The Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, yesterday announced that $7.6 million will be provided over four years to evaluate the effectiveness of cloud seeding in increasing rainfall in Queensland, Australia.
Mr Beattie said beginning next year (2007) a pilot project would be conducted in south-east Queensland using new “warm cloud” seeding processes.
The pilot project will be in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology and the United States National Centre for Atmospheric Research.
Interestingly China already has a $50 million a year weather-modification program with the aim of increasing rainfall by up to 15 percent.
Indeed when the Chinese government’s 11th Five Year Plan kicked off earlier this year it included provision for the creation of 48 billion to 60 billion cubic meters of artificial rain annually. How many gigalitres is that?
So what about techno-fixes for global warming too? We could fertilize the ocean making more algae which sequester carbon? We could put sulfur particles into the stratosphere to cool the earth?
I can hear an environmental fundamentalists shout, "DON'T MESS with the climate!" But we already have?
Re Cloud seeding in Queensland, Just how effective will it be at increasing runoff, while there might be some largely unproven and probably small increases in rainfall this has to translate into runoff. High potential evaporation and water use by trees/grass will surely severly limit additional runoff delivered to dams, might be good for greening the pastures for the beef industry though. Sounds a bit like pissing tax payers money against the wall, or perhaps in someone's pocket, are we back to the "special projects" of the "Joe era".
By the way, I support testing of cloud seeding technology. It's the other ideas that have me worried. I hope you're only joking.
Jen says:
"So what about techno-fixes for global warming too? We could fertilize the ocean making more algae which sequester carbon? We could put sulfur particles into the stratosphere to cool the earth?
I can hear an environmental fundamentalists shout, "DON'T MESS with the climate!" But we already have?"
Queensland has a problem with beetles in its cane fields. I believe a certain South American toad may be the answer we have all been looking for.
GM's fine by me. We can always hoodwink the Greens if the people are hungry. So let's stop drought subsidies now.
It's not carving chunks that's the issue Siddles - it's the background - "This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the Canadian North that have been in place for many thousands of years. We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead," Vincent said Thursday."
Relax Sid - we're just getting started. Long way to go yet.
Maybe it was Tassy?
Well, as a farmer, we have a very good risk assessment and management strategy in place, to cope with all known risks, includ. drought. And Aust. farmers are far less subsidised then most. It would be interesting to see large scale food imports from overseas come in ,as a large proportion would be GM! Would this overtax the resources of Greenpeace? Would they have enough troops to chain themselves to all the dock gates around the nation?
So the large slab of ice north of Canada means we are 'crossing the climate threshold'. the tipping point etc etc. Last year, we heard similar alarmist reports, when a huge chunk broke off in Antarctia. 115 k's long it was claimed to be a world record. Wrong, the largest measured chunk was 200 km long by 60 km wide. That was in 1956...pre AGW. And then of course, during Captain Cook's antarctic voyage in 1772, he sailed round a huge iceberg, estimated to be about half the size of Tasmania. That's larger then 11,000 football fields.
Barrie Hunt is kept busy at his local Liberals branch in Frankston but he finds time to reassure us on the drought. He speaks from old climate models.
His Liberal Monarchist loyalties haven't faded.
Guernsey-born Mr Hunt, a research scientist with a government agency, explains: "When you come to Australia, you feel at home. The laws are very similar, they speak the same language and they drive on the correct side of the road"
Hell will freeze over before Mr Hunt abandons the monarchy. He is upset by the sniping at the Queen in Australia's press, particularly Rupert Murdoch's pro-republican newspapers. Mr Murdoch spoke out yesterday in favour of a "yes" vote, warning that Australia would suffer a "loss of self-respect" if it rejected a republic.
Mr Hunt has a novel response to the argument that Australia needs its own head of state. "Why don't we start our own monarchy?" he says, straight- faced. "We could invite Princess Anne over. That would keep the feminists happy. And I believe her eldest son is a terrific young man, so there would be no problem with the succession."
techno-fix that
Oh and cherry pick this one !
December 29, 2006
TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- A giant ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields has snapped free from Canada's Arctic, scientists said.
The mass of ice broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 800 kilometers (497 miles) south of the North Pole, but no one was present to see it in Canada's remote north.
Scientists using satellite images later noticed that it became a newly formed ice island in just an hour and left a trail of icy boulders floating in its wake.
Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions, traveled to the newly formed ice island and could not believe what he saw.
"This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the Canadian North that have been in place for many thousands of years. We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead," Vincent said Thursday.
In 10 years of working in the region he has never seen such a dramatic loss of sea ice, he said.
The collapse was so powerful that earthquake monitors 250 kilometers (155 miles) away picked up tremors from it.
goes on .. .. ..
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/12/29/canada.arctic.ap/index.html