12/01/2020

(AU) An 'Absolutely Seminal Moment': Climate Change Opinion Shifting In Face Of Fires

Sydney Morning Herald - Deborah Snow

Social researcher Rebecca Huntley began to detect a shift in the way Australians felt about their summers while working with focus groups about 18 months ago.
“There was a sense that summer was not necessarily a relaxing time for Australians anymore,” she says. “They were worried about crazy temperatures, high electricity prices, about whether Nan was going to put on the aircon ... A lot of people were recognising that Australian summers were not just the old summers of icy poles and running around outside and novels any more, and the community were kind of getting it, even though no one had a premonition it would get this bad.”


Residents are now able to return to Wingello after the fire threat passed.

With this season’s ravening fires yet to be defeated, the immediate focus is on battling the blazes and providing aid and comfort to those who’ve lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods.
But waiting in the wings, it seems, is an opportunity for a more consensus-driven national conversation about climate change once the worst of the crisis has passed.
Veteran pollster John Utting believes the fires have been an “absolutely seminal moment. The conversation in the past has been kind of abstract, with [the case for stronger action] very much in in the hands of the virtue signallers; people felt they were being lectured. But now, everyone is breathing the proof. There is an incredible amount of evidence that the issue is beginning to bite … people are worried about a huge loss of lifestyle, and the impact on how they want to live and what they like about this country.”
Huntley agrees, though she’s not yet as certain as Utting that this season’s fires are a complete game-changer. “People can respond to traumatic events in very different ways, and some can push back and say, ‘I don't want you to play politics with this disaster’,” she says.
Fires hit Lithgow in December. Credit: Dean Sewell
But she senses a change in public opinion. This summer’s infernos have meant images of what climate change looks like are no longer so remote for many Australians.
“Polar bears on icebergs, Pacific islands sinking, ice floes melting … it hasn’t felt like that hit at the heart of our identity or way of life. Now, tragically, critically, we have really compelling images in our minds of what climate change might mean for us.”
Huntley is midway through writing a book on the emotional response to climate change and says her research points to “a very high level of concern about climate. All the surveys show that, and whether you believe in surveys or not, they can’t all be wrong all the time”.
“This is an opportunity for leaders to show that actually we are all in this together, that this affects us all ... It’s an opportunity to drop some of the really destructive partisan politics on climate and step forward.”
Bushfire smoke chokes Sydney in December. Credit: James Brickwood
Groups that Coalition governments generally listen to – the Business Council of Australia, the insurance sector, parts of the finance industry, investors, even some religious communities – have been “talking about the importance and opportunity of transitioning to a low-carbon economy for some time”, she says.
The federal government could bring those interests together and ask what should be put on the table in terms of climate action, she suggests. “You would not need one environmental group there and you could still have a meaningful conversation about what needs to be done.”
The CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change, Emma Herd, also sees an opportunity to “put aside the [toxic partisan debate] of the last decade and to face forward”.
“It is simply not good enough for Australia to say we are only 1.3 per cent of global emissions and there is nothing [more] we need to do. Because we will feel the effects if nothing happens. We really need to be increasing our international engagement to ensure that the world is acting because we are on the front line of the worst effects.”
Properties destroyed in Conjola Park in the New Year's Eve fires. Credit: James Brickwood
Former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop stepped into the ring this week, telling Nine's Today show that “we should be showing leadership on the issue of climate change ... If a country like Australia fails to show leadership, you can hardly blame other nations for not likewise showing leadership in this area.”
The remarks were squarely aimed at the federal government’s widely panned performance at the recent Madrid climate summit, where Australia was seen as cheating on targets for emission reductions by insisting on using “carry-over” carbon credits from the much earlier Kyoto treaty.
Experts overwhelmingly believe Canberra’s targets are too low in the face of the mounting evidence that climate change effects are accelerating. Yet, thus far, the Prime Minister has baulked at revising those targets upwards, telling ABC radio again on Friday morning that “our policies don’t pursue reckless job-destroying and economy-destroying targets”.


A selection of the most powerful images and footage captured of the bushfires that started in 2019 by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age photographers.

State Liberal leaders are proving far more willing to embark on stronger climate policies than their federal colleagues.
Last month, NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean caused a stir by telling a Sydney summit that climate change was a factor in the severity of the fires and “exactly what the scientists have warned us would happen” – a comment that only looked brave because so many of his federal colleagues had run a mile from acknowledging the link.
He told the Herald this week: “For a long time climate change has been something theoretical, but what we are seeing now is tangible impacts on people, property and the environment. We are actually seeing it played out. My view is that the public wants meaningful action in a way that won’t destroy the economy.”
The state government has a stated goal of net zero emissions by 2050, though little has been on offer so far to show how that will be achieved. Concrete measures to make good on the promise are likely to be unveiled soon. By 2030, the goal is a 35 per cent emissions cut on 2005 levels, though that’s yet to become official.
NSW Minister for Energy and Environment, Matt Kean. Credit: AAP
“Business is already doing it, not because they are greenies but because they are capitalists,” Kean says. “Markets are shifting, community sentiment is shifting, and it’s time government caught up.”
He says he’s excited by what he saw in international markets at the end of last year, particularly in the Netherlands where they were “overbuilding” wind generation capacity to produce “green” hydrogen. “They will export [it] to the rest of Europe and will make a killing out of it,” he says.
“I think we can win the climate wars by lowering our carbon emissions in a way that creates jobs, sees investment coming into our country and underwrites our prosperity for future generations.”
Kean was unimpressed by federal Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly’s starring turn on British TV this week, when the hapless MP was lashed by high-profile host Piers Morgan after arguing that the savage fires were not linked to climate change but to high fuel loads and the drought.
“Craig Kelly is as qualified to talk about atmospheric physics as he is to perform brain surgery,” Kean says.
Liberal governments in South Australia and Tasmania are also pinning high economic hopes on renewable energy. South Australia produces just over 50 per cent renewable energy now and aims to up that to between 75 and 85 per cent in five years’ time.
That leap in capacity will be aided by a planned new interconnector to link SA’s riverlands and the Riverina in NSW, smoothing out peaks and troughs between the two different weather systems.
Steve Marshall’s government is also investing in closed-loop hydro, large-scale battery storage and subsidies for home batteries to make the most of a high uptake of rooftop solar. The state’s goal is 100 per cent renewable energy by the 2030s, if not 2030 itself.
“We have a good working relationship with Canberra, but the attitude here is we are running our own race,” a senior source says. “Tasmania is in a similar place … we are both talking about how we can become net exporters of renewables.”
Even the cautious Business Council of Australia is chafing at the bit. It made no secret of its dismay when the then Turnbull government ditched the proposed National Energy Guarantee, which would have enshrined lowering emissions as one of the key aims of a national energy plan.
The group was wary of harnessing the fires to pressure for policy change this week. However, a spokesman said: “The climate science tells us that extreme weather events and natural disasters will become more frequent and intense. So we need a credible climate change and energy policy that puts us on a transition path to net zero emissions by 2050.”
John Utting believes the fires have changed the electoral calculus. “Someone running for office now has to be on the right side of the issue at the next election,” he says. “Governments are reluctant to lead opinion, they only respond when community sentiment overwhelmingly backs a change. But look what happened with same-sex marriage - I think it will happen on climate change.”

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(AU) The Coalition's Toxic Denial Of Climate Change Is Destroying Us

Independent Australia - Lyn Bender

It is our Government's denial of climate change that has brought so much destruction upon our country
Cartoon by Mark David / @MDavidCartoons
Lyn Bender
Lyn Bender is a practicing psychologist and a freelance writer.
She was the Manager of Lifeline Melbourne and spent six weeks as a psychologist contracted to Woomera Detention Centre. After which, she advocated for refugees.
Lyn was arrested at the Save the Franklin River Blockade.
AS AUSTRALIA MOURNS enormous losses and experiences the dread and terror of this ferocious summer, the culture of denial attempts to assert itself in this new landscape. The professional denialists continue to promote their toxic climate lies.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is their klutz villain who seeks to deceive, as the climate reveals its fury.
Perhaps this is the time that we may at last defeat toxic denial.
The great 19th-century novelist Charles Dickens clearly saw the injustices and failings of his time, yet managed to portray stories that offered elements of hope and restitution.
‘It was the best of times and the worst of times, when evil acts were perpetrated but the essential goodness of mankind prevailed.’
~ Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Dickens, like many literary greats, understood and portrayed the inner workings of the human mind.
In Great Expectations, Miss Havisham denied that her lover had defrauded and rejected her and sought to hold back time at the point of hearing of his desertion. Stopping the clocks, she continued to preside over her crumbling wedding feast, long after the rats had devoured the wedding cake. In the end, she was consumed by fire.
“Have-a-sham” could be a metaphor for our times. May we present our sham leader.
Scott Morrison does not seem to accept the science of the times. If he understands the science, then his response to our climate crisis is homicidal.
Morrison wants to continue to consummate his love affair with coal, even though it means the destruction of our nation and the planet.
In May 2019, enough voters were in denial of the urgency of climate change to facilitate the election of a climate-denying government. Morrison showed us what he was made of when he fondled a lump of coal in the House of Representatives. It had been lacquered into cleanliness.
“Don't be afraid, don't be scared,”  he mocked. “This is coal,” Morrison bellowed. He laughed as his sycophantic frontbenchers handled the gleaming black lump with glee.
Optimism is not the same as pretending in the face of evidence to the contrary that all will be well. That kind of optimism exists in the realm of charlatans or fools.
The fire season began early in spring. As the conflagrations spread and worsened, Scott Morrison maintained his have-a-sham position. He enacted a show of optimism for the future. No worries, mate — he went on a secretive holiday to Hawaii. He returned after intense media scrutiny and criticism but went to the beach. Although this seemed rather staged.
Morrison did not look the part of a carefree family beachgoer. He trudged on Bronte Beach sands like a businessman on a lunch break, who has removed his shirt and trousers for an hour. Or, in his case, for a photo shoot. He declared bizarrely that under-resourced exhausted volunteer firefighters were as happy as Larry, doing their thing. They were where they wanted to be, crowed the fireproof Prime Minister.
He was enjoying the cricket and so should the volunteer firefighters and the people. Morrison had a Happy New Year’s Eve party and photoshoot with the cricket team. “Life, as usual, continues” was the message. As people died, houses burned, ecosystems and millions of native animals are incinerated, the Prime Minister was having his summer of beach and cricket. It was like a crass tourism promotion.
This is the bizarre game that the denialist team has been playing for many years. As the planet hotted up and the science grew more insistent of our need to act, the denial team was in full throat. As the birds were silenced, the usual suspects became more shrill in their squawking.
There are too many to name but here are a few of those seated at the have-a-sham table:
The Government is staffed by saboteurs of climate action. Minister for Energy and Emissions Reductions Angus Taylor has voiced opposition to the UN climate processes. Australia, along with Brazil and Saudi Arabia, pushed for a very disappointing outcome at the recent Climate Summit at Madrid. Angus's performance was slammed by climate scientist Will Steffen.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is awaiting divine intervention for the drought, rather than government intervention. As the former Drought Envoy, Joyce failed to produce a single report.
You may know them by their words and deeds, the diners at the table of rot and corruption.
Here are some of the deeds of the climate action destructors:
  1. Tony Abbott wins the election on a promise to axe the tax legislated by the ALP with Green support. It had been reducing emissions;
  2. CSIRO faced budget cuts in 2016 with the loss of climate scientist jobs. Scott Morrison was treasurer from 21 September 2016 until 26 August 2018;
  3. $3 million spent on redundancies by CSIRO and some science positions restored;
  4. Turnbull Government deposes Abbott in 2016, returns some funding that reduced staff cuts in CSIRO;
  5. the hard Right, supported by the Murdoch press, deposes Turnbull in 2018 — Turnbull had proposed the National Energy Guarantee, which was meant to reduce cost, increase reliability and lower emissions and be bipartisan;
  6. Scott Morrison becomes PM and fudges the carbon figures, saying Australia will meet its Paris commitments at “a canter”, despite emissions climbing;
  7. Morrison presides over a climate policy vacuum;
  8. in May 2019, Morrison wins the unwinnable “climate election” with no policies on climate;
  9. Angus Taylor argues at COP 25 in Madrid to water down Australia’s low target by using Kyoto credits, thereby not achieving an actual reduction of emissions;
  10. as massive fires worsened to catastrophic levels, Morrison tries to suppress discussion of climate change and was mocked internationally. The world has made the link between Australian coal, bushfires and climate change; and
  11. Morrison had actually intended to go to India to promote Australian coal this January. He has only recently pulled out (for now) under pressure. 
The trip to India was as tin-eared as the recent Tourism (carefree) Australia promotional video with Kylie Minogue. That has also been paused due to the fires.
Where does hope lie in this tale?
The people are waking up to the seriousness of the continuing catastrophe. We are choking on the smoke. Everyone knows someone impacted by these fires. It crosses all classes, ages and ethnicities. So much has been lost. So many animals have died.
This has to be our wake up call. Now, more than ever, we need to talk about climate change solutions.
The people on the ground are supporting one another and the animals. Maybe through all this devastating fear and sorrow, we will regain a new perspective on what really matters. Maybe we will fight for the survival of our natural world and of each other.
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(AU) Australia Fire Crisis Fuels Protests Calling For Bolder Action On Climate Change

Washington Post - Kate Shuttleworth

Students march behind a banner during a “Fund the Firies and Demand Climate Justice” protest in Sydney on Jan. 10. The fires in Australia have come as the country is polarized by the debate over global warming. The government has downplayed the link between the fires and climate change and Prime Minister Scott Morrison is not bowing to demands from environmentalists for more concerted action. (Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg)
MELBOURNE, Australia — The bush fire crisis gripping Australia is piling political pressure on its government to take bolder action on climate change, as the scorching of vast tracts of forest and farmland amplifies demands for a hastier transition away from fossil fuels.
At rallies nationwide Friday, thousands called for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to resign over what they say is his administration’s passivity on an issue that has hit home to millions of Australians as a clear and present danger. The conservative leader has defended his disaster response after facing criticism from victims and firefighters for its perceived inadequacy.
In Melbourne, close to 10,000 people took to the streets, spurning calls from police and the state’s center-left leader, Daniel Andrews, not to risk diverting emergency resources.
“Look at this through the lens of emergency services and the communities ravaged by fires — is this the best way to demonstrate your support?” said Tim Hansen, acting assistant commissioner of Victoria police. The force later said no officers would be pulled back from the fires to manage the protest.
The demonstrations unfolded as blazes burned out of control in several states. Victoria, much of it already declared a disaster area, faced extreme conditions again Friday, while firefighters in New South Wales warned that existing blazes whipped up by strong gusts could merge into one giant inferno.
Protesters in nine cities directed rage at Morrison, chanting “ScoMo has got to go” — using the prime minister’s nickname.
Erin Kimsey, 20, held a sign that read, “We can’t breathe.” She said her father was a volunteer firefighter and had been sent to the state’s east to help. “It’s shocking what’s happening, and there’s not really any action on climate change,” she said.
Maddie Chung, 21, said her family in rural Victoria was at risk from fires and might have to evacuate. “This is a very real situation, and we are calling for action,” she said.
While summer wildfires are a regular and often deadly occurrence in Australia — 173 people were killed when blazes torched Victoria in 2009 — this season’s fires have been far more extensive, fueled by a three-year drought and high temperatures.
Structures destroyed by fires on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, on Friday. (Lisa Maree Williams/AFP/Getty Images)
At least 27 people have been killed, more than 2,000 homes destroyed, and wildlife devastated across a swath of the continent since October. Thousands have been forced to evacuate, some sheltering on beaches from encroaching flames. The fires have turned the skies red and blanketed cities in smoke.
“We are running out of time to act on climate,” said Anneke Demanuele, a convener of Uni Students for Climate Justice who joined the Melbourne protest, as a cooler change brought rain to the city.
A speaker at the rally, Jerome Small, said there has been a groundswell around the issue as a result of activists such as Greta Thunberg. But he slammed politicians, calling them a “massive political and economic roadblock.”
“What we’re seeing is the direct result of climate change and a series of decisions made by the most powerful people in Australia,” he told the crowd.
An organizer of a similar rally in Sydney, Gavin Stanbrook, said the events of recent weeks revealed a nation polarized over how to tackle the challenge.
“We are divided between coal interests and politicians on the one side and then firefighters and volunteers on the other and the rest of us who are either impacted or our friends and family are on the front line, or in cities surrounded by smoke,” Stanbrook said. “We need to come together and say that we will not accept it anymore.”
Demonstrators climb a tree and carry placards during a “Fund the Firies and Demand Climate Justice” protest in Sydney on Jan. 10. (Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg)

Morrison has said he is considering an inquiry into the disaster, with officials weighing its likely scope. Last week he called up army reservists to help contain the crisis and assist with evacuations, while also announcing funding to help communities recover.
“This is initial, and this is urgent — there will be more,” Morrison told reporters Friday.
Polls show that Australians consider climate change a menace to the nation. Some 64 percent see climate change as a critical threat, an increase of 6 percentage points from 2018 and 18 points since 2014, according to a Lowy Institute survey last year. And 61 percent of respondents wanted mitigation steps even if they involve significant costs.
Yet the climate debate has riven Australia’s politics in recent years and contributed to the downfall of at least three of Morrison’s predecessors.
In elections in May, voters in mining-dependent regions punished the opposition center-left Labor Party over fears that its climate policies would endanger jobs, while support for the ruling conservatives slipped in some urban areas where voters want a bolder approach. Former conservative prime minister Tony Abbott, who once dismissed climate science as “absolute crap,” lost the Sydney seat he had held since 1994 to an independent candidate who made climate action central to her campaign.
While Australia directly accounts for a little over 1 percent of the world’s greenhouse emissions, its status as one of the world’s largest coal exporters means it contributes to considerably more.
Veterinary surgeons Oliver Funnell and Gayle Kothari treat an injured koala Friday at Australia’s Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, where dozens of koalas have been rescued from fires in recent days. (David Mariuz/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
The country’s economic growth of the past three decades was driven in large part by exporting coal, iron ore and other resources to the fast-expanding economies of Asia. Yet this summer’s apocalyptic scenes have prompted many to call for a rethink.
Tim Flannery, a climate scientist, said the link between many politicians and polluting industries was too strong.
“It’s completely irresponsible that Australia continues to rely on coal for the majority of its electricity. The coal industry has a lot to answer for,” he said.
Australia signed the Paris climate agreement, pledging to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. But based on current trends, the country is not expected to meet that target, according to Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific analysis of climate policies, despite growth in renewable energy.
In November, a group of more than 20 retired fire chiefs said they had been trying to get a meeting with Morrison since April to brief him on the expected catastrophic conditions.
“We predicted exactly what’s happening now, and measures could have been taken months ago,” said former fire chief Greg Mullins.

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11/01/2020

(AU) How Rupert Murdoch Is Influencing Australia’s Bushfire Debate

New York Times - Damien Cave

Critics see a concerted effort to shift blame, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.
Burning bushland in Tomerong, in the Australian state of New South Wales, on Saturday. Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York Times 
WOMBEYAN CAVES, Australia — Deep in the burning forests south of Sydney this week, volunteer firefighters were clearing a track through the woods, hoping to hold back a nearby blaze, when one of them shouted over the crunching of bulldozers.
“Don’t take photos of any trees coming down,” he said. “The greenies will get a hold of it, and it’ll all be over.”
The idea that “greenies” or environmentalists would oppose measures to prevent fires from ravaging homes and lives is simply false. But the comment reflects a narrative that’s been promoted for months by conservative Australian media outlets, especially the influential newspapers and television stations owned by Rupert Murdoch.
And it’s far from the only Murdoch-fueled claim making the rounds. His standard-bearing national newspaper, The Australian, has also repeatedly argued that this year’s fires are no worse than those of the past — not true, scientists say, noting that 12 million acres have burned so far, with 2019 alone scorching more of New South Wales than the previous 15 years combined.
And on Wednesday, Mr. Murdoch’s News Corp, the largest media company in Australia, was found to be part of another wave of misinformation. An independent study found online bots and trolls exaggerating the role of arson in the fires, at the same time that an article in The Australian making similar assertions became the most popular offering on the newspaper’s website.
It’s all part of what critics see as a relentless effort led by the powerful media outlet to do what it has also done in the United States and Britain — shift blame to the left, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.
“It’s really reckless and extremely harmful,” said Joëlle Gergis, an award-winning climate scientist at the Australian National University. “It’s insidious because it grows. Once you plant those seeds of doubt, it stops an important conversation from taking place.”
Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York Times
News Corp denied playing such a role. “Our coverage has recognized Australia is having a conversation about climate change and how to respond to it,” the company said in an email. “The role of arsonists and policies that may have contributed to the spread of fire are, however, legitimate stories to report in the public interest.”
Yet, for many critics, the Murdoch approach suddenly looks dangerous. They are increasingly connecting News Corp to the spread of misinformation and the government’s lackluster response to the fires. They argue that the company and the coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison are responsible — together, as a team — for the failure to protect a country that scientists say is more vulnerable to climate change than any other developed nation.
Editors and columnists for News Corp were among the loudest defenders of Mr. Morrison after he faced blowback for vacationing in Hawaii as the worst of the fire season kicked off in December.
In late December, the Oz, as the News Corp-owned paper is known here, heavily promoted an interview with the government’s energy minister, Angus Taylor, warning that “top-down” pressure from the United Nations to address climate change would fail — followed by an opinion piece from Mr. Taylor on New Year’s Eve.
Other News Corp outlets followed a similar playbook. Melbourne’s Herald Sun, for example, pushed news of the bushfires to Page 4 on New Year’s Eve, even as they threatened to devastate towns nearby and push thick smoke into the city.
Days later, residents in a town nearly flattened by the fires heckled and snubbed Mr. Morrison during a visit to assess the damage. A new hire for Mr. Murdoch’s Sky News channel, Chris Smith, branded them “ferals” — slang for unkempt country hobos.
A man in Lake Conjola, New South Wales, sprayed water on New Year’s Eve as fire consumed the house next door. Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York Times
As is often the case at Murdoch outlets around the world, there have been exceptions to the company line — an article about the Australian golfer Greg Norman’s declaration that “there is climate change taking place”; an interview with an international expert who explained why this year’s fires are unique.
But a search for “climate change” in the main Murdoch outlets mostly yields stories condemning protesters who demand more aggressive action from the government; editorials arguing against “radical climate change policy”; and opinion columns emphasizing the need for more backburning to control fires — if only the left-wing greenies would allow it to happen.
The Australian Greens party has made clear that it supports such hazard-reduction burns, issuing a statement online saying so.
Climate scientists do acknowledge that there is room for improvement when it comes to burning the branches and dead trees on the ground that can fuel fires. But they also say that no amount of preventive burning will offset the impact of rising temperatures that accelerate evaporation, dry out land and make already-arid Australia a tinderbox.
Even fire officials report that most of the off-season burns they want to do are hindered not by land-use laws but by weather — including the lengthier fire season and more extreme precipitation in winter that scientists attribute to climate change.
Still, the Murdoch outlets continue to resist. “On a dry continent prone to deadly bushfires for centuries, fuel reduction through controlled burning is vital,” said an editorial published Thursday in The Australian. It went on to add: “Changes to climate change policy, however, would have no immediate impact on bushfires” — a stance that fits hand in glove with government officials’ frequent dismissals of the “bogey man of climate change.”
A DC-10 dropping water on a fire front in Tapitallee, New South Wales, on Saturday. Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York Times
It’s that echoing between officialdom and Murdoch media that has many people so concerned.
“Leaders should be held to account and they should be held to account by the media,” said Penny D. Sackett, a physicist, astronomer and former chief scientist for Australia.
Timothy Graham, a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology who conducted the study of Twitter accounts exaggerating the role of arson in Australia’s fires, said media companies also needed to be cognizant of the disinformation ecosystem and stop contributing to the problem. That includes mainstream outlets, like ABC News, sharing inaccurate maps that exaggerate the reach of the fires.
But in the case of the arson issue, he said, scores of bots and trolls — many of which previously posted support for President Trump — have joined conservative media like the Murdoch outlets in promoting the idea that Australia’s fires are not a “climate emergency” but an “arson emergency.”
“Maybe 3 to 5 percent of fires could be attributed to arson, that’s what scientists tell us — nevertheless, media outlets, especially those that tend to be partisan, jump on that,” Dr. Graham said.
Of course, it is often hard to know just how much influence any media company has. Gerard Henderson, a columnist for The Australian, said he didn’t think there was much need to address climate change because it was already a focal point across the rest of the media.
“It’s hard to distract from climate change because it’s spoken about constantly,” he said.
But there are signs that the Murdoch message is making headway — at least in terms of what people make a priority. Many firefighters working the smoky hills south of Sydney hesitated to state their views on climate change this week (some said senior leaders had told them to avoid the issue). But they were quick to argue for more backburning.
Similarly, in Bairnsdale, Tina Moon, whose farm was devastated by the fires, said she was mostly furious about the government’s failure to clear the land around her property.
“I don’t think it’s climate change,” she said.
Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York Times
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(AU) News Corp Employee Lashes Climate 'Misinformation' In Bushfire Coverage With Blistering Email

The Guardian - 

Senior employee’s reply-all email to executive chairman calls the company’s coverage ‘irresponsible’ and ‘dangerous’
 A News Corp employee has criticised the company’s bushfire coverage for failing to acknowledge the contribution of climate change. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP 
A senior News Corp employee has accused the company of “misinformation” and diverting attention from climate change during the bushfire crisis in an explosive all-staff email addressed to executive chairman Michael Miller.
The email accuses News Corp papers, including the Australian, the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun, of misrepresenting facts and spreading misinformation to focus on arson as the cause of the bushfires, rather than climate change.
The email was penned by a senior member of News Corp’s commercial arm in response to an all-staff email from Miller detailing the leave arrangements available to staff and announcing other bushfire-related initiatives.
“This does not offset the impact News Corp reporting has had over the last few weeks,” the employee wrote. “I have been severely impacted by the coverage of News Corp publications in relation to the fires, in particular the misinformation campaign that has tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to rather focus on arson (including misrepresenting facts).
“I find it unconscionable to continue working for this company, knowing I am contributing to the spread of climate change denial and lies. The reporting I have witnessed in the Australian, the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun is not only irresponsible, but dangerous and damaging to our communities and beautiful planet that needs us more than ever now to acknowledge the destruction we have caused and start doing something about it.”
The email landed in the inbox of all News Corp staff, and was leaked to the Guardian by multiple sources, but not the author.
Sources say the email has since been deleted from News Corp inboxes.
News Corp papers have been accused of placing undue emphasis on issues such as arson and hazard reduction in a way that diverts attention from climate change’s role in creating longer, more severe fire seasons.
That includes in editorials that argued no climate policy change would stop the current bushfires, and a perceived emphasis on inadequate hazard reduction and arson as causes.
News Corp has been approached for comment.
The company has previously defended its coverage of climate change and the current bushfires.
It told the New York Times this week that its coverage had “recognised Australia is having a conversation about climate change and how to respond to it”.
“The role of arsonists and policies that may have contributed to the spread of fire are, however, legitimate stories to report in the public interest.”
The Australian has published pieces making clear the link between climate change and the bushfires, including a piece by Jack the Insider, which stated: “It is true that arson and acts of criminal stupidity are common reasons for the ignition of fires. We need to acknowledge that, understand it and take steps to prevent it.”
“But we also need to appreciate that while climate change doesn’t start fires, it is the fundamental reason six million hectares and counting of this country have been ravaged by fire.”
But other pieces have tended to exaggerate the role arson played in the current bushfire season.
This week, the Australian reported that 183 arsonists had been arrested during the current bushfire season. The figure was the sum of data from various states and territories. But it wrongly characterised figures from a number of states, some of which were 12-month totals, and included statistics from other bushfire-related offences, like contravening a total fire ban.
That report was spread globally, including by Donald Trump Jr and conspiracy theorist website InfoWars, which said it undermined “the media and celebrities” who “continue to blame ‘climate change’ for the disaster”.

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(AU) Climate Change Can ‘Supercharge’ Wildfires In Australia Through More Extreme Heat, Drought

ABC News America - Stephanie Ebbs

Climate experts say Australia's hottest, driest year has made the fires worse.

Australia fires burn through 15 million acres of land, kill at least 25 people

ABC News chief meteorologist Ginger Zee shares a look at the fires that have scorched at least 2,000 homes. Australian Dept. of Defense via Reuters

Climate change can increase the chances that areas prone to wildfires see both record high temperatures and drought simultaneously, creating the potential to ”supercharge” the wildfires in Australia after 2019's record-high temperatures, climate experts say.
These fire conditions match what climate scientists have been predicting for more than a decade. A United Nations climate report published in 2007 said heatwaves and fires were “virtually certain to increase in intensity and frequency” as global average temperatures increase.
“An increase in fire danger is likely to be associated with a reduced interval between fires, increased fire intensity, a decrease in fire extinguishments and faster fire spread,” the 2007 report said.
A Royal Australian Navy helicopter departs HMAS Adelaide as part of bushfire relief operations, Jan. 5, 2020. Australian Dept. of Defense via AFP/Getty Images
The brush fires in Australia this season have burned more than 12.35 million acres of land. At least 25 people have been killed and 2,000 homes destroyed, the most casualties from wildfires in the country since 2009, according to the BBC. The University of Sydney estimated that 480 million animals have died in South Wales alone.
Zeke Hausfather, an energy systems analyst and climate researcher at Berkeley Earth, said those factors play a significant role in the severity of the ongoing fires in Australia.
“Wildfires around the world and in Australia in particular have been happening for a long time but what we do see is years where it's been hotter and drier tend to be years where we see more area burned,” Zeke Hausfather, an energy systems analyst and climate researcher at Berkeley Earth told ABC News.
Hausfather said warmer temperatures and extreme weather have made Australia more susceptible to fires and increased the length of the fire season. He said the hotter, drier conditions combined with record high temperatures in 2019 created prime conditions for the devastating fires.
"The combination of those two can really supercharge Australia's fires. 2019 was the perfect storm for being the warmest year on record for Australia and the driest year on record for Australia,” Hausfather said Friday.
Burnt letter boxes line a street after an overnight bush fire in Quaama in Australia's New South Wales state, Jan. 6, 2020. Reserve troops were deployed to fire-ravaged regions across three Australian states on January 6 after a torrid weekend that turned swathes of land into smoldering, blackened landscapes. Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images
Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate researcher and earth system science professor at Stanford University, echoed that climate change is elevating the risk of severe fires through more extreme heat and drought conditions while also causing average temperature to rise.
“When low precipitation does occur, it's much more likely to occur in conjunction with high temperature. And when low precipitation occurs in conjunction with high temp it's much more likely to create the very high fuel loads we're seeing around the world including in Australia right now," he told ABC.


ABC News chief meteorologist Ginger Zee shares a look at the fires that have scorched at least 2,000 homes. Australian Dept. of Defense via Reuters

He added that more severe wildfire conditions from heat and drought can’t be reversed and will increase if temperatures continue to warm, but that different policies about how to manage land vulnerable to wildfires can help reduce the risk.
"What we see clearly is that the odds that different regions around the world experience warm and dry conditions simultaneously has already increased substantially as a result of the 1 degree of warming we've already had," he said. "We're already in a regime where different regions of the world are much likely to be warm and dry simultaneously compared to 50 years ago or 100 years ago.
“Approaches that ignore the fact that the climate is changing and the odds that these kinds of hazards like wildfires, like heat waves, like heavy rainfall, like extreme storm surge flooding," Diffenbaugh added. "Not acknowledging that these hazards are changing is a recipe for continuing to be exposed to these kinds of unprecedented conditions.”
And Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, said warmer ocean temperatures are also contributed to more variable weather around the world. Trenberth researches energy imbalances in the atmosphere attributed to greenhouse gases and global warming and said hot spots in the oceans can create a wave in the atmosphere that locks weather patterns in places, causing longer rain events in Indonesia, for example, and at the same time contributing to drought in Australia.
"Under El Nino conditions, Australia tends to be in drought and has more wildfires. In this case, it's not El Nino as such, but there's certainly a role for the oceans in setting up the weather patterns that have been very, very persistent," he said. “The drought conditions in the dry areas are downstream in terms of the atmosphere so it's like a big wave and you have the crest of the wave in the Indonesian region and the trough of the wave over Australia.”
Jesse Collins who organizes donations at an evacuation center in Cobargo, Australia, talks about how hard getting water has been, as bush fires continue in New South Wales, Australia, Jan. 5, 2020. Tracey Nearmy/Reuters
He said that once an area is in drought conditions for two months or more, it increases the risk of fires catching and spreading, and those changing weather patterns due to global warming make drought events longer.
“The proximate cause comes about from multiple reasons, but the fact is that the trees and the plants in the area have been dried out, they're wilted, once that starts the risk of the fire growing and expanding is greater because of the climate change factor. So the climate change doesn't start these fires but they catch more readily and they can spread more readily,” he said.
Climate experts emphasize that climate change is not the only factor in the severity of wildfires. How land is managed can impact the amount of fuel available for fires through practices like controlled burns and other factors can impact the risk to people and property through warning systems and the type of development in a given area. And changing those policies have great potential to limit future damage from wildfires along with changes to how fire management resources are dispatched.
The U.S., Australia, and other countries share fire suppression planes and personnel between countries like the U.S. and Australia during their respective fire seasons, but the fire seasons are stretching longer into the fall and overlapping adding to the strain on resources.

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10/01/2020

Earth Posts Second-Hottest Year On Record To Close Out Our Warmest Decade

Washington Post - Andrew Freedman | Jason Samenow

A kangaroo stands on burned land in Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia, on Tuesday. (Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg)
The planet registered its second-hottest year on record in 2019, capping off a five-year period that ranks as the warmest such span in recorded history. In addition, the 2010s will go down in history as the planet’s hottest decade, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), a science initiative of the Europe Union.
The service, which monitors global surface temperatures, determined Earth last year was a full degree warmer (0.6 Celsius) than the 1981-2010 average. This data provides the first comprehensive global look at the state of the climate in 2019, with U.S. agencies such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expected to announce similar results next week.
“2019 has been another exceptionally warm year, in fact the second warmest globally in our data set, with many of the individual months breaking records,” said Carlo Buontempo, head of C3S, in a news release.
The past five years averaged 2 to 2.2 degrees (1.1 to 1.2 Celsius) above preindustrial levels, C3S found. The magnitude of warming puts the planet perilously close to one of the temperature guardrails outlined in the Paris climate agreement, in which policymakers agreed to limit by 2100 global warming to “well below” 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, above preindustrial levels.
The aspirational goal in the agreement is to hold temperatures to a 2.7-degree increase, or 1.5 Celsius, above preindustrial levels, which is a target favored by the countries considered most vulnerable to climate impacts, such as small island nations.
The rapid warming has occurred as concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a long-lived heat-trapping greenhouse gas, continue to increase. Copernicus cited satellite measurements showing the amount of carbon dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere in 2019 increased by 2.3 parts per million, which was larger than the growth rate in 2018 but below the growth rate of 2.9 ppm in 2015.
Surface air temperature departures from average during 2019. (Copernicus Climate Change Service)
Overall, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now the highest level in human history and probably has not been seen on this planet for 3 million years. However, to meet the Paris targets, the world would need to commit to rapidly slashing carbon emissions at a rate far outside the plans of any of the largest emitters, making the 2.7-degree goal technically possible but politically unlikely.This past year featured numerous climate milestones, most of which indicated human and natural systems are already being buffeted by extensive impacts from relatively low levels of climate change, considering the warming projected to come in the next several decades.
Last year, extreme climate events, such as a searing European heat wave, drove home the urgency of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The recent bush fires in Australia charred millions of acres in December, which was that country’s hottest month on record, capping off its hottest and driest year.
Last year was also the warmest summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and Europe had its hottest year on record. Europe also had its hottest December on record as 2019 came to a close.
The year also brought fierce hurricanes that rapidly intensified from weak to monstrous storms — a process in which climate change is thought to play a role. Among them was Hurricane Dorian, which devastated the northwestern Bahamas. In the United States, Alaska experienced record warmth, with an astonishing lack of sea ice in the Bering and Chukchi Seas even during winter.
The year also brought troubling signs that natural systems that serve to store huge quantities of carbon dioxide and methane, the latter being another powerful greenhouse gas, may be faltering as temperatures increase. In December, a federal report indicated the permafrost that rings the Arctic may already be a net source of atmospheric carbon, which would accelerate global warming in what is known as a positive feedback. Raging fires in the Amazon during the year, largely as a result of a pro-development government in Brazil, now threaten to turn the world’s most productive rainforest into a drier, less carbon-rich savanna.

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