This was written for a state government department a year or so ago. How can the state’s and the Federal government be so at odds on the environment and energy policy? Whatever happened to hype? We live in a hydrocarbon world. Eight out of ten of the world’s biggest companies are dependant on hydrocarbons. But within fifty years the focus of the world’s energy needs will be a clean non-polluting fuel, hydrogen. The hydrogen economy will be born. In theory […]
journalism
Rember Enron? The energy industry will
This was written for a state government department a year or so ago. How can the state’s and the Federal government be so at odds on the environment and energy policy? Enron changed everything. When the company, at the time the sixth largest in the world, collapsed investor sentiment turned against the seemingly copper-bottomed energy sector. In the report A world of difference – strategic options for Australia’s energy sector published by PricewaterhouseCoopers last November, the consultancy noted that Enron […]
Mandatory renewable energy targets
This was written two years ago for a state government department. And things have got worse for the renewables sector… Who is the most unpopular person in the renewable energy sector at the moment? It’s easily the author of the Council of Australian Government (COAG) energy market review published late last year – the Hon Warwick Parer. Parer attacked the federal government’s Mandatory Energy Renewables Targets (MRET). The report concluded that the energy industry was facing large costs because of […]
Beomag: Extreme Chocolate
If you’d follow my tastes in Tomato Magazine you’d have discovered my views on chocolate. Incidentally, Fair Trade chocolate company Green & Black’s has been bought by Cadbury, which some people say compromises it on the ethical stakes.
Beomag: Anglepoise icon
The likelyhood is if you work at a desk you’ll have one of these lamps. Or you will at some point in your life have worked with or owned one of the many variations of the Anglepoise. I wrote this article after discovering the original patent for the lamp, the design of which is based on the articulation of a human arm, on the excellent Patent Office website in the UK.
Australian Flying
What was I thinking doing it. More to the point what was my instructor Evan thinking as I became known as the worst trainee pilot out of Bankstown. What he didn’t know was that as a magazine editor at the time I was out at various “dos” until 2am before rising at 5am forr an early start flying. This might exlain why I so frequency bounced from the runway rather than executed the perfect landing. And he should have also […]
Financial Times: Way to go Singo
Would WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell go into business with an entrepreneur who has traded blows in a car park with the head of an ad agency, and appeared in court accused of headbutting an accountant while drunk? Well, yes he would. Twice in fact.