Page 11 - Riding On No.157 Summer 2022

Letters To The Editor

WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIM TAMS! clueless to the fact that manufacturing electric cars is one of the
most highly polluting endeavours in the auto industry. How many
First and foremost we can’t rely on fossil fuel forever. At the of those high moral superior cars are recharged by wind power?
moment it is viable and necessary but it won’t last forever and it’s How many are recharged by coal fired power stations?........or
messy. So we need to change, but change intelligently. nuclear in Europe and the USA!

One of my problems is the ‘knee jerk’ reaction of making, selling Now that you’ve purchased that electric vehicle and believed the
and using electric vehicles without thinking it through properly. We hype of the salesman about how long the battery will last and how
need to do better than what is on offer at the moment because, far you can go, (because it won’t go that far or last that long) I’ve
the reality is that electric vehicles are currently recharged by coal got a question for you... What happens to the bank of batteries
burning power stations. Am I the only one who sees the irony? when the car is no longer viable? Will the auto company take the
car back and dispose of the battery in an environmentally safe
So let’s have a look at power generation and storage. manner? No, you are stuck with 1 tonne of rotting, fire prone
poison that can’t be recycled, (a bit like nuclear waste).
Coal: still plenty of it left but messy burning it and developing
countries don’t have warm and fuzzy feelings about the Schadenfreude: I’m just waiting for an electric vehicle to fail
environment, they care more about the money. on the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 3pm on a 40 degree Sunday
afternoon at the end of school holidays!
Wind turbines: Ugly? Noisy? Very expensive to set up. Even more
expensive to dismantle and dispose of those turbine blades. The Allow me to explain the Tim Tam reference. I worked very hard in
blades are just an environmental nightmare all by themselves. underground mining in Western Australia for decades. Every now
Made of non-recyclable fibreglass and psst – don’t tell anyone but and then some scheme would pop up to make society a better
the fibreglass comes from a petro-chemical plant. warmer and fuzzier place, or to save some endangered animal, or
social justice, or whatever was the flavour of the month. The first
Nuclear: the elephant in the room! You’ve got more chance of question to be asked of the schemes’ proposer was “How are you
solving the Arab-Israeli conflict than convincing any normal person going to fund this?” and the stock in trade reply is “Oh, mining can
that it’s viable. (3 mile island, Chernobyl and Fukushima)? pay for it!” While mining is the backbone of the Western Australian
economy and while there are enormous amounts of money
Hydro-electric generation: great if you have an endless supply of involved it’s not an “endless packet of Tim Tams”.
water. In Australia we can be very dry at times (apart from the
Snowy Mountains). The problem I have with the radical Eco-warriors and
environmentalists is most haven’t done a hard days’ work in their
Solar: We’ve got that in abundance but solar cells have a finite life! They expect someone else to fill in the gaps for them, usually
life same as the turbine blades. More research needed for longer citing the government as their endless money supply. They bang
lasting cells and even prime grazing land can be used for dual on about nature and the environment but I don’t see any of them
purposes. moving to the Orkney Islands, riding a horse or pushbike and
living in a crofter’s cottage without internet, television or baristas!
Tidal flow: good in theory but nature has a habit of destroying That same group, who vilify oil companies, all want the latest
man made infrastructure. mobile phone, and what do they think those things are made
Hydrogen: looks good but it threatens oil companies! from?
Lithium: dug out of the ground, finite supply, alternatives needed.
If you want a better, cleaner world start with small steps. Ask
So we do have good options that need to be expanded and all the food and drink companies to take back the receptacles
researched to move away from our dependence on fossil fuels. they supply their product in, or, ask car and electric vehicle
Maybe we should use a combination of all these types of power manufacturers to take back their product after its useful life, so
generation? that they can recycle all the components and batteries properly.

My main issue is not the opportunities we have available, but, We need a cleaner world, we need less plastic, we all need to take
those ‘latte environmentalists’ who have this touchy feely idea of just a little bit less. What we don’t need is tub thumping clowns
Utopia and not a clue about the reality of what they’re consuming who can’t join the dots together.
or how it gets to them. You know... that person who thinks milk
comes from aisle 7. The same person who buys an XYZ electric Neil St Nicholas
car because it gives them some sort of moral superiority but are

Hi Sharryn (NatCom Sec), Poem -

Thought I would share this with you. Those who have experienced it are in the know,
The joy of the freedom of riding with flow,
As I was waking up this morning I was thinking about the ride I The g’s of the corners, the smell of the air,
was about to lead for the Supported by mates who’re all willing to share,
South Gippsland Ulysses Group. I quickly jotted down the That “Growing Old Disgracefully” is just a turn of phrase,
thoughts and then typed it up For being the colourful stories that fulfill our days,
to share with the crew before we ventured off to Grantville, It’s winding through the country, mountain to the sea,
Wonthaggi, Cape Patterson Ulysseans on a rumble, so let it be, let it be,
and Inverloch from Leongatha. Yep, the feeling is incredible coz it’s fresh and alive,
Each of our senses tuned to the ride,
Great ride. It’s pulsing with power, yet lost in the fun,
Cheers, Steve Edge (Secretary South Gippy Ulysses) Of journeying together until our days are done.

RIDING ON 11