Move 'em North
Those crafty farmers definitely have their thinking hats on:
The Australian Democrats say a wholesale effort to move farmers to the country's north would undo the country's record on meeting Kyoto targets for carbon emissions.
The Democrats deputy leader Andrew Bartlett says the idea is gaining ground in the Coalition as a response to global warming and the drought in southern states.
Senator Bartlett says the Federal Government is making much of Australia meeting its Kyoto target of 108 per cent of 1990's net carbon emissions.
But he says any large scale farming in the tropics would require massive land clearing and tree felling.
"The only reason Australia has even come close to its Kyoto targets for emissions has been because of the significant drop in land clearing in Queensland," he said.
Right. That won't cost a bloody fortune. And what happens when a cyclone comes along? The banal "poor Aussie battler" image lives on despite our economic prosperity. And speaking of global warming, Rupert Murdoch says we need an emissions treaty which, unlike the Kyoto Protocol, includes vast emitters such as India and China:
Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch said today he has had a change of heart on climate change and now believes global action is needed - although not in the form of the US-opposed Kyoto Protocol.
"I have to admit that, until recently, I was somewhat wary of the warming debate. I believe it is now our responsibility to take the lead on this issue," Murdoch told a conference in Tokyo.
"Some of the presumptions about extreme weather, whether it be hurricanes or drought, may seem far-fetched. What is certain is that temperatures have been rising and that we are not entirely sure of the consequences," he said.
Murdoch said he now believed a treaty was needed but not necessarily the Kyoto Protocol, negotiated in 1997 in Japan's ancient capital for which it is named.
"The Kyoto Protocol was found to be faulted in many ways and certainly impossible to accept in some countries and unlikely to be followed in some of the largest emerging countries. But we certainly have to have rules," he said.
Murdoch joins the environmentally-minded ranks of Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Richard Branson. Sure the hippies will still hate him for his loyal support of Howard and Bush.
The Australian Democrats say a wholesale effort to move farmers to the country's north would undo the country's record on meeting Kyoto targets for carbon emissions.
The Democrats deputy leader Andrew Bartlett says the idea is gaining ground in the Coalition as a response to global warming and the drought in southern states.
Senator Bartlett says the Federal Government is making much of Australia meeting its Kyoto target of 108 per cent of 1990's net carbon emissions.
But he says any large scale farming in the tropics would require massive land clearing and tree felling.
"The only reason Australia has even come close to its Kyoto targets for emissions has been because of the significant drop in land clearing in Queensland," he said.
Right. That won't cost a bloody fortune. And what happens when a cyclone comes along? The banal "poor Aussie battler" image lives on despite our economic prosperity. And speaking of global warming, Rupert Murdoch says we need an emissions treaty which, unlike the Kyoto Protocol, includes vast emitters such as India and China:
Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch said today he has had a change of heart on climate change and now believes global action is needed - although not in the form of the US-opposed Kyoto Protocol.
"I have to admit that, until recently, I was somewhat wary of the warming debate. I believe it is now our responsibility to take the lead on this issue," Murdoch told a conference in Tokyo.
"Some of the presumptions about extreme weather, whether it be hurricanes or drought, may seem far-fetched. What is certain is that temperatures have been rising and that we are not entirely sure of the consequences," he said.
Murdoch said he now believed a treaty was needed but not necessarily the Kyoto Protocol, negotiated in 1997 in Japan's ancient capital for which it is named.
"The Kyoto Protocol was found to be faulted in many ways and certainly impossible to accept in some countries and unlikely to be followed in some of the largest emerging countries. But we certainly have to have rules," he said.
Murdoch joins the environmentally-minded ranks of Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Richard Branson. Sure the hippies will still hate him for his loyal support of Howard and Bush.
posted by Engels at 8:48 am
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