Litespeed

Most will not know that Henry Ford never wanted his cars to be petrol powered but preferred bio fuels which were common up to the 1940's. He had a estate at mount Michigan were he grew Hemp and made products including car parts from it for prototypes and fuel. He was forced literally at the barrel of a gun to stop by the government as it had made growing hemp illegal in the 1930's after a campaign by Randolf Hearst and the Dupont family. These guys controlled the chemical oil plastics industry and newspapers, with Hearst having been given free access to Nth Americas forests to make paper from- a extremely polluting process that used products from Dupont. Here is a video about Fords Hemp car, there are better videos out there I will search.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srgE6Tzi3Lg We must keep in mind this was a cellulose based plastic. Also note a lot of information on the web and elsewhere is written and created by those with a bias against hemp and other bio products as it is against there current business model just as it was 80 years ago.

No the scientists made no mistakes for thalidamide is was the greedy company that knew it was not suitable for the pregnant women, but decided to market it anyway. The testing proved this but they were ignored , the 50's data showed the company knew. Just like big tobacco and James Hardie they just swept it under the carpet in pursuit of profits. As a drug it still has uses today but not as a nausea aid for pregnant women.

How do we make steel with coking coal? It is called carbon, ......those green things in the forest make it. Just use pyrolysis you get gases to burn for power or use a reactor for long chain molecules and make plastics and also gives you carbon. Not real hard and have been doing it for centuries.

An awefully large amount of that steel we keep making is used for wasteful purposes- just look at all the ghost cities in China. That represents a massive amount of coal, steel and concrete that may never be fully utilised, if at all. When we don't account for the true costs of these materials it is all too easy to waste the natural, financial and human capital of the planet.

Where do I start,...... Fiberglass etc can be made from organic sources or just replaced with natural fibres like hemp. Resins can also be from a organic base and they don't burn easy either. Concrete has lots of replacement options which means it can be greatly reduced in use. Ever seen a rammed earth wall? Ever heard of Laminated wood beams? We are now building skyscrapers out of the stuff, all fully reusable or recyclable at end of buildings life. We even have hemp panels which are similar in spec to honeycomb panels made of carbon and aramid. These have been available for over 20 years and have been used in aircraft. Why don't we see more of this? Industry is stuck in old school tech and deeply embedded with big oil and mining products. There is almost no product on the planet that can't be done using organic bases instead of oil- which started as plant matter in the beginning. But what about say a fire door? Yes been made in Asia and Europe from hemp and resin for 30 years and much higher fire rated than the old school ones and weigh a lot less. Most mining is completely redundant. When we need a refined mining product either recycle it or use renewable power to create it.

Mining only produces most of our stuff because our economics is geared that way. Yes some is essential but only a small amount, the rest can be made other ways. And those alternatives make more jobs and pollute far less.

Mining creates only approx 5% of our GDP and 1% of jobs. So we could easily afford not to do it, especially since it uses foreign capital, equipment and rarely pays any tax.

The greatest amount of crime due to drugs is the market and violence caused by prohibition. We criminalize the users and providers, growers etc so prices are huge and crime lords are involved. If Instead we didn't jail users but provided the same resources on rehab we would have a different society.

The biggest reason a lot of kids do it besides the fun part is they do not believe all the anti drugs propaganda. They are told all drugs are killers but their experience and that of thousands of party goers are different. So they risk it. If you can demonstrate they possess a bad trip or pill they will not take it and warn there friends. It is called harm minimisation and we do it across society for lots of things.

I reckon I would need a lot if drinks if I were him. That holden together ute is a real aweful drive. Somethings are best left buried in the 70's.

I reckon the door would have nothing to do with a engineer at all. More likely a builder going cheap to save bucks.

The German government today announced it will completely stop burning coal for power by 2038 at the latest but possible by 2030 or earlier. They are a very pragmatic and science based bunch- they see the writing on the wall. All this crap about plastics is all Propaganda to justify big oil. We already can and have been able to for 100 years make plastics from biological sources. Advances in biotechnology now make it possible to use bacteria to do it. I say get your head out of the sand or for some their posterior and see that change is coming and is needed now, not when 50 Celsius is the new norm for summer. Hands up who is commenting has a science degree? One in biological and environmental sciences? I studied this at uni in the early 90's and it was obvious back then. I have a grey beard and longish hair- must be a lefty greenie then. I care about this planet and the future of humanity and all species. To paraphrase a redneck sticker, " if you don't love this planet, then leave".

Blackouts were related to the grid not the generation side.

I say we swap him for Kyrios as he is Greek heritage. Even if he never won a game again it would be a good deal.

The simple solution for those needing a straw is have a rolled edge on the ends. Thus no sharp edges and a large surface area. Problem solved. But agree paper ones are good too.

I would back Leyton as Davis cup captain over Tomic the angry nutjob any day. I agree he should never be in the team. Even a small amount of decency is just too hard for Bernie's ego. Makes Kyrios look sensible.

I wish he would eat them all himself

Nuclear is a non starter economically. No government has ever had one built without giving the private company a indemnity on insurance and backing the loan. That means the taxpayer is stuck with any bills from a accident, has to pay for decommissioning and also stump up for any loans made to build it even though it is for private ownership and profit. Also have to pay a guaranteed price that keeps going up for the power over the life of the plant. Not even the Lnp are that stupid, almost but not quite.

How many babies does it take to make a jar of Hienz baby food?

Yes but tennis and Australia always seem to lose when either plays. The poster boys of overplayed and over sized ego. And what's with the under leg serve? Sportsmanship is not in their vocabulary.

Meanwhile back at the ranch....... Ash Barty flogged world no 1 Halep today. Go Ashley.

I am sure the LNP are ready to pour billions into such devices as we speak

If this guy was at the BBC for 25 years, given he is very conservative and right wing proves the BBC is not biased. Can't have it both ways. All media has some bias as they are only human, some far more than others. When guys like this complain, just like they do about the ABC, what they really mean is the public broadcasters are not biased towards them. It is easy to think anyone is a lefty liberal when you have far right views. Just look at fox news.

I would be sceptical of any group that is called The new culture forum. Sounds like a right wing forum with an agenda. America is full of them and they are spreading through Europe and Britain. We have many here in Australia just like them, all well funded by vested interests with a right wing neo conservative agenda. Would trust them as much as Putin, Trump or any other fascist wannabes.

Does not matter how well it is built it is a turd and a polished turd is still just a smart looking turd. If anyone believes in such devices........I have a bridge I would like to sell