Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Archives for November 4, 2007

Still Water in the Murray River

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Last week I drove from Brisbane (south eastern Queensland) to Barham on the Murray River.

Listening to the news in Brisbane I was getting the impression the Murray River was nearly empty of water.

In fact there is still a lot of water in the river but the Hume and Dartmouth dams are very low. Also, some of the tributories of the river are being shut-off with cod dying in the ‘shrinking’ billabongs. And many river red gums on the flood plains are looking very stressed from the drought.

Barham_boat n text Nov3_07.jpg

But as this picture shows, the river itself is still magnificent and the red gums along the river beautiful.

Scared to Death: From BSE to Global Warming — How Scares are Costing Us the Earth

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No one can deny that in recent years the need to “save the planet” from global warming has become one of the most pervasive issues of our time. As Tony Blair’s chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, claimed in 2004, it poses “a far greater threat to the world than international terrorism”, warning that by the end of this century the only habitable continent left will be Antarctica.

Inevitably, many people have been bemused by this somewhat one-sided debate, imagining that if so many experts are agreed, then there must be something in it. But if we set the story of how this fear was promoted in the context of other scares before it, the parallels which emerge might leave any honest believer in global warming feeling uncomfortable.

The Sunday Telegraph: ‘The deceit behind global warming’

New Book:

Scared to Death: From BSE To Global Warming — How Scares Are Costing Us The Earth by Christopher Booker and Richard North (Continuum, £16.99)

Less is More

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Energy savings in UK households could be up to 30% lower than previously thought, jeopardising efforts to cut the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.

The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) blamed the miscalculation on “rebound effects” from energy-saving measures.

As people cut their bills by using more efficient devices, they tend to spend the extra money buying additional goods that cancel out some of the savings.

BBC News website: UK energy savings ‘miscalculated’