Worst drought ever

[Happy]

From ABC , April 5, 2007


MARS HEATING UP: NASA



Earth's dusty neighbour Mars is grappling with its own form of climate change as fluctuating solar radiation is kicking up dust and winds that may be melting the planet's southern polar ice cap, scientists have announced.
Researchers have been watching the changing face of Mars for years, studying slight differences in the brightness and darkness of its surface.

These changes in brightness have been generally attributed to the presence of dust, but until now their effect on wind circulation and climate has not been clear.
NASA scientist Lori Fenton and colleagues, reporting this week in the journal Nature, now believe variations in radiation from the surface of Mars are fuelling strong winds that stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet's temperature.

By studying changes in light reflected from the surface of Mars, a measure known as an object's albedo, they predict the red planet has warmed by around 0.65 degree Celsius from the 1970s to the 1990s, which may in part have caused the recent retreat of the southern polar ice cap.
On earth, carbon dioxide traps infrared radiation which can affect global climate, this a phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect, fossil fuel emissions add to the problem.
On Mars, it is the red-tinged dust.

Ms Fenton's team compared thermal maps gathered from NASA's Viking mission in the 1970s with maps gathered more than two decades later by the Global Surveyor.
They saw that large swaths of the surface have darkened or brightened over the past three decades.
These albedo changes strengthened winds, picking up and circulating dust, creating a vicious cycle that is warming the planet.
"Our results suggests that documented albedo changes affect recent climate change and large-scale weather patterns on Mars," Ms Fenton's team wrote.
They believe changes in albedo should be an important part of future studies on atmosphere and climate change.
- Reuters

Puts new spin on debate if we are responsible for global warming or we just give helping hand, as it would happen anyway.

 

[2020hindsight]

chops, I recall yuo and I having an argument about lousy mental health services in the bush and who is to blame, - more correctly , how serious it was, whether it warranted empathy, and whether the bushies are too fiercely "bronzed-Anzac-stoic" to even avail themselves of any help if it were available.... at least there's a ray of hope , call it (one cents worth).
http://abc.net.au/news/australia/qld/longr/200704/s1890288.htm

Flying doctors get $300K Federal Govt funding.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service will expand its mental health services in Queensland with almost $300,000 in new Federal Government funding.

The service has received a grant to conduct several "field days" in central-western Queensland to help drought-affected farmers and communities with issues including mental health,
first aid and even parenting skills.

Team leader Stuart Hart says they have noticed more people accessing help in recent times. "I think what it recognises is the impact of drought in certain areas around Longreach and what it means is that we're able to start meeting people's needs at the coalface," Mr Hart said.

"It also recognises that because of drought it's difficult for people who've got depression and anxiety and so forth to leave their properties to come into town and get services."

As I said at the time, there was a suicide on average once every 4 days

 

[Kimosabi]

From ABC , April 5, 2007


MARS HEATING UP: NASA



Earth's dusty neighbour Mars is grappling with its own form of climate change as fluctuating solar radiation is kicking up dust and winds that may be melting the planet's southern polar ice cap, scientists have announced.
Researchers have been watching the changing face of Mars for years, studying slight differences in the brightness and darkness of its surface.

These changes in brightness have been generally attributed to the presence of dust, but until now their effect on wind circulation and climate has not been clear.
NASA scientist Lori Fenton and colleagues, reporting this week in the journal Nature, now believe variations in radiation from the surface of Mars are fuelling strong winds that stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet's temperature.

By studying changes in light reflected from the surface of Mars, a measure known as an object's albedo, they predict the red planet has warmed by around 0.65 degree Celsius from the 1970s to the 1990s, which may in part have caused the recent retreat of the southern polar ice cap.
On earth, carbon dioxide traps infrared radiation which can affect global climate, this a phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect, fossil fuel emissions add to the problem.
On Mars, it is the red-tinged dust.

Ms Fenton's team compared thermal maps gathered from NASA's Viking mission in the 1970s with maps gathered more than two decades later by the Global Surveyor.
They saw that large swaths of the surface have darkened or brightened over the past three decades.
These albedo changes strengthened winds, picking up and circulating dust, creating a vicious cycle that is warming the planet.
"Our results suggests that documented albedo changes affect recent climate change and large-scale weather patterns on Mars," Ms Fenton's team wrote.
They believe changes in albedo should be an important part of future studies on atmosphere and climate change.
- Reuters

Puts new spin on debate if we are responsible for global warming or we just give helping hand, as it would happen anyway.

Oh my god, it's not Global Warming, it's Solar System Warming.

Bloody stupid humans, our CO2 emissions are causing the whole Solar System to warm up...

 

[Aussiejeff]

Well....

Another visit to Dartmouth today - another sad sight.

Can you spot the difference between 18% full at end of Feb and barely 10% full now?

Outflow is barely 1,500ML per day - down from 10,000 per day in Feb. The only thing keeping Hume dam at 4.5% at the moment is draining the Snowy storages....

Cheers?

AJ

 

[Happy]

One of the dangers using recycled water, is that city folks didn’t do it for best part of 50 years which means 2 or in some circles up to 3 generations.

This means we don’t know how to handle partially contaminated water and some families might be up to few nasty surprises, caused by bacteria and microorganisms that we did not see.
Ones that were firmly locked in sewage system.

Another problem might be caused by reduced water flow in sewage system causing sediment and blockages.

Maybe we should not be so bent on not using water; maybe we should put more effort into recycling at the sewage plant end, not at the consumer’s end.

 

[2020hindsight]

Can you spot the difference between 18% full at end of Feb and barely 10% full now?

Outflow is barely 1,500ML per day - down from 10,000 per day in Feb. The only thing keeping Hume dam at 4.5% at the moment is draining the Snowy storages....

thanks AJ - gr8 to get the photos first hand. Thanks for the dramatic photograhic evidence.
By what you say, there's a rapid drawdown of Snowy (and presumably eventually Eucumbene etc) in the near future.
I think (may be wrong) that Sydney uses about 1,500ML (1.5GL) per day as well. (not that relevant to your situation of course).

As many have said before, the relative contribution of man and sun to current global warming may be a matter for debate , but the fact that there's damn all water for the forseeable future has gotta be an urgent matter.

BHP getting as much artesian water as they wish - for free? sheesh. That has to be overturned (imo) if necessary by act of SA parliament .

Some idiot water bottling company buying spring water (in Vic) for $2.40 per ML !!! - (did I hear that right on the radio the other day??) - and the licence just awarded despite current topicality of all this !! madness surely. (hopefully I heard wrong)

Why are bottlers of water allowed such access to pristine spring water. It's absolute BS. These people are serious parasites - no value adding at all (you wonder if they have political contacts) (imo)

 

[Aussiejeff]

Well, bite my ***!

Northeast Water have just announced that Wodonga and any towns on the south side of the Murray River not already on Stage 2 water restrictions will move to that level on 1 May, then Level 3 on 1 Jun then Level 4 on 1 Jul REGARDLESS of any amount of rain in the interim.

It had to happen!

Nurseries and pool installers (to mention but a few industries) who will be significantly affected by this news will have to start battening down their financial hatches...


Drip...drip....


AJ

PS: Of course, bottled water suppliers (see 2020hindsight's post above) will rub their hands with un-abated glee at this news...!!

 

[2020hindsight]

Some idiot water bottling company buying spring water (in Vic) for $2.40 per ML !!! - (did I hear that right on the radio the other day??) -

btw, I'm sure that's what they said on the radio , but I think they meant $2.40 per kL - which after all is a ton of water (literaly), 1 cubic metre for $2.40 sheesh.

If per ML, then the entire water usage of Sydney would be $2.4 x 1500 = $3,600. (not possible !)
Even if per kL it's bad enough $3.6 million per day - still a good deal for them, when they can sell it for almost $3.6 bilion

i.e. If they buy for $2.40 per kL (ton)
and they in turn sell for about $2 per litre = $2,000 !
not bad for "a days work"., (as if they only put out one ton per day).

I think they have licence to take out many millions of tons , but I must get the facts on that. - shame on the relevant Vic Water Resources people (I'd better check who too lol - before I get sued, lol)

Either way, it's a licence to print money

(Apologies for not checking these details first - and to any govt agencies I have inadvertently offended lol)

 

[Rafa]

i heard mega litre too, i think it was on TV...!

 

[Smurf1976]

If you consider the waste of plastic for bottles plus the very substantial greenhouse gas emissions associated with production and transport (and often refrigeration too) then bottled water would surely win the award for the most unnecessarily polluting product ever to be mass marketed.

I'll stick to drinking water straight from the tap unless some clown thinks of doing something to mess with its quality. If they do that then I'll get a rain water tank and connect it to the roof.

 

[Smurf1976]

thanks AJ - gr8 to get the photos first hand. Thanks for the dramatic photograhic evidence.
By what you say, there's a rapid drawdown of Snowy (and presumably eventually Eucumbene etc) in the near future.
I think (may be wrong) that Sydney uses about 1,500ML (1.5GL) per day as well. (not that relevant to your situation of course).

Snowy water is already just about gone. Lake Eucumbene was at 8% of active storage a few days ago and there's been some released since then so it's probably lower now.

 

[2020hindsight]

"locals charged 500 times as much "...

sheesh - I just had to go back to double check that this wasn't put out by the BAC on 1st April - sadly not (but golly gosh you'd be forgiven for assuming that's the only way it could be true !!)
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s1890540.htm

Bottled water plan angers Yarra Valley locals
AM - Thursday, 5 April , 2007 08:16:00
Reporter: Jane Cowan
TONY EASTLEY: A proposal to extract spring water from a small town in Victoria's Yarra Valley has raised hackles and questions about how much people should pay for their water.

A water bottling company has been given permission to take 150 million litres of water a year for the next nine years. And while locals pay hundreds of dollars for every million litres of water they use, the company will get its water for just $2.40.

AM's Jane Cowan went to Powelltown where water is a touchy subject.

JANE COWAN: The small settlement of Powelltown, 80 kilometres east of Melbourne grew up out of the timber industry in the late 1800's.

But it's not timber that's creating controversy here, it's water. (Sounds of river)

A company called Sunkoshi has been granted a license to pump 150 million litres of water out of the ground each year, to sell as bottled spring water.

IAN MARTIN: No one can believe that in this day and age and in this climate that a government body could actually allow this much water to be extracted.

JANE COWAN: Ian Martin is the President of the Powelltown Residents Water Association.

He says the 250 locals can't understand why the company can pay just $2.40 per million litres of water when they're charged 500 hundred times that much.

IAN MARTIN: We'd just like to see where the justification is here for such a low price and where the justification is for such a high price for the local people.

JANE COWAN: Tim Heenan is the local mayor. He's just as upset as the Powelltown residents.

TIM HEENAN: This is ludicrous to think that someone can get a license from southern rural water, to extract such a vast amount of water and pay so little for it.

JANE COWAN: Would you be happy for it to go ahead if they were paying more for the water?

TIM HEENAN: No. I don’t even think we can do that anymore. The whole situation has changed in Australia, there's more focus on the environmental values that we need to have so we're setting up a system where our children and our children's children are going to have a good environment to live in.

JANE COWAN: The local water authority has defended its approval of the Powelltown license.

Southern Rural Water's Graham Hawke says water isn't priced to reflect the scarcity of the resource, but simply the cost of the infrastructure required to deliver it.

GRAHAM HAWKE: So the cost of water in Melbourne when you turn on your tap pays for public infrastructure so the dams and the pipes and the treatment to the extent that that's done whereas the cost of water for water bottling or even someone putting in a private bore is essentially private infrastructure.

JANE COWAN: How appropriate do you think the current pricing structure is?

GRAHAM HAWKE: Well I think a lot of people find it hard to understand why it looks so cheap for water bottling, particularly when they see that companies sell it at a premium price on the shelves.

JANE COWAN: The Victorian Government is currently reviewing water prices but says it won't reconsider Sunkoshi's Powelltown license.

The company Sunkoshi has not responded to AM's requests for comment.

TONY EASTLEY: Jane Cowan reporting.

 

[2020hindsight]

Just to be clear here, one ML is the water that would cover a sprinters track, 100m long x 10 m wide x 1 metre deep.
And they get it for $2.40. - and sell it for $2 million !! (assuming $2 / L, very rough)

For $24 I'm guessing you 'd cover the MCG to 1 metre deep! (10ML)
and sell it $20 million.

Sheesh, I hope all the animals that die after that selfish bastard , "Man" , (speaking generally) takes out all this water, and things dry up in the next drought - I hope they are all dumped on the front lawn of this "local water authority" , with a sign saying "Hope you spent your $2.40 wisely"

Or the forest fires that rage through the drought ravaged area next summer (or the one after) take out the water manager's Mercedes. (probably that would affect him more than the dead animals).

As they say, when Noah was rounding up the animals for the Ark, it's a shame that Man didn't miss the boat

JANE COWAN: The local water authority has defended its approval of the Powelltown license.

Southern Rural Water's Graham Hawke says water isn't priced to reflect the scarcity of the resource, but simply the cost of the infrastructure required to deliver it.

GRAHAM HAWKE: So the cost of water in Melbourne when you turn on your tap pays for public infrastructure so the dams and the pipes and the treatment to the extent that that's done whereas the cost of water for water bottling or even someone putting in a private bore is essentially private infrastructure.

JANE COWAN: How appropriate do you think the current pricing structure is?

GRAHAM HAWKE: Well I think a lot of people find it hard to understand why it looks so cheap for water bottling, particularly when they see that companies sell it at a premium price on the shelves.

PS "We were going to send you an invoice for the $50 worth of water you took last month (2m over the MCG which was sold for $40 million) - but the boss says to just put on next month's bill to save paper - in fact why don't we just invoice you annually , that way we can cover the cost of me typing this invoice and mailing it )

PS not only do I suspect a typo - but I hope it's a typo by factor of at least 1000. (still unconscionable)
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/303748/fromItemId/3669

 

[Smurf1976]

150 million litres.

That's the same amount that's gone through Gordon Power Station (Tas) in the past 9 minutes.

It was worth about $4000 as wholesale electricity.

Now, if we can just get this bottling business sorted and sell it at $2 a litre then the Hydro should be out of debt in about half an hour and will be worth more than BHP and the big 4 banks put together by this time next week... : : :

 

[Rafa]

nice one smurf,

150m litres = $360 for big business to bottle
150m litres = $4000 electricity
150m litres = $300,000,000 to buy in a bottle!

i've heard similar stories when it comes to crops like rice and cotton
also, what about water prices paid by our big mining companies to produce the minerals.

the cost of water is in no way reflected in the cost of the end product.

its a similar story for CO2 and other type of pollution...
someone pays for it all eventually... but thats mainly the community.

 

[Aussiejeff]

How droll!!

Now the Vic Water Minister has just announced **FANFARE** that many Victorians will be slugged up to 30% more for their water bills ..... while water bottling crooks are granted Megalitres of the precious stuff for essentially NIX so that a PRIVATE COMPANY can make a KILLING!! HAHAHAHA!!!

The Guvment obviously is playing us all for FOOLZ!!!

Cheerz folks....

PS: Hmmm .... does said Water Minister have a portfolio of dodgy shares in this water bottling scam????

AJ

 

[Happy]

Not fair.

Would be nice if water cost/price is comparative.
Maybe bottled water final price could be capped?

But: 30% is shop markup
5-50% transport cost
Plastic bottle costs too, plus labour, machinery, amortisation, insurance, other plant costs, tiny profit up to 1000%

All adds up to $2 a bottle

 

[2020hindsight]

speaking of good money to be made - I notice a job vacant notice for a new "water recycling" facility down the road..
"300 bucks a week and all the piss you can drink"

 

[Kimosabi]

speaking of good money to be made - I notice a job vacant notice for a new "water recycling" facility down the road..
"300 bucks a week and all the piss you can drink"

Finally we'll be able to have a piss up without getting a hang over...

 

[Royce]

speaking of good money to be made - I notice a job vacant notice for a new "water recycling" facility down the road..
"300 bucks a week and all the piss you can drink"

Turning recycled water into wine...I'd like to see that.