Today’s Australian (pg 6) states that 75 per cent of red gums along the Murray River are either dead, dying or stressed.
Imagine if a journalist ran the story: 75 per cent of Melbournians are either dead, dying or stressed.
The obvious question might be: So what percentage of Melbournians are dying? We know they are all stressed!
A problem for journalist Asa Waahlquist is that not even the scientists at the Murray Darling Basin Commission are making the distinction between stressed and dead. The official surveys that I am familiar with, that have been undertaken since March 2003, have not distinguished between stressed and dead trees.
Incredible, but true.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.