Drought...is any one awake out there!!!!

[Vicar of Dibley]

Sorry you lot but my OH isn't around (at a service)

Has any one here really thought about the long term outlook for Oz in terms of global warming??? There is a major drought there and that is only going to get worse. If you don't believe me..look it up on the web!

Perth is destined to be the first ever metropolis Dust bowl Australians are some of the highest consumers of natural resources. out of the frying pan..into the fire,," Look at the sea level changes over the next few years and you wouldn't want to live near any beach!!!
I would really like to get a serious response from aussies about this.

Please don't give me rudeness or comedy. I just want to know the reality.

[Abi&Dan]

Want to join this thread as very interested too - the one thing that genuinely concerns me about making Oz the future home of our family.

Does anyone know if the Oz government has considered desalination - and of they haven't why not?

Also, are the underground water tanks (for catching rainwater) common/reasonably priced to install?

Are solar panels common? Costly to install? Think you can get them for a couple of k here and they'd be even more worthwhile in Oz - and presumably pay for themselves in a reasonable time frame.

Do the rubbish collectors collect recyclables? Or do you have to visit the supermarket glass banks etc?

Sorry for all the questions but the easier we can 'do our bit' the more likely it is to happen (chronic laziness )

[The Broughtons]

My uncle does the recycling thing in Victoria and the refuse collectors do take it!!!!

Our aim (well mine anyway- Mr B does as he is told I mean asked!) is to be better at recycling and if our house doesn't have it already we will put in a solar power system to heat the water. Water tanks to collect rainfall will also be a must for us. We googled solar power systems and there are definitely government incentives in Victoria, I'm sure there will be incentives in other states as well. We plan to do our bit out there too!

Felicity

[calNgary]

water tanks are currently quite expensive although the goverment are hoping to start a new scheme in which make them and the council sell them for non profit costs,when this will be is anyones guess.you can get a rebate on some of the costs but im sure this is only if they are linked to a toilet.solar power again isnt cheap but rebates are now becoming availble to cover some of the cost.overall it sounds like everything has been left till the last minute and no real preperation has been made with regards to drought and global warming,,just glad im 40min inland !
Cal x

[Nelson]

There are also Government grants available in Victoria towards converting a car to run off LPG.. far cheaper and far fewer emissions...

p.s. please see the other post re: desalination plants!

[Tim]

Okey Dokey,

To answer your points on WA - Which is where I live. There is reat debate on how to handle the future water shortages and there are a number of proposals on the tables all off them have there good and bad points.

Desalination - Kwinana Desalination plant opened up recently to meet the needs of Perthonians, the problem with desalination is it is energy hungry.

There is a massive Aquafer under WA that runs from the South up to Geralton - This holds massve amounts of fresh water, there is talk of tapping into this, however the enviromental concerns are very real, lowering the water table could devastate the environment. Goverment would have you believe that the amont the want to take will have minimal effect.

Building a canal from the North of WA - Kannunarra and its dam system hold more fresh water than they know what to do with and its reserves would be adequate for Perth and the surrounds, however transporting it is the problem. A massive canal network would have to be buit and at the moment this is not economically viable but still an option.

Recycling of grey water.

Some further reading:

http://www.ourwaterfuture.com.au/

http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=129

http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=637

[Vicar of Dibley]

Many Thanks for all your responses.

[Lazy Cow]

Australia is not great being environmentally friendly. I believe we are just below the USA as producers of refuse, and I know that we were the largest emitter per capita of greenhouse gases in 2005. Apart from that,

1: Recycling is promoted. We now recycle garden waste; cardboard, paper, tins, glass and plastic in another bin; and household waste in a third.

2: Glass and plastic drinks bottles (not wine bottles though ) can be taken to a recycling depot. They pay you 5c per bottle..and believe me, it soon mounts up!

3: Plastic bags are not offered in food shops unless you buy three or more items. Even then they have cheap cotton (?) bags for sale at around 99c at the checkouts. Most people take their own green bags in with them, and I believe we in SA are intending to phase out the use of plastic shopping bags within the next year or so. Veggies are not put into bags unless you ask -or do it yourself. Packaging..well, pretty much as you'd expect.

4: Water tanks are used a fair bit. New builds are supposed to have them by law, but there's probably a way round it! Lots of community areas use bore holes to provide water for the lawns etc. Even with the little rain we've had, our tank is nearly full.

5: Solar panels are promoted. At present there is a 4k grant toward them, but they believe that will go up to 8k tomorrow. I know a couple that have them and they were very happy with them.

6: Coober Pedy already uses desalination technology. For the rest of us, I understand the plan is to improve the management and efficient utilisation of available water resources such as the River Murray and Mount Lofty ranges (the waters and lake storage). However they have made it a strategic priority to support further developments in desalination plants - where economically possible.

7: Recycling water. At the moment most water goes out to sea. It isn't recycled like it is in the UK, although they are now trying to get people to re-use grey water. It is an issue that pops up every now and then. There was a big thing a while back with one pollie saying it should be considered, whilst his opposition declared that he would never, ever allow his constituents to drink wee! He also claimed drinking recycled water could kill! I listened and wondered how many had died in the UK as a result of drinking tap water, but I couldn't find any listed. (Mind you I'm sooo computer illiterate, it could be there. )That said, we in SA aren't against using recycled water for non-drinking uses such as irrigation.

8: There is some argument that Australia should not be growing rice or cotton because of the amount of water used. Rice is the only thing I try not to buy South Australian.

So there's my bit. I put off writing it because I was hoping someone else from SA would! As to losing bits of the coastline, it's scary but is going to happen in the UK too...

Sorry to be a snore-bore,
LC

[Aldo]

I must confess this post did not really interest me much, then i thought hang on, don't they use water in the making of beer?

[Rochdale]

Just wanted to say thankyou Vicar for your valiant efforts in persuading the big fella to send us some rain. Yesterday we got rain and lots of it, unfortunately it came right in the middle of me watching the Titans versus Cowboys game and everybody got drenched but it added to the atmosphere and just reminded me of england actually. Fabulous.