NSW water woes worsen with river to dry up as tomato town faces crisis

The drought gripping much of NSW is tightening, forcing authorities to prepare to cut flows along a major river in the north-west, while job losses loom as towns in the Northern Tablelands start to dry.

Steven Gibbs walks in a dry section of Lake Burrendong
in western NSW as plunging reservoir levels trigger limited
water flows along the Macquarie River.

WaterNSW on Monday will announce that unless conditions improve, regulated flows along the Macquarie River below the town of Warren will cease from early spring to prioritise water supplies for towns and key users.

Even those users - such as the Western Plains Zoo, Cobar mines and Dubbo's abattoirs and golf club - are "at risk of having reduced access to water" without fresh inflows.

Pressure is likely to mount on Dubbo to introduce water restrictions as the main dam supplying the regional centre of about 40,000 sinks to just 6 per cent full.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Hannam - “NSW water woes worsen with river to dry up as tomato town faces crisis.”

Americans have never been known to run away from a battle. Until climate change

Earlier this week Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the UK’s Environment Agency, warned that the UK needs to prepare for catastrophic flooding caused by climate change, and it is likely that entire communities will have to relocate. Because of our ongoing addiction to fossil fuels, coastal residents will be forced to move out of their homes. It is fitting that last week the UK parliament officially declared a “climate emergency”. Ireland has now followed suit (and no, not just because of Donald Trump’s golf course.)

Michael E. Mann.

It’s good to see the UK (and Ireland) confronting head-on the impacts of climate change, because they’re only growing more severe. Recent studies have shown that the Arctic is warming faster than we had previously thought. As a consequence, Arctic sea ice is disappearing more rapidly than predicted (April saw its lowest levels ever measured.) Despite what our Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently asserted, the national security threat associated with defending a new Arctic coastline will almost certainly outweigh any hypothetical shipping route benefits.

Read the Newsweek opinion piece by Michael E. Mann - “Americans have never been known to run away from a battle. Until climate change.”

Climate Preparation Report Released by Panel Previously Disbanded by Trump

A climate science advisory panel disbanded by the Trump administration released a report today outlining the steps communities can take to prepare for climate change.

A road in Colorado was damaged after flash flooding in
 2013, cutting off the small mountain town of Jamestown. 

In 2017, the Trump administration dissolved the federal Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment. Its purpose was to translate climate science in the National Climate Assessment into usable guidance for local governments and private companies.

The panel was reconstituted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and includes members from academia, corporations and the government. Twelve of the original 15 members, along with eight additional experts, spent a year preparing the report, called "Evaluating Knowledge to Support Climate Action." It's designed to help local officials incorporate the latest climate science in their planning.

Read the Scientific American story by Scott Waldman - “Climate Preparation Report Released by Panel Previously Disbanded by Trump.”

Energy plan keeps the coal fires burning as long as possible

Australian households must prepare for a mammoth overhaul of the nation’s electricity grid as investment surges into renewable energy, sparking a new call to keep coal-fired power stations running for decades to help with the transition.

Energy reliability will require that the life of coal-fired
 power stations be extended, according to the report.

The nation’s energy market operator has warned that Australians are exposed “more than ever” to the risks and costs of the disruption as it sets out a series of major projects needed to improve the capacity and reliability of the electricity grid.

With almost 80 per cent of new energy projects using wind and solar generation, the peak regulator has outlined a sweeping investment plan including new transmission lines, battery storage and expanded hydro-electric projects to cope with the change.

Read the story from The Age by  David Crowe - “Energy plan keeps the coal fires burning as long as possible.”

Hot temperatures to rock Victoria’s grid.

Brown coal power plants believe they are ready for the long weekend's high temperatures, as energy authorities prepare for a grid stretched to the limit.

The Loy Yang power stations are planning for higher
 demand ahead of high temperatures this weekend. 

A heatwave forecast to hit Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania on the weekend has sparked an Australian Energy Market Operator warning that the system will be under pressure.

Read Cole Latimer’s story from the Melbourne Age - “Hot temperatures to rock Victoria’s grid.”

Victoria storm: keep off the roads, stay at home and prepare for flooding

Keep off the roads, stay at home and prepare for flooding. That was the message from Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, as torrential rain hit the state on Friday.

About 100mm of rain has been forecast for Melbourne between 1 and 3 December.

“With some common sense and looking out for each other, I know Victorians will get through this very difficult period,” Andrews told reporters in Melbourne, as he urged people to leave work early.

He warned Victorians not to become complacent and to check on neighbours and loved ones with more heavy falls to come on Friday night and into Saturday.

In the 24 hours up to 5pm on Friday, the state’s highest rainfall of 73mm was recorded at Arcadia, near Shepparton.

Read The Guardian story - “Victoria storm: keep off the roads, stay at home and prepare for flooding.”

Victoria weather: Heavy rain, floods forecast across state as Premier warns of 'challenging period’

Victorians have been warned to prepare for a "very challenging period" over coming days, as unprecedented severe weather threatens public safety, Premier Daniel Andrews says.

More than 100mm could fall across Melbourne in the coming days.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned the state could be drenched with up to three times its monthly rainfall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

State and local emergency control centres have been activated as emergency services work on a four-day plan to cope with possible flash flooding.

Mr Andrews told Parliament people must follow official warnings.

Read the ABC News story - “Victoria weather: Heavy rain, floods forecast across state as Premier warns of 'challenging period’.”

Twenty five talk about whjy climate change is happening

T

here are only a few issues more contentious than climate change in American political life.

But while the climate change debate rages in some quarters, in others, most notably among those who study the climate, there is wide consensus.

It’s for this reason that The Weather Channel has adopted a position on climate change that can generally be summed up as follows: we report the science, and the science consistently says climate change is real, humans are causing it, and we must prepare for its effects.

While the long-term effects of climate change are broadly agreed upon – an increase in extreme weather and changes to once-consistent weather patterns – the short-term effects can be difficult to pinpoint. “Was this particular storm caused or exacerbated by climate change?” is often unknowable.

All of the interview subjects of Climate 25 are speaking based on the fact that climate change is happening.

Check out “The Climate 25”.

Melbourne's moving in preparation for a changing climate

The City of Melbourne is taking steps to prepare for the unfolding difficulties of climate change.

A Sydney Morning Herald story headed: “Four big problems for Melbourne's $478,088 chief resilience officer” tells about those preparations.

Think back to January’s heatwave to get a taste of what they could be in for; a buckling transport network, outbreak of heat-induced illness and wilting economic productivity.

Interestingly moves are afoot to have a representative of Melbourne City Council visit Shepparton later this year and talk with the Chamber of Commerce about what it is happening in Melbourne to build resilience into the city.

The city’s Sustainability Manager, Krista Milne has agreed to visit Shepparton and explain something about what is happening in Melbourne and how those changes could help prepare the city for a changing climate.