If You Wish for Peas, Prepare for War

Peas on earth and mercy mild, produced by victory and not by negotiation, are clearly not the most profitable of things.  John Izzard, at Quadrant Online, reveals that peas, above all human dignities, are at risk from the Government’s planned tax on that beneficent gas, carbon dioxide:

Perhaps it was never possible for climate-realists to win the science-is-settled debate, but they now have a fair chance to get on top of the issue.  Economic reasoning, and financial pain, gazumps flaky science.

There are two aspects involved when considering flaky science.  The first is the yet to be proven theory of the cleverly devised scientific-term, ‘human-induced climate-change’.  The second is the flaky science/technology involved in the ambitious notion that climate-change-mitigation is desirable, or even possible.  It is here that the climate-alarmists are on shaky ground.  Their main problem is not so much whether all of their individual bits and pieces of research are proven to be accurate—but whether, when added together, they actually prove anything.

If nothing else, history teaches us caution when prophets use fire and brimstone techniques to attempt to change the habits of people.  The prediction that the gods, or God, will take revenge if we do not change our ways is an ageless scare.  The same goes for sacrifice or tribute—used throughout history to encourage fertility, make it rain, comfort volcanoes, defeat enemies, grow crops and promote good fortune.  But then along came economics—and science—based upon the notion of proof, not speculation or ideology.  [...]

Tasmanian pea farmers get paid something like 50 cents for every kilogram they grow for the multi-nationals that control most of Australia’s vegetable industry.  Frozen peas retail on an average for $5 per kilo in the supermarkets, on a current price-check, done today.  The farmer must pay for all seed-peas, (sold only by the pea-processing company), the fertiliser, chemical treatments demanded by the processor, water, electricity and farm overheads.  Nearly all of these costs will be subject to Carbon Tax flow-on before the first pea leaves the farm gate.  [...]

Western society has progressed materially using the peppercorn theory.  Today economic theory seems to have disappeared and in the case of climate-change theorists become redundant.

Last month the Danish scientist Bjørn Lomborg pointed out the extraordinary story of Germany and its weird experiment in solar-panel carbon-mitigation. Germany spent $75 billion in solar panel subsidies.   The result, he said, “Inefficient, uncompetitive solar technology sitting on roof-tops in a cloudy country, delivering a trivial 0.1 per cent. of Germany’s total energy supply, and postponing global warming by seven hours in 2100.”

Back in the paddock of my pea-farmer friend, he tells me his current electricity bill is around $25,000 per year. That is the cost for powering irrigation pumps and paddock sprays.  His costs for fuel to run his tractors and other machinery is equally enormous.

So while the cost of the humble pea is about to soar with the introduction of the Gillard/Garnaut Carbon Tax, the cost of the imported peppercorn is miraculously going to remain the same.

Si vis pisa, para fella.