Drought and climate change are driving high water prices in the Murray-Darling Basin

Water prices in the southern Murray-Darling Basin have reached their highest levels since the worst of the Millennium drought more than a decade ago. These high water prices are causing much anxiety in the region, and have led the federal government to call on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to hold an inquiry into the water market. 

The receding waters of Lake Pamamaroo, in western
 NSW, in February 2019. Reduced water supply, due to
 lower rainfall and higher temperatures, has been the
 main cause of increasing water prices.

Inevitably, whenever an important good becomes more expensive – be it housing, electricity or water – there is a rush to identify potential causes and culprits. In the past few years high water prices have been blamed on foreign investors, corporate speculators, state government water-sharing rules, new almond plantings and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

While some of these factors have had an effect on the market, they are in many ways a distraction from the simpler truth: that high water prices have mostly been caused by a lack of rain.

Read the story from The Conversation by a Senior Economist with the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), Neal Hughes - “Drought and climate change are driving high water prices in the Murray-Darling Basin.”

China’s latest energy megaproject shows that coal really is on the way out

China has some of the worst air pollution in the world. In several cities, thick layers of smog are common, resulting in thousands of deaths every year.

The floating solar power station in Anhui province, China. 

According to a 2016 study, the top contributor of air pollution-related deaths in China is the burning of coal. The team of Chinese and American researchers behind the study said that pollution from coal caused 366,000 premature deaths in 2013.

To improve the country's air quality, the Chinese government vows to spend at least $360 billion on clean energy projects and create 13 million new renewable energy jobs by 2020. China is already one of the world's biggest investor in alternative energy sources like solar, wind, and hydropower.

Read the Business Insider story by Leanna Garfield - “China’s latest energy megaproject shows that coal really is on the way out.”

Worst fire conditions in 12 months feared for this weekend

Extreme heat and high winds forecast for this weekend could see Victoria face its worst bushfire conditions in 12 months.

Authorities are bracing for wind gusts topping 100km/h ripping across the state's parched bushland over two days that could hit 35 degrees.

“We have had hot days, and we have had windy days so far this season,” Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said. “We haven’t had hot and windy.

“It’s extremely dry. We have not experienced serious rain across the state for about 40 days. Gardens are dry, the bush is dry, grasses are dry.

Read Liam Mannix’s story from The Age - “Worst fire conditions in 12 months feared for this weekend.”

Queensland weather: Heavy rain eases across south-east, disaster package announced

After more than 24 hours of heavy rain across south-east Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has cancelled all severe weather warnings for the region, indicating the worst is over for the time being.

A 4WD crosses the flooded Clagiraba Creek
causeway west of Nerang on Saturday.

But the BOM has warned the situation is being closely monitored and that further severe weather warnings would be issued if necessary.

Some drenched Brisbane suburbs exceeded the average monthly rainfall for February in just 24 hours, BOM forecaster David Crock said.

Read the ABC News story - “Queensland weather: Heavy rain eases across south-east, disaster package announced.”

Just 10 companies our worst polluters - Australian Conservation Foundation

"S

adly, the Federal Government appears to be listening to the biggest polluters over the Australian people," the Australian Conservation Foundation says.

The ABC reports that the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has named and shamed Australia's top 10 worst polluters.

The story says the ACF has taken aim at the coal-fired power industry and the mining sector naming them as the most damaging in the country.

Headed: “Ten companies directly responsible for third of Australia's greenhouse gas pollution, Australian Conservation Foundation reportfinds,” the story says just 10 companies are directly responsible for a third of Australia's greenhouse gas pollution based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator.

The extremes of climate change are being normalized

Little by little, bit by bit climate change and its implications are being normalized.

Daniel Griffin - California's
drought is the 'worst'.

When was it drier, when was it hotter or when was the storm fiercer?

In the mode of populist thinking there was always a moment in history when it was hotter, drier or fiercer, but close examination will reveal the fallacy of such thinking.

And Daniel Griffin was one of those disbelievers, or at least one who questioned claims that California’s drought was the worst ever, until he looked closely at the facts.

Scientific American explains - “California's Drought May Be Worst in a Millennium” - how the assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota used his skills to prove the claims correct.