orwell will adore Martin Knox’s Animal Farm 2, a fable with strong hints of political satire set on a farm on tropical Caruba, an island in the grip of the Social Republic. It is set within a cold war between the Social Republic and the Democratic Union. After successfully leading an animal revolution, the pigs take over control of the farm and put the animal workers under unacceptable and harsh working conditions. When coal is discovered on the farm, it attracts the attention of the superpowers who are in it for their own interests. The animals find themselves embroiled in a war of climate change, where they have to decide to shut down the power station and the coal mine or use renewable energy. But the consequences will be dire for the animals including the loss of jobs. So, the only option they have is to fight for their freedom from totalitarianism. But can they win?
This is a cleverly plotted story with interesting characters, and readers will relate to the animals that behave like humans; the anthropomorphism is brilliantly executed. Readers will encounter animals such as pigs (Lords Napoleon, Natalia), cattle (Tosser, Earl, Henry, Arnold), sheep (Sharon, Trudy, Sophie, and others), goats, llamas, horses, donkeys, mules, and more. Animal Farm 2 is open to several interpretations with political manipulation, abuse of power, superpower interests, and those who bear the brunt of political manoeuvring. It is a fable, but it is the same story that we see being played out too often in the political world. The novel features relevant and deftly written political themes, a debate on climate change, and the effects of totalitarianism. The characters are elaborately written and readers can see in them a portrait of what politicians do. The satire is biting, ingenious, and written in a context that readers can relate to. Martin Knox’s satirical novel is a work of great imagination
Information: martinknox.com
