24. Climate Change
• Anthropogenic (caused by humans)
• Fossil Fuel / Clearing forests
• Since 1900 Earth average temp rose 0.8°C
/ 1.5°F
• IPCC established 1988 – reports 5-7 years
25. Australia and Climate Change
• Heatwaves, drought and bushfires dominate
• Increased intensity and frequency of extreme
weather events – flood, fire, cyclone (tornado)
• EAC brings tropical water further south –
bleaching coral, killing sea life
31. 80’s Green battlezone of Australia
• Flooding Lake Pedder
• Plan to Dam river
• Franklin campaign
• Iconic battle
• 1983 Federal election
• Key election issue
37. Water Shortages
• Australia: world’s greatest rainfall variability
• From 1895 to 1995: nine severe droughts,
39 places, 2-8 years [CSIRO]
• Since 1995: 7-10 years of severe drought,
most of central / southern mainland
38.
39. Water use
• Domestic per-capita city water use: highest in
world
• Irrigation-heavy crops:
– Cotton: 3rd largest producer in world
– Rice, Sugar Cane: Huge expansion
– Farm forestry - Fast-growing pine
This is part of the Gondwana Rainforests – remnant rainforests on Australia’s east coast. Millions of years ago, most of Australia was covered in forest like this …
… now about 20 percent of Australia is officially named desert … and much more, probably about half the continent is classified semi-arid
Here’s Pindan country, west of Broome - semi-arid … red, sandy soil … worn down over millions and millions of years .. Very low fertility … harsh conditions
Australia’s geological stability – few volcanoes, a whole continent sitting smack bang in the middle of a stable tectonic plate – has left Australia old and weathered
But was it turned to desert through human activity?
That’s certainly the theory of many respected scientists
We know that indigeneous Australians made their way to
This is the oldest known painting of ceremony in the world – 12,000 years oldGwion figures, in the Kimberley
This is hotly debated … Tim Flannery’s book ‘The Future Eaters’ argues that the megafauna – large prehistoric animals including giant wombats and giant kangaroos – became extinct within 1,000 years of the first evidence of human settlement … he thinks early Aboriginal people probably hunted them, though others, like archaeologist Judith Field from UNSW, think that his evidence is flimsy …
There’s certainly lots of evidence cited in Bill Gammage’s book ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’ to show that Aboriginal people
Bill Gammage – The Biggest Estate on Earth – explores an Australia where “large trees were carefully situated within pampered grassland, providing sustenance and shelter to an array of grazing animals” resembling a ‘gentleman’s park.’
Aboriginal Australians had developed sophisticated techniques using fire-stick farming – carefully selecting plants and animals through controlled burning resulting in resources that were predictable – and in times of drought and flood - more predictable than farming.
“Like land-owning gentry, people generally had plenty to eat, few hours of work a day and much time for religion and recreation.” p4
The arrival of Europeans devastated the Aboriginal population, of somewhere between 3-500,000 peopleSmallpox and measles were big killers, but loss of their hunting lands and attacks by soldiers & settlers also killed manySome twenty years after the penal colony was established, explorers crossed the Blue Mountains and opened up ‘the great plains’ from Bathurst west … more and more ‘free settlers’ flooded the continent
Aboriginal ‘fire stick’ farming regimes couldn’t continue .. And so scrub took over the grasslands .. Problem seedlings (white cypress, Bimble Box etc) were fire sensitive … when fire stopped & cattle grazing thinned the grass, these “scrubby” trees took over & produced dense undergrowth
… that ‘golden soil and wealth for toil’ mentality has seen Australia as a resource, to be logged, planted, grazed, cropped & mined for “wealth”
- Often that ‘wealth’ is imported goods
The National Land and Water Resources Audit shows since 1788, we’ve cleared about a million square kilometres of land – about 12% of the total land mass, most of that around the vegetated eastern coast rather than the dry inland
700,000 km2 (20%) of woodland and forest cleared or thinned for crops and grazing130,000 km2 (35%) of mallee 20,000 km 2 (45%) of heath 60,000 km2 of tussock grassland
From 1820 -> pastoral industry expanded rapidly across Australia Wheat cultivation was big in South Australia
1840s to 1950s – sheep a huge part of economy1850 : 16 million sheep 1980: 170 million sheepnow … around 80 million sheep
Largest catchment in Australia, 40% of all agriculture : rice, cotton, produce, livestock
Underneath 20% of Australia … holds about 18,000 boreholes supplying farmers with water
World’s largest coral reef – can be seen from space. World Heritage listed, one of the world’s seven natural wonders.
A reef has been on or near this site for around 600,000 years. Current reef about 6000 to 8000 years old.Worth about $ 3billion
Under threat from agricultural runoff, hostile marine species – particularly crown of thorns starfish – but major threat is expansion of ports mainly for coal & gas export
sea surface temperature in the Great Barrier Reef has increased by about 0.4oC across last 30 yearsProjected by 2020 - 0.5°C warmer & by 2050 over 1°C warmer
Natural processes break down, ocean acidity rises
Australia elected conservative Govt in 2013, headed by Tony Abbott, on a pro-development, anti-refugee, anti-carbon ‘tax’ platform
Marks 2014 (Independent UK) asks, is this the most environmentally-hostile govt Australia has ever had? Cites examples
Election has not given Abbott govt control of Senate – ALP & LNP each hold less than 50% and have to deal with minor parties which include … This guy. Clive Palmer. Multi-millionaire, he says billionaire, mining magnate, Dinosaur Park Owner and Titanic builder.
Fran Molloy Adjunct Lecturer, Environmental Journalism NYU Sydney 157 Gloucester Rd, Sydney 2000