Floods, Fire And Heat-Killed Bats Falling From Trees - Turnbull Gov Brandishes Coal (Literally)
Tragedy in tiny Uarbry, as residents on Monday found the New South Wales hamlet had been all but totally destroyed by bushfires that continue to burn across Australia’s most populous state. In Western Australia floods have cut off towns and destroyed crops. It has been a devastating weekend in which Australians – especially in rural communities – were reminded just how vulnerable they are to the type of extreme weather predicted to increase under climate change.
In January, 90% of rural Australians said they felt they were already living through the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, the government has been exposed for treating climate policy as a tool of political convenience, rather than a serious threat to these communities.
On Monday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that prime minister Malcolm Turnbull blamed renewable energy for blackouts during 2016 in South Australia. But documents revealed he had ignored advice from his department saying there was no evidence for that conclusion. Turnbull’s response was to release a statement that attacked state-based renewable energy targets, saying: “The result of unrealistic state-based targets has been huge power bills for families and businesses and unreliable supply”.
This follows one of the more extraordinary episodes in Australia’s tortured climate politics. Last week government MP Scott Morrison stood in parliament and waved a cantaloupe-sized lump of coal at the opposition saying “don’t be afraid, don’t be scared, it won’t hurt ya”. It was, he said, a demonstration against the opposition’s “ideological, pathological fear of coal”.
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Link to tweet
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http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/02/13/australia-fires-floods-flying-foxes-and-political-farce/