LET'S STOP SCREWING AROUND AND BAN CARS ALREADY


Another thing for Australia to add to its must-do list:

Australia must ban fossil fuel imports by 2020 if it hopes to cut greenhouse gas emissions, scientist and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery says.
"Places like Sweden have set targets now to eliminate petrol imports by 2020, so they are weaning themselves off fossil fuels," he said.

Unfortunately Flannery doesn't explain how Australia would manage to switch from petrol to a nonexistent bio-fuel in 12 years. The US has ramped up its imports of ethanol for mixing with petrol but 85% of that fuel is still petrol; for its trouble the US has been accused of genocide for importing ethanol derived from foodstuffs. There are other problems: ethanol is a terrible fuel (even when mixed with petrol) and it causes asthma (already a huge health problem in Australia).