Part D: Teaching in China - Driving in China? No way!

No way? For starters they drive on the wrong side of the road! 

... And why bother even thinking about it when in the large cities, taxis are inexpensive, the drivers use a meter and don't have a habit of ripping off the tourist. 

Driving and parking on the footpath.

Taxis are easy to hail; just step onto the road, extend your arm and waggle your fingers. If they have a green light on the roof they're available. Of course, you'll have thought ahead and will either have a map with the location you want to get to circled, or have asked someone to write the address down in Chinese. Your hotel business card will be tucked safely into your pocket so the return driver knows where to take you! Occasionally they'll refuse to take you to the address - perhaps it's too far, or they don't know the area - don't worry, there'll be another along soon who's happy for the fare.

I've been a passenger a number of times in private cars, tour cars and taxis, in different cities in China, and have observed some very big differences between driver habits in Australia and there. 

At first the traffic seems chaotic, with people driving on the wrong side of the road, riding e-bikes on the footpath, parking on the footpath, casually crossing double lines and tooting repeatedly. 

Learning to drive on the footpath at an early age! I asked permission to photograph this child, and dad, with the remote control firmly in hand was happy to oblige.

But when observed over a few days it settles into a pattern. On the whole, tooting is not aggressive, it's to alert another driver that you're there or overtaking. Drivers are occasionally pushy, particularly in the larger cities, but rarely show the overt, nasty and aggressive overtone, complete with foul abuse and rude hand gestures that is prevalent in Australia.

Remind me again.
Which lane goes in which direction?

The word “accepting” came to mind. As if drivers understand and accept that a taxi will stop at the curb waiting for passengers to fill the seats with parcels, and people need to get settled before setting off. Drivers give way. Driving with alcohol in your system is illegal so our drivers didn't drink at all. They don’t (on the whole) push in, determined to be first, to show who’s more powerful or more of a bully. They generally don't speed. Of course there are exceptions to all observations, but it's common to see and experience foul rudeness and dangerous driving within minutes of getting into a car in Australia (at least in Melbourne it is).

Well organised chaos.

It takes a while to get used to e-bikes being ridden, and to cars being parked on footpaths. E-bikes in particular are a challenge because they're silent and you don't know they're coming. In Xuzhou, it was common to see people wandering along the centre of the road texting, gazing into the air and completely ignoring the tonnes of metal whizzing past, with complete indifference. It works. I don't know how, but it does. Don't try this at home people! 

Learning to stroll in to the middle of the road with the locals. 

It's best to just shrug your shoulders and embrace the difference with a smile and (attempt) to act like a local. 

Great little 3 wheeled taxis. Apparently driven by disabled people.

It's no wonder that Chinese drivers get a bad reputation when they presume that similar courtesies are practised in Australia! It's not that they're necessarily poor drivers, I suspect it's that we're far ruder and less tolerant on the roads.

Hire bikes are common, and seemingly everywhere.

E-bikes and clothing sheltering from the rain.
Tianzifang. Shanghai.

The adoption of electric bicycles, scooters and larger bikes over the years has made a massive difference to the levels of pollution. It's now possible to walk along many major streets without gagging in the fumes. Of course there's still a long way to go, but they've made huge inroads. C'mon Australia we're being left behind!

My previous posts about Teaching in China were our Arrival, Banquets,  Culture and comfort foods . The next one will be about Exercise.

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When will Australia's fossil fuel industry stop receiving handouts?

Corporate welfare!

Tax-breaks!

Subsidies!

and fawning adulation!

What more could an undeserving industry lust after?

At the expense of other industries, Australian governments choose to generously support the already wealthy, demanding, powerful and often foreign owned, fossil fuel industry. Petulant, entitled, selfish, like an indulged only child, they suck up our taxes, demand more, and throw hissy fits and stamp their collective feet with fury, whenever a suggestion is made to curb their excesses. 

To continue to support the wealthy fossil fuel industry to the tune of around 10 BILLION dollars every year is unnecessary, unsustainable and unconscionable.

And yet the current government has shown by word and deed that when thinking of an energy future for Australia, they are only prepared to consider fossil fuels. 

It's a case of:

fossil fuels = all good

renewable energy = all bad.

There seems to be no concept that a mix of energy sources would be a sound investment, a buffer for a frighteningly heating country where unprecedented temperatures create a demand for energy to feed fans and air-conditioners. Not unexpectedly there are times when there is peak usage. Australians don't want to be cooked alive in their own homes. And while that seems like an overly dramatic statement, the statistics are there. There are significantly more deaths during, and immediately after heat waves, and heat related deaths are on the rise.

In late January 2014 in this article, "Ambulance Victoria says it received a 700 per cent rise in the number of call-outs it received for cardiac arrests on Friday, when temperatures spike at almost 44 degrees Celsius." There's also a rise in other illnesses as discussed in this paper.

And yet, it's at precisely those times when the air is superheated, that in Victoria, citizens have been asked to go easy on the electricity.  There have been rolling blackouts. The fossil fuels so beloved of the state and federal governments can't cope. 

This seems to the government to be time to roll out the welcome mat and increase our already significant reliance on, and subsidies to, the fossil fuels industry, to increase our emissions and to show that we aren't ready to take our rightful place on the world stage of sustainable energy.

Put simply we're being left behind. Australia is a 'has-been', following the same well worn coal fired path, spewing emissions carelessly into the air, sullying water and leaving sick people and ailing communities in its coal dust wake.

There is massive potential for growth in the alternative energy sector. We have skilled professional, and trades people keen to be involved with what should be a positive growth market. This is a real opportunity for jobs creation! Yet, obstacles are created, hurdles erected and alternatives to fossil fuels are consistently, persistently talked down. 

I've worked with people who are enthusiastic, ready, willing and able to take up positions in the sustainable energy field. It's where their passion lies and they want to be part of a positive future for Australia and see us take our place alongside other countries looking forward, not backward.

They want to have hope that their children will have a positive future, not one supporting climate change and contributing to appalling pollution in developing countries.

Our creative talent is going to waste in this area. We could be proudly sponsoring people and groups to attend international sustainability forums and strut our stuff on the world stage. As a nation, we should be receiving positive accolades, and celebrating!

We're an international laughing stock when it comes to wind power and having a Prime Minister who listens to fringe, discredited pseudo-science as opposed to reputable evidence. Too many other countries to mention are harvesting wind, solar and wave energy. We are far, far behind the 8 ball and need to do a lot to catch up and join this positive, growing international movement.

To take our place alongside the rest of the world who are actively investing in sustainable energy technologies and consequently employing thousands of people, we need to encourage and support our best and brightest minds. Encourage them to stay here and use their expertise to assist Australia to catch up with what's happening in sustainable energy in other parts of the world. How exciting it'll be when we join in with other countries who are already getting up to 40% and often more of their energy from sustainable sources such as wind, wave and solar.

How embarrassing that in this day and age, we'll need to catch up to the rest of the world. How shameful that 5% use of sustainable energy is referred to by our PM as "reliance".

We're not even in the ball park we're so far behind! It's already bad enough attempting to explain to people in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, The Czech Republic and many other European countries as well as a significant number in Africa, why we don't harvest our abundant sun and have solar panels on every roof and wind turbines capturing the wind. They shake their heads in disbelief.

So many countries and regions are doing better than Australia in lowering their emissions. We look pathetic and incompetent while they can strut around pointing at their reduced emissions and be proud of what they're doing in contributing less to climate change. Not only are they reducing their emissions and increasing employment in sustainable energy, but they are therefore less reliant on our fossil fuel exports. Good on them I say!

If Australia is genuinely dedicated to ensuring future energy security, stability and needs, we'll plan for a solid mix of alternative sources alongside fossil fuels.

It should not be a one size fits all either/or scenario where fossil fuels are the only option. It's not a competition, though it's often presented as one. When all our energy sources come from the one kind of energy basket it's a recipe for disaster. There is no back up plan, no plan B, no choice - we are completely at the mercy of that industry.

We should be focusing on Australia going into an uncertain and increasingly volatile climate future where a balanced portfolio of energy is supplied from different sources. 

I'd love to see the government have the courage to remove subsidies, tax breaks and all other forms of hidden assistance from fossil fuel companies and put that level of support into renewable energy. Predictably, the companies become hysterical whenever they're asked to play fair, but it'd finally show how much they rely on government support via our taxes.

The next best thing would be for the subsidies and supports that the fossil fuel companies receive, to be mentioned with the same enthusiasm that the supposed negatives regarding sustainable energy are. 

Illnesses directly related to the extraction of coal have been known for many, many years. They're real, verifiable and have a huge cost, not only on the person suffering, but on their family and community. Yet this massive cost is consistently ignored when fossil fuels are discussed. These real, genuine illnesses, which leave people with asthma and cancers which have occurred due to coal dust, should be mentioned alongside EVERY spurious comment made about renewable energy. 

It's then that the true cost of fossil fuel energy would begin to be understood and a more informed, balanced and honest discussion could take place.  

Any government that is serious about jobs growth will support alternative energy.

Any government that is serious about community health and the significant costs associated with illnesses as a direct result of fossil fuel extraction and in particular coal, will support alternative energy.

Any government that is serious about planning for the future will support alternative energy.  

What will Australia's government choose?

Part of a small mixed farm - including solar
 The Czeck Republic

Now that's what I call a wind farm. Tehachapi Pass. California.

And just in from the IMF:

The planet is "perilously close" to a climate change tipping point, and requires urgent cooperation between countries, cities and businesses, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has said.  

Addressing an audience in London, Lagarde said reducing subsidies for fossil fuels and pricing carbon pollution should be priorities for governments around the world.

More reading: 

From Laggard to Leader. How Australia can Lead the World to Zero Carbon Prosperity
http://bze.org.au/laggardtoleader

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/big-fall-in-electricity-sector-emissions-since-carbon-tax-20140205-320a6.html


http://theconversation.com/when-will-australians-finally-stop-wasting-our-energy-21574?utm_source=ReNew+eNewsletter&utm_campaign=a05760e871-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6052baff3-a05760e871-248887757



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