Phase out aluminium
The vigil outside Deputy Prime Minister RIchard Marles’ Geelong office last Friday (Geelong Independent, May 10), about human-induced climate-change, highlights the lack of government action on environmental matters and the lack of understanding of the causes of human-induced climate-change.
Vigil spokesperson Sanja Van Huet was quoted as saying: “It’s only through people power that we’ll compel the Albanese government to prioritise climate change and phase out coal and gas in Australia.” However, Sanja failed to mention the ultimate causes of the problem.
The main cause of human-induced climate-change globally is land-clearing, which releases huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and greatly reduces the planets carbon storing capacity.
Land-clearing occurs for logging, mining, agriculture and housing and road development.
After landing-clearing the next greatest cause of human-induced climate change, in Australia, is aluminium production. In Western Australia, Alcoa is clearing vast areas of Jarrah Forests to mine bauxite (aluminium ore). Once mined, bauxite is processed to alumina (aluminium oxide), that then requires a huge amount of electric current to produce pure aluminium. Only nuclear or coal-fired power stations can provide enough power for this.
The Victorian government currently has a contract with Alcoa to supply their Portland smelter with cheap electricity from Victoria’s coal-fired power stations, well into the future. The federal and state governments must take action to phase out aluminium production so that coal-fired power stations can be phased out.
Stephen Chenery, Geelong West
Grow your own
The big supermarkets are greedy but not stupid. They offer us free parking and free use of a trolley. They are open seven days a week for very long hours, air-conditioning and a roof that leaks only when the rain is very heavy. Even a form of music, while we choose from tens of thousands of items, but they charge and we pay, pay, pay.
Every day I hear about the ‘high cost of living’ but rarely hear someone mention it’s possible to grow some food at home. Many people have nil or very limited access to soil or sunshine, but simple things like wheat grass or bean shoots can be grown on a window sill. It’s not difficult and the information is readily available.
David Kingsley, Newcomb
