Bushfires 2019/2020!

[Pushka]

Canberra News

Australia Post has suspended deliveries in Canberra

most reserves, outdoor pools closed

coughington Green, Questacon and National Museum will decide on a daily basis whether to open or not

Canberra Hospital has confirmed some MRI machines not working due to smoke.

edit - tried to buy some masks today as Mr FMs one for spray painting is a bit clunky to use when watering the petunias etc, but not one to be found

apparently the only ones that work are from Bunnings as they actually seal off the face. Plus men with facial hair can’t usually get a good enough seal. Adelaide was blanketed yesterday with the Kangaroo Island fires but clear today. And it’s only just January - in SA we have the riskiest months still to come.

 

[drron]

Finally heard from our friend down the coast, she and her cats are ok, said she never ever wants to go through that again.....


meanwhile some interesting bits and pieces here, just keep scrolling down.

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

even J.H. Is getting stuck in scomo.

Scott Morrison, here's what you should do in 2020 to show leadership

You have been cut a lot of electoral slack so far, but being prime minister is not just about being there.

www.smh.com.au

Think I'll have to start supporting The Chaser!

Nation deeply worried as it finds itself nostalgic for leadership of Tony Abbott

"The man ate a raw onion on TV and was still somehow a better leader"

chaser.com.au

Now if the J.H was John howard I would have thought it significant.
John Hewson having a go at Scomo is nothing new.Makes a lot out of renewables just like the Turnbull family.

 

[Flying mermaid]

apparently the only ones that work are from Bunnings as they actually seal off the face. Plus men with facial hair can’t usually get a good enough seal. Adelaide was blanketed yesterday with the Kangaroo Island fires but clear today. And it’s only just January - in SA we have the riskiest months still to come.

We were trying to get the Bunnings ones but shelves were bare. Mr FMs painting mask is very good - but it’s a fairly large contraption and seems a bit of an overkill but I will have to continue using it for watering and putting out bird seed.

edit - generally Feb and March are our riskiest months as well so a long way to go.

 

[Denali]

Going through the airport the other day, saw face masks and they seem to be to better quality/filter kind.

I sent hubby outside with lettuce and chopped tomato for the birds and made him fill up the water bath yesterday. Food was gone in mins, the birds didnt even fight among themselves for once (we have various types).

 

[Flying mermaid]

Going through the airport the other day, saw face masks and they seem to be to better quality/filter kind.

I sent hubby outside with lettuce and chopped tomato for the birds and made him fill up the water bath yesterday. Food was gone in mins, the birds didnt even fight among themselves for once (we have various types).

We generally don’t put food out in summer, just winter but the birds seem to be struggling. We are putting water bowls on the ground with a stick from the ground into the bowl - according to the neighbourhood email it provides water for other critters.

 

[mrsterryn]

We have had filters given to us from the fire Hazmat truck when the factory at the end of our street exploded. Must find them so we have them available

 

[Cossie]

Now if the J.H was John howard I would have thought it significant.
John Hewson having a go at Scomo is nothing new.Makes a lot out of renewables just like the Turnbull family.

I don't have a problem with that, like you I've changed my opinion on nuclear energy, never thought I would, but it must be considered, even though countries in Europe are shutting them down. Just don't let the Russians build it.

He does however make a few good points in regard to agriculture, in particular, quote, "shallow or no tilling".

We drove up the Barton highway last November and there was a strong wind blowing, a farmer was ploughing the already dry soil and I swear it was like driving through a dust storm.

Rather than exporting our waste, why isn't being treated and being turned into biofuels as per several posts above? OK. so other countries don't want our cough now, companies here won't invest because they won't make enough money in the short term (I'm guessing), perhaps we need something like a future fund to be investing in stuff that the private sector doesn't seem to want to as it's not profitable.

quote, "Why do we accept that some 80 per cent of our exports of canola to Europe are used to manufacture biofuels there rather than here? "

Why do we still run cattle/sheep on very marginal land, I understand the process of doing burns and the like in areas when needed to reduce fuel, but why the wholesale clearing of land? I can remember reading somewhere that since the Europeans have been in Australia, we have lost some 40% of our vegetation.

Little left to lose: deforestation and forest degradation in Australia since European colonization

AbstractAims. Australia is among one of the world’s wealthiest nations; yet, its relatively small human population (22.5 million) has been responsible for

academic.oup.com

Land clearing

In the ACF publication Australian Land Clearing: A Global Perspective, Australia's annual land clearing rate rose nearly 7% from 2000 to 2001. It is estimated that Australia cleared 564,800 hectares of bushland and native vegetation during 2000, making it the sixth worst land-clearing rate on earth.

www.bushheritage.org.au

This seems to be a sensible thing to be doing. Reforesting the world: the Australian farmer with 240m trees to his name

IMO most of us are far too shortsighted, profit and greed rule the country, screw everyone else as long as I'm having a good time, that's all that matters.


As I have said many times before, I'm a doom and gloom merchant, I don't think there is anything good about a lot of the human race, and to be honest the sooner the world goes back to nature without humans, the better.

ducks for cover,

 

[RooFlyer]

even J.H. Is getting stuck in scomo.

"Even" John Hewson? Que? A bitter ex Lib Leader, a constant critic and I think he might have advocated voting Labor last election (or maybe in certain electorates)? He was a member of the GetUp board for a while.

 

[Cossie]

I put j.h. instead of John Hewson, cos I thought that some of you would poo poo it, without even considering going and having a read.

 

[tgh]

I didn't think a bit of fire smoke was particularly hazardous, if it was I should be long dead...

 

[tgh]

I don't think there is anything good about a lot of the human race, and to be honest the sooner the world goes back to nature without humans, the better

Arguably it's not if but when, as we are consuming the planets resources just a tad quicker than they can be replentished

 

[Flying mermaid]

I didn't think a bit of fire smoke was particularly hazardous, if it was I should be long dead...

Air quality health advice

Information about air quality in the ACT, including health advice related to specific pollutants that are measured.

www.health.act.gov.au

Certain groups are more at risk than others e.g pregnant women. The levels we are getting is equivalent to smoking 30 cigarettes a day and that certainly killed my father.

I think it’s also a function of how long it goes on for - a day or so no problems, a month or so more of a problem. It probably also depends on genetic susceptibility and underlying problems like asthma etc. Dr Fm ended up on ventolin as she does have a slight asthmatic vulnerability. Mr FM and I have had scratchy throats and at its worst I get a tight feeling in my chest. I have lost track of how long we have had hazardous levels now - maybe a month.

Clearly people survive in it - look at Delhi and others where millions live and they are not dying, but I prefer to limit exposure given how it makes me feel, so I will continue to wear my ridiculous contraption when out in the garden for an extended period

 

[Cossie]

We generally don’t put food out in summer, just winter but the birds seem to be struggling. We are putting water bowls on the ground with a stick from the ground into the bowl - according to the neighbourhood email it provides water for other critters.

We have been putting out buckets of water for the roos, the bird baths are kept topped up and we bought 8 kgs of cheap carrots at woolies today, some of which have been put out for the roos. The f & v markets are open again, so we'll wander off there tomorrow to see what we can get in bulk. There is a lot of roo poo on our lawn, so they must be coming up to nibble what little grass there is.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We have been putting out buckets of water for the roos, the bird baths are kept topped up and we bought 8 kgs of cheap carrots at woolies today, some of which have been put out for the roos. The f & v markets are open again, so we'll wander off there tomorrow to see what we can get in bulk. There is a lot of roo poo on our lawn, so they must be coming up to nibble what little grass there is.

I hadn’t thought of carrots - we might do that as well - they are looking pretty desperate and there isn’t any grass left in the reserve or the park next to us.

 

[Cossie]

I hadn’t thought of carrots - we might do that as well - they are looking pretty desperate and there isn’t any grass left in the reserve or the park next to us.

Erika read that they will eat sweet potato, broccoli, apples and lettuce. When we put out sweet potato a while ago, it was all eaten, maybe by possums, don't know.

 

[Flying mermaid]

This is what the reserve was looking like a month ago

 

[Quickstatus]

Kozzie National Park is evacuating including Thredbo.

Last fire in that region 2003. Not much fuel reduction in spite of royal commission.
this time resources are stretched likely currently overwhelmed so people in area have been told not to expect help like last time.
The fire apps are woefully inaccurate:

Digital Earth Australia Hotspots

Digital Earth Australia Hotspots is a national bushfire monitoring system that provides timely information about hotspots to emergency service managers and critical infrastructure providers across Australia.

hotspots.dea.ga.gov.au

https://www.arcgis.com/home

Http://rfs.nsw.gov.au

 

[drron]

Cossie when I was young I also was a doom and gloom sort of fellow when it came to the human race and the way we treated the planet.I swallowed the line of the coming ice age and the Club of Rome and the great starvation.
With age comes experience and I learnt that you could make a difference.I was one of the founding members of the Sydney Uni Conservation society and it's 4th President in 1969.We campaigned on many issues and most had satisfactory results.The major campaign in the late 60s was hazard reduction burns in national Parks.The evidence from the CSIRO Bushfire Research Unit was compelling.We won that fight.
We campaigned on saving the Myall Lakes with a few of us joining Milo dunphy in the Myal Lakes committee.It became a National park
Another campaign was coughle Creek in Newcastle which was a dead waterway due to Pasminco.They were forced to make quite a few environmental changes through the 70s probably helping to bring on their bankruptcy in 2000.

But the Conservation movement changed.It really was apolitical in the 60s with lefties and ultra conservatives backing the same causes.That changed in the late 70s and 80s and I along with many others severed my ties with the movement.Not that I can be compared to Dr.Patrick Moore in any way-he was one of the founders of Greenpeace- we followed a similiar pathway to disillusionment.

Dr Truth

What do you call an environmentalist who supports logging and condemns the protests against genetically modified foods? Some green activists label Patrick Moore a liar. Others compare him to Judas. Strong words to describe a founding

www.newscientist.com

The problem really is that nothing is really as simple as it sounds.For example not all flora that has gone extinct or threatened is due to land clearing.An interest of mine is terrestial orchids.These need regular fire to survive.This is not happening as much as it should.The last colony of a particular species of greenhoods was near Wynyard,Tasmania.I did get to see the last few but it is now believed to be extinct.
Also in Tasmania one endangered bird species is the Tasmanian wedge tailed eagle.It is believed to have dropped by 50% since the introduction of wind turbines.

Also I think biofuel is a great con.It's use has increased CO2 emissions particularly in Indonesia with palm oil.

Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet. Instead It Unleashed a Catastrophe. (Published 2018)

A decade ago, the U.S. mandated the use of vegetable oil in biofuels, leading to industrial-scale deforestation — and a huge spike in carbon emissions.

www.nytimes.com

Sorry to be long winded but Cossie thanks.This is the type of discussion that is needed.

 

[tgh]

Facebook ss feed says that the Muse was diverted to Malacoota.
It turned around and headed back but authorities decided they were not ready and she has resumed course for sidderney.
The ship would have been quite a sight hanging offshore in the gloom and loading evacuees for a ride in 6* luxury….

 

[love_the_life]

This is what tgh links = from a woman on board the Silver Muse cruise ship =


"At 11am today we are approaching Mallacoota, where over 4000 people were evacuated to the beach due to terrible bushfires, most are still waiting to rescued by Australian Navy, this is the view we have from Silver Muse enroute to Sydney...Our Captain advises we cannot change our route as this smoke now reaches over the Tasman to New Zealand "

View attachment 201984
View attachment 201985

Glad we disembarked in Melbourne.