New South Wales is burning

Conditions have been deteriorating to such an extent in recent days, that this week NSW could be facing some of the worst bushfire conditions in living memory...

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6487076/live-total-fire-ban-declared-as-hunter-faces-catastrophic-bushfire-danger/

As I've been posting over the last few weeks, these wildfires have been occurring earlier each season, lasting longer, hitting areas with little or no previous bushfire history, and growing ever more fierce.

meanwhile we are up to our knees in water...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-12/nsw-fires-catastrophic-day-arrives/11694264

https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/full-list-of-schools-closed-due-to-bushfire-risk-on-monday-tuesday-in-new-south-wales/news-story/dd2649ec5c9a3b030f5b976948dca381

'Wolfie wrote:

Conditions have been deteriorating to such an extent in recent days, that this week NSW could be facing some of the worst bushfire conditions in living memory...

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6487076/live-total-fire-ban-declared-as-hunter-faces-catastrophic-bushfire-danger/

As I've been posting over the last few weeks, these wildfires have been occurring earlier each season, lasting longer, hitting areas with little or no previous bushfire history, and growing ever more fierce.

The fires are north of you, aren't they? Up around Brisbane?

There were fires breaking out to the south and west of Sydney yesterday.

The closest fires to here were about 10 kms to the SW,  30 kms west, and around 150 kms north..

The most severe fires were to the west of Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour, up on the mid-north coast (around 250 to 400 kms north, "as the frow flies"..), and in regions extending from around there up into southern Queensland.

About an hours drive inland from Coffs, the combined area burnt out by those 15 or 20 fires alone this week has exceeded 150,000 hectares (that's over 370,000 acres..).

Yesterday there were 75 bushfires burning, with 13 out of control.  This morning there were more than 125 from south of Sydney up to the Qld border.   Probably be more this arvo..

A southerly wind change last night cooled things a little for today;  but those winds could also push some fires onto previously unburnt ground in some areas (the bad winds over the previous week have been the hot and dry 'Westerlies' blowing off the inland deserts..).

There have been bushfires burning around NSW, southern Qld, and parts of Victoria for the past 4+ months, starting up several weeks even before the start of the bushfire season (usually late Sept/early October..).

With many fires hitting areas that haven't seen bushfires previously --  even rainforests, that usually provide a barrier that slow wildfires down, have been burning this year..

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/22/australia-bushfires-factcheck-are-this-years-fires-unprecedented


Yesterday, Australia experienced the highest average daily temperatures ever recorded (that's in more than 200 years now, and more than 100 years of "official" gov't records for the country as a whole..).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/heatwave-australia-bom-records-temperature-forecast/11811470

And it's expected to get worse over coming days, with hot dry westerly winds being pumped out from Oz's interior,  potentially making for even worse conditions than 5 and 6 weeks ago..

https://www.9news.com.au/national/bushfires-australia-update-warnings-in-place-ahead-of-severe-fire-conditions-qld-nsw-sa-act/bbad0e82-6db9-4c55-b27d-894282aeb94d

'Wolfie wrote:

There have been bushfires burning around NSW, southern Qld, and parts of Victoria for the past 4+ months, starting up several weeks even before the start of the bushfire season (usually late Sept/early October..).

With many fires hitting areas that haven't seen bushfires previously --  even rainforests, that usually provide a barrier that slow wildfires down, have been burning this year..

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/22/australia-bushfires-factcheck-are-this-years-fires-unprecedented


Yesterday, Australia experienced the highest average daily temperatures ever recorded (that's in more than 200 years now, and more than 100 years of "official" gov't records for the country as a whole..).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/heatwave-australia-bom-records-temperature-forecast/11811470

And it's expected to get worse over coming days, with hot dry westerly winds being pumped out from Oz's interior,  potentially making for even worse conditions than 5 and 6 weeks ago..

https://www.9news.com.au/national/bushfires-australia-update-warnings-in-place-ahead-of-severe-fire-conditions-qld-nsw-sa-act/bbad0e82-6db9-4c55-b27d-894282aeb94d

I've never been to Australia, sadly, but my partner knows it well, including the areas now being ravaged by bush fires and those appalling temperatures. She was in tears when she watched today's TV coverage.

I know you're all a bunch of heretics and heathens in Newsfix ...... but from the bottom of my Christian soul, God bless Australia and its people, and may all this end very soon.

+1

...


Two volunteer firefighters died last night, at one of the fires south of Sydney...

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/20/nsw-bushfires-rfs-two-firefighters-killed-south-west-sydney

'Wolfie wrote:

There have been bushfires burning around NSW, southern Qld, and parts of Victoria for the past 4+ months, starting up several weeks even before the start of the bushfire season (usually late Sept/early October..).

With many fires hitting areas that haven't seen bushfires previously --  even rainforests, that usually provide a barrier that slow wildfires down, have been burning this year..

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/22/australia-bushfires-factcheck-are-this-years-fires-unprecedented


Yesterday, Australia experienced the highest average daily temperatures ever recorded (that's in more than 200 years now, and more than 100 years of "official" gov't records for the country as a whole..).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/heatwave-australia-bom-records-temperature-forecast/11811470

And it's expected to get worse over coming days, with hot dry westerly winds being pumped out from Oz's interior,  potentially making for even worse conditions than 5 and 6 weeks ago..

https://www.9news.com.au/national/bushfires-australia-update-warnings-in-place-ahead-of-severe-fire-conditions-qld-nsw-sa-act/bbad0e82-6db9-4c55-b27d-894282aeb94d

As if that wasn't bad enough, Australia has just had its hottest (or second hottest) day on record.  RIP to the two volunteers.

Eddie and I pulled up a map of the fires the other day and our jaws dropped. It looks like the entire continent is in flames.

I hope you and Veya are safe -- and everybody else, of course, besides the murderers and rapists

Is this happening because Australia sold its water supply? Not been a major news story and I want to know WHY!

eddie wrote:Is this happening because Australia sold its water supply? Not been a major news story and I want to know WHY!

"Australia sold its water supply"  ???

Where did that load of absolute nonsense come from ?

Current temp. :43°C
Humidity :   17%

'UV Index' and fire risks :  both "extreme" --  today could be another "catastrophic" day, with dry conditions, low humidity, and the temp expected to hit 49°C in some places...


Bushfire statistics for NSW, from yesterday :

Millions of hectares burnt,
15 people dead (inc. 3 firefighters), more missing
50 fires "out of control" as of Thursday
1298 homes destroyed..

That's for NSW alone --  there is more in Qld, Victoria and South Australia..

I could cry at the pictures of peoples Homes totally destroyed. Where will they go , what about their pets, their Cats and Dogs, what has happened to them ?

nicko wrote: I could cry at the pictures of peoples Homes totally destroyed. Where will they go , what about their pets, their Cats and Dogs, what has happened to them ?

It must be like living a nightmare!

Give them a few Billion out of our Foreign Aid Budget !

eddie wrote:Is this happening because Australia sold its water supply? Not been a major news story and I want to know WHY!

i saw some aussie dude on twitter video saying mostly it's because every winter time they deliberately set fire to all the old dead brushwood on the ground in order to clear it but the government has banned it for the last two years so as soon as it's too hot, or, as has been suggested, arsonists will find it so easy to start a fire because there's a whole load of tinder dry dead wood all over the ground which shouldn't be there

gelico wrote:

eddie wrote:Is this happening because Australia sold its water supply? Not been a major news story and I want to know WHY!

i saw some aussie dude on twitter video saying mostly it's because every winter time they deliberately set fire to all the old dead brushwood on the ground in order to clear it but the government has banned it for the last two years so as soon as it's too hot, or, as has been suggested, arsonists will find it so easy to start a fire because there's a whole load of tinder dry dead wood all over the ground which shouldn't be there

Unfortunately, that's not true --  at all...

First of all, "old dead brushwood on the ground" wasn't being burnt off each year --  that is a total misrepresentation of the practice of burning off excess fuel (i.e. timber) in fireprone regions on a regular basis (not "every year" --  that practice is stupid, and actually increases the fire risk..).

Secondly, "brushwood" is not an Aussie term, but American --  making me think that the 'Twit' in question isn't really a genuine Australian !  Anyone can go online, any old stirring reprobate or deliberate troublemaker --  and claim to be from anywhere.

Thirdly,  it is neither "the government" (nor "greenies" or environmental groups --  other favourite targets of pro-corporate/industry deflective types..) that is restricting possible burnoffs --  but a shorter 'window of opportunity' over the cooler Winter months (June, July, August..), and earlier hot dry westerly winds, that has been reducing said 'burnoff' fuel reduction efforts by the fire authorities.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/12/is-there-really-a-green-conspiracy-to-stop-bushfire-hazard-reduction

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/the-debate-over-hazard-reduction-burns-after-catastrophic-fires/news-story/c06b3e6f9bc7429128d03bdf18a40486

https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/hazard-reductions

https://greens.org.au/nsw/policies/bushfire-risk-management


The true causes of this increasing fire risks include :
Continuing severe drought,
'Tinder dry' forests, low soil moisture, hot dry winds blowing off the central deserts
Fringe farms moving out into increasingly marginal areas
* Poor planning by gov'ts, regarding the spread of people outwards from the city is increasing the risks of bushfires occurring, and people being exposed to these risks *
Governments not keeping up resource funding for fire fighting organisations
Governments ignoring effects from 'climate change'
Governments stalling on "drought proofing" and "bushfire management" strategies updates and improvements..

https://www.smh.com.au/national/in-the-path-of-disaster-the-big-causes-of-bushfires-that-most-of-us-are-missing-20191115-p53b0b.html


One of the biggest problems here is that the coal companies and the energy sector --  and their 'climate change', denier anti-science stooges (inc. Some parts of the Murdoch press..),  along with big business and finance lobbyists, have too much sway over our governments, continually deflecting and delaying what should be done...

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/11/what-are-the-links-between-climate-change-and-bushfires-explainer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushfires_in_Australia

Might have known you'd blame "Big Business" !

'Wolfie wrote:

eddie wrote:Is this happening because Australia sold its water supply? Not been a major news story and I want to know WHY!

"Australia sold its water supply"  ???

Where did that load of absolute nonsense come from ?

It certainly does not appear to be "absolute nonsense" -- 89 billion liters of Aussie water were sold to a Canadian pension fund, right in the midst of a severe Australian drought.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7780983/Foreign-company-sells-89-billion-litres-Australian-water-rights-490m-drought.html

She wasn't having a go, you know -- just asking a question.

That's what I thought !

I have friends out in NSW. they are surrounded by fire but safe for now and praying for rain

Ben Reilly wrote:

'Wolfie wrote:

eddie wrote:Is this happening because Australia sold its water supply? Not been a major news story and I want to know WHY!

"Australia sold its water supply"  ???

Where did that load of absolute nonsense come from ?

It certainly does not appear to be "absolute nonsense" -- 89 billion liters of Aussie water were sold to a Canadian pension fund, right in the midst of a severe Australian drought.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7780983/Foreign-company-sells-89-billion-litres-Australian-water-rights-490m-drought.html

She wasn't having a go, you know -- just asking a question.

check my maths but tha would equal 89,000 cubic meters of water?,, Not really a lot, indeed a drop in the ocean so to speak and likely less than needed to quell even one of those fires. Not defending it but not really relevant in proportion to the problems now faced, i recon a couple of big tanker boat loads.

Victorismyhero wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:

'Wolfie wrote:

eddie wrote:Is this happening because Australia sold its water supply? Not been a major news story and I want to know WHY!

"Australia sold its water supply"  ???

Where did that load of absolute nonsense come from ?

It certainly does not appear to be "absolute nonsense" -- 89 billion liters of Aussie water were sold to a Canadian pension fund, right in the midst of a severe Australian drought.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7780983/Foreign-company-sells-89-billion-litres-Australian-water-rights-490m-drought.html

She wasn't having a go, you know -- just asking a question.

check my maths but tha would equal 89,000 cubic meters of water?,, Not really a lot, indeed a drop in the ocean so to speak and likely less than needed to quell even one of those fires. Not defending it but not really relevant in proportion to the problems now faced, i recon a couple of big tanker boat loads.

Had to google it, but it's 89,000,000 cubic liters -- a thousand times more than what you said.

That said, I still don't know if that would be enough to make a difference.

Ben Reilly wrote:

'Wolfie wrote:


"Australia sold its water supply"  ???

Where did that load of absolute nonsense come from ?

It certainly does not appear to be "absolute nonsense" -- 89 billion liters of Aussie water were sold to a Canadian pension fund, right in the midst of a severe Australian drought.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7780983/Foreign-company-sells-89-billion-litres-Australian-water-rights-490m-drought.html

She wasn't having a go, you know -- just asking a question.

Such stories show a complete ignorance of water supply and water "rights" and licences here in Oz..

Water from inland rivers and aquifers have licenses available to extract a certain amount of that water when it's available, while coastal rivers have licenses restricting how much farms and mines can pump out each year...

With trillions of litres of water available, billions of litres is a small fraction.  Those licences and water "rights" are traded in amounts of 'megalitres' --  that's millions of litres/year..

Some big cotton farms (northern NSW and southern Qld) and horticultural concerns (WA, NT and far-north Qld) have amalgamated several water licenses to make those "billions of litres" water rights..

It's not like that water is being shipped off to Canada (who is already home to half the world's freshwater supply, by the way..), but rather that a Canadian interest now controls the annual access to that water over the properties concerned in that region --  not good for the farms concerned, nor the local environment in general.

While such a sell-off will have negative effects for the regions concerned, it has nothing to do with the actual causes of either the drought or current bushfires..

***********************************************************

Here in Oz, most of the national water "supply" is in sub-artesian aquifers..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Artesian_Basin

https://www.agriculture.gov.au/water/national/great-artesian-basin

Rivers and creeks only carry a small portion of the total --  but that is a lot more easily accessible than drilling down bores and pumping water out --  and it's already oxygenated and more usable.

On farms and out in bushland, over 90% of the available water supply is actually in soil moisture content, a certain % will be in the biomass itself;  where enough dams and ponds are installed they might store up to 5% of the water on a farm, where that water will be more easily accessible and useful;  tanks storing rainwater will usually give the cleanest and most "potable" water on a farm;  tanks are also handy in maintaining practical amounts of water pressure ("head").

https://soe.environment.gov.au/theme/inland-water/topic/australias-water-resources-and-use

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Australia

http://www.bom.gov.au/water/waterinaustralia/

Thanks for the insight, Wolfie.

You can "shoot" me down if you want, but how about surrounding Houses with Iron pipes perforated with holes and sending a mist of water over the property if in danger from fire ?

It’s heartbreaking. And Victoria too.

nicko wrote:You can "shoot" me down if you want, but how about surrounding Houses with Iron pipes perforated with holes and sending a mist of water over the property if in danger from fire ?

 

Nothing wrong with that concept,  nicko...

A lot of properties already use similar systems to protect individual buildings, including :

*  spray/sprinkler systems on roofs using copper piping,
*  sprinklers covering gardens and lawns next to buildings,
*  flooding lawns an hour or two before the fire hits (if time allows),
*  fill raingutters with water.

These systems are then reliant on water supply (tanks, swimming pools, dams) and powered pumps..

As well, you can also look to the construction of the building, to further reduce risks :
*  roofing with clay tiles or corrugated steel
*   fireproof walls, floors, foundations
*   closed in eaves and screened or shuttered windows and doors
*   no gaps for embers,  ashes or sparks to enter.

Other site hazard reduction efforts may also include :
*  no highly flammable trees near buildings
*  clear ground near buildings
*  lawns cut low
*  choose fire resistant shrubs and trees (e.g some rainforest trees..) for those near buildings --  some species will actually slow fires down..
*  look to locating gas tanks and fuel & fertiliser stores well away from buildings.

Copper piping would melt ?

South Australian man charged with starting Kingston bushfires

https://7news.com.au/news/sa/south-australian-man-charged-with-starting-kingston-bushfires-c-633361

nicko wrote: Copper piping would melt ?

If the fire was hot enough and close enough to melt a copper pipe full of water, and spraying water out over a roof,  that roof is probably "already toast" anyway..

Stainless steel would probably be the best choice overall, and all outside plumbing could be stainless pipes, with some brass fittings, for the monied-up out there..


The main cause for buildings catching fire during these wildfires doesn't come directly from the flames and heat from the fire itself --  but from embers, cinders and hot ashes being blown ahead of the firefront.  Hence having fireproof roofs and cladding, closed in eaves, no open spaces under the buildings, screened or shuttered doors and windows.

Sprinklers over the roof and verandahs, and wet lawns, not only resist flames, but will extinguish burning embers and hopefully carry them away from buildings..

When the firefront itself hits, it only takes a couple of minutes to pass over the buildings and yards if it has a strong wind behind it.

Even if some sprinklers and water tubing melts in that instant, if it has done what it was designed for it is still 'cheap insurance' compared to the cost of rebuilding (or the lives of people and livestock saved..).

nicko wrote: Might have known you'd blame "Big Business" !

I blame those businesses's lobbyists and political interference for delaying government actions, and interfering in government policies...

Not for actually starting the fires..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-28/business-lobby-groups-accused-undermining-climate-change/11646120

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/04/morrisons-government-on-the-bushfires-from-attacking-climate-lunatics-to-calling-in-the-troops

Having politicians and community "leaders" beholden to coal companies, big polluters and their financiers --  and putting those business interests ahead of the people, their local environs, and local communities  --  is never a good thing.

As seen in the current negative political fallout for some pollies and their parties :

https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/11/12/nationals-bush-fire-climate-change/

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6562463/scomo-an-absent-father-figure/

https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/nsw-emergency-services-minister-ends-leave-c-630794

nicko wrote: I could cry at the pictures of peoples Homes totally destroyed. Where will they go , what about their pets, their Cats and Dogs, what has happened to them ?

When you see some of those people leaving their homes, a lot of the times their pets will be the second thing they are loading into their cars -- after their family...

With horses, livestock and working dogs --  sometimes those have already been evacuated to other farms or into town.  Sometimes they can be rounded up and sheltered in buildings, yards or paddocks that might give them the best survival chance --  and then hope for the best..


A lot of livestock, family pets, and local wildlife, is inevitably lost in these fires.

Houses and buildings can be replaced, eventually.  Making it "home" again takes a little longer..
Pets, breeding stock, 'endangered' wildlife species,  not so...


It also has to be remembered that a lot of people fleeing their properties in the short term, really don't have anywhere else to go after those fires have passed..

Not only their homes, but their family and friends, their livelihoods and businesses --   everything they have is often centred in their local regions and communities. 

Ben Reilly wrote:

Victorismyhero wrote:
check my maths but tha would equal 89,000 cubic meters of water?,, Not really a lot, indeed a drop in the ocean so to speak and likely less than needed to quell even one of those fires. Not defending it but not really relevant in proportion to the problems now faced, i recon a couple of big tanker boat loads.

Had to google it, but it's 89,000,000 cubic liters -- a thousand times more than what you said.

That said, I still don't know if that would be enough to make a difference.

Victor's figure is actually the same as yours, Ben...

1,000 litres  =  1 cubic metre,  in volume..


A few decades ago, water rights were actually tied to individual properties.

Then, during the 1990s a conservative/business-oriented federal gov't saw the opportunity to help some of their mates make even more profit by making those water rights licences a transferable and 'tradeable commodity'.. 

That made it possible for those with unused licences to sell them off to other properties --  so that some big agribusiness concerns were able to buy up neighbouring licences to form these current 'mega licences' being owned by business/investment entities not directly involved in farming --  but simply making more unearned 'profits' through selling water back to whoever needs it.  Or eventually selling on those 'rights' at even higher prices.

eddie wrote:South Australian man charged with starting Kingston bushfires

https://7news.com.au/news/sa/south-australian-man-charged-with-starting-kingston-bushfires-c-633361

Sadly big fires tend to bring out arsonists. God only knows why.

I feel so helpless watching the news there doesn't seem much you can do, with other disasters you can send money or things to help.
Ok money will help rebuild structures but the personal stuff that's lost
and the horror of the experience for people and the fate of the poor animals, domestic and wild is just beyond horrible.

Cass wrote:

eddie wrote:South Australian man charged with starting Kingston bushfires

https://7news.com.au/news/sa/south-australian-man-charged-with-starting-kingston-bushfires-c-633361

Sadly big fires tend to bring out arsonists. God only knows why.

The closer you get to the cities and suburban areas, the higher the proportion of fires that are either deliberately lit, or caused through human carelessness (e.g. lighting fires during total firebans, arcing power lines, heat from exhaust pipes, discarded cigarette butts..), in some places exceeding 90% some years..

As you move out into country areas, the proportion of natural causes increases --  including lightning strikes during 'dry' thunderstorms, 'spontaneous' combustion (that really is a thing..), fires flaring up again after wind changes, hot embers and cinders carried ahead of fire fronts.  Over the past couple of weeks it has been estimated that over half of the big fires out in rural areas and national parks were most likely from lightning strikes.

There have already been a couple of firebugs caught and charged in this area over the last couple of months, and more in neighbouring council areas, and a couple of others who were lighting barbecues and fires during total fire ban days, and one farmer who was lighting fires on his property (no accounting for some peoples' obvious stupidity..).  And this was just in the Hunter region --  you could multiply that figure a few times, for NSW on the whole..

One fire out south-west NSW last month was accidentally started by one Rural Fire Service team, when the wind changed and blew their backburning across onto fresh ground !   

One hundred and fifty men have been charged with Arson in Oz !

nicko wrote: One hundred and fifty men have been charged with Arson in Oz !

I was reading that a bunch of arsonists had been arrested. Is this some new YouTube challenge or something??? Fucking Gen Z.

nicko wrote: One hundred and fifty men have been charged with Arson in Oz !

And a handful of women, as well (inc. one in NSW a few days ago),  though the majority are nearly always men..

And if there's already 150+ already charged with arson, there's probably also somewhere between 50 and 100+ being charged with the lesser offences of starting fires during total fire ban days, and letting fires get out of control (as with the 3 examples for this region that I gave above).

As a matter of interest, what sort of penalty do posters think they should receive ? I'd like to burn their own houses down where possible , and force them to watch it !

nicko wrote: As a matter of interest, what sort of penalty do posters think they should receive ? I'd like to burn their own houses down where possible , and force them to watch it !

First of all, those firebugs would need to actually own a house (i.e. not renting, boarding, living in a family home or a share house, not a homeless or 'transient' person..).

Personally,  I would prefer to take property such as houses, cars, trucks, boats, etc. off those found guilty (and where they own such property outright in their own name --  and not affecting others through seizing joint or shared property..),  sell it off --   and give those proceeds to the recovery efforts, and the local units of those volunteer emergency groups involved with those fires..

LOL! Woman thinks that 200 people being arrested for arson isn't real

https://twitter.com/OzraeliAvi/status/1216011896907657217


The world's climate has been changing since the world first began

gelico wrote:


LOL!  Woman thinks that 200 people being arrested for arson isn't real

https://twitter.com/OzraeliAvi/status/1216011896907657217


The world's climate has been changing since the world first began

That Twitter feed is full of idiots and liars...

"Australia is wetter and greener.."   ==  outright lies (with some pretty but meaningless graphs backing up his bullshit..)

"16 degrees and people wearing jumpers"  ==  Fucking bullshit..

"Arsonists are lighting all the fires.."  More outright coal & oil company bullshit propaganda --  far less than half the total number have been deliberately lit --  more than half last month were from lightning strikes..

"Most of those arsonists will be climate activists"  ==  just how fucking stupid are those clueless denialist muppets  ???


Most of those twats postong ignorant and innane comments do appear to be far-right corporatist apologists --  with their empty heads rammed far up their owners' arses.

Just look at how many of those fascist twits on that Twatfest were laughing outright at this disaster !

gelico wrote:


LOL!  Woman thinks that 200 people being arrested for arson isn't real

https://twitter.com/OzraeliAvi/status/1216011896907657217


The world's climate has been changing since the world first began

It has, gels, and nobody says it hasn't. What's happening now, though, is the most rapid warming of the planet that has ever been seen.

This is what I always try to make people see -- it's not that the climate is changing, it's that it's changing so fast that much of the life on this planet won't be able to adjust to it.

To add further comment, re:  the couple of braindead morons on that Twitter feed carrying on about a 16° C day in  Melbourne :

* Melbourne is more than 700 miles south from here;
* the distance between Melbourne and Sydney is roughly twice that between London and Paris;
* from Melbourne up to the Qld fires is over 1200 miles..

Comparing one cool rainy evening in Melbourne to the rest of Oz, that's like someone in Alaska stating that Texas, Arizona and California can't possibly ever have heatwaves or droughts, simply because Alaska has a cold day and snow on some mountains..

(And ignoring the salient fact that Melbourne itself is a relatively "dry" city, with annual rainfall often dropping down around 20 -- 24 inches a year..).

Even worse are that minoriry of trolls claiming that these fires are fake, and that it's a beat up by people supposedly 'profiting' from climate chamge 'scares', who those shill_trolls reckon are attempting to destroy their beloved coal & oil companies.

One gigantic fire burning west from here since early November, has been rated the biggest single fire in Oz's recorded history :

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6576881/enormous-gospers-mountain-bushfire-not-out-but-contained-rfs/

Over 500,000 hectares --  that's nearly 1.3 million acres -- burnt out so far !

The location of this fire could be misleading to anyone listening to Sydney newsreaders, as many of them were reporting it as "..west of Sydney" --  whereas it actually started NW from Sydney (back in late October) and went up through the Wollemi National Park around the western fringes of the Hunter Valley..

And still the deniers keep on denying, and the trolls keep on trolling.

Who's denying , and who's Trolling ? It's all in your thick Aussie Brain, Dickhead!