Vital climate lessons
HERE are seven lessons on the real climate crisis in Australia from the recent drought and bushfire events.
Ice core samples allowing scientists to analyse Australian weather conditions going back more than 1000 years illustrate an Australian climate of extreme variability.
Australia experienced a mega-drought in the 12th century.
In fact, Australia was drought stricken for 70 per cent of the 1100s – the longest drought lasting for 39 years. In the 1500s, however, there was a really wet period with no droughts for the best part of 100 years.
In the 12th century, CO2 levels were at “ideal” levels – around 250 to 280 parts per million.
This data is cited not as a refutation of modern anthropogenic climate change.
Rather, it serves to highlight seven crucial facts, lessons and activities we need to consider in regards to our current climate “crisis”.
One – Australia’s normal climate is one of extreme variability. As one of the authors of the ice core drill study said, “the Millennium drought is not unprecedented, it’s well within range. We’ve had droughts like that before, in fact we’ve had a lot worse and will again.” (Professor Kiem, speaking to
The Land newspaper, 31/3/18.)
Two – The Bureau of Meteorology’s records, which were only standardised as a point of reference in 1910, provide an inadequate reference for normal climate conditions. “By studying an ice record spanning 1013 years, our results reveal a clear story of wetter wet periods and drier dry periods than is evident in Australia’s much shorter instrumental weather record.” (ibid)
Three – Government, insurance, engineering standards, and planning, environmental and habitat risk needs to be revised to reflect the greater real risks associated with our normal extremely variable climate.
Four – Alarmist headlines and blanket blaming anthropogenic climate change for every Australian extreme weather event is not sound climate science.
Five – The research revealing Australia’s normal variable climate extremes needs to be disseminated widely.
Like other concerned young people around the world, Australian school students have gone on “strike” to march in protest at perceived limited action on climate change. Yet, as noted earlier, “the Millennium drought is not unprecedented”.
Six – We need to return to Aboriginal land management, coupled with efficient, sustainable contemporary land management practices to reduce hazardous fuel loads. As many firefighters have recently stated: “No fuel, no fire.”
Seven – A co-ordinated, strategic approach involving Federal and State governments, local council and private enterprise in developing durable and effective infrastructure is required to mitigate against the inevitable droughts and floods.
There is no value in becoming the “greenest” nation on the planet if we haven’t also taken action to safeguard the food, water and habitat security of our own citizens, fauna and flora in the climate environment we’ve inherited.
ANTON KLEKAR,
Towers Hill.