We have been investigating the effect on birds and bats of the Bluff Point and Studland Bay Wind Farms in north-west Tasmania. We have conducted many studies, from monitoring required as part of our State and Commonwealth permits, to targeted studies that we have initiated to try to understand a specific issue, or where possible, to reduce an impact that has been documented.

We have learnt a lot in the last ten years at these wind farms.

Not all species of bird are at equal risk of collision with turbines. We’ve found that only about 20 per cent of the species present at these wind farms are involved in collisions with turbines. The vast majority of collisions involve birds colliding with moving turbine blades, and those at risk are the ones that spend time in the region that the blades move (which is called the rotor swept area).

Modern turbines have a rotor swept area of between 65-115m, meaning the blades sweep through the zone from about 35-125m above the ground, so any birds that don’t fly in this zone are very unlikely to collide (such as those that are only present in trees or shrubs).

Bird collisions with turbines are statistically rare events. 

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/5046460

And pesticides starving the birds of food...

Marine scientists across the world are racing to tackle the most urgent environmental challenge facing our planet today - ocean acidification. From the icy polar seas to the world's most pristine coral reefs we track the latest scientific research. Heading the investigation is Dr Katharina Fabricius from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. She's made a game-changing discovery. Nestled amongst Papua New Guinea's stunning coral gardens is a unique reef - a window to the future of our oceans. (From Australia) (Documentary) (class tba) CC

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/54555715510/Acid-Ocean

When I was working in metallurgy, we did stress tests. A bar of steel would be placed in a massive stretching machine and we would measure the tension versus the "elongation". The stretching would be minimal though measurable while the tension would be quite intense. Some of the stretching could be permanent or elastic depending on all the factors. It's all measurable and used daily in all industries. At a particular point in stress depending on the quality of the steel, there would be a "sudden" break. 

Over the years, high speed cameras have shown that this "sudden" instant takes several tenth of a second. The high speed camera shows the steel bar stretching into a smaller filament in the middle of it and this filament soon breaks off. 

This experiment shows the way most stressed situation work, including the environment. A system can cope with the stress until suddenly there is a collapse of the resistance. The structure cannot cope beyond a certain point...

As mentioned, some experiments would show that while we kept the tension below a certain level, as the steel would not break, the elongation would become permanent. The damage would have also weakened the steel beyond its useful technological capabilities.

We know that extinction works relatively in the same manner. There is a collapse of population due to various stressing factors, from habitat degeneration (mostly due to human invasion, destruction) to pollution (mostly due to human activity).

In regard to weather systems, this "collapse" has been calculated by serious scientists. By 2047 the world climatic conditions will undergo dramatic changes — all due to the present level of EXTRA CO2 (unprecedented high level of atmospheric CO2 for a few million years, all due to human burning fossil fuels). There is no two ways about it. Be prepared.

For Sydney, this collapse has been calculated at 2038. Gus' own mathematical fiddles has shown that this could be as early as 2032 for the entire planet...

Make no mistake, this "collapse" or "sudden change" in weather conditions is coming. The changes are not going to be in humanity's favour. 

This is not a fun satirical piece. this is the future as we are cooking it.

See steel bar stress test.

some people argue that there is not point doing anything about global warming because it's too late to change the course... blah blah blah... 

There is a difference though. 

For example, we're driving towards the "collapse" of the weather systems as we know them, at 200 km/h.

We know we're going to hit a kind of "soft" wall. It's a bit like those smartypants on Mythbusters, wrapping themselves in bubble wrap and fall flat from 15 feet down... still getting a full 15 G force at the impact... enough to break a few bones, but lucky enough not to.

But they were not game enough to take the myth from 15 metres up, even with double the wrap.

So most of the rich people in all the country of this planet are not prepared to lift their foot of the accelerator of their expensive car and are loathed to press on the brakes. We sure going to hit the wall anyway but instead of 200 km/h, we can manage to bring the speed down to 60 km/h by stopping burning fossil carbon... Makes sense? No. It does not make sense to those always prepared to take the risk.

We have 20 years before we hit. Some countries would be happy to have climate change: Canada for example is one of the countries were the numbers of denialists versus the number of proper scientists is high... But instead of cold, they would get massive storms... Would this be better? who knows... Europe? Spain will start looking like the Sahara desert by 2055. Italy? dry as a old raisin, with floods. Venice? Gone. New Orleans? Gone.. 45 to 47 degrees Celsius in Siberia? why not... Meanwhile Tasmania will be alternating between massive fires and more massive storms than ever before... This if we bring the speed down to 60 km/h... 

Imagine the damage should we carry on at 200 km/h...

And there are people who believe that god will help us sort this situation that we cannot see in full since we're driving through the fog of doubt. The odds are 95 per cent that this crash will happen, but as usual humans always bet on the 5 per odds that it won't. It's the cheaper and lazier option...

And the rich people will be safe, behind their airbags full of cash... So there.

Gus Leonisky

As Murdoch harangues, barely standing on his padded perfumed soap box, to populate the world with more slaves and consumers, Albo has announced that labor will stand firm and fight to keep the Carbon Pricing... Who knows...

By the end of the 1950s, Gus started to look at ways to make societies more equitable and better in general. The end of the war had left some horrid statistics. One of the result of Gus' superficial study was to introduce bigger sporting stadiums... Weird.

Of course, in the ideal society everyone is super-rich but this places an impossible strain on the intrinsic values of richness themselves... Too many yachts, not enough marina spaces, too many cars not enough garages...  As everyone was rich, no-one was working to manufacture anything, and space was becoming a bit tight in Gallifrey.

As well, not strange at all, while reading or listening to Uncle Rupe's call to make babies or encourage immigration (selective?), one has an impression of déjà vu. Hitler's speeches had a bit more raw passion and war tones in them that the Rupe's fluff, but the gist were the same: future, prosperity, magic goals, buy more stuff and the duty to work harder, enjoy picnics in the parks and consume till you become fat and then in need of health farms... Make money go around so to speak. For Uncle Rupe, this means sell more stuff...

My models on a slide rule were quite crude. No-one in the late fifties was properly playing "society builders"... It was empirical. Most people were about licking their wounds, celebrating victory and going under the doonah to "repopulate" with religious decorum. Most countries would be giving social benefits for the result: the more kids, the more money the government printed just for you... This was quite adhered to by religious of all persuasions. Even women who could have been declared as having passed the kid-making used-by-date were procreating like crazy, Catholics and puritans alike...

In the end, my studies showed that the "rich" needed the "poor" to value their richness. If the "one per cent" became the three per cent in a couple of years, this would create massive havoc in the financial markets around the world.

So there... Meanwhile under the inspiration of uncle Rupe, the environment is going to take a big hit: More carbon dioxide, faster global warming, more acidification of oceans — and this is possible what we need to do... Consume as if the end was nigh and don't care: "La Grande Bouffe" for all — leaving only the few rich to inherit the planet. I now know that this is their plan in defiance of Jesus: "the meek shall inherit the earth..." Bugger that.

Climate scientists have called on one of Australia’s highest profile business leaders to apologise for accusing their profession of lacking integrity.

The Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society described as a “serious slur” the remarks of David Murray, former head of the Commonwealth Bank and the inaugural chairman of Australia’s multi-billion dollar future fund.

Murray told the ABC’s Lateline he believed there had been a “breakdown in integrity” in the science of climate change.

Murray, who was in charge of $75bn of government assets during his final year as the future fund chairman, said “the climate problem is severely overstated”.

He said he had seen no evidence of “integrity” among climate scientists.

In an open letter, AMOS president Blair Trewin wrote: “The society regards the remarks of Mr Murray as being a serious slur on the integrity of the many Australian and international authors of the IPCC report, and views them as highly offensive to those authors and to the profession at large. The society calls upon Mr Murray to withdraw the remarks.”

During the interview, host Emma Alberici pointed out the work of scientists who had contributed to the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

Murray was asked what it would take to “convince him” on the science of climate change.

Murray answered: “When I see some evidence of integrity amongst the scientists themselves. I often look at systems and behaviours as a way of judging something, and in this case, to watch the accusations that fly between these people suggests there’s been a breakdown in integrity in the science.”

The letter from AMOS added: “The IPCC reports are an outstanding example of international science co-operation, rigour and transparency. They are subjected to multiple levels of review by experts both inside and outside the climate community, with all review comments and the authors’ responses to them being made publicly available.”

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/01/scientists-demand-apology-david-murray

Murray is parroting what many uninformed (and many not willing to be informed) Liberals (Conservatives) are saying between themselves in order to reinforce their desperate deniallsm... They simply don't want to know the why and therefore of what is going that could put a dent in their fat cheese, until the trap whacks them on the head. Even thereafter they will still try to stay as ignorant as possible in order to achieve bliss against global warming...

As bush fires raged a week ago in the Blue Mountains, in searing heat 10 degrees Celsius above, for spring, a week before this there was a cold snap. Crops were lost in country New South Wales and Victoria. Farmers are "in need of help"... Meanwhile today, smoke from back-burning in the mountains has been blanketing Sydney. Tomorrow the temperature which has been slightly above will hit once again above 30 degrees Celsius (34). 

Nearly on the other side of the world, scientists have noted that the sea around Greenland has been warming at about 10 times to the rest of the world oceans to a depth of 2000 metres for the last 60 years... 

All this adds up to a bigger picture of MASSIVE WARMING...

In South America, ice has been melting at a rate of knots in the Andes... 

A few days ago, I predicted (looking at some serious weather charts) a big storm about to cross England on the 3rd of November... Presently the wind in London is nil... But the weather is about to hit around 2:00 PM... Who knows... The charts are serious enough to show a lot of red and highly feathered wind arrows. By six o'clock tonight winds above 40 knots should hit London... While in the following few days, a huge storm will shake the mid North Atlantic.

Meanwhile as predicted by Gus, October in Australia was fairly higher than average, DESPITE THE COLD SNAP...

October mean temperatures were unusually warm, with a national anomaly 1.43 °C above the 1961–1990 average. This means that Australia has seen 15 consecutive months of warmer-than-average temperatures, with numerous records broken as a result.

This continuation of unusually high spring temperatures has been sufficient to break the national record for the warmest 12-month period again, the third consecutive month in which a new record has been set.

Averaged over the 12 months from November 2012 to October 2013, Australian mean temperatures were 1.30 °C above the 1961–1990 average. This surpasses the records set in the previous two months (+1.25 °C for October 2012 to September 2013 and +1.11 °C for September 2012 to August 2013) and is some 0.22 °C warmer than any 12-month period prior to 2013 (+1.08 °C for February 2005 to January 2006).

MEANWHILE :

November is shaping up to be another unusually warm month, with the heat, a lack of rain and the prospect of more bouts of windy weather likely to keep NSW's fire-fighting resources stretched.
Sunday is expected to be another testing day for fire crews with the mercury forecast to rise into the 30s for much of the state.
Severe fire danger ratings have been declared for Sydney and the Illawarra/Shoalhaven, all the way north to the Queensland border, and for the North Western, Northern Slopes and Upper Central West plains, the Rural Fire Service said.
“With the lack of rain, when there's the return of dry, windy weather, we'll see these elevated fire danger ratings,” an RFS spokesman said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/nsw-weather-november-to-test-firefighting-resources-20131102-2wth7.html#ixzz2jTwT2Xr3

“This will mean much higher rates of global emission reductions in the medium term; greater lock-in of carbon-intensive infrastructure; greater dependence on often unproven technologies in the medium term; greater costs of mitigation in the medium and long term; and greater risks of failing to meet the 2C target,” the UN Environment Program stated.

In order to avoid this scenario, the report recommends that emissions should reach a maximum of 44 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2020, falling to 40 gigatonnes by 2025 and further to 22 gigatonnes by 2050.

However, given that the 2C target was set based on the assumption that action would start in 2010, the report warns it will become “increasingly difficult” to meet this goal. Global greenhouse gas emissions for 2010, the latest year for which data is available, stood at 50.1 gigatonnes.

Although the report states the window for action is “narrowing”, the 2C target could still be achieved by implementing ambitious emissions reduction promises, tightening the rules of existing pledges and international co-operation on areas such as energy efficiency, renewables and fossil fuel subsidies.

Last week, the Climate Change Authority said that Australia’s 5% emissions reduction goal is “not a credible option” and should be increased, possibly to 15% or 25%.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/05/carbon-emissions-must-be-cut-significantly-by-2020-says-un-report

And by the way, the MASSIVE storm I predicted for London on the 3rd of November passed further north... The Isle of Man took the brunt and in St Helens, where the Fiji-Australia Rugby League match took place, it was heavy rain and strong swirling winds... See the replay...

The most powerful storm in the world this year has made landfall over the central Philippines, where mass evacuations have been ordered.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) says Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, made landfall at 4.40am local time over Guiuan, Eastern Samar in Philippines.

It says the storm has winds of 235 kilometres an hour near the centre and gusts of up to 275 kilometres an hour.

Authorities say the typhoon could cause major damage across a vast area of the central and southern Philippines when it makes landfall on Friday morning.

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So far, the Philippines have had 25 typhoons this year... and  a couple of earthquakes...