"Absolute panic" amid Australia bushfires

[Black Red Devil]

13 hours ago, godnodog said:

I think theses "fires" are not real, its just a plot from the australian government to divert attentions from "insert subject here" case, fires arent real its just propaganda from "insert group name" lobby.

 

Ps. : I feel no compassion towards Australia on environment issues, so if the Aussie govern. Is a c.c. denier, I denie the existences of fires.

I agree the Aussie Govt should be doing more but as Duck said we're only the cause of 1% of gas emissions.  On a global scale, we're probably suffering because of the damage caused in China, US, India, Russia and the EU.

[Golden Duck]

12 minutes ago, Black Red Devil said:

 

In truth we are the second highest in the world per capita after Saudi Arabia.

http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/co2-emissions-by-country/   

Overall we don't cause much damage compared to the top 4, China, US, India and Russia but being the second worst in the world per capita doesn't look good for any Govt.

Yeah... with 0.3 per cent if the world's population we're expected to cut emissions by 70 per cent.  I don't see that as feasible yet. 

[Habitat]

1 hour ago, Black Red Devil said:

I agree the Aussie Govt should be doing more but as Duck said we're only the cause of 1% of gas emissions.  On a global scale, we're probably suffering because of the damage caused in China, US, India, Russia and the EU.

I we stop exporting thermal coal, then of course other countries with large reserves will fill the gap, and likely with more polluting, lower-grade product.

[godnodog]

I'm sticking with my opinion, I do not feel sympathy for the australian government, and truth be told I feel no sympathy at all for my country as well, call me a radical if you want but governments have been told what needs to be done for over 30years and done little to nothing and I call that radicalism.

Portugal governments thru out the years have allowed native portuguese fire resistent flora species to be replaced with "viable" commercial species that didnt exist here, care to guess what species? Eucaliptus, which sucks too much water and burns easy,a species imported from Australia (not blaming Aust at all over this)

2 years ago 66 people died in an out of control fire in northern Portugal, they were surrounded by eucaliptus forests, the country was and is still going through a  severe draught. 

My government does not denies climate change, and it boasts as being active in making the country going cleaner/greener, but its all lies, no laws have been implemented to regulate eucaliptus plantation, overfishing is still going on, they want to licence oil exploration off coast of Algarve (our main turistic destination), they want to create an open air lithium explorstion despite multiple environment studies against this.

Dont confuse me not having no sympathy with austraalian governemtn with not being sympathetic with the aussie people, I always separate both entiites.

Just saw minutes ago floods in northern Portugal, where it rained more in 2 days than the entire last winter a year ago, part of these floods were cause because of burned ground due to forest fires, the ground absorbs less water, it may seems counter intuitive but it does absorbs less.

Last week ended in Spain the worldwide nations convention on climate change mitigation measures, reporters here stated the 3 main culprids on not reaching an agreement were the USA and Brasil (2 massive morons as presidents) and Australia. Brasil has the excuse of being too extensive and poor, whats the US and Australia excuse? Oh China, India and others are making coal plants etc, well then I guess the US and Aust are 3rd world nations now? 

The EU is the same crap, all talk no action.

And dont come and talk that this stuff doesnt happen overnight, its been over 30 years...30YEARS.

I tried last week for my parents to buy an electric car, nooo, they went and go a fricking diesel car, not even an hybrid.

I am no tree hugger, but like someone here stated that changes need to be economic viable, well then put a goodamn paper money and some coins in your plate and try to eat it, wave your credit card to the air it will clean the air, throw coins into the sea it will aborb dissolved  CO2 and thus reduce acidification.

I use my low powered 150cc scooter daily, even in heavy rain, drive slowly on average, bellow 30mph/50kmh, to save gas and reduce emissions, I wish I could afford an electric bike. 

Condemn me all you want, humanity is just plain stupid

This what happens when people think opinions = science research. Sure scientists may get it wrong but they support their claims on studies, how many politicians support their views on ideological or religious or even beliefs, well I belief the planet is a a pyramid.

Edited December 21, 2019 by godnodog

[tmcom]

5 hours ago, Black Red Devil said:

 

In truth we are the second highest in the world per capita after Saudi Arabia.

http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/co2-emissions-by-country/   

Overall we don't cause much damage compared to the top 4, China, US, India and Russia but being the second worst in the world per capita doesn't look good for any Govt.

True, but a out of control fire, on a 40d day, with strong winds,...CO2 in the air makes absolutely no difference to that.

5 hours ago, Black Red Devil said:

I agree the Aussie Govt should be doing more but as Duck said we're only the cause of 1% of gas emissions.  On a global scale, we're probably suffering because of the damage caused in China, US, India, Russia and the EU.

No we are not suffering, the ones that refuse all evidence, and continue to buy this UN See Spot Run saga are the ones suffering.

4 hours ago, Habitat said:

I we stop exporting thermal coal, then of course other countries with large reserves will fill the gap, and likely with more polluting, lower-grade product.

If we do that then China will use their dirty alternative, and our budget will suffer, or in other words bad idea, (Green idea).

PS and investment in Wind/Solar in AU, is down this year by 60%, or Corporations seeing the "poor" body count, due to not being able to heat their homes in winter, and the fact that it does not work, 24/7, are the reasons for its decline. AU, UK, and the US, have all knocked the Greens down and labor, or in other words the 100% renewable Unicorn ideal, that murders the poor and destroys economies, doesn't matter how much some get off of bird slicers, and keep up the brainwashing regime with the latest CC joke data, if their is no wind or sun it is rubbish! PPS batterys, or spend a economy crippling 1 trillion for a few hours power, is also not the answer, coal and sweeping the faithful aside is the answer.

Edited December 21, 2019 by tmcom

[Black Red Devil]

4 hours ago, Habitat said:

I we stop exporting thermal coal, then of course other countries with large reserves will fill the gap, and likely with more polluting, lower-grade product.

Coal is the past, Nuclear Plants, Hydroelectricity and other renewable energy sources are the future.  But I agree, it has to be a world effort.  It's pointless if Australia stops exporting and other countries continue using coal plants for their energy.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

18 hours ago, godnodog said:

I think theses "fires" are not real, its just a plot from the australian government to divert attentions from "insert subject here" case, fires arent real its just propaganda from "insert group name" lobby.

 

Ps. : I feel no compassion towards Australia on environment issues, so if the Aussie govern. Is a c.c. denier, I denie the existences of fires.

I think a hearty “wrack off” is in order.

[Black Red Devil]

9 minutes ago, tmcom said:

True, but a out of control fire, on a 40d day, with strong winds,...CO2 in the air makes absolutely no difference to that.

 

Greenhouse gases get blown away do they?    Where do they go?  Let me guess, up in the stratosphere.

11 minutes ago, tmcom said:

No we are not suffering, the ones that refuse all evidence, and continue to buy this UN See Spot Run saga are the ones suffering.

I

Why would scientists lie about it?  Except for Trump most Govts in the world have committed to the Paris Agreement.  The problem is they aren't doing enough.  Then again, you even distrust the UN, which represents most countries in the world.  So in other words Scientists are lying, Govts are untrustworthy on CC and all they want to do is grab your two penny's worth.  Bright

[Essan]

It's possible that this is already affecting some people .....

Is carbon dioxide making it harder to think straight?


Meanwhile, more on subject, this is worth a read, explaining why claims prior heatwaves were worse may be disingenuous:

435 people died in an 1896 heatwave — but scientists say the extreme heat events of today are still hotter

[Habitat]

Funny the way no-one ever seems to mention that in drought, it doesn't rain, and when it doesn't rain, you  don't get the rainy days that lower the temperatures. I have yet to see a heatwave where it poured rain constantly. It certainly looks to me that temperatures are rising, but so is the hysteria that even attributes cold snaps  to "climate change".

[Golden Duck]

3 hours ago, tmcom said:

...

PS and investment in Wind/Solar in AU, is down this year by 60%, or Corporations seeing the "poor" body count, due to not being able to heat their homes in winter, and the fact that it does not work, 24/7, are the reasons for its decline. AU, UK, and the US, have all knocked the Greens down and labor, or in other words the 100% renewable Unicorn ideal, that murders the poor and destroys economies, doesn't matter how much some get off of bird slicers, and keep up the brainwashing regime with the latest CC joke data, if their is no wind or sun it is rubbish! PPS batterys, or spend a economy crippling 1 trillion for a few hours power, is also not the answer, coal and sweeping the faithful aside is the answer.

Who needs to warm their house in winter?

[jypsijemini]

Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what my government is doing (besides media censorship and allowing chemical spraying through the skies) and really, I don't waste my time trying to find out.

It's not a matter of ignorance. I'm risking being virtually lynched by saying this, but I honestly believe we're going the same way as the US when it comes to our influence over our own government. I refuse to vote properly. I only go to the ballots because I was stupid enough to think I had to register when I became an adult. I pay my taxes to avoid being prosecuted. But on every ballot paper, I scrawl "FECK THE SYSTEM" all over it. I know what this achieves - nothing. A political enthusiast friend of mine said they just throw my vote towards the winner of my state anyway, or something along those lines.

I don't see the point any more. They don't listen to us when we protest. They don't listen to us when we sign petitions. They'll keep making their decisions amongst themselves and choosing whichever party leader they want, changing our prime minister on us at the drop of a hat.

They don't teach us about politics in school so we're all growing up having no idea what each party is about and why our vote matters at all. They make promises that they don't uphold. We have to rely on personal research, TV ads and newspapers to tell us what we need to know - and usually that information is limited anyway. Most of it is just propaganda and "this is why you shouldn't vote for the other guy" anyway.

Most days, our clear Australian skies are streaked with chem-trails. They're not con-trails. I haven't seen a plane leave a condensation trail like that - ever. Whatever that shiiit is that they're spraying through our skies in long lines lingers for half a day and spreads right out - and the planes are not commercial. They're huge. And they usually happen right before a heat wave. Very quick searches through google on Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SRI) show that it's said to be a form of weather manipulation that is meant to help with (preventing) global warming. It certainly seems to have an effect, as it happens right before or at the beginning of an Australian heat wave, and usually the heat wave is chased up by an unusually and unnaturally cold day or two right afterwards.

However, we have no idea what is actually being sprayed into the skies - which wouldn't just simply hover up there as a sort of layer. It's been widely and regularly suggested that the trails contain Barium, Strontium and Aluminium. Others just say it's sulphur dioxide and that it's no different to the gases released during a volcanic eruption. Personally, I'm worried. I don't like that this isn't common knowledge. I don't like that Australian citizens and residents have no say in whether this happens or not. We were never asked. It affects all of us. Even if it's completely harmless, we have no one telling us what they're doing and why. The bureau of meteorology (and weather) for Australia seemingly offers no information on the subject.

I know we've come a slow but long way in the past twenty years in some areas. We're practically plastic bag-less and moving deeper into abandoning them completely. It's meaningless when we consume more water from plastic bottles than the tap and we're still lumping all our rubbish in 'reusable' plastic bags and dumping them all in a big old garbage bag anyway. We're using more recycled plastics, our newspapers are printed on recycled paper and we've abandoned plastic beer packaging. Every home has a recyclable bin that's significantly larger than the rubbish bin, as well as a green compost bin. These are all provided by the council. Most homes are going solar and there's a lot of wind farms right across the country. It's not enough, but we're finally catching up and trying, at least.

We're an avid car culture and the size and vastness of our country means it'll take an incredibly long time and a lot of pushing to get people to accept electric cars. They're going to have to develop something that equates to a loud V8 engine with a lot of guts that runs off batteries to get your everyday Aussie to even consider converting. Our country only survives because of trucks. And it's too bloody hot to even consider a vehicle that has no air conditioning. There's no way you're going to convince the majority of Australians to ride a metal bicycle with a black seat to work on a 40 degree day.

But there's got to be a better, more sustainable way and we make too many excuses while refusing to look for solutions.

Edited December 21, 2019 by jypsijemini

[tmcom]

4 hours ago, Black Red Devil said:

Greenhouse gases get blown away do they?    Where do they go?  Let me guess, up in the stratosphere.

Why would scientists lie about it?  Except for Trump most Govts in the world have committed to the Paris Agreement.  The problem is they aren't doing enough.  Then again, you even distrust the UN, which represents most countries in the world.  So in other words Scientists are lying, Govts are untrustworthy on CC and all they want to do is grab your two penny's worth.  Bright

Why, gov, grants, keeping a lifestyle, not losing the lifestyle, stupid, plenty of reasons!

The UN, they have predicted the end of the world for 50 years, and haven't got one thing right yet, so according to you l should trust them, lol.

[Eldorado]

Update:

"Tens of thousands of holidaymakers and residents were yesterday urged to evacuate a popular tourist spot in southeast Australia as a heatwave sweeping through the region threatened to escalate bushfires.

"In a televised appeal, Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp called on about 30,000 people vacationing around Lakes Entrance in the East Gippsland region to leave immediately."

Full report at the Taipei Times: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2019/12/30/2003728413

At the Straits Times: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/mass-evacuations-urged-as-wildfires-threaten-south-east-australia

And at Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-29/mass-evacuations-urged-as-wildfires-threaten-southeast-australia

Edited December 29, 2019 by Eldorado

[Eldorado]

Fires worsen as every Australian state hits 40C

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50938504

New Year fireowrks display to go ahead.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/29/sydney-new-year-fireworks-go-ahead-despite-australian-bushfire/

 

[Golden Duck]

Saw a picture from a friend of a friend, of Malacoota.

Check out what it looks like here...

https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/victoria-bushfire-update-tourists-told-to-flee-into-water-at-mallacoota-c-627072

 

[Habitat]

This is just apocalyptic, mid-day sky turning to night with a red glow, this is unprecedented in the widespread scale of it.

[stevewinn]

Its a disaster.

 

 

[tmcom]

11 hours ago, Habitat said:

This is just apocalyptic, mid-day sky turning to night with a red glow, this is unprecedented in the widespread scale of it.

Unprecedented, lol, no just a lot of a....holes lighting fires around Sydney.

We had a dust storm on the farm l once lived on, in the 70's which was worse than Sydney, so it was more unprecedented than now.

About the only thing that is unprecedented is the scale of BS, a search engine is producing!

Quote

“People have lost homes, people have died, firefighters have been killed defending communities. As the driest continent on earth we’re at the forefront of accelerating global warming.

“What is happening is a wake up call for our governments to start making effective contributions to reducing global emissions.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/sydney-nye-organisers-dismiss-grassroots-campaign-to-say-no-to-fireworks/news-story/a321421657f93ec6ab1e86224549e2b7

Another nutter, but she at least let it go ahead, which l thoroughly enjoyed, let the nutcases b**** and moan, they seem to enjoy negative stuff so.

[stevewinn]

did they have the new year celebrations in Sydney, fireworks etc..?

[Golden Duck]

48 minutes ago, tmcom said:

Unprecedented, lol, no just a lot of a....holes lighting fires around Sydney.

And they reached Malacoota?

48 minutes ago, tmcom said:

We had a dust storm on the farm l once lived on, in the 70's which was worse than Sydney, so it was more unprecedented than now.

How was it worse?  Are you going to grace us with your picture analysis again?

 

[+susieice]

The pictures I'm seeing are beyond heartbreaking. My thoughts and love go out to the people of Australia who are suffering through this. The Australian government is mobilizing the military. I know the US has sent some help, but not enough. They better answer this call.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50956318

[Peter B]

7 hours ago, tmcom said:

Unprecedented, lol, no just a lot of a....holes lighting fires around Sydney.

We had a dust storm on the farm l once lived on, in the 70's which was worse than Sydney, so it was more unprecedented than now.

About the only thing that is unprecedented is the scale of BS, a search engine is producing!

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/sydney-nye-organisers-dismiss-grassroots-campaign-to-say-no-to-fireworks/news-story/a321421657f93ec6ab1e86224549e2b7

Another nutter, but she at least let it go ahead, which l thoroughly enjoyed, let the nutcases b**** and moan, they seem to enjoy negative stuff so.

Well, good for you that you enjoyed it. I hope you donated generously.

But as for unprecedented, I'm going to go with Yes. When rainforests burns which have never been seen to burn before, when multiple fires remain uncontrolled for more than a month, when multiple fires have each burned out a greater amount of land than the area of Greater Sydney (go to rfs.nsw.gov.au and look at the fire map), when here in Canberra we've had three continuous weeks of smoke haze from neighbouring fires...yeah, I'm going to go with Yes, it's unprecedented.

[Peter B]

5 hours ago, susieice said:

The pictures I'm seeing are beyond heartbreaking. My thoughts and love go out to the people of Australia who are suffering through this. The Australian government is mobilizing the military. I know the US has sent some help, but not enough. They better answer this call.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50956318

For me it's not so much the scariness as the ongoing, lingering uncertainty.

We'll be heading to Sydney shortly. Normally that's a three hour 300 km drive up the freeway. But there's a 40 km section of freeway south-west of Sydney where the speed limit has been reduced from 110 km/h to 40 km/h due to smoke from nearby fires, and closer to Sydney there's a warning that the freeway could be closed altogether. That means a detour through Wollongong along a lower quality road with one of the steepest and windiest sections of road in Australia (Macquarie Pass - check it out on Google Maps if you like). Put that all together and suddenly we're looking at a five hour journey, longer if the roads are crowded. And that's not taking into account any other fires that may start between now and when we head out.

Then, while we're in Sydney will be the issue of what we do if Something Happens in Canberra while we're away. Do we all stay in Sydney, all head back, or do I head back and leave the family in Sydney? What about if roads get closed while we're on the way back? Back in September 2018 when we were driving back from Sydney to Canberra the freeway was shut for several hours due to a grass fire, forcing us to take a detour down the coast highway and up the Clyde Mountain (areas which have been burned out in the last month), adding a couple of hundred kilometres and several hours to our journey.

In the meantime we've had a smoke haze sitting over Canberra for the last 3 weeks. It's varied from barely visible to seriously thick. At the moment the smoke is so thick visibility is maybe 200 metres, and the air quality is way over hazardous. The smoke has been from the fires down the South Coast of New South Wales which have been burning for the last month. Last night, the smoke from yesterday's flare-up around Bateman's Bay blew in at around 8pm, and that's why it's so thick at the moment. I read that the haze could last until mid-next week at least.

Since Boxing Day every maximum has been has been 35 degrees C (95 F) or above, and this is forecast to continue until Sunday (including 42 C or 108 F on Saturday), then back up on Tuesday.

Also, about 100 kilometres west of Canberra is a large fire which has burned out about 100 square kilometres in two days. The shape of the fire is a long narrow strip running north-south. If the winds turn westerly (prevailing winds in this part of the world), then that fire could easily spread towards Canberra with a 50 kilometre front unless it's contained, but at the moment it's rated as "Out of Control".

Last night there was a fire in farm land about 10 kilometres from our house, but fortunately it was contained within a few hours. Where we live is only a few hundred metres from bushland, like many suburbs in Canberra...

Friends of ours own a small farm down on the South Coast that supplies vegies to supermarkets. Other friends of ours own a small farm in the coastal hinterland. We don't know how safe either family is - power and mobile phone coverage is out for at least two days in the region.

And all the while the fires burning on the South Coast and around Sydney have been burning for more than a month and are still Out of Control, with no indication of when they'll be brought under control.

Like I say, ongoing, lingering uncertainty.

[Duke Wellington]

6 hours ago, susieice said:

The pictures I'm seeing are beyond heartbreaking. My thoughts and love go out to the people of Australia who are suffering through this. The Australian government is mobilizing the military. I know the US has sent some help, but not enough. They better answer this call.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50956318

I just looked at the BBC map and their whole country (the size of Europe) is on fire.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50952253

I have never seen anything like it.