If A Tree Falls During A Climate Debate, Does John Howard Hear It?

[hatrack]

FOR almost 50 years, two magnificent gums stood in the grounds of the Lodge as a legacy of the Menzies era. On Thursday at lunchtime, as fierce winds and what passes for rain these days whipped the nation's capital, they came crashing down. Had the wind been blowing the other way, more than a memory of the Menzies era would have been lost. The Lodge, only metres away, would have been badly damaged as well - the first tree to fall was about 25 metres high.

The trees, a candlebark gum and an Argyle apple, were planted by Dame Pattie Menzies in 1959, 10 years after her husband, Sir Robert Menzies, became prime minister for his second and longest stint. According to gardeners at the Lodge, the candlebark toppled over and took out the apple tree on the way down.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, who was in Parliament in the midst of a debate on global warming when the trees fell, was genuinely distressed. When the former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage visited yesterday, Mr Howard led him over to the scene of destruction. "It's a pity. They were such lovely trees," Mr Howard said. Falling gum trees have become an increasing problem in Canberra, a city festooned with thousands of the towering natives and now in the throes of savage drought.

EDIT

Best get used to it, Johnny-boy.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/if-a-tree-falls-during-a-climate-change-row-will-the-pm-hear-it/2006/11/03/1162340049858.html