Apprehension about climate change at community forum was unfounded

Apprehension was the prevailing sense walking into the lecture room this week at the Tatura offices of the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR).

Tuesday night’s forum at the Tatura centre, commonly known as the Tatura Agricultural Research Centre, has been set up to allow the community to comment on what is being proposed as strategic directions for ‘Water for Victoria”.

The Tatura forum was one of 16 organized through the state to allow public input into the “Water for Victoria” discussion paper.

Fewer than 30 people were at the Tatura forum, and of those several were directly connected with organizers or from local or State Government organizations intimately involved with the maintenance and supply of water.

A few were farmers or had a direct connection with the commercial use of water.

An interest in climate change and its direct impact on water made it impossible to not attend.

Having been involved in previous conversations at which the attendees had similar characteristics, it seemed likely that climate change would quickly be dispensed to the “of little consequence” category, but surprisingly, that was not the case.

Many aspects of water were discussed during the two-hour workshop, but as had often been the case in previous similar discussions, climate change was discussed seriously and several people appeared to believe that the crisis that is climate change needed to be either at the top or close to the top of hierarchy of matters warranting attention when considering “Water for Victoria.”

Although, it is near too late, the serious of climate change and the need for it to be attended to appears to be gaining traction.

-       Robert McLean.

SBS presentation: 'How Climate Made History'

What do the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the Thirty Years’ War and the Renaissance have in common? For one, they were all starkly affected by extreme weather conditions.

This feature-length documentary combines natural sciences and history, including a journey from the Big Bang to Iceland’s volcanoes - to provide a gripping narrative that explores little-known connections between the Earth’s climate and major historical events. Are these extremes of weather really a 21st-century phenomenon? Or has climate determined the fate of humanity ever since amphibians took their first steps on terra firma?

Watch the SBS presentation – “How Climate Made History.”

(I watched this feature with a degree of apprehension as it appeared to be giving little more than oxygen to the arguments of the deniers in that it pointed out several times how climate change had unsettled and effectively destroyed civilizations throughout history.

However, in the closing minutes of the show, modern industrial society was considered and the voice-over said that we, “humanity”, was causing climate change of a dimension never before seen. It was argued that the disparate and disturbing weather events around the world were little more than a warning from nature that something was wrong, there is a serious imbalance in the earth’s climate systems, and we needed to take note – Robert McLean).