Heatwaves and the Winter Solstice

As the Winter Solstice came and went and our wood heater consumed the last of 2020’s firewood, the US mid-west was  sweltering through an early summer heatwave. Australia is, hopefully, at least five months away from its first hot spell. But in the US mid-west states, which have been in the grip of the worst drought in 20 years, the mercury is rising. Cue Martha and the Vandellas.. Canadian relatives had already been posting photos…

Continue reading

Rainwater Tanks Save The Day

Yay – the dams are full, creeks and gullies are running; rainwater tanks are spilling over. Everyone’s happy. Our three rainwater tanks are full, as you might expect of a region where two water-starved dams reached 100% capacity in just two days. Not so long ago (2018-2019), things were dire on the Southern Downs, with Warwick’s Leslie Dam at 7.66% (it’s now 28%), and the Granite Belt’s Storm King Dam virtually empty (now 100%). In…

Continue reading

Clean Jobs Plan Tackles Climate Change

Three big topics of 2021 – Covid-19, Climate Change and Job Creation, are inextricably linked to the future of the planet. The official climate report is in for 2020, with global temperatures tying with 2016 as the hottest ever recorded. Although Australians sweltered through an early November heatwave, the summer so far has not been too hard to endure.(except SA,Victoria and NSW are likely to see temperatures exceeding 40C this weekend. Ed The data cited…

Continue reading

Bushfires, Methane and the Climate Crisis

You’d think those with an interest in promoting the climate crisis would have made more of James Murdoch quitting the family media business. While there is much to be wary of when considering Murdoch Jnr’s defection, he did make it crystal clear that he and his wife Kathryn disagreed with News Corp’s climate agenda. The first real signs of family business friction emerged last year. James accused News Corp of promoting climate denialism during its…

Continue reading