Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Archives for November 2010

The Disputed Natural History of the Lower Lakes

By

OUR  society places a premium on restoring degraded and polluted places to their natural state. It is clear from the scientific literature that the Lower Lakes have a marine origin and that they could be healthy if filled with water from the Southern Ocean rather than taking fresh water from upstream which has been government policy at least since construction of the barrages. 

That the salt water solution is resisted, and that the Murray Darling Basin Authority insists in its new plan that even more water be taken from irrigators to keep the lakes fresh, suggests that this key institution is more influenced by politics than science.

Filled with seawater, and with regular tidal flushing, the Lower Lakes would possess a different, but not necessarily less natural, or less healthy, assemblage of plants, animals, fish and microorganisms…

Read the complete article just published at Quadrant Online: 

http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2010/11/jennifer-marohasy

[Read more…] about The Disputed Natural History of the Lower Lakes

Excuses, But No Good Reason for Murray River Barrages

By

I have received a barrage of excuses as to why the Lower Lakes at the bottom of the Murray River should remain fresh rather than removing the barrages and letting the area fill with seawater, as suggested in ‘Basin barrage of bad ideas” (The Land, November 4, pg. 26). 

And I’ve made a few enquiries, to understand why, for example, the government and the opposition remain silent on the issue.

Advisors to both major political parties tell me that the barrages are far too contentious an issue, even for discussion, and that advocating the removal of the barrages could cost them important votes in South Australia.  

[Read more…] about Excuses, But No Good Reason for Murray River Barrages

Mann Promotes Rio Tinto

By

Most people know that the stock market is a volatile place and that the price of Rio Tinto shares has fluctuated significantly both up and down over the last thirty years.  But this is how at least one modern climate scientist might go about promoting Rio Tinto shares…

The first graph shows how the price of Rio Tinto shares varied over a 30 year period up until Feb 2009.

Note that the price ALWAYS goes up.

Note that the long term linear average rise is close to $1 per year over 30 years.

The second graph tells us that over the past year the rate of increase is now about thirty times the long term average.

On this basis Mr Mann, the stockbroker, advises all his clients to sell everthing, borrow as much money as possible and buy Rio because:

Rio shares NEVER go down AND they are now going up 30 times faster than ever before.

The values used to plot the graphs are genuine.

***********

If a broker in Australia actually did this the would probably end up in jail for misleading and deceptive conduct, even though the points used to construct the graphs are all genuine.