I’m sitting in my high-rise apartment in Brisbane on a nice warm day – not too hot, normal air quality – looking over the Brisbane River at Hamilton Reach.
There’s not too much to worry about, except that tomorrow is my first day back at work for the year, but then I read the article about the Brumbies relocating their training base to Newcastle because of the parlous air quality in the nation’s capital.
Some have described it as Armaggedon and twice as bad as New Delhi, and that is saying something for those who have ever been there. Rated as hazardous, the conditions in Canberra have produced readings between 150 and 175 on Sunday.
(Alejandro Pagni/AFP/Getty Images)
But the club says it’s still too early to determine whether the same dangers could see the Brumbies have to shift a trial against the Rebels in Albury on January 23, or even their first Super Rugby game in Canberra on January 31 against the Reds. One idea is to swap home games with the Reds, as Suncorp Stadium is not currently booked for that day. That makes sense to me.
Being a former Canberran, with family still down there, I am quite concerned for their health and safety. I have other friends down on the South Coast whose homes are in danger. I feel for each and every one of them, and I take my hat off to the volunteers, the firefighters, the military and particularly my old mob, the Navy.
Stay safe, people – cancel or swap games if you have to. At the end of the day, it’s sport – and as much as we need to provide entertainment, we also need to look after the welfare of players and fans.
Because of the twin fact that we are in this horrendous bushfire season and that the Super Rugby season starts so early this year, coaches and administrators are in uncharted waters, so it looks like we are going to learn a whole new lot of protocols around air quality and player safety.
Here’s a thought – administrators could also look at doubleheaders. They could, say, play a Brumbies game before or after a Rebels game in Melbourne and split the gate, or shift some games to regional stadiums in safer areas. Exceptional circumstances sometimes call for exceptional solutions.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Your confusing the word elite with the fact that a lot of people watching. the most pointed example is the pay for view on watching Gallen vs Hall which was like celebrity dancing with the stars. Australia is as advanced in hockey, basketball and baseball as in NRL AFL, and rugby.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The aboriginal main hunting method was using bushfires and then ambushing the animals fleeing them so the aboriginals would have done more hazard reduction than anyone has done since, then the new arrivals would have gathered the dry wood near them, and beat around the bush. The current generation moves very little and not in the bush, they dont gather dry wood, we have a huge population moving around in a small area. On flat land they can use machinery and do more labour than ever before but when the terrain is difficult, the vechile riding button pushing generation is of little use. More accidental fires would have been lit in the past as well, a lot more in the winter when people needed to keep warm the arsonists the problem these days is they seem to wait for the media to tell them its dangerous before they start lighting them. Anyway isn;t your job spending disinformation about AFl rego numbers and disinformation is a big industry in Australia.
aussikiwi
Guest
The Murdoch propaganda machine is in overdrive, trying to pretend the main factor in these bushfires is anything but climate change. Fuel loads, arsonists, anything they can seize onto, regardless of the facts. The timber industry is on the bandwagon with the idea that logging in national parks is the answer and would prevent or mitigate future fires. Just in case anyone is confused by this simplistic, self interested propaganda: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/scientists-warn-forest-industry-plan-could-increase-fire-risk-20200109-p53q4u.html?fbclid=IwAR3nKv6Khsu6Pg5kHa3ZfiDMdaLaPeBpBX9YxjadJsQeZtdHMjdpXKIv-5I
AndyS
Guest
I would have thought it might be more, but then something similar must have once been true of the Murray. By that measure then, it must now be an optimally utilised resource. The ecosystem up there is entirely adapted to those water flows - the flooding, the flushing, the soil movements, etc, etc. You change that, it will have an impact...maybe big, maybe small, arguably acceptable, or possibly not, but definitely inevitable and difficult to predict. And that is before the impacts associated with moving that water around in large quantities over long distances. It is easy to forget the simple size of this country, but supplying Southern Australia from the north would be like deciding to supply water to Madrid by piping it from Denmark or Norway. Not impossible by any means, but far, far easier said than done. And if applied to desalination instead, the money and power involved would deliver multiples of the water quantity. The water in the north is a great resource and opportunity for that region, although hopefully they would manage the impacts better than we have historically. Moving it long distances is just a wet dream though.
gatesy
Roar Guru
My last word on the subject - 90% of the rainfall that falls on Northern Australia goes straight back into the ocean - don't take my word for it - there are heaps of CSIRO studies gathering dust on govt bookshelves.
AndyS
Guest
Agree on the Murray basin, and the Snowy has been no less hammered by unintended consequences of good intentions. Nothing comes for nothing and it is a truism of any water project; if you want water somewhere that it isn't, it will have to come from somewhere that it is. If that is a land-based source, that place will have needed it too. The only alternative is make your own from seawater, with different impacts.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
The current government's management of water has seemingly been horrendous. But there's also other mismanagement such as paying $80M for flood water rights for a property in QLD. That's essentially paying for them to remove levees, so that if it floods, that water overflows rather than being kept. So they've paid $80M for water that didn't exist. Then it turns out they never even checked to see if the levees were removed - so they didn't ensure what was paid for was done. Then it turns out the property itself was sold for around $120M - not much more than the cost of the non-existent water. And then it turns out the company that owned it, Angus Taylor MP was a former director.
gatesy
Roar Guru
We've talked a lot about climate change and climate denial, but there is another important form of denial, that has hardly been touched on. Water denial. I saw a doco the other day about the way in which the governments have allowed to big, wealthy irrigators to use dams that were funded with taxpayer money, to steal virtually all the water from the Murray-Darling basis and literally dry up huge chunks of that river system. The land needs that water, we need that water, and we need pipelines to be built and lots of other water infrastructure projects. The doco also canvassed the thousands of fracking wells around the country that are harming (if not destroying) the aquifers where water is traditionally trapped. It seems to me that principle of remediation should apply to any project - if you take something from somewhere, you either put it back later on or do something useful somewhere else - user pays - however, that takes governments with balls.
PeterK
Roar Guru
Marcus - China is easily the world largest producer of cement. It is not for export but local use. This is very carbon emission intensive, it is not related to first world consumption and chinese manufacture. So even in manufacture you need to look deeper. Also note China is building and planning to build a lot of coal fired power stations. Perhaps people should stop being apologists for how much avoidable emissions China is responsible for especially increasing emissions. There is no reason to build new coal powered stations anymore and the per capita etc is zero excuse going forward to build more of these.
piru
Roar Rookie
Peter - yes I had a look at these after reading Andy's comments - I hadn't come across it before. Appreciate the additional info and it puts my assertion in perspective. Globally I think as long as we keep playing the blame game we're on a hiding to nothing, it's really time for some international leadership from the key players. I won't be holding my breath just yet - though if nothing is done we soon may all be.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Thats a lot of pressure Peter. I hope that you remain safe. I’ve got a few friends on the coast. One escaped with his young son 90 minutes before his caravan was incinerated. Feeling lucky but shaken.
Richie
Roar Rookie
Yeah well I do have to agree K Leg!
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Water security is the big elephant in the room, imo Richie.
PeterK
Roar Guru
BTW - I do hope they explore better means of fuel reduction than just burning it. Burning means more carbon emissions, pollution, and even worse all the wildlife deaths. Some animals may have been made extinct in the area as it is.
PeterK
Roar Guru
sure a 5 fold increase in funding doesn't mean 5 times more burning BUT it does mean a lot more than currently. Since that is what is needed to proceed with right now, it is very logical that then the period just preceding this vast increase required more than what actually happened. If so much more is require Jan 2020 then a lot more was required through 2019. Perhaps the lack of impact of past fuel reduction was precisely because not anywhere enough was done hence the 5 fold increase in funding required. After all Bradstock did not believe the efficacy of burning or that it did not have an impact then he wouldn't porpose such an incease in funding would he? He would propose for the funding to be channeled elsewhere.
PeterK
Roar Guru
piru - sure they are leaders in renewable energy, that could also have to do with they are the most populated, what would the per capita figures on that be then? There is no excuse though for China currently building 6 new coal fire plants with 2 more in the planning. They are also building more than 300 coal fired plants outside China. People should be honest about it and stop defending China re coal fired power. Sure attack Aust for it but also attack China. https://www.npr.org/2019/04/29/716347646/why-is-china-placing-a-global-bet-on-coal https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-china-coal/china-plans-226-gw-of-new-coal-power-projects-environmental-groups-idUSKBN1W40HS India is also planning to build a lot of coal power plants. http://news.trust.org/item/20190731133649-zkxm6/
Republican
Guest
.......really feel for you PK. I fled the Cobargo storm at 4.30am on the 31st, with family via Bermagui to Narooma evacuation centre. We managed to locate fuel then pick a window of escape up the brown Mtn 3 days later, to suffocating Canberra, which has been smothered by smoke of varying degree since Nov. This cycle seems to be unbreakable. Rain is what is required to put pay to this fiery leviathan but alas, there is none on the horizon, of any significance. Stay strong.
Republican
Guest
Canberra, has not experienced a 'rain' episode in the true sense of the word, since about Sept 2018. What passes for rain these days is butterfly piss, so 2 or 3 ml which results in great excitement but false hope.
AndyS
Guest
Which doesn't change the fact that the Indians themselves are tipping their coal fired power to increase by 22% in the next three years alone, and the Chinese are currently building ~120GW of additional coal stations ( more than 50% of all new capacity). Also ignores that of the other half, it is the Chinese themselves investing in about 300 new plants in countries that all see carbon reduction targets as other people's problems. They lead on both fronts, because they are growing that fast and have that far to go. So all they need to do is to decide not to and slow right down.
piru
Roar Rookie
I’m not sure that’s true Andy, both India and China are world leaders in renewable energy generation. I know it’s wiki, but some interesting reading here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_China