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#47866 02/03/13 12:18 AM
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2012 global temperatures 10th highest on record
•2012 was the 10th warmest year since records began in 1880. The globally-averaged annual combined land and ocean surface temperature was 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the 20th century average of 13.9°C (57.0°F). The margin of error is ± 0.08°C (0.14°F).

Lot of info here:-
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/

A simple picture to Zoom in on.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/service/global/extremes/201213.gif


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I just saw a report on phys.org that January was the hottest month on record for Australia. January hottest month..

I guess that things just keep on heating up.

Bill Gill


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Yes its a very arid and hot Continent.
-BUT-
They have recently found a lot of shale Oil in Australia,
not far off the quantity that remains in Saudi Arabia.
They should certainly use this as soon as possible to
produce large scale De-salination plants around its coast?
To green and cool the Continent

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south...3-1226560401043

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...an-outback.html


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Well, oil shale has a lot of potential, but it also has some drawbacks. It will be challenging to get it out without damaging the environment. A lot of people are really unhappy with the way oil shale sites in Canada are being developed. Of course some people will say; how can you damage the environment in the outback?

Who would have thought that an old opal mining town would become an oil town. When I passed through there in 1972 or 73 there wasn't much there. And the best living spaces in town were under the town. It was a lot cooler down there than on the surface, and they had to dig to find the opals anyway.

Aside from that there is always the question about irrigating the outback. Will it improve things, or will it just mess up the climate for the whole continent? That is the problem with any kind of large scale development. You never know when what you are doing to improve things is going to change other things in a bad way.

Bill Gill


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RE: Desalination plant and STATE politics!!

I doubt there will be another one built in Victoria any time soon!!! At the height of the drought the Labour Govt built, admittedly at great expense, a huge plant which will ensure a water supply for Melbourne. They also diverted some water from a northern river to Melbourne. This was all opposed by the opposition, who, against all odds won the next election.

They, aided by the fact that the drought had stopped rather dramatically, stopped taking the river water, lifted water restrictions, and ridiculed the Desal Plant mercilessly. (Tellingly they did not scrap it, and actually quietly finished it). Now in this state at least, Desal = FAIL FAIL AND FAIL BADLY!

I have no doubt at all that one day we will rely on this plant and be grateful it was built, but now it is ridiculed.

This summer in most of Australia has been horribly hot, you can't argue with 50o, and the Weather Bureau has had to invent a new colour for very hot on their temperature maps. Where I live the summer has actually been near normal but 2 days over 40 is no fun. The thing is that we have had virtually no rain this summer, and I mean none! We are back to using drinking water on our gardens (water restrictions lifted, remember) and everywhere in the bush is like tinder. There have been two fires burning for weeks in the Alpine area, and they are massive. Only heavy rain will put them out and none is forecast.

So it's all a bit nasty, though , because we now have LIberals in power (which here are Conservatives) climate change is a big elephant in a small room. Maybe I should have said a big invisible elephant, because that is how it feels!

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PS- Irrigating the outback--- looks very easy but in some areas of the country the use of irrigation has led to salinity problems, particularly using artesian water. Whole tracts of South Australia, which used to grow sultanas, oranges etc are virtually poisoned by salt, and have had to be abandoned.

Inland Australia is not like the US. We like it but there is no prairie of waving grassland teaming with edible bison. Instead it is mostly dry, has poor soil and is full of stony gibbers. Sheep can live there and cattle in some northern areas, and, obviously rabbits do very, very well! Mostly though only the animals who have adapted to it can survive, like the kangaroo and emu.

However it was cropping that mostly broke the hearts of early settlers as they pushed into the interior in rainy years, only to be ruined in the inevitable drought years. Often too the first year was the only productive year as the soil could not support two years cropping in a row. Later fertilisers caused their own problems too.

It has to be admitted that Australia is lucky to be so rich in minerals!!!

Last edited by Ellis; 02/11/13 12:57 AM.

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