Canada’s governor-general Michaelle Jean has sparked anger from animal rights groups by gutting a seal carcass and eating a piece of its heart. Read more here.
Archives for May 2009
Reconnecting with the Coorong
I first learnt about The Coorong – a narrow lagoon that runs parallel with coastal dunes for 140km in southern Australia – when I saw the 1976 film ‘Storm Boy’, the story of a boy and a Pelican.
The impression I got from the film, and then later from media reports and environmental campaigning is that the lagoon is connected to the freshwater lakes at the bottom of the Murray River, when in fact they have been separated since the 1940s by barrages – infrastructure built to keep out the Southern Ocean.
But as Susan writes in the following note, “looking at the satellite imagery of the Coorong and Lower Lakes drives home the message that the two are really part of the same ecosystem and should not have those 1940’s barrages separating them.”
There will be people disadvantaged if the barrages are now opened, in particular South Australian irrigators, and also environmental campaigners who have used images of the drying lakes to argue for more water to be taken from irrigators in New South Wales and Victoria for environmental flow.
But given the dry conditions that continue through the lower Murray Darling Basin, it is surely the best solution and would immediately restore water to this ecosystem.
Gaia – Saved by the Seas
THE idea that the earth’s physical and biological systems adjust to perturbation through feedback systems is central to James Lovelock’s Gaia theory. Let me declare upfront that I don’t subscribe to this theory because I don’t see the earth as a living entity, but rather as a place where life is lived. I do agree, however, that natural systems tend to exhibit strong negative feedback around an equilibrium point. Negative feedback is the opposite of positive feedback. It acts to oppose perturbation on a system and thus to maintain the current equilibrium. [1]
The Gaia theory is very popular including amongst many sceintists concerned about global warming notably Tim Flannery. Professor Flannery was named Australian of the Year in 2007 and is presently chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council. The Gaia theory underpins his influential book on climate change ‘The Weather Makers’.
Given Professors Lovelock and Flannery believe in feedback systems which seek to maintain an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on earth, Gaia, it is perhaps surprising that they are so concerned about elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide causing a climate crisis.
I understand that this concern, as articulated by Professor Lovelock in his 2006 book ‘Revenge of Gaia’, stems in large part from a belief that Gaia has been so despoiled that the biological systems which would normally buffer, for example the capacity of phytoplankton and forests to draw excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, is no longer properly functioning.
But what if there exists a physical system, in addition to these biological systems, to prevent runaway greenhouse?
A Nonsense Pipeline
Archbishop Endorses ‘Heaven and Earth’
The tide on climate change is starting to turn. The Australian government is becoming more cautious. Read more from Cardinal George Pell.
The Swedes Choose Cattle for Stockholm’s Wetlands
SWAMP, wetland, marsh, marshland, everglade – there are a variety of different names for wet areas covered in native vegetation and the specific mix of reeds, grasses, shrubs and trees will of course depend on how the areas is managed, including whether it is regularly burnt or grazed – or not.
[Read more…] about The Swedes Choose Cattle for Stockholm’s Wetlands
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.