Oil and Sustainable Energy alternatives

The Australian Treasury Minister, Peter Costello, openly admitted the likelihood of Australia becoming substantially dependent on imported oil in the next 10 years. The need for replacement of oil with sustainable energy sources has now become alarmingly imperative.

The Australian Treasury Minister, Peter Costello, openly admitted the likelihood of Australia becoming substantially dependent on imported oil in the next 10 years. The need for replacement of oil with sustainable energy sources has now become alarmingly imperative.

I managed to catch a broadcast on the ABC of an address by American L. Hunter Lovins, co-author of Natural Capitialism, at the launching of the book Natural Advantage of Nations. She called on Australia to strive to become a sustainable energy superpower, given we have excellent conditions for sunlight and wind and leading edge R&D in sustainable energy.

Even at the grassroots level, groups like Lab-Rats are demonstrating real passionate proof of an alternative energy approach with their vegetable oil powered bus, wind generated cinema and solar powered DJ system. This is well documented on a DVD distributed by Digital Undergrowth, a Melbourne based arts collective, recently screened at The Screening Room, a small arts collective and cinema in Chippendale, Sydney.

A question worthy of debate is the degree to which capitalism will be the most effective mechanism to achieve such sustainable energy development, versus Anarcho-Syndicalist or other collectivised approaches.

The entertaining investigative journalist Greg Palast has an excellent article exposing the degree to which the Bush administration’s war on Iraq was driven by oil interests. This further exposes the lie that invading Iraq had anything to do with WMD or terrorism.