John Cashman (Letters, December 9) is correct in saying that the electron drift velocity is slow. Indeed, it is generally true that not a single electron within the power station alternators will ever leave the power station.
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However, his assertion that all of ACT's power is renewably generated is misleading. Yes, on average, all of ACT's power comes from renewable generators such as the Hornsdale wind farm, but there is no escaping that solar and wind power are intermittent, and when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow then the ACT draws its power from the largely coal-fired grid.
Even when Hornsdale can produce just enough power for the ACT, the fact that we in the ACT claim this as our renewable power means other connected states cannot. At the national level, our claim is nonsense.
If the ACT really was generating all its power renewably, then it would be relatively easy for all of Australia to do the same. But alas, this reasoning is false. If all of Australia was to be powered from wind and solar, then these generators would need to be grossly oversized to overcome intermittency, making them uneconomic. I commend the ACT government for its considerable success in providing renewable power for the ACT, but the 100 per cent renewable claim is not true in any meaningful way.
Colin Dedman, Kaleen
The vegetarian option
The Canberra Times has accompanied its Silent Assassin series with special offers for readers to subscribe to a program offered by Defeat Diabetes. The diet approach of Defeat Diabetes seems to be one of eating healthy, whole foods but with low carbohydrates and high amounts of animal protein and fat. Apparently, following such a "keto" diet can lead to weight loss and, even, to remission of type 2 diabetes.
This diet is not suitable for vegans. The vegan, "plant-based" rival to "keto" also has healthy, whole foods but is "low-fat, high-carbohydrate" with lots of beans for protein. Proponents of "plant-based" claim that it prevents and can treat type 2 diabetes and has many other health benefits due to its high amounts of fibre and vitamins (and, of course, there are other important reasons to be vegan).
On my reading, recent randomised control studies, show that, when controlled for calories, both keto and plant-based diets enable people to lose weight and are roughly comparable in their impact on type 2 diabetes after about one year.
By definition, a high-carbohydrate, plant-based diet is tolerant of carbohydrates, so a calorie-restricted low-fat vegan diet can be a healthy way to fight type 2 diabetes.
Henry Gardner, Turner
Save our language
On a recent morning I woke to hear the twang of a white foreigner saying: "We gotta get ahead of the game. We can't put all our eggs in one basket." Half-asleep I had no idea what the "story" was about - COVID-19, vaccines or football. It certainly wasn't about philosophy, literature or science.
The prize of the year has to go to a New Jersey person describing a tornado-devastated area as being "totally decimated".
These things are happening daily on news programs.
Gary Frances, Bexley
Hypocrisy on climate
The most important and topical issue raised by Peter Martin ("The unsung architect of Labor's climate plans", December 8, p27) was the carbon price legislated by the Gillard Labor government.
When Tony Abbott was swept into power in 2013, one of his first moves was to charge then Environment Minister Greg Hunt with demolishing Labor's "carbon tax".
Mr Hunt promptly obliged, and the "tax" policy was replaced by an 'emissions baseline' scheme.
Eighteen years later, Anthony Albanese's Labor has resurrected the emissions baseline mechanism, only to be met with accusations from the ironically-named Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister, Angus Taylor, that Labor wants to introduce "a sneaky new carbon tax on agriculture, mining and transport".
The hypocrisy of the Morrison-Taylor government knows no bounds.
