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True champion on climate By Georgie Somerset, Agforce General President Science is a powerful weapon. Governments, corporations, even environmental groups have all twisted it to their advantage, taking from it only the parts that satisfy their position, while sometimes misrepresenting the facts completely. In the 1950s, American nutritionist Ancel Keys undertook a study to investigate the cause of the sharp rise in heart disease after World War II. The answer, we know now, was smoking rates, but Ancel Keys surmised diet was the cause and focused his attention on saturated fat and cholesterol – the rest, as they say, is history. Eating fat makes you fat made sense to many (and still does) and gave rise to the abundance of highly processed food many of us now include in unhealthy quantities in our diets. Ancel Keys’s incorrect position on fat – established via the use of cherry-picked science in his ‘Seven Countries Study’, and unable to be confirmed despite repeated follow-up studies – stuck. Just like the ‘scientific’ arguments brought to bear on agriculture often seem to – especially when it comes to climate and the environment. Despite doing ALL the heavy lifting to reduce our nation’s carbon emissions, there are still plenty of critics willing to point the finger and suggest industry – particularly the livestock sector – is the root cause of all our climate problems, ignoring the massive strides made to reduce methane production. This outdated thinking – based on outdated science – also ignores the huge investment made by farming operations, many of them small family run businesses, to not only sequester carbon, but to improve the land in its entirety. Methane from cattle emissions is part of the natural cycle and breaks down quickly, while
carbon dioxide is taken up in crops, pastures, and native vegetation on farms throughout the nation. A recent report from the Gratton Institute even acknowledges that agriculture uses more carbon dioxide than it emits, while current environmental science demonstrates that Agriculture – at less than 15 per cent of total emissions in Australia (down from 16.5 per cent prior to Kyoto) – is far less impactful than some critics would suggest. Much less than the dominant energy sector, with more than 53 per cent total emissions, or transport, at more than 17 per cent – both industries increasing their emissions since Kyoto was ratified in 1997. It’s why as an industry we believe it’s well past time we were given our due recognition – to change the rhetoric, to ensure we avoid a repeat of what took place when Ancel Keys and his cherry-picked science was allowed to set the path for the obesity epidemic that has followed. If agriculture alone is forced to continue to carry the burden of reducing Australia’s share of emissions, it will also drive some producers from the industry – at a time when Covid has put the issue of food security in the brightest of spotlights. Instead, as the figures above show, it is time for other industries to pick up the baton of carbon emissions reduction so that they can take their place alongside agriculture as true champions of action on climate. Join AgForce in spreading the word about the fantastic work being done by agriculture on climate as we count down to COP26 in Glasgow. Use #standwithregqld.
Pictured right: AgForce general president Georgie Somerset, who says the agricultural industry is doing great work on climate.
Cyclones, flooding risk highlighted in weather outlook Australians can expect an average, or slightly above average, cyclone season with an increased risk of widespread flooding over the east and north, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s Severe Weather Outlook, released Monday 11 October. The outlook, which also outlines the risk of severe thunderstorms, heatwaves and bushfires, is released in early October every year and looks ahead to the end of April, when the high risk weather season in Australia officially ends. Bureau Senior Climatologist Greg Browning said while severe weather could occur at any time of the year, we are now entering Australia’s peak high risk weather season. “Many climate drivers are indicating that
“And with an already wet landscape and above average rainfall likely, there is an increased risk of widespread flooding for eastern and northern Australia. “This summer, with above average rain, more cloud and higher humidity, the number of individual extreme heat days are likely to be lower than we’ve seen in recent years. “But the potential for bushfires and severe storms remains near average.” Mr Browning said Australians could not afford to be complacent this severe weather season. “Severe weather can disrupt and endanger lives in many ways, that is why the Bureau is asking the community to ‘know your weather, know your risk’,” he said.
“That means understanding the kinds of severe weather that can impact the area you live in and what you should do when it occurs. “Today’s release of the Severe Weather Outlook is also a timely reminder for all of us to follow the advice of local emergency services before, during and after severe weather. “Another way Australians can keep themselves safe is by staying up-to-date with the latest forecast and warnings on the Bureau’s website or by downloading the BOM Weather app.” For the full Severe Weather Outlook 202122 visit Australian tropical cyclone season outlook at bom.gov.au
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it could be an active season across parts of Australia,” Mr Browning said. “Warm waters to the north of the continent, and the sea surface temperature patterns across the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans, are driving our outlook towards more rainfall for eastern and northern Australia. “It is also likely that the first rains of the northern wet season will arrive earlier than normal for much of northern Australia. “On average, Australia gets around 11 tropical cyclones in a season, of which four generally cross our coastline. With warmer than average seas around northern Australia this year, the number of tropical cyclones is likely to be close, or slightly above average.
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