State braces for 'unpredictable' fires and authorities issue air quality warning as extreme heat descends on city

Victoria is set to swelter through the hottest day of the summer so far with extreme heat and strong, gusty winds expected to stir up dust prompting a health warning from authorities.

Melbourne is set to sweat through its hottest day in three years.

Emergency services are also bracing for "uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast-moving" fires.

The state's Environment Protection Authority has warned Melbourne and Geelong residents that the conditions are likely to raise dust and reduce air quality.

EPA Air Quality Scientist Gavin Fisher said in areas in such as Brooklyn and South Geelong, the air quality would be poor and could increase the risk of health problems for those with  heart and respiratory conditions.

Read the story from The Age by Melissa Cunningham and Anna Prytz - “State braces for 'unpredictable' fires and authorities issue air quality warning as extreme heat descends on city.”

Short, sharp shocker looms, with fireys braced for a 'nasty day

Emergency services are on alert for a dangerous Friday, with extreme heat and strong, gusty winds forecast and the Country Fire Authority bracing for "uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast-moving" fires.

Fire crews are braced for a 'killer day.'CREDIT:

A statewide total fire ban is in place, with temperatures forecast to reach scorching highs.

Melbourne is expecting a top of 42 degrees, while Geelong is forecast to hit 43. In the state’s north-west, Mildura and Swan Hill are preparing for a whopping 46 degrees.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for damaging winds of up to 100 km/h in the afternoon and a risk of thunderstorms and dry lightning which could spark fires but with little rain.

Read the story from The Age by Anna Prytz - “Short, sharp shocker looms, with fireys braced for a 'nasty day.

Off Long Island, Wind Power Tests the Waters

Wind turbines off Block Island,
R.I. A larger wind farm,
 planned off Long Island,
is up for approval this week.

Only a few years ago, the long-held dream of harnessing the strong, steady gusts off the Atlantic coast to make electricity seemed destined to remain just that. Proposals for offshore wind farms foundered on the shoals of high costs, regulatory hurdles and the fierce opposition of those who didn’t want giant industrial machinery puncturing the pristine ocean views.

Now the industry is poised to take off, just as the American political landscape and energy policy itself face perhaps the greatest uncertainty in a generation.

Last fall, five turbines in the waters of Rhode Island — the country’s first offshore farm — began delivering power to the grid. European energy developers like Statoil and Dong Energy are making big investments to bring projects to American waters. Last year in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, signed into law a mandate that is pushing development forward.

Read The New York Times story - “Off Long Island, Wind Power Tests the Waters.”

Science is clear and unequivocal; politics is opaque and subjective

A

ustralia "Will make a strong, clear and ambitious contribution to the post-2020 target," according to Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

Greg Hunt - promises in
 the face of criticism.

The Minister’s response follows serious questioning from the United States, South Africa and China who doubted whether Australia's climate policies were adequate at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“Strong, clear and ambitious” sounds wonderful politically, but scientifically it is woefully inadequate, unless Mr Hunt envisages reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of more than seventy per cent.

The science is clear and unequivocal; politics is opaque and subjective.

The ABC tells us more about what happened in Germany in its story - “Coalition defends climate change policies after grilling from US, China, South Africa at UN meeting”.