Climate Change and Political Interests

What was perhaps most interesting about Joe Hockey's recent moronic comments about wind turbines being “utterly offensive” were the depth and range of the responses that quickly appeared on online news sites. Understandably, these comments were almost unanimously and overwhelmingly critical of Hockey's remarks.
However, the responses were not merely those of the climate change "fear-monger" type. Indeed, many of these comments did not even refer to climate change. Rather, they discussed the environmental damage being done to the atmosphere in China's major cities and those areas surrounding open cut coal mines in NSW and Queensland as well as current plans to dump 3 million cubic metres of sludge in the Great Barrier Reef. Citing evidence of large scale destruction, resulting health problems (respiratory illness, cancer and deaths) and a pressing need for change, most of the comments were openly critical of the fossil fuel industry and enthusiastically supportive of renewable alternatives.
Nearly all of the comments thus expressed a will and desire that appears to be in direct conflict to that of our treasurer and the group(s) he represents. It would appear that there are a large number of people, very possibly, a majority of Australians, who are simply fed up with the old ways of doing things. And by "old", I mean as old as the rum corp itself.   There is a direct conflict building between the will of these people and the will of the government to protect and promote these interests. As we know, the vested interests of the coal mining industry and coal powered electricity industry have been, for a long time, protected and enhanced by those who hold political and economic power and who have profited by this arrangement; perhaps never more so than now. It has and continues to be in the interests of these groups to deny and raise doubt in climate change science, to downplay the efficacy of renewable alternatives and thus, reduce the funding of research and the...