I think it important to call out lazy, unethical, and narrow-minded journalism when it occurs.
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He also had a shot at Al Gore and Tim Flannery because climate change predictions in Northern East Victoria do not correlate with the dry we are currently experiencing.
David should start "playing the ball, not the man". Climate change is a trend not a single event.
We are suffering from one of the most intense droughts in history. Indeed we face fish kills and algal blooms this summer. This is because the trend is about an overall increase in global temperatures which, in part, means we will experience extremes. That is, when you heat up a pot of water, you start to see bubbles.
We need a healthy river, not more dams. This stuff about building more dams is simply a dog whistle by politicians and others. Whether it be from David Everist and the Nationals in Victoria, or from the Queensland Labor party advocating for more dams and the Bradfield scheme as part of the start to their election campaign, it's simply a bid for power.
So when the NSW deputy premier John Barilaro says that he doesn't care if a few frogs have to suffer in order to build more water storages, what he is neglecting to say is that so too will all the downstream users, the dairy industry, the fishers, the recreationalists, swimmers, the tourists, our way of life, and the smaller family farms who live next to our rivers. Water is used by all of us, it shouldn't be set aside for large corporate agricultural enterprises who can afford it.
Indeed almost all economists accept the science of climate change, not because they are experts but because they think they should be doing their bit.
There is a large body of work, created since 1977, around the design of appropriate policies to address climate change and the idea of more dams is not part of this.
David recently wrote "ignorance is not a defence in any circumstances".
I'd like to see the idea of balanced reporting re-instated in The Border Mail. To see some more in-depth critical journalism about the cumulative effect of floodplain harvesting. Or something on how the trade of water between the Goulburn and the Murrumbidgee is both damaging the environment and local enterprises.
Better that than the dribble from a phantom Australian columnist who has kicked off his boots, put his feet up on the desk and written ill-informed comment.
Jonathon Howard. Jindera
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