Being Green

The current debate on electricity tariffs (current –gettit?!) is generating (gettit?) a fair amount of hot air, which is a mixture of gases, which brings us back to gas. Sorry, I couldn’t resist being facetious – all in a good cause, but I’ll stop it now. So, gas – gas as a fuel, which is being punted as a better solution to energy needs than coal, and we don’t need to underline the drawbacks of coal. In fact, Gwede Mantashe would really not like us to do that… But gas is a fossil fuel, and the emissions which are, it is true, less harmful than those from coal-burning, are still emissions that contribute to the atmospheric warming effect. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the DRME, is promulgating a Gas Master Plan, and is inviting comment from anybody interested enough. But you’d better get in quickly, as the deadline is very soon. The DRME has put out a basecase report and the following are their words, not mine...