Clean coal benefits
We all know coal fired power stations, though not the cleanest, are the most efficient producers of electricity. Closing them down will lead to higher costs and bills.
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Back in the 1950s and early ‘60s I worked in a large hospital (2500 staff and patients), which had its own power station. Coal was brought in and all the gas was stripped out of it and this went through pipelines in seven miles of subways or underground tunnels (you could drive a small service vehicle along these subways) to the hospital wards, kitchens and buildings.
The tar was also stripped out of the coal to be used on the roads and covered-in walkways around the hospital.
The super-heated steam from the power station went via insulated pipelines to all wards and buildings through radiator heating systems. Also the steam went into kitchens around the hospital, used to cook food and vegetables for over 2000 people.
And of course the hospital enjoyed the independence of a plentiful supply of electricity. All without any pollution. How? Coal with gas and tar stripped out becomes a silver clinker called “coke”. This has been used in the steel industry around the world for centuries.
Just imagine if Australia built power stations using clean coal (coke) technology. They would not only provide plentiful affordable electricity for everyone including industry, but in turn create more jobs.
Many people might ask, but what will happen in the future when we run out of coal? What if these new power stations were designed so, if needed, thermal power from the Earth’s core could also be used? This source of energy right under our feet around the world is unlimited.
Peter Boddis, Eden
Stop recycling
Bega Shire should get rid of the yellow bins, stop recycling, and reduce the cost burden of its waste services on ratepayers, simultaneous with the introduction of its FOGO (Food and Garden Organics) system from next July.
FOGO’s compost will be useful and should be welcomed, although many green bins will stink if you don’t wash them out.
But yellow bin recycling is an economic and environmental failure. It can’t be sold, even to China, anymore, so most of it will finish up in landfill anyhow - if it hasn’t already filled suburbs with toxic smoke from recycling storehouse fires.
Stop recycling? Sounds outrageous. Not at all. If you look at the facts instead of feel-good fuzzy feelings.
Fact: you are wasting your time sorting out plastic no one wants to buy.
Fact. Glass bottles and jars are being crushed to landfill anyhow because it’s too expensive to transport them.
Fact. The market for recovered mixed paper is oversupplied. Fact. China does 85% of all plastic recycling.
Fact. China will stop importing most recovered plastics, unsorted paper and textiles from the end of 2017.
Fact. No other country has the capacity to take over this trade. Result. Australia will have to look after more of its own waste.
Seriously big fires in recycling plants and storages erupted this year in Melbourne and Sydney, polluting suburbs, families and children with toxic smoke and ash. One burned for 11 days, another took 120 firemen to put out. These infernos happened because unsaleable ‘recycling’ banked up, and fires broke out.
Bega Shire should stop wasting our rates on fuel and manpower collecting mixed waste, for which the market is now totally trashed.
Jon Gaul, Tura Beach
Street garden vandalism
To the person/persons who vandalised one of Pambula’s street gardens over the weekend of September 23/24, smashing various lavender bushes – I hope you are proud of your efforts. Why do I bother?