Anglicans sit at the back

Everyone knows that Anglicans come to church late, sit at the back and fidget during the sermon.

The relevance was revealed during a visit to development aid projects in Ranongga, a remote island in western Solomon Islands. We had spent all day thumping at high speed from wave to wave in an open fibre glass boat, airborne half the time, driven skywards by the 75 horse outboard - and now sitting was, to say the least, very uncomfortable.

Church services play a huge part in Ranonggan village life, and, since it was Sunday evening , I accompanied my friend to his local United Church service.

Being a good Anglican, I came in late and sat uncomfortably on the floor against the back wall. But I could not settle as the lengthy sermon progressed in pidgin. I mistakenly thought that no one would see me squirming in discomfort in the half light, but forgot that mine was the only white face in the sea of black.

Halfway through the sermon, the pastor fell silent and motioned to a small boy at the front. He stood up and picked up one of the only two chairs in the building. Holding the chair above his head, the boy slowly made his way to the back of the church, where he silently placed it beside one slightly embarrassed but relieved white guy. Not a word was spoken and the sermon resumed forthwith.

This small act of kindness and the events leading to it are a microcosm of the organic nature of our actions and and their consequences.

The dedication of committed volunteers to helping our less-fortunate neighbours does not go unnoticed. Humanitarian aid, if offered humbly and in a spirit of genuine friendship, engenders a response of appreciation and reciprocal kindness.

We Anglicans may choose the anonymity of sitting at the back, but our action (or inaction) influences the people around us.

Deep-well geothermal is no lemon

Imagine you have a sore throat and need some hot lemon juice. You place a lemon in the microwave for a few minutes until the juice inside is boiling. Cool the skin by holding it under a tap for a couple of seconds, and place it 100 metres from a sunlamp to keep it warm.

Which of the following options will give you a hot drink?

1. Lick the moisture from the surface of the lemon, OR
2. Wait for the sunlamp for heat the surface moisture, OR
3. Squeeze the hot juice from the centre of the lemon.

The earth is like the lemon and the sun is like the sunlamp. 

The earth's surface resources (coal, oil, natural gas, uranium, water, tidal and wind) are like the surface moisture on the lemon ...... clearly limited and insufficient for satisfying our long-term thirst. 

While solar energy (particularly supported by batteries or pumped storage) appear inviting and worthy of development resources, we ignore the potential of deep-well geothermal (up 10 kilometres deep) to our own detriment.

The interior of the earth is hot ...... very hot ..... and has the potential to supply all of our energy needs well beyond the foreseeable future, yet we ignore it. While the technology for drilling deep wells remains in the hands of the oil industry this hiatus will persist.

But it is confidently predicted that, in time, as each of the other so-called "renewables" proves to be either unreliable or insufficient for the task, humanity will eventually realize that the solution has always been at our feet..... deep-well geothermal energy.

Callide

We were dying for a coffee ...... should we take our chances in Biloela (never heard of it ? ... small town in central Queensland) or strike out south in a desperate bid for survival. Biloela got the nod and we got a delightful flocca in the Cafe Aroma.

We had spent the morning at the lookout above nearby Callide Mine, which supplies low-sulphur sub-bituminous coal, 12% for export, 33% consumed by industries in Gladstone and 55% consumed by Callide B and C power stations (capable of generating 23% of Queensland's power).

Heading south, our next morning coffee was in Gayndah (another anonymous nowhere?), which boasts of being the "oldest town in Queensland" established in 1849. In its 1850s heyday, Gayndah was even considered a possible future capital of Queensland, up there with Brisbane and Ipswich. But it was not to be ...... its current population of approximately 1780 being a sad reflection of what could have been. ....... a lost opportunity.

Which brings me back to Callide Mine. The mine was established in 1945 and operated until 1979 by the  Australian company, Theiss Brothers (Pty) Ltd. It was purchased and operated until 1986 by another Australian company, CSR.... 41 years of 100% Australian ownership. The profits stayed in Australia. Then followed a series of joint ventures and acquisitions finally resulting in 100% foreign ownership in 2000 by Anglo American. The profits now go overseas..... another lost opportunity.

Australians must ensure that the ownership of our resources stays in Australian hands and the profits stay in Australia.