G17 forum: ‘Avoiding the Black Hole – Can Queensland Transition away from Coal and Gas ?’

The October meeting of the 17 Group will take place onWednesday the 7th of October at 7 pm in unit 6 at 20 Drury St, West End. The speaker will be award-winning energy expert and author Trevor Berrill. The topic is:

“Avoiding the Black Hole – Can Queensland Transition away from Coal and Gas?”

Summary
There is a transition happening internationally away from fossil fuels to renewables and energy efficiency. It is being led by a range of countries including Denmark, Germany, China (by air pollution necessity), with some States of the US. Closer to home, New Zealand, South Australia and ACT are leaders with progressive policies. By and large though, fossil fuel dominated economies such as Australia and Canada are intractable.

What are the drivers for change, how have these changed, and where does Australia/Queensland sit in this unfolding technological and potential economic/social/political shift?

This talk will clarify just where Australia, and in particular Queensland is now in relation to renewable energy and energy efficiency, and what it would take to transition to a clean energy future. It will identify a range of barriers that need to be addressed, including political aspects.

About the Author

Trevor Berrill is an award winning, private consultant in sustainable energy (SE). He has worked in both renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) for almost 40 years, including in RE system design and installation, energy efficient building design and energy auditing, research at UQ, QUT and GU, product development, RE education and training.

Trevor was branch president of the Australian Solar Energy Society in the 1990s and a founding member in Queensland of Friends of the Earth, the Alternative Technology and Wind Energy Associations. His work in the policy area began at this time with a realisation that “techno-twits” needed to engage in the political process, if they wished to see the clean energy technologies they promoted adopted.

In recent years, he has authored a number of leading policy reports and sustainable energy plans for farming communities seeking an alternative to coal and coal seam gas mining on prime agricultural land. His most recent energy policy paper, presented to the Queensland Energy Minister in July, can be found at www.sustainablequeensland.info . Professor Ian Lowe is the patron of this group.

He is the author of “Solar Electricity Consumer Guide” and author/co-author to a range of RE technical training resource books.

Trevor is trained in mechanical engineering and energy auditing at QUT and has a Masters of Environmental Education degree from Griffith University. He lives in a fully solar powered, energy efficient home which includes the first grid connected solar PV system in the Redlands. He windsurfs regularly at Wellington Point, just to test the power of the wind.

You can download more of his reports from his website www.trevolution.com.au

“I might not be able to make it” said Leon unsurprisingly, “but here’s an allegorical picture of me from Rick Geary’s recent popular comic book, intended for younger readers somewhat less entered into the vale of years than your group. I like when I look at it, as I frequently do, to update the meaning of the symbolic dragon, (or should I say ‘fossil beast’ ?) to see it as the corporate coal and gas dinosaur.”

Leon concluded the interview by recommending also the recent biography for under-thirties by Paul le Blanc who suggests that our great non-attender might be understood as having anticipated the political effects of global capitalism.

“Puts me up there with Naomi Klein and the Pope” he brayed, waving the book at us as we backed out. Later he sent us this link:
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/32666-who-cares-about-leon-trotsky?tmpl=component&print=1