| Australia's farmers hot and bothered... |
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| Written by Tim Longhurst | |
| Saturday, 21 April 2007 | |
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A United Nations report on climate change warns the Murray-Darling river system faces huge drops in water levels, and crops in parts of Australia will struggle. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change paints a grim picture of the country's future as the political debate about whether Australia's drought is the result of global warming hots up. Australia’s Prime Minister, self described ‘climate realist’ John Howard is quickly becoming a minority, still disputing links between global warming and the drought. Speaking at a conference in Melbourne, scientist Dr Tim Flannery voiced what an increasing number of global citizens are experiencing, that Australia's drought is part of a worldwide dry spell that threatens the planet's future. "What we now know is happening around the world is that rainfall may be declining in some areas - in the order of 10 to 15 to 20 per cent over a 50 year period. We've seen that in south-east Australia," Dr Flannery said. "In other places, it is increasing. "Regardless of whether the rainfall is increasing or decreasing, less of the rain that falls is finding its way, by and large, into the rivers, lakes and swamps. "The soils are hotter than ever before and the plants are more stressed than ever before. "So if you can imagine 10 rain drops falling on to some soil, 50 years ago nine of them might have reached the river or the dam ... but today in parts of Australia we have seen a 10 to 15 per cent decline in rainfall and there's a 60 to 70 per cent decline in run-off, so the water that's available for us to use is declining because of this warming trend." Dr Flannery said that evidence of the drying trend is already available. In Australia, every capital city except Darwin is on a varying level of water restrictions. The UN climate report predicts that by 2050, the Murray-Darling flow could decline by one quarter. A lead author of the Australasian chapter, Dr Jim Salinger, says Australia is very much a drying continent. "Large areas are likely to have less rainfall and soil moisture. This has dramatic implications for crop, pastoral and grazier land production over much of southern and eastern Australia," he said. "The cropping areas will be reduced. There is a potential for large drops. It is all the crops that are grown in the riverine areas and the Murray-Darling basin," he said. If Australia is forced to import more food from overseas, the country cedes more of its sovereignty in that it becomes less self-sufficient and more reliant on its neighbours. Food importation leaves Australians buying products that may not meet Australia’s environmental or health standards – for example, genetically modified foods. |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 22 April 2007 ) |
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