The big, serious story of this week is rising sea levels…
Nature magazine published new research by a team of Australian and US scientists. They foundthe world’s oceans warmed and rose at a rate 50 per cent faster in the last four decades of the 20th century than documented in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report. It is now feasible say scientists that by 2100 we could see ocean level rises of a metre – enough to make anyone with a waterfront home choke on their muesli.
A kick in the Murray Cods for the nation’s most important river…
How many times do we hear that someplace somewhere is facing ecological collapse? This week it was the Murray (again) only this time the scientists sounded serious and the Federal minister responsible, Penny Wong looked like a rabbit caught in the spotlight. Stephanie Peatling from the SMH reported:
A leaked scientific report has warned that so little water is being returned to the river system that the Coorong wetlands, lakes Albert and Alexandrina and the mouth of the Murray River will be virtually destroyed by October. Sydney Morning Herald
What does anyone expect? A river isn’t a river unless it has water in it.
More Gory Details: Al Gore rapped on the knuckles for forgetting to turn off the lights…
It’s the latest instalment in a long running campaign to point out Big Al’s so called ‘hypocrisy’. As the Australian reported this week:
According to the Tennessee Centre for Policy Research, the annual electricity usage at the former US vice-president’s home in Nashville, Tennessee, has risen by 10 per cent.
Mr Gore’s environmental activism inspired the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. But the TCPR branded him a “hypocrite” in February last year after discovering that his eight-bathroom house had consumed nearly 221,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in the previous year – more than 20 times the national average.
Old Bags thrown out of South Australian supermarkets…
Turtles, landfills and rivers are at risk of being better off, warn NSW, Tasmania, Queensland and Western Australia.
The outcry follows a South Australian decision to ban plastic bags.
The Australian again:
All thin plastic bags supplied at supermarket checkouts and take-away food outlets will be banned from next May, but heavier bags used by department stores and boutiques will not be affected…South Australian Environment Minister Gail Gago said plastic bags were an “environmental menace” that about 12,500 retailers across the state would have to do without.
Peter Cundall retires…
Last year I interviewed Peter for a story on what he thinks the nation will be like in 20 years time…This is what he had to say:
“I see two alternatives: people do something about the environment and if this happens things will be totally different. On the other hand if people leave the solution to the politicians whose vision is only two or three years ahead, we will be in a state of world wide disaster. But I am an optimist and what is happening all around the world is that small groups of people are organising to put on massive pressure. People are blinking indignantly. It’s not too late but we are approaching the razor’s edge. Within 20 years we could be involved in a series of droughts and occasional massive floods. Everything will become more extreme. Areas that once didn’t get frosts are getting them and areas that got frosts will get massive frosts out of season. If nothing is done Australia’s biodiversity will be devastated. People’s gardens are already changing. The days of the English lawn in Australia have gone forever. We need Australian gardens that can survive new extremes. There will be a reduction in the number of exotic plants. People’s gardens are starting to look different and in 20 years time they will be radically different. People are going to have to return to growing some of their own food in their own gardens.”
And speaking of being allowed to hold your hose in peace - water restrictions were lifted for Sydneysiders…
But the Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that relaxing water restrictions was a “crazy” idea. ” Sydneysiders have demonstrated they are willing and able to save water,” the council’s executive director, Cate Faehrmann, said. “Water is a scarce resource that is only going to become more scarce with climate change and we must readjust our habits on a permanent basis, not just when dam levels get low.”
Yes and above all this we are being encouraged to have larger families, and facing huge population increases. With less ability to produce food and even more pressure on water supplies – what is the Govt thinking??