Meme of the Week

 

via Woman of Wonders, Twitter

Cartoon of the Week

Harry Bruce

CLIMATE COUNCIL, February 2023: “There is no doubt that the consequences of climate change are now playing out in real time across Australia"

 

“There is no doubt that the consequences of climate change are now playing out in real time across Australia.

Every Australian is being impacted by climate

change. Whether we’ve paid exorbitant prices

for produce at the supermarket, choked our

way through bushfire smoke blanketing our

communities, faced evacuations during

dangerous extreme weather events or lost our

homes in a bushfire or flood, life as we know

it is being disrupted in many ways.”

[Opening lines to Introduction, “Climate Trauma: The Growing Toll Of Climate Change On The Mental Health Of Australians”, February 2023]

Foreward to Climate Council’s report, Climate Trauma: The Growing Toll Of Climate Change On The Mental Health Of Australians, 28 February 2023:

On the last day of summer 2022, an ominous mass of red and blue was on the radar, showing a massive, slow moving low-pressure system headed straight for Lismore.

Like everyone else, I worked all day and into the night to prepare for the deluge. Our community went to sleep ready, everything was lifted and packed and we felt strong as we braced for a ‘normal’ flood. But the rain kept coming.

More than a metre of rain fell and the water poured down out of the hills. At 3am the flood warning was revised to a height we had never seen before and I knew that we were about to experience something unimaginable.

The flood inundated our city. Thousands of people were displaced and it left destruction so intense, even members of the Australian Defence Force described it as looking like a war zone.

The wounds this disaster has left on the Northern Rivers are a very long way from healed. our CBD is only at about 20% occupancy; hundreds of homes are still in ruins and houses in the hills have been totally swept away by landslides. We still don’t have common community facilities like a cinema or an indoor kids play centre.

Our major civic buildings are still out of action: our library, our City Hall and our town pool are all still shut. 

We don’t have many places where we can gather and be together as a community.

Twelve months on and we still cannot live ordinary lives.

As shocking as it is seeing the physical damage to our homes, our city, and our landscape - the level of trauma and suffering across our community is even more significant.

The full report can be found at:

https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Report-Climate-Change-and-Mental-Health.pdf (58 pages)

According to the report:

• A national poll of over 2,000 people conducted by the Climate Council shows that the majority (80%) of Australians have experienced some form of extreme weather disaster since 2019.

• Communities across Australia are reporting mental health challenges as a result of worsening extreme weather events. The situation is particularly tough for rural and regional Australians

• People living in rural and regional areas are significantly more likely to have been affected by flooding at least once since 2019 (61%) than people living in urban areas (38%), and significantly more likely to have been affected by bushfires (49%) than people in urban areas (36%).

• People outside of metropolitan areas are also more likely to have difficulty accessing mental health support and more likely to feel that their state emergency services and state governments are poorly equipped to deal with climate disasters.

• People in Queensland and New South Wales are the most likely to have experienced multiple disasters since 2019. Specifically, 38% of Queenslanders and 34% of people in New South Wales reported experiencing flooding more than once since 2019. (National average of 24%.)

• One in 12 (8%) of the nearly 500 Australians who shared their recent experiences of an extreme weather disaster said the event had severely impacted their home – leaving it destroyed or deemed uninhabitable.

• Among the more than 2,000 respondents to our national poll, one in five (21%) reported having no insurance. Of those who did have insurance, nearly two thirds (64%) reported that their premiums had increased in the last two years. Most (81%) said “climate disasters” were part of the reason why.

• One in 20 (6%) of those surveyed said they had cancelled their insurance coverage due to the increase in their premium.

Need support for your mental health?

HERE ARE SOME ORGANISATIONS AND RESOURCES

General information

Psychology for a Safe Climate

www.psychologyforasafeclimate.org

For advice on looking after your mental health following a disaster

Natural Disasters and Your Mental Health (Beyond Blue)

www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/natural-disasters-and-yourmental-health

For children and young people

I’m Worried About the Environment (Kids Helpline)

kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/worried-about-environment

Understanding Anxiety About Climate Change (Headspace)

headspace.org.au/explore-topics/for-young-people/understandinganxiety-about-climate-change

Boosting disaster preparedness and resilience in Iluka on the Clarence River flood plain

 

Australian Rural and Regional News, 22 February 2023:

A new not-for-profit community organisation has been launched in Iluka with the mission of empowering and educating our community to proactively prepare for and effectively respond to emergencies, while fostering a strong sense of connectedness and resilience.

Iluka Community Organisation Planning for Emergencies ICOPE was formed in September 2022 by 15 Iluka residents concerned about the isolation Iluka had experienced during past fires and floods, particularly the 2022 floods.

ICOPE President Cheryl Dimmock said the organisation strives to create a safer and more prepared community through collaborative efforts and innovative solutions.

“Iluka RFS Secretary Tony Belton, who is also an ICOPE member, applied for and received a grant to equip an evacuation centre in Iluka and this was the real impetus that necessitated ICOPE,” she said.

“ICOPE is aware of the isolation experienced during fire and flood and are working to ensure that a suitable evacuation centre is established in the village.”

Mrs Dimmock said while disaster preparedness was central to ICOPE’s formation, the organisation also understands the importance of community connectedness.

“ICOPE is in the process of applying for grants to host a series of community parties throughout 2023 and 2024,” she said.

“However, due to the generosity of Resilient Clarence, ICOPE’s first community event which will be totally free to all that attend, will take place on April 1 at Club Iluka with a screening of Up Armidale Road.

“This international award-winning feature film documents the journey of a song that originates from the aftermath of the firestorm that decimated Nymboida in November 2019.”…..

“ICOPE will be firing up a fundraising BBQ from 5pm for a small charge and the Rotary Club of Iluka Woombah will be providing tea and coffee for a small cost at intermission,” she said.

“Everyone is welcome.”

Mrs Dimmock said ICOPE has also been working with the Red Cross to establish Community-led Resilience Teams (CRTs) in Iluka and we want everyone in Iluka to be a part of the CRT network.

“The CRT network will ensure that everyone in Iluka receives the same information during a disaster event,” she said.

“This will guarantee a coordinated approach during emergencies.

“ICOPE needs Iluka residents to join the CRT network and we also need street coordinators.”

Mrs Dimmock said ICOPE looks forward to welcoming everyone in Iluka, The Freshwater, Woody Head and Woombah to our community meetings.

Meetings take place on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at Iluka Community Hall at 10am and everyone is welcome, both members and non-members.

For more information about joining ICOPE and becoming part of the CRT network email icope2466@gmail.com.

Legal advice to Clarence Valley Council states the way is open to walk back inappropriate planned but as yet unrealised urban development on Yamba flood plain

 

On 6 December 2022 Local Government Legal sent Clarence Valley Council a letter in response to a request for advice and clarification concerning the following: 

(i) whether compensation becomes liable when and if the NSW Planning Minister was to rezone vacant lands that have not had DA approval for development on the Yamba floodplain (WYURA ) from R1 General Residential to RU2 Rural landscape and C2 Environmental Conservation zonings at Council’s request, and 

(ii) whether compensation becomes liable if land previously approved for the importation of fill was to be similarly rezoned;

 (iii) whether there are any other legal implications of such an action.

 

It is clear from the wording of advice contained in the letter, that vacant land can be lawfully rezoned so as to change its status from R1 General Residential to RU2 Rural landscape provided proper processes are followed under provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

It is also clear that compensation is not payable to the land owner if such a rezoning is done in good faith and with due reference to the Act.

It would appear that vacant land may also be rezoned C2 Environmental Conservation under the same provisos.

Existing development approvals on the Yamba flood plain are not affected by rezoning of adjacent or adjoining vacant land which does not have a development consent attached.

However, by walking back the current urban residential zoning on the remaining vacant land in what little is left of the northern section of this natural flood storage area, there is a chance that in restricting the number of new dwelling planned for the West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA) to the est. 409 dwellings contained in existing development approvals and thereby curbing population growth on the floodplain it will: 

(i) ease the pressure on emergency services during east coast low storms, high rainfall events, floods or bushfires;

(ii) allow Council to both redesign and upgrade the town's stormwater drainage system to minimise the existing negative impacts of changes to overland water flows caused by largescale landfill being created under existing development consents; 

(iii) allow more choice of flood mitigation measures to increase the town's resilience in the face of ongoing climate change; and

(iv) reduce the risk of loss of life during natural disasters. 

Local Government Legal’s advice was on the agenda at Clarence Valley Council's Ordinary Monthly Meeting on 28 February 2023:

ITEM 07.23.004 ADVICE IN RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF MOTION ON REZONING LANDS ON WEST YAMBA FLOODPLAIN with OFFICER RECOMMENDATION That the advice responding to Item 06.22.013 be noted. 

UPDATE

Snapshot of resolution 07.23.004 and text of excerpt from Clarence Valley Council, Minutes of of Ordinary Monthly Meeting, Tuesday 28 February 2023 (Minutes generated 2 March 2023 at 5:12:23PM) at p.11:

Click on image to enlarge

The advice is provided as a confidential attachment (Attachment A) for further consideration.

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION

That the advice responding to Item 06.22.013 be noted.

COUNCIL RESOLUTION - 07.23.004

Clancy/Johnstone

That the advice responding to Item 06.22.013 be noted and a workshop conducted prior to the March Council Meeting. [my yellow highlighting]

Voting recorded as follows

For: Clancy, Day, Johnstone, Novak, Pickering, Smith, Tiley, Toms, Whaites

Against: Nil

CARRIED

UPDATE ENDS

BACKGROUND

Clarence Valley Council Local Environmental Plan 2011 (Current version for 1 December 2022 to date) states:

Zone RU2 Rural Landscape

1 Objectives of zone

• To encourage sustainable primary industry production by maintaining and enhancing the natural resource base.

• To maintain the rural landscape character of the land.

• To provide for a range of compatible land uses, including extensive agriculture.

• To provide land for less intensive agricultural production.

• To prevent dispersed rural settlement.

• To minimise conflict between land uses within the zone and with adjoining zones.

• To ensure that development does not unreasonably increase the demand for public services or public facilities.

and

Zone C2 Environmental Conservation

1 Objectives of zone

• To protect, manage and restore areas of high ecological, scientific, cultural or aesthetic values.

• To prevent development that could destroy, damage or otherwise have an adverse effect on those values.

• To protect coastal wetlands and littoral rainforests.

• To protect land affected by coastal processes and environmentally sensitive coastal land.

• To prevent development that would adversely affect, or be adversely affected by, coastal processes.

North Coast Voices, 

Friday, 23 December 2022

Is Clarence Valley Council finally beginning to grapple with the need to limit development on the Clarence River floodplain? at https://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2022/12/is-clarence-valley-council-finally.html

Friday, 16 September 2022

If the NSW Government and emergency services tell Yamba it rarely floods and its houses are safe from all but extreme flooding, are the town's residents supposed to believe them? at

https://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2022/09/if-nsw-government-and-emergency.html

15 August 2022

Yamba Residents Group formed in response to inappropriate overdevelopment of a flood prone small coastal town at https://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2022/08/yamba-residents-group-formed-in.html

There was no rain recorded in Lismore from 9am on 27 February to 4:30am on 28 February 2023. How different was last year......

 

BOM 8.50am 27/02/2022

Heavy rainfall occurring

Minor flooding occurring. Rises to major flooding possible from overnight Sunday into Monday.

BOM 2.15pm 27/02/2022

Flood levels forecast

The Wilsons River may reach moderate flood level on Sunday evening. It may reach the major flood level early Monday.

SES 4.20pm 27/02/2022

Evacuation warning for Lismore

Residents and business in low-lying areas of Lismore may need to evacuate due to rising floodwater.

BOM 5.08pm 27/02/2022

Forecast revised

Renewed rises are occurring. The river level may reach 11.0 metres during Monday, the highest level since the March 2017 flood.

SES 9.30pm 27/02/2022

Evacuation order for North & South Lismore

South and North Lismore must evacuate now. Leave by 10pm. The Lismore CBD must evacuate by 5am.

BOM 11pm 27/02/2022

Levee to overtop

The levee protecting Lismore’s CBD is expected to overtop around 5am Monday. The river is now expected to reach the level of the historic March 1974 flood (12.15 metres). Further rises are possible.

SES 12.45am 28/02/2022

Lismore evacuate NOW!

North & South Lismore, Lismore CBD, Girards Hill and low-lying areas of East Lismore must evacuate now. Lift possessions and important items above the predicted flood height, take pets and essential items with you, and leave as early as possible.

BOM 1.09am 28/02/2022

Levee to overtop sooner

Moderate flooding is occurring. The levee is now likely to overtop around 3am. The river is still expected to reach around 12.15 metres late Monday morning, with further rises possible.

SES 1.45am 28/02/2022

Flood siren

The SES calls for Lismore’s flood siren to be sounded. The firefighters responsible for sounding the alarm have already been flooded out of their building.

SES 2.55am 28/02/2022

New river peak predicted

Major flooding is occurring at Lismore, and the levee is about to overtop at 10.6 metres. The river may reach around 13.50 metres on Monday evening.

BOM 5.56am 28/02/2022

Lismore’s first 14m flood forecast

The Wilsons River may reach around 14.00 metres on Monday afternoon, above the previous record flood in February 1954 (12.27 metres).

BOM 8.48am 28/02/2022

Record flooding is now occurring

Flooding is now occurring above the levels of the 1974 and 1954 floods. These record years have long been the benchmarks by which other floods are measured.

BOM 11.41am 28/02/2022

Peak predicted

The river is expected to peak at 14.4 metres on Monday afternoon.

BOM 2.52pm 28/02/2022

The situation steadies

The river level is now around 14.37 metres and steady.

BOM 8.17pm 28/02/2022

At last, the river level drops

The Wilsons River peaked in Lismore at 14.40 metres around 3pm. It is now falling.

[Timeline, ABC News, 27 February 2023]

At 10:28 am on the morning of 1 March 2022 the first death was reported. An elderly woman found in her own flooded home by a concerned neighbour.

Australia has a methane problem and it is not going away

 

Methane (CH₄) is a simple hydrocarbon found in nature as a gas. It has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime than carbon dioxide (CO₂) – around 12 years compared with centuries – but absorbs much more energy while it exists in the atmosphere. Reportedly absorbing heat 84 times faster than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

Methane affects air quality to the point of being a dangerous pollutant when it leads to ground level (tropospheric) ozone. Methane leaks can also pose explosion hazards.

Methane is also a greenhouse gas whose presence in the atmosphere in increasing intensity affects the Earth’s temperature and climate.

It is emitted from a variety of natural and human-influenced sources, including landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, wastewater treatment, and certain industrial processes. These emissions can occur by way of uncontrolled release, fugitive escape, periodic venting or flaring.

It is thought that methane in the atmosphere has been one the seven major gas emissions driving climate change since the Industrial Revolution.

According to the CSIRO, in 2021 the Kennaook/Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station near Tasmania’s isolated north-west tip, which records the greenhouse gas data from one of the cleanest air sources in the world, reported the average amount of methane in clean air off the Southern Ocean was 17 parts per billion (ppb) higher than it had been in 2020. This was the highest year-on-year increase measured since the mid-1980s when systematic atmospheric measurements commenced…..

and that the

World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, released in October 2022, reported that the globally-averaged atmospheric methane concentration increases in 2020 and 2021 were the largest since records began, at 15 and 18 ppb respectively.

This increase is higher than the average annual increase over the past decade.

Overall, the increase in atmospheric methane has reached 262 per cent of the pre-industrial level.

Put simply, the world and Australia have a methane problem which is contributing to the rise in global greenhouse gas emissions. Which in turn is causing climate change which has been a significant factor in the series of rolling unnatural disasters across Australia over the last decade.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) – an autonomous intergovernmental organisation of which Australia is a member – the world’s total methane emissions were est. 355,801 kilotons (kt) in 2022 and, the energy sector produced est. 131,646.37 kilotons of that total or 37 per cent.

Australia’s contribution to the 2022 global total was 5,544 kilotons of methane emissions or 1.6 per cent of total world emissions, of which 2,217.6 kilotons or 40 per cent were produced by the Australian energy sector.

The Guardian on 24 February 2023 reported that the IEA energy sector emissions estimate is 63% higher than the federal Dept. of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water’s estimate of 1.37 tonnes or est.1,370 kilotons.

Most of what the Australian Government reports about methane emission levels in gaseous fuels used by the energy sector comes from self-reporting by energy operators [DCCEEW, National Inventory Report 2020 – Part 1]

The Albanese Labor Government in October 2022 announced in had signed the Global Methane Pledge, a voluntary commitment to participation in global action on methane emissions. Which in the federal government’s case has been interpreted as continuing to partner with industry to decarbonise the economy and pursue emissions reduction initiatives across energy and waste sectors including capturing waste methane to generate electricity.

Elsewhere this has been optimistically reported as an intention to crackdown on methane emissions from fossil fuel extraction.

IEA, News, media release, 21 February 2023:

The IEA’s Global Methane Tracker shows the oil and gas sector could slash emissions of potent greenhouse gas using only a fraction of its bumper income from the energy crisis

A combination of high energy prices, security of supply concerns and economic uncertainty were not enough to drive down methane emissions last year, according to new IEA analysis.

The IEA’s latest update of its Global Methane Tracker found that the global energy industry was responsible for 135 million tonnes of methane released into the atmosphere in 2022, only slightly below the record highs seen in 2019. Today, the energy sector accounts for around 40% of total methane emissions attributable to human activity, second only to agriculture.

Methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution. It dissipates faster than carbon dioxide but is a much more powerful greenhouse gas during its short lifespan. Cutting methane emissions is one of the most effective ways to limit global warming and improve air quality in the near term. This year’s report also includes methane emissions from coal mines and measures to cut them by half.

Methane emissions from oil and gas alone could be reduced by 75% with existing technologies, highlighting a lack of industry action on an issue that is often very cheap to address. Less than 3% of the income accrued by oil and gas companies worldwide last year would be required to make the USD 100 billion investment in technologies needed to achieve this reduction.

“Our new Global Methane Tracker shows that some progress is being made but that emissions are still far too high and not falling fast enough – especially as methane cuts are among the cheapest options to limit near-term global warming. There is just no excuse,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “The Nord Stream pipeline explosion last year released a huge amount of methane into the atmosphere. But normal oil and gas operations around the world release the same amount of methane as the Nord Stream explosion every single day.”

Stopping all non-emergency flaring and venting of methane is the most impactful measure countries can take to rein in emissions. Around 260 billion cubic metres (bcm) of methane is currently lost to the atmosphere each year from oil and gas operations. Three-quarters of this could be retained and brought to market using tried and tested policies and technologies. The captured methane would amount to more than the European Union’s total annual gas imports from Russia prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

Satellites are providing an ever-clearer picture of methane emissions and greatly increasing the world’s knowledge of emission sources. The IEA’s Global Methane Tracker incorporates their latest readings along with data from other science-based measurement campaigns. In 2022 alone, more than 500 super-emitting events were detected by satellites from oil and gas operations and a further 100 were seen at coal mines.

“The untamed release of methane in fossil fuel production is a problem that sometimes goes under the radar in public debate,” Dr Birol said. “Unfortunately, it’s not a new issue and emissions remain stubbornly high. Many companies saw hefty profits last year following a turbulent period for international oil and gas markets amid the global energy crisis. Fossil fuel producers need to step up and policy makers need to step in – and both must do so quickly.”

The report highlights the most effective ways to limit coal mine methane emissions in addition to reducing consumption of coal. Deploying mitigation measures should be a priority, especially given the risk that coal demand remains high in the coming years. The IEA has developed a new regulatory roadmap and toolkit to guide actions by policymakers and companies seeking to reduce coal mine methane emissions. This sits alongside the similar publications on oil and gas released in previous years that have become the “go-to” source for policy makers and regulators looking to develop new and impactful methane regulations.

The Global Methane Pledge, launched in November 2021 at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, marked an important step forward by bringing governments together on this issue. The pledge now has around 150 participants that have collectively committed to reduce methane emissions from human activities by 30% by 2030. This includes emissions from agriculture, the energy sector and other sources. Countries that have joined the pledge currently account for 55% of total methane emissions from human activities and about 45% of methane from fossil fuel operations. It will be critical for participants to formulate pragmatic strategies and measures to reduce their own emissions, and to engage with countries that have not yet joined the pledge.