If there's one thing the reptiles do better than Gaza genocide denialism, or promoting a war with China by Xmas, or ignoring King Donald's mad imitation of George III, it's climate science denialism.
And this morning it's as if some malign being poked a stick into the hive mind and set off a frantic denialist buzzing.
The BBC's OS service (29 days left to listen), bless its concerned socks, responded by asking two young Australians, one on the west coast, the other on the east, about changes to their environment, and they responded with intelligent observations, though the notion that a few cans of food might be adequate prep for the kit bag seemed a little undercooked.
The pond has no idea, not even the foggiest notion, why the young things were worried.
After all, the federal government has the matter well in hand, and has promised to help gas the planet for the next seventy years, and with any luck the planet and the young things' canned food should be well and truly cooked in a few decades.
The reptiles responded to the notion of a good cooking with hysteria ...
Likely the one thing in all this is that the reptiles will steadfastly refuse to provide a link to the actual report, so best get that out of the way ...
And to be fair not all the reptiles were swept up in the hysteria....
Yes, over on the far right, Ancient Troy offered ...
The Liberal Party is on the brink of extinction and a new leader and policies won’t cut – it needs urgent reform to halt its catastrophic decline among key voter groups.
By Troy Bramston
Senior Writer
This might as easily been titled Reptiles of Oz in denial: rag’s identity crisis risks it going out of business
Ancient Troy was in the grip of a grave theological error ...
It needs to ignore culture wars on flags, welcome to country and “woke” school curricula, and focus on freedom, choice, enterprise, opportunity and security – bedrock Menzian values. Yet Liberals seem stuck in a time warp on many issues, not least climate change. Newspoll shows only 28 per cent of voters think reducing emissions should be slowed down; 62 per cent support current government actions or want them accelerated.
The danger is if the party drifts further to the far-right populist fringe. Liberals are planning to speak at this weekend’s CPAC Australia conference in Brisbane. So is xenophobic nativist Pauline Hanson. This is an antipodean MAGA wing. Most of the organisers and speakers are fervent Donald Trump supporters. One of their pitches to attendees is to “Make Australia Great Again!”.
Speaking of the barking mad, not so popular populist fringe, here we go, and don't expect the pond to argue the science.
All the pond can do is report on the hysteria, and list the contributors ...
A brown-out led the alleged "news" way with the cutely titled ...
Bowen to defy global retreat with emissions target to ‘make Australians proud’
Chris Bowen has vowed to pursue ambitious emissions cuts despite a global slowdown, as new report warns of catastrophic costs of climate inaction.
By Greg Brown
Brownie was backed by a truly dire uncredited animation featuring lightning and the embers of a bushfire... (an earlier version sans the fancy graphics was saved to the archive ...)
The pond just had to sample that graphic, featuring a seraphic polly, doing a Chuck impression...
Splendid stuff ... and as predicted and expected, the brown-out had no link to the report.
But for truly maximum density, below the brown-out came Lloydie of the Amazon, more of him anon, and the pastie Hastie, living the ancient Troy dream ...
Hastie threatens to quit if the Liberals don’t abandon net zero
The senior Liberal has declared he is prepared to sacrifice his frontbench position rather than support the Coalition’s emissions target.
By Bimini Plesser
How he loves to sulk and storm to save his young earth ...(c. 4004 BC if the pond remembers its Ussher correctly).
Over on the extreme far right, there was a veritable reptile parade ...
Saul delivered ...
If Labor fully believed its report, it would be committing more than a mere $12bn this decade to adaptation-related measures.
By Saul Kavonic
Sure it was just three minutes but remember, Saul Kavonic is head of energy research at MST Marquee, and an expert climate scientist to boot...
Also offering Pearls of Wisdom top of the far right reptile world ma early in the morning ...
Chris Bowen’s report is out of the discredited play book during the pandemic and in the lead-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, where risks were catastrophised to justify pre-cooked policy.
By David Pearl
Just a soupçon, a tasting for the flavour ...
While this political tactic pays short-term dividends, it eventually backfires. The question is not if, but when. If the federal Coalition is prepared to expose Bowen’s pea-and-thimble tricks, it might be sooner rather than later.
Splendid stuff, but the pond won't pretend.
The pond plays favourites, the pond has its pets and and panders to them, and Lloydie of the Amazon and a good groaning will always win the day.
The others can be visited in the archive if that's a correspondent's choice, but it's time for the real pearls of wisdom.
First came Lloydie of the Amazon, light on length in his usual way, and saved to the archive without the stunning graphics ...
The header: Eye-watering bill for the ages is the only reliable weather forecast, Authorities do not have a good track record with near-term forecasts and the jury is out on whether it will be any better for the longer term.
The caption for the catastrophist image: Repeat flooding in low-lying areas is among the most immediate concerns of climate change. Picture: Jeremy Piper
It was only a three minute read, so the reptiles said, but that's all the time Lloydie of the Amazon has ever needed to establish his tremendous climate science credentials ...
On the first, time ultimately puts even the most alarming predictions to the test. Authorities do not have a good track record with near-term forecasts and the jury is out on whether it will be any better for the longer term.
Take this year’s snow forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology, which predicted a “third consecutive poor snow season”. The reality is that, according to international snow reports, Perisher in NSW “continues to post the world’s deepest base and most terrain open, with packed snow across nearly all terrain”.
Last year, farmers who de-stocked in response to forecasts of a dry season missed a bumper year.
Many will argue it is much easier to say what will happen in 100 years than the next 100 days. But long-range predictions made at the height of the millennium drought that city dams would never fill again led to billions of dollars being wasted on desalination plants.
The immediate major concern today is of the damage to housing and infrastructure from repeated flooding in low-lying areas.
For some reason, the reptiles decided to work against Lloydie's calm, measured denialism by inserting alarmist and hysterical graphics ...
This is not to say there is nothing to worry about long into the future when it comes to a changing climate.
Ha, fooled ya, that was just the set-up line for the usual billy goat butt, and what a butt it was ... as Lloydie went all the way with King Donald's denialist minions ...
A report by the US Department of Energy concluded that “carbon dioxide-induced warming appears to be less damaging economically than commonly believed, and that aggressive mitigation strategies could be more harmful than beneficial”.
The report is controversial because it was produced by scientists outside of the consensus. But it said US policy actions were expected to have undetectably small direct impacts on the global climate and any effects would emerge only with long delays.
The DOE report found that “claims of increased frequency or intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and droughts are not supported by US historical data”.
In Australia, Monday’s government report by “world-leading experts and scientists from the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Geoscience Australia” found “Australians will continue to experience climate hazards – like floods, cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and bushfires – more frequently, more severely and often at the same time.”
Dammit, again the reptiles interrupted Lloydie with another bout of fear-mongering, needlessly alarmist graphics ...
Northwestern Australia will see six extreme heatwave days, not four, at 1.5C, and could see 26 days at 3C.
"Highlights"?
What a josher he is, what a comical chap, what a fabulous fellow, but Lloydie of the Amazon loves the big heat ...
Lloydie lives in an Amazonian space, so couldn't hear the screaming ...
The release of the latest document is timed to underpin the government’s announcement of a 2035 emissions reduction target. The plan is to “adapt to climate change impacts by cutting emissions whilst creating jobs and economic growth”.
At this point the reptiles introduced another alarmist image, Wild weather during Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March caused widespread erosion on Gold Coast beaches. Picture: AFP
Damn you reptiles, enough already, listen to the voice of climate science denialist reason ...
Welcoming the report, environment group WWF said “a strong, science-based 2035 climate target, along with stopping approvals for coal and gas, and halting deforestation, will give these ecosystems a fighting chance”.
It says the report is “a warning bell that Australia must change course and get on track to hold warming to safer levels”.
Even if there is precision in the forecasts of what the future holds, there is no magic dial to adjust for a perfect temperature or weather. And even if there was, Chris Bowen does not have his fingers on it.
Splendid stuff, only Lloydie of the Amazon could conflate and confuse climate and the weather in such a quintessential reptile way ...
The pond has only one regret ...
Lloydie of the Amazon's inspirational, truly inspired piece, provided not the slightest excuse to catch up on the immortal Rowe, back in business in a big way, with peacocks and Sussssan all the go ...
Mystified by that Jaml joke? Don't be ...remember the beefy boofhead from down Goulburn way is always a winner.
Never mind, all that was only by way of a tease, the delay before the big reveal, Dame Groan and her fabulous groaning ...
Now the pond doesn't want to be labelled deceptive, and must at the start note that, like Lloydie of the Amazon, Dame Groan could only produce a three minute groaning, but heck, just like Lloydie that's more than enough for the Groaner to thoroughly refute all that climate science nonsense and hysteria ...
The header: Doom-and-gloom climate report is pure speculation, The real purpose of this report and its timing is to soften us all up for the announcement of the government’s emissions reduction target for 2035.
The caption for that comical illustration of a comical polly, Australian Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen addresses a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday. Picture: Lukas Coch / AAP
Maestro, please let the trumpets sound, as Dame Groan starts off with an incredibly witty remark, showing that Oscar Wilde might learn a thing or two from her ...
I’m relying on our committed Climate Change and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, to achieve these things.
But hang on. Can Australia do anything on its own to alter our climate trends given that the science tells us that it is global emissions that matter? Do other countries really give a toss what we get up to in terms of emissions reduction targets and the like? After all, our emissions only amount to just over 1 per cent of total global emissions.
The big players – China, India and the US – are not targeting net zero by 2050. It is estimated that 60-70 per cent of emissions are not covered by any policy constraints.
For economic and strategic reasons, China boasts about its investment in green energy and the like, all the time opening new coal-fired plants.
The world’s confected outrage about climate change has been an economic boon to China as it essentially corners the market in solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. It’s a great business model – for China.
Cue an interruption, starring that expert dog botherer and climate science denialist, trawling for a Nat, and finding one, Nationals MP Anne Webster roasts Labor’s “botched rollout” of their renewables plan. “It is absolutely plain that Victorian Labor and the federal Labor government have completely botched the rollout of renewables,” Ms Webster told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “There are other answers that they are not looking at. “Chris Bowen has made it his goal in life to make Australia all renewable.”
Indeed, indeed, there are other answers, and surely some day the pond will be proud of its SMR in the backyard ...
Meanwhile, on with the groaning, with the old biddy resolutely unafraid ...
I had to ask Spotify to play some scary music while I read the summary. It paints a picture of climate gloom and doom, particularly under the 3C scenario. Too hot, too cold, too many extreme weather events, rising sea levels, falling property prices – you know the sort of thing. Bung in some terrifying numbers and surely ordinary folk will take some notice.
Evidently, we are to believe that more than 1.5 million people will be affected by rising sea levels and coastal flooding. Gosh, those harbourside mansions in Sydney may become affordable, although there are no signs of that occurring yet.
Weirdly, some of the numbers look very small. For instance, damage-related losses of up to $770bn are estimated under a worst-case scenario by 2100. Given that current GDP is over $2.6 trillion, that number looks entirely manageable.
As for the hilarious estimate that “losses in Australian property values are estimated to increase to $611bn by 2050 and could increase to $770bn by 2090”, these numbers are just made up; they are included for dramatic effect. But, hey, this could be an answer to our affordable housing problem.
Let’s be clear here – this type of report is pure speculation. The underlying modelling is highly contestable and there is little doubt that the authors have constantly opted for the worst-case scenarios in putting the report together.
Of course, climate change can have both benefits and costs. If you live in Moscow, rising temperatures sound like a blessing.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is much more circumspect about the relationship between the frequency of extreme weather events and rising temperatures. There’s no evidence of appropriate scientific humility in our local menacing report.
If there is one, clear message, it’s the need for investment in adaptation. If the climate is to emerge as predicted, then there is a case for spending money to make sure we can cope.
There won’t be any need for hundreds of thousands of people to die of heat stroke because we should have affordable and reliable energy powering effective airconditioning.
We should make sure that people don’t build houses in flood-prone areas or in the likely paths of bushfires.
Effective flood levies and Bob’s your uncle in terms of preventing inundation – just ask the Dutch.
Hmm, some have asked the Dutch, and the Nederlanders seem a mite troubled, a tad concerned ...
From 2050 onward, things will get more complicated. A recent study by researchers from the Delta Programme and Deltares, including Diermanse, looks at how an increase in the annual rise of sea levels could overtax constructions like storm barriers and pumping stations, shortening their functional life spans and making other approaches necessary. The study also looks at the different strategic choices the Netherlands may need to make in the long term. For instance, it might be necessary to retreat from rising waters by moving people, assets, and specific activities to higher ground. Another option is to accommodate the water by elevating buildings on piles and mounds and refocusing agriculture on salt-tolerant crops or fish farming. Yet another idea is to continue fortifying the existing coastline with more dikes, seawalls and dunes, or even to create an entirely new, much higher coastline.
“I have faith that we can do a lot, but I also see that it’s going to be a huge challenge if, indeed, this sea level rise will accelerate like it happens in a more pessimistic scenario,” Diermanse says. He adds the ability to keep the Netherlands safe and livable will depend on how fast sea levels rise and how we respond to it.
“Some people may say, ‘Oh, we just need to raise our levees,’” he says. “But that’s easier said than done. It’s much more budget, you need the capacity of people doing that.”
He says there will also need to be political acceptance of such measures, which may be challenging to obtain within the short time frames necessary to carry out adequate protections. “On the other hand,” he says, “once people see, ‘OK, the sea level is really rising, it’s a really big problem,’ then typically things can move faster.”
It’s not only rising sea levels that can cause issues for the Netherlands — it’s the combination of the rising sea and the rivers, says Peter Ouwendijk, member of the executive board of the Delfland Water Authority, the council responsible for water management in the municipality of Delft.
“There is a difference in water level between the rivers and the sea, and as the sea level is rising, then it’s getting difficult for us to get rid of the water,” Ouwendijk tells me over the phone. “We do the same thing we are doing on the seaside; we build river dikes in the Netherlands as well.”
Bloemen of the Delta Programme says extreme weather events brought on by climate change, such as drought and intense precipitation, will pose another challenge. The Netherlands recently experienced both: a severe drought in the summer of 2022 and an extraordinary rain event in the summer of 2021 that dumped up to 90 millimeters (3.5 in) of precipitation in the country’s Limburg province, causing widespread flooding.
“Coming to agreements with water management authorities in upstream countries like Germany, Belgium, and France on how much water can be reserved for times of too little water and what maximum river discharges [should be] in times of too much water is part of this challenge,” Bloemen says. “Intensifying precipitation events and increasing temperatures (causing urban flooding and heat stress in urban areas) require adequate measures already now.”
When asked if it’s possible for the Netherlands to fully prepare for the future, Bloemen borrowed words from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr: “Prediction is difficult, especially if it’s about the future.”
Pshaw, Nederlanders, you just need to ask a lizard Oz reptile, they can read the future, and what a future it's going to be ...
Dammit, the pond regrets asking the Dutch, what a bunch of worry warts and tossers, as if climate change was real.
Best stick with Dame Groan, and the last few words in her reassuring groaning ...
Bear in mind the current legislated target of a 42 per cent decline by 2030 from the 2005 level is very unlikely to be met.
But what the heck, let’s think big – maybe in the range of 60-70 per cent.
We’re unlikely to meet that – if we did, the costs would be immense – but we will all be able to feel worthy, if poorer, when we fail.
Greg Brown: "...400 per cent increase in heat-related mortality in Sydney...". Amongst many other dire consequences. But then, as our Reptile folks continually point out, we can do whatever we like and spend as much as we can manage, but it will have just about zero effect on the climate.
ReplyDeleteTrouble is that the majority of humanity are ignorant, or uninterested or powerless, or all three and that applies to the vast majority of the 8+ billion homo saps saps that we, and the entirety of nature and the environment, share the planet with.
The thing is that if the climate change were occurring at the pace of a natural change, it would take quite a long time giving living creatures time to adjust and mutate and whatever. But no, we're doing it at the pace of the events leading to the Permian-Triassic Great Dying. The only hope is that we manage to kill a lot of ourselves before it gets that far - after all, if there was only 1 billion of us, and not 8+, there might just be enough time for re-acclimatisation.
"How he loves to sulk and storm to save his young earth...". That's our Hastie; but then he does have to try to save the planet, because this isn't the first time that his ever-loving God has destroyed the place and all that live on it - something about a great flood sometime, I think. Though I suppose that lots of fish just naturally survived the Flood since I can't recall any of them ever being taken aboard the Ark.
ReplyDeleteLloydie: "Authorities do not have a good track record with near-term forecasts...". The Reptiles, and particularly Lloydie, will just never grasp the difference between weather and climate, will they.
ReplyDeleteDP.... "And this morning it's as if some malign being poked a stick into the hive mind and set off a frantic denialist buzzing."
ReplyDelete"When a Crow feels sick, it goes to an Ant nest and deliberately disturbs it. The Ants get angry and start climbing on the Crow.
"But the Crow doesn't move. It stays still with its
wings open. The Ants then spray formic acid on the Crow. This acid helps remove…"... the stench of newscorpse.
Smart crows.