Thursday 9 August 2007

Climate Brown Shirts need money to protect non-threat to Sydney Opera House

Those friendly neighbourhood Climate Brown Shirts are at it again, trying to stick their snouts deeper into the public trough with prophesies of doom and gloom if we don't all fall into line with their socialist agendas. This time it's to save the apparently inundation-threatened Sydney Opera House.
Water could one day be lapping at the doors of the Sydney Opera House, one of many cultural icons vulnerable to the effects of climate change, experts warn.

Heritage experts will this week urge the federal government to increase funding to protect Australia's cultural heritage sites from the rising sea water levels and destructive weather patterns associated with climate change.
It's always about money. Just give them money and they'll shut up.
The call will come at the National Cultural Heritage Forum (NCHF) on Friday in Canberra, where heritage groups will meet with the Assistant Environment Minister John Cobb.

Dr Michael Pearson, a cultural heritage consultant and expert on the Antarctic and Arctic regions, said the most fragile and valuable heritage sites, not just in Australia but worldwide, were in danger because the heritage industry and government departments were not prepared.

"The Opera House is potentially at risk. It has a disaster strategy plan, but I also hope they have some strategy for climate change impact," he said.

"Rising water levels is something where a small impact can cause a bigger impact down the line."

He said, for example, a one-metre rise in water levels could translate into hundreds of metres of damage along a horizontal plane, potentially devastating coastal areas.
Not even that political jackass of an organisation, the IPCC, is forecasting a one metre rise in sea levels. If they really did have a strategic plan for dealing with climate change then I'd sack their Director.
Dr Pearson said important Aboriginal burial and sacred sites, and not just those along the coast, were at risk from the effects of climate change such as erosion, salt and storms.

"We need a multi-pronged approach. There needs to be strategy to reduce risk to some really important heritage sites and then these sites need good maintenance and further protection," he said.

The president of the Australian chapter of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, Peter Phillips, said climate change and funding would be the hot topics at the NCHF.

"We will ask the minister for more investment. More than ever before, we need to assist people to do basic maintenance of historic sites, especially with the increasing threats nature throws at us," Mr Phillips said.
There you go. As the ABBA song goes - Money, money, money.
"Yes, I believe water could really be lapping at the Opera House's doors one day ... " he added.
Then he's an ass-clown for believing it.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said northern Australia, particularly the far north Queensland coastal communities and Torres Strait island communities, were already feeling the effects of climate change.
Note that the idiotic ACF says that communities are already feeling the effects of climate change while at the same time the representatives from those communities are looking to protect themselves from future change.
"Because they are low-lying communities they're suffering from beach erosion, storms and increased cyclonic activity," ACF program assistant Sue Hayes said.
You mean - all of the normal things that low-lying communities suffer from? I live at high altitude. Can I sue for getting nose bleeds?
"Grave sites in these areas are being inundated with water because of rising sea levels and the more intense and frequent cyclonic storms."
Where? If it was really happening and was clearly due to abnormal weather patterns then it'd be all over the press.
A spokesman for Mr Cobb said: "We look forward to speaking with any individuals at the NCHF. We are keen to hear what they have to say."
Wait for it. Here's the best bit of the whole article. Are you ready?
An Opera House spokeswoman laughed off the dire suggestions, saying: "Parts of Australia would experience difficulties well ahead of the Opera House, given that we sit 12 ft above sea level."
Tada! The Opera House is 12 feet (roughly 3.8m) above sea level, which means at the IPCC's average sea level rate of increase it'll be fine for the next 900 years or so.

The most amusing thing about Climate Brown Shirts exaggerating like this is that they expect us to take them seriously.

How about we tell them to piss off and stop bothering us with drivel? Seriously.

UPDATE: Note how the leftist ABC reports on the same story
"If sea levels rise, they will all be gone," Mr Phillips said. "We want the Minister to realise that there are genuine threats but there are genuine solutions. At its most extreme example, it could mean building a dam around the Opera House."
As I said, ass-clown.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's obvious that the ABC is complicit is spreading this rubbish as they have been trying to tell their radio audience that sea levels have already risen by two metres in the last generation. I wrote to them pointing out there was no evidence of this and the reply was "there is a scientific concensus"

Jack Lacton said...

The scientific consensus for sea level rise is somewhat less than that, of course. If you happen to flick to ABC radio on the drive home you'll hear all sorts of dribblers prattling on about what they're doing to reduce their carbon footprint.

I heard one woman the other day who'd taken the big step of selling her car. Good for her! Fortunately, she says, she's got good friends and can borrow one when she wants.

Umm, I'm not too sure that's the point...

Anonymous said...

"This Day Tonight" a TV current affairs show on the telly, had the Sydney Opera House sinking into the harbour, not the other way around.

That was reported in about April 1970. I remember watching it. It was on the telly, so it must be true.

Venice doesn't do too bad with the canals, been there a few times, Sydney should learn from the Venetian gondolier town.

Sorry Jack, a flippant post to something that seems from Gillbert and Sullivan, being played in our very own sacred Opera House.