Dispatches from the sunburned wastelands

The biggest aluminum hat-stand in the southern hemisphere...Oh, sorry, I meant the Australian Houses of Parliament, of course...

As the great drought here continues, it is widely expected that the ACT government (which runs the City of Canberra, don't ask), will announce more stringent water restrictions tomorrow. For some unfathomable reason, drip irrigation will be banned completely, while hose-pipes, which use a lot more water, will still be allowed. Makes perfect sense. There goes (what's left of) the garden.

Oh, and here's another snippet of joy: you know you're in Australia when:
The Minister for the Environment defends the coal mining industry...

The Minister's remarks followed a landmark ruling by the New South Wales court that a new coal mining development should be blocked, because the environmental impact assessment did not take into consideration the eventual greenhouse gas emissions of burning the coal. This ruling may eventually force the feds to put an EIA regulation in place that will be based on the global potetntial for pollution, not just the localized impact of a coal mine.

This bit by the Minister was what really made me laugh:

"It's a disastrous decision for climate change," Senator Campbell said (!).

Posted by HannesB at 1:12 PM Comments