Enough scandalous time-wasting on climate change. Let's get back to the facts

Over the past 30 years I have reported so many broken climate policy promises and quoted so much rhetoric that proved to be hollow, it is difficult to trace it back to the start. I think it’s a faded press release from 11 October, 1990 headed “government sets targets for reductions in greenhouse gases”.

Drought-affected pastures near Wyandra in Queensland.

“The government recognises the greenhouse effect as one of the major environmental concerns facing the world,” said Ros Kelly, Bob Hawke’s environment minister. “This decision puts Australia at the forefront of international action to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases.”

We knew we had to do something almost three decades ago. Children have grown to adulthood and had their own children during the time we have known, and done not very much.

Read the story from The Guardian by Lenore Taylor - “Enough scandalous time-wasting on climate change. Let's get back to the facts.”

The Energy 202: Scott Pruitt's climate message is now official EPA guidance

Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has long insisted it is difficult for scientists to precisely measure the extent to which humans cause climate change.

Chief of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt,
insists it is too difficult for scientists to precisely measure the
extent to which humans cause climate change.

Now EPA's regional staff engaging with local communities and Native American tribes have been instructed to push the same message too.

This week, EPA staffers received an email instructing them to underscore the uncertainties about how human activity contributes to climate change.

Read Dino Grandoni’s story from The Washington Post - “The Energy 202: Scott Pruitt's climate message is now official EPA guidance.”

Beyond the seawall: a changing climate calls for dynamic solutions

On the face of it, it’s difficult to see similarities between the San Francisco Bay Area and Christchurch, New Zealand. The former is a major hub for one of the largest economies in the world with a population of over 7.5 million people, and home to tech giants like Apple, Google and Facebook. The latter is a gateway to Antarctica, historically a market town and port that services an agricultural hinterland, and home to just under 400,000 people. However, when landscape architect and UC Berkeley Professor Kristina Hill examines the two places through the bi-focal lenses of geology and landscape, unexpected parallels emerge.

Christchurch's 2011 earthquake shifted the city's water
table, leading to structures sinking into the Avon estuary.

Both places face similar challenges: how to adapt their coastal and estuarine environments to sea level rise, how to live with a high and rising groundwater table, how to factor increasing salt and freshwater flooding into planning their urban environments and infrastructure while surviving, and preferably thriving, in highly active seismic zones.

Read the Foreground story - “Beyond the seawall: a changing climate calls for dynamic solutions.”

Little town versus Big energy prices

You shouldn’t have to choose between turning on your heater or paying your power bill.

For many of the residents of Strathbogie, this was a very real and difficult decision they were making every day. 

Power bills were escalating, with people freezing in their homes in winter and boiling in summer, because they just couldn’t afford to turn on their heaters or air conditioners.

But not local farmer, David Jamieson.

When David built his home ten years ago, he made the decision to go off-grid - and he couldn’t be happier. With solar installed, he reports a 170% on investment.

But the game-changing moment came when the Strathbogie Shire Council, in partnership with Yarra Energy Foundation, recognised the potential of solar, and jumped on it.

Watch this enlightening video  - “Little town versus Big energy prices” - from the Climate Council.

'Beneath the Wistertians' gather for the first time this year on Saturday

“Beneath the Wisterians” gather again on Saturday, January 27, for the first time this year.

We will meet at the northern end of Shepparton’s Maude St Mall at 11:00: it’s free, all are welcome and although some public seating exists, those attending are advised to bring a folding chair.

And what will we discuss? Well, the year that was and the year ahead.

The aim has always been to ensure Beneath the Wisteria was politically neutral, but that has become rather difficult as our political classes have made it so, encouraged all along by those who dispute climate science.

Sadly, few of those who gather in Canberra, or Melbourne’s Spring St, or even in the chambers at Shepparton’s Welsford St, appear to take climate change seriously other than to make the occasional proclamation, which is little more than a fiction designed to appease those vaguely aware of climate change and convinced that we need to do something, and declarations by the PM to save the Great Barrier Reef is often enough, although everyone who really understands what is really happening sees what is planned as abject failure, and little more than a distraction.

Please join me on Saturday as despondency can only be repaired by optimistic friends.

The predicted temperature on Saturday is 39 degrees, but as the maximum usually arrives about mid-afternoon, I’m expecting about 37 degrees at 11:00 am. 

We meet in the middle of winter, let’s meet in the middle of summer.

Any questions call me, Robert McLean, at 0400 502 199.

'Scorcher causes outage' - Shepparton News

In front of the airconditioner or at the pool, Shepparton residents tried their best to escape the oppressive heat on Saturday.

Shepparton recorded a top of 41.2°C and temperatures stayed hotter than 40°C from 2.30 pm to 7 pm and were still at 28°C at 11 pm, making sleep difficult.

Some people struggled more than others as 1800 Powercor customers in Greater Shepparton lost power about 7.30 pm, with power restored to properties progressively during the night, but some waited until yesterday morning.

A Powercor spokesperson said it looked like high loads because of the hot weather was the cause of the outage.

Country Fire Authority units had to extinguish a fire coming from an airconditioning unit at a Dhurringile home, believed to be caused by overheating at 4.20 pm. The home was not damaged.

Ambulance Victoria members were busy across the state and were called out to several cases of heat stroke and a number of near drownings during the day, but regional areas such as Shepparton had significantly less call outs than the city.

CFA District 22 operations officer Pete Dedman said many campfires were still lit across popular sites in the district on Saturday, despite repeated messages in the media highlighting the total fire ban day.

Teams from Forest Fire Management Victoria found a number of campfires being used unattended and others not properly extinguished.

‘‘Lucky no fires began from these campfires, but it ties up firefighting resources, all because people are not doing the right thing,’’ Mr Dedman said.

‘‘All solid fuel fires are banned.

‘‘People who enjoy camping need to understand use of fire and general rules around camping, they are easily found on Parks Victoria or Forest Fire Management Victoria websites.

‘‘They have an obligation to find this out, ignorance is no excuse with the amount of information out there.’’

Mr Dedman reminded people heavy fines and potential jail time were the penalty for those caught.

Read Declan Martin’s story from today’a Shepparton News - “Scorcher causes outage.”

Zika on the move as temperatures on the rise

Warmer temperatures could expand the area where mosquitoes can thrive.

For thousands of years, humans have taken every precaution to avoid mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, from Malaria to Zika. But while techniques for fighting the insects have improved dramatically over time, scientists say long-term climate change could soon make protecting humans from mosquitoes much more difficult.

Read the Time story - “How Climate Change Could Spread Diseases Like Zika.”

The common rhetorical escape - 'I'm not a scientist'

-      Robert McLean.

David Spratt is he co-author
of Climate Code Red.

“I’m not a scientist” is the common rhetorical escape for most with influence, but who deny climate change.

Not many of us, of course, are scientists with the qualifications to make informed comment about climate change, but all of us do have a sense of what is right and wrong, most of us can understand basic graphs and charts and most of us seem to instinctively know when something is going astray.

Climate change is damnably difficult to pin down in detail, but strikingly simple when considered broadly and applied to the human experiment.

David Spratt, the co-author of Climate Code Red, understands the scientific realities of climate change, but takes his readers on an understandable journey and has warned that “Two degrees of warming closer than you may think”.

Yes, I’m not a scientist, but it is clear to me that climate change is happening and bringing with it significant difficulties.

Inadequate Direct Action faces deteriorating circumstances

Australia’s Federal Government has introduced the broadly considered inadequate “Direct Action” to counter climate change in the face of advice predicting clearly deteriorating circumstances.

And just today a report has been released that warns of rather difficult times ahead for people living in New South Wales.

The report, headed: “Understanding and adapting to climate change impacts in New South Wales” explains just how different the conditions will be in New South Wales as this century unfolds.