Middle East conflict

[willedoo]

Our domestic production has had a fairly brief history. Our first commercial oil field was discovered late in 1961. Before that we imported everything. We don't have a lot of heavy crude, but some of the oil from the Cooper and Surat basins is like ready made diesel. Santos used to fill their Toyotas with it under some excise agreement with the government. I'm not sure what type of fuel filters they used, but standard ones clog up fairly quick. A lot of our oil is not economical to extract.

[randomx]

Oh, and as usual, apparently most of what oil we do process is sold off OS - as usual just like they do with gas, they hardly save any for their own people.

[Jerry_Atrick]

The answer is simple. Get an electric car. Solar, and petrol prices are a thing of the past..

[onetrack]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

 There's only 2 Refineries operating in  Australia. Storage costs Heaps and may not be the answer.  Bass Strait oil dried up years ago There was a bad accident at the Refinery. Nev

W.A.'s Kwinana oil refinery, just S of Perth, was Australia's newest and biggest oil refinery. But it was built in 1954,  by the "Anglo-Iranian Oil Co", which became British Petroleum.

However, it was shut for good in 2021, as BP stated they couldn't compete with the oil refinery running costs of the S.E. Asian refineries - which all had huge capacity and cheap labour.

 

The bottom line is, we are dependent on overseas oil, regardless of whether it's refined here or not. As Jerry says, EV's are the way to go, with many EV's having 400kms range today (or battery options to increase to "long range" ability) - and with many people having solar systems on their house, it's free energy from the sun, right where you are - and no amount of warring or global upsets can beat that.

[randomx]

That's not simple, that'll take decades to implement and the silly bastards sell off half our power too, to other countries anyway. Next minute they'll be telling us we don't have enough power for a country full of EV's.

Besides, fuel wise we have the next few probably 6mths to worry about and pay for right now. Well l do anyway, maybe your loaded. Who's gonna pay for my EV.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 06:00 AM by randomx

[Jerry_Atrick]

Hmm is that why three states are about to give away electricity in the middle of the day?

 

What they tell us and what is true are often two different things

Edited yesterday at 05:56 AM by Jerry_Atrick

[onetrack]

5 minutes ago, randomx said:

That's not simple, that'll take decades to implement and the silly bastards sell off half our power too, to other countries anyway. Next minute they'll be telling us we don't have enough power for a country full of EV's.

Besides, fuel wise we have the next few probably 6mths to worry about and pay for right now. Well l do anyway, maybe your loaded.

 

 

 

 

 

The amount of electrical power generated by house rooftops in Australia is more than all the public and private power stations combined. All that's needed is electrical storage, and most States are addressing that angle as we speak.

 

Here in W.A., the State Govt is installing massive batteries at Collie and at other locations, to stabilise the grid and to make use of the power generated by house rooftops during the day. A large percentage of people aren't home during the day, so the power being generated just needs to be stored.

 

https://www.synergy.net.au/Our-energy/SynergyRED/Large-Scale-Battery-Energy-Storage-Systems/Collie-Battery-Energy-Storage-System

[randomx]

Well your not wrong there that's for sure.

But eh if they're giving it away why have power bills  gone up and not just gone up , gone mad. My neighbours has gone up 300% in 5 yrs, ofc that's just a total rip off and more gouging.

Mind you, mines free , solar. But eh that's what's all over the news.

ps, not that l'm against EV's, looks like the best future atm, atm. But it's gonna take time and billions over a whole country , nothing simple about it. And everyone's gotta be able to afford one to even bother , they won't even be able to trade in their old car bc they'll be scrapped.

Edited yesterday at 06:09 AM by randomx

[old man emu]

24 minutes ago, randomx said:

why have power bills  gone up

Because of the costs of managing the distribution infrastructure. How much does it cost to have crews available to restore power when the infrastructure is damaged by storm and tempest? How much does it cost to ensure that transmission lines are not in danger of damage from vegetation? Transformers wear out. 

 

It is no doubt true that the cost of generating electricity using renewables is very low. The costs are really those of putting the smoke into the wires and keeping it there.

[facthunter]

NO smoke with solar and wind  That's for Lucas Electrics on Bikes and cars. I'm paying 30 cent / kw Hr What's so bad about that with $400 annual for the connection. What are you paying for your internet or Netflix subscription.?  Nev

[willedoo]

4 minutes ago, facthunter said:

NO smoke with solar and wind  That's for Lucas Electrics on Bikes and cars. I'm paying 30 cent / kw Hr What's so bad about that with $400 annual for the connection. What are you paying for your internet or Netflix subscription.?  Nev

That's a good deal Nev. With Origin I'm paying 35 cents/kWh and $520 connection fee. I don't use much power so it's not a big expense, about $25 per week all up. A lot cheaper than council rate charges which is about $35 per week.

[facthunter]

Origin is not my favourite MOB but  I think there is worse  Now that My wiring is Properly sorted the Panels (15 years old) and the 10 KW  battery should help save a bit. Solar is Less than 1/4 of what I paid for it originally. Having it on Big Roofs Like Bunning s where the electric supply is large and it can feed back in easily is a no brainer,  and the aircond would cost nothing on a hot day. Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

Because of the costs of managing the distribution infrastructure. How much does it cost to have crews available to restore power when the infrastructure is damaged by storm and tempest? How much does it cost to ensure that transmission lines are not in danger of damage from vegetation? Transformers wear out. 

Exactly. A spare population of a geographically large land will require that. Good for the big cities, but local renewables and battery has to be cheaper in the long run. 

[red750]

Our next door neighbours, who have solar panels and two Teslas, had two solar batteries installed today. Apparently, the subsidy for batteries ends shortly. 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Victoria's broke. 

 

Fossil fuels are estimated I think by the Austrlaian institute to be subsidised by $30,000 a minute: https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/ffs-fossil-fuel-subsidies-cost-australia-30000-a-minute/

 

 

Imagine if clean electricity generation, and the research to exploit it were subsisdised to the same tune. 

 

Your taxes are paying for you to have high energy costs, with associated high costs assocaited with the environmental damage and health complications it causes. That $40K per minute directed at the renewable industry would clean it up in a few short years.. And you would have less energy costs to boot. And if the government didn't change taxes, there would be more to spend as other costs would be reduced.

 

And the economy is susceptible to global shocks per messrs Chump and Net. et al. 

 

Wake up, Australia!

Edited 23 hours ago by Jerry_Atrick

[randomx]

1 hour ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

Wake up, Australia!

Ha, exactly what l've been saying for yrs.

At any rate, on EV's l'd love to have one reckon they'd be very cool but no hurry really still very very early days in where all that's going ha, they can spend a few more yrs getting all the bugs out and fine tuning things for me ha ha.

They'll get far far better. Actually Musks got an aluminium battery on the go atm . No nasties at all in it or needed and says it'll last twice as long to boot but even that'll be old school in another 10yrs. EV's will prob run and charge themselves down the track or God knows what none of it has even scratched the surface yet.

Shame, doubt l'll ever be able to get one now though.

 

l;m completely off grid. Whole country should be they don't even need infrastructure any building can run itself, schools office blocks shops plazas even high rise and most def every house in the country whole cities especially smaller towns .

Only leaves a few things like heavy industry and such but even that Musk and the many others, China, all working on all that.

 

Wouldn;t piss on Netflix Nev and only pay my Mob and internet, 40bucks a mth. Tank water no other bills except rates. Car stuff ofc.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 22 hours ago by randomx

[Jerry_Atrick]

1 hour ago, randomx said:

At any rate, on EV's l'd love to have one reckon they'd be very cool but no hurry really still very very early days in where all that's going.

While the battery technology will still evolve quickly, early days is hardly how I would characterise it. In the UK, we are finding traction is really taking off.. There are battery charging only service stations: https://www.bp.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home/news/press-releases/bp-launches-first-dedicated-ev-charging-and-convenience-hub.html

 

I was mightily p155ed off when I had a very low running petrol tank on my bike and thought that servo was my salvation.

 

The reality is today, battery technology is very reliable; the degradation is not anywhere as near as the dooimsdayers have predicted, range anxiety is a thing of the ignorant. They are more expensive to buy (but the gao is closing) but their reeduction in operating and fuel costs puts you ahead oif similar ICE cars in about 2 - 3 years instead of the old 5 years. 

 

Battery technology will continue to improve through a steep curve for a whilem but the context of what we normally mean to be early days has well and truly passed. 

 

I am holding off buying a used BEV because hopefully in a couple of months this house will goup for sale and sell, and it will be Aussie bound. But for reference, 3 year old cars on average have less than 5% degradation - most I have been looking at are in the 2 - 3 % range. With the normal distance range starting at 300km, and 500+ becoming common, I am not too worried about a 50% degradation over around 50 years (that is calcualted straight line, and I have a feeling the gradient will curve away as time rolls by. 

 

[nomadpete]

Getting back to the US batteries in Iran.....

 

I'd say Zelensky is chuckling about Donolds rejection of his offer to help combat Iranian drones.

 

Donold would rather use Patriot missiles. Where is Dept of Govt Efficiency when you need it?

 

A single Patriot (PAC-3 MSE) interceptor missile costs approximately $4 million. A full Patriot battery—including launchers, radar, and control station—costs over $1 billion, with individual missiles for export sometimes costing between $6 million and $10 million."

$4,000,000.00 to zap a $35,000 drone.

Gives a whole new meaning to "war of attrition".

 

Presently USA is bleeding $1 billion a day on their "excursion" to Iran.

[Siso]

How big are the massive batterys in WA

[old man emu]

Zelensky has just signed a deal with Britain for the manufacture of Ukrainian designed drones. 

 

One thing that we are ignorant of is how smart in the area of industrial design the Ukranians are. I think we have the impression that they are just farmers and miners, but they are industrially powerful.

[Marty_d]

Just overheard a great line in the tearoom...

"The only war Trump had an exit strategy for, was Vietnam!"

[willedoo]

5 hours ago, old man emu said:

One thing that we are ignorant of is how smart in the area of industrial design the Ukranians are. I think we have the impression that they are just farmers and miners, but they are industrially powerful.

Most of the brains of the Soviet Union was centered in Ukraine back in those days. They provided the bulk of engineering and development for the Soviet Union and industrial capacity. It's where the tanks, armoured vehicles, tractors and machinery were designed, developed and manufactured. Aircraft and rocket engines was another area. Right up until the Ukraine/Russia war Russia was still buying their helicopter engines from Ukraine. We tend to think of Russia as the centre of the Soviet Union but Ukraine was where all the talent was. As an analogy, the Russian approach to opening a can would be to bash it with a hammer; Ukrainians would sit down and design a can opener.

[red750]

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/there-s-one-big-winner-from-the-war-in-iran-and-it-s-not-donald-trump/ar-AA1YLxnZ?ocid=winp2fptaskbar&cvid=ebeb4d843c2e447de5bc3e8850748819&ei=39

[red750]

Antonov is based in Ukraine, and in the small stuff, so is Aeroprakt (Foxbat aircraft).

[red750]

So Trump's had a full public meltdown because Australia won't send warships to help him unfuck a war he started without telling anyone.
Let that sink in for a second.
He launched this thing with Israel 3 weeks ago. Didn't consult NATO. Didn't consult Australia. Didn't consult Japan. Explicitly said at the start he didn't need or want anyone's help.
And now he's on Truth Social in all caps screaming that we're all ungrateful.
Mate, you can't tell everyone to fuck off and then get angry when they all fuck off.
Here's what happened. He blew the shit out of Iran. Destroyed the navy, the air force, the radar, the leadership. Great. Total victory. Mission accomplished. Brought the banner and everything.
One small problem.
The Strait of Hormuz is still shut. It's full of mines and anti-ship missiles and Iranian drone boats. The tankers won't sail. The insurance companies won't touch it. And 20% of the world's oil is just sitting there going absolutely nowhere.
So suddenly Captain America needs help. He spends the whole weekend ringing every country with a boat. China. France. Japan. South Korea. The UK. Canada. Australia. Basically anyone with a dinghy and a flag.
The response from most of them? "Get fucked."
Germany said, and I'm paraphrasing only slightly: "You didn't ask us before you started the war. You told us you didn't want our help. And now you're upset? Yeah, nah."
France said they'd be happy to help escort ships once the bombing stops and Iran agrees to let them. So basically never.
Spain said no. Poland said no. Sweden said no. Australia said we haven't even been formally asked and also no.
So what does Trump do?
Does he reflect? Reassess? Pick up the phone like a grown adult?
Of course not. He jumps on Truth Social and goes full toddler.
"We don't need NATO! We NEVER needed NATO! We don't need Japan or Australia or South Korea! WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"
Mate. You were literally begging 15 countries for ships 48 hours ago. That's like getting turned down for a date and screaming "SHE WAS UGLY ANYWAY" loud enough for the whole pub to hear. You're not fooling anyone, dickhead. Everyone saw you practise your opener in the bathroom mirror.
And he specifically named Australia. Which is genuinely fucking insane.
We have shown up to every single American war for nearly a century. Korea. Vietnam. Iraq. Twice. Afghanistan for 20 bloody years. Five Eyes. AUKUS. Pine Gap. We are literally the most reliable ally the United States has ever had.
And the one time, the ONE time, we look at the situation and go "yeah this one's a bit cooked mate, we'll sit this out," he loses his shit and calls us foolish on the internet.
You know what's actually foolish? Starting a war without a plan to reopen the strait that carries a fifth of the world's oil supply. That's foolish. Blowing up someone's entire military and then being surprised when they use asymmetric warfare to shut down global shipping. That's foolish. Spending a year slapping tariffs on your allies, calling them freeloaders, threatening to annex their territory, and then wondering why they won't come running when you need a favour. That's fucking foolish.
But here's the bit that should really worry you.
He named Australia, Japan, and South Korea. That's the Indo-Pacific alliance. That's AUKUS. That's the Quad. That's the entire strategic architecture built to counter China. And he just told all 3 of them to get stuffed on social media.
Xi Jinping is watching this with a bucket of popcorn and the biggest grin on the planet.
Meanwhile Australia is getting absolutely smashed. We've got 2 refineries. About 3 weeks of fuel reserves. Diesel heading for $3 a litre. Farmers are already running out of fuel. They can't harvest. They can't plant. Fuel rationing has started in towns across the country. Food prices are through the roof because every step of the supply chain runs on diesel we don't have. The RBA just hiked interest rates because the fuel and food spikes from this war are driving inflation and recession fears are real. Australians are getting hit at the bowser, hit at the checkout, hit on their mortgage, and the bloke who caused all of it is calling US foolish.
This isn't strength. This is a narcissist who heard "no" and couldn't cope. This is a bloke flipping the Monopoly board because he landed on someone else's hotel.
And every time he does it, every single time, he pushes allies one step further toward making their own arrangements. That's how alliances die. Not with a bang. With a tantrum on Truth Social at 11 in the morning.
Australia's not foolish for sitting this one out.
15 countries might be the only countries in this whole mess that are actually thinking clearly and holding this shit fest from spilling into WWIII
And seriously, Donald. You're trying to bully Australia? NATO?
Mate, we live in a country where everything is actively trying to kill us. Every single day. We've got 21 of the 25 most venomous snakes on the planet. Twenty one. Out of twenty five. The inland taipan, the single most venomous snake on earth, one bite can kill over 100 grown adults, just vibing in the outback like it's nothing. We've got the Sydney funnel web, the deadliest spider in the world, and it lives in people's fucking gardens where our kids keep them as pets. We've got jellyfish that can stop your heart. Sharks. Crocodiles the size of a small truck. An octopus the size of a golf ball that can kill you in minutes. A plant that makes you want to throw yourself off a cliff if you brush against it. A fucking dinosaur bird, that will literally disembowel you with its feet. Stonefish. Cone snails. The sun itself trying to give us cancer by 10am.
We share a continent with every venomous nightmare God ever created on a Friday afternoon when he was clearly in a bad mood.
And you think we're scared of a bloke in an ill fitting suit who can't spell "hereby" and throws tantrums on his phone?
We couldn't give 2 fucks what you think, Donald. We wrestle things with actual teeth. You're not even in the top 50 most dangerous things an Australian deals with on an average Tuesday.
Australia will survive this god awful administration. But if you're gunna shoot yourself in the foot, leave us the fuck out of it wanker.