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Australia Burns Turning Sydney into Smog Covered Scene from Hell

posted by martyb on Tuesday December 10 2019, @04:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the There-Is-No-Such-Thing-As-Climate-Change dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Australia is on fire. Again. Happens every year around this time, but this year is worse. A lot worse, with smoke and haze covering large parts of the eastern seaboard. The effect of the fires can be felt in New Zealand where the smoke is causing blood red sunsets. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Australia has briefly offered a prayer in support. The deadly fires have killed hundreds of drop bears while scourging the countryside across several states.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday December 10 2019, @11:07PM (10 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday December 10 2019, @11:07PM (#930840) Journal

    Experts are all linking it to climate change. Commenters here are not experts, just saying before you jump in and refute it. This scale of fire had never been seen before in Australia.

    Experts are also linking it to massive buildup of fuels in the areas affected. Given that never before seen scale of fire would have happened due to this fuel buildup, whether or not climate change happened, guess which experts should be the ones we listen to?

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday December 11 2019, @12:10AM (9 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 11 2019, @12:10AM (#930871) Journal

    Experts are also linking it to massive buildup of fuels in the areas affected.

    [Citation needed]

    No, seriously, put up or shut up, the latter being strongly recommended** ('cause the latest drought map [bom.gov.au] contradicts what you're saying).

    ---
    ** I can't stop you making a fool of yourself if that's what makes you feel better. So, I'm not even trying.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 11 2019, @06:29AM (8 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 11 2019, @06:29AM (#930980) Journal
      How about here [talltimbers.org]? Authors mention a half century of aggressive wildfire control combined with huge fires at the end of the period. The response to those fires led in turn to the present regime of controlled burns. There are three ways long term fire, aggressive fire suppression leads to large fires: high fuel loads, high density of plant material, and aging, dying trees which are more susceptible to drought.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:10AM (7 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 12 2019, @02:10AM (#931296) Journal

        Authors mention a half century of aggressive wildfire control combined with huge fires at the end of the period.

        The linked don't provide any information as to the causes of current fires around Sydney.
        I can't find any explanation on what the burning suppression between 1900 and 1950 has to do with the fires around Sydney in 2019.
        At the best, I can take your assertion as a hypothesis, on the line of "Maybe those prescribed burnings haven't taken place and that is why the current fires are so fierce".

        From the cited:

        During the first half of this century, the policy of fire and land management agencies was largely one of fire exclusion and suppression, with relatively small-scale strategic strip burning to protect young regenerating forests following cutting (see McCaw and Burrows 1989, Burrows 1994). However, this policy was reviewed in the 1950's following a spate of large, intense, and damaging forest wildfires. Fire suppression was not always possible and a regime of large, intense wildfires was neither socially nor ecologically acceptable. Greater emphasis was placed on broad area management of fuel buildup as a means of 413 controlling wildfires and since the 1960's, up to 240,000 hectares of forest are prescribe-burned annually by low-intensity (< 350 kilowatts per square meter) fires set under cool, moist conditions in spring or autumn.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:45PM (6 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 12 2019, @03:45PM (#931419) Journal

          The linked don't provide any information as to the causes of current fires around Sydney.

          They provide information about a broader class of wildfires than just the present ones afflicting Sydney.

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday December 12 2019, @09:01PM (1 child)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 12 2019, @09:01PM (#931532) Journal

            Without any warranty that the broader class of fires include the ones Sydney experiences now.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday December 13 2019, @02:23PM

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @02:23PM (#931699) Journal
              What good would a warranty be in this case? There's a similar lack of warranty that climate change is a significant contributor for what that's worth.

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday December 12 2019, @09:09PM (3 children)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 12 2019, @09:09PM (#931535) Journal

            FYI [smh.com.au]

            If anyone tells you, "This is part of a normal cycle" or "We’ve had fires like this before", smile politely and walk away, because they don’t know what they’re talking about.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday December 13 2019, @04:05AM (2 children)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @04:05AM (#931627) Journal

              Greg Mullins is a former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner and a councillor on the Climate Council.

              Funny how the most extreme claims about who we should listen to come from the non-experts, isn't it?

              • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03AM (1 child)

                by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03AM (#931637) Journal

                Funny how some suggest that a Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner for 13+ years [wikipedia.org] has no expertise. I wonder what are the credentials in regards with fires in NSW of those that make such suggestions?

                (me, smiling politely and....)

                --
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday December 13 2019, @02:09PM

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @02:09PM (#931696) Journal

                  Funny how some suggest that a Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner for 13+ years has no expertise.

                  I have expertise too. And it too is not in climatology.

                  I wonder what are the credentials in regards with fires in NSW of those that make such suggestions?

                  How about evidence?