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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Water bird numbers down 70% in the Murray-Darling Basin over ~30 years (1 Viewer)

Experts concerned after carp survives Menindee's mass fish kills

Bl**dy air breathing! Pommie b*st*rds - "disgusting mud-sucking creatures" ....... er, the European Carp that is ....

"They're a very successful pest, they're tougher than a lot of the native fish species … they're the last fish to die in many of our systems," NCCP national coordinator Jamie Allnutt said.
https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019...rp-number-explosion-after-fish-kills/10760612



Chosun :gh:
 
The River Speaks - The reality is that paper numbers no longer represent actual water

Amid delays in publicly releasing the South Australian Royal Commission report (handed to government yesterday), former MDBA Director Maryanne Slattery on ABC News today, has called for its immediate release.

This previous interview went someway to covering the material of her witness submission to the RC.
Murray-Darling Basin Authority: former employee accuses agency of manipulating data
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...-employee-accuses-agency-of-manipulating-data

"Royal commissioner labels government’s approach ‘irregular and deplorable’ "




Chosun :gh:
 
The Murray-Darling Basin, South Australian Royal Commission - here's how we got here

A nice synopsis of how we got this point in the formal investigation - and I think vindication for Professor Richard Kingsford's (and many others) research (linked initially this thread).

The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission has handed down its findings. Here's how we got here
https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019...ommission-findings-to-be-handed-down/10756198




Chosun :gh:
 
ROYAL COMMISSION Report released !

"The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission has found Commonwealth officials committed gross maladministration, negligence and unlawful actions in drawing up the multi-billion-dollar deal to save Australia's largest river system."

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019...nored-potentially-catastrophic-risks/10766106

Given that this is a South Australian instigated State Royal Commission, and even with it's limitations of lack of Federal cooperation and refusal to let relevant witnesses and officers testify, the result is very worthwhile. The $5 odd million that it cost is a great investment and probably the best 5 Mil ever spent in light of the $13 Billion of taxpayer's money spent on the Murray Darling Basin Plan, and Authority so far.

As soon as I can find the full report publicly I'll link it in this thread.
[EDIT] Actual report now available on the official website here:
https://www.mdbrc.sa.gov.au/sites/d...asin-royal-commission-report.pdf?v=1548898371

I can't say that any calls for a further "independent" oversight body make sense to me - that's what the MDBA is meant to be! "Independent" ! and taking care of the environment first - without it nothing else exists. If the MDBA needs a clean out, new charter and/or legislation - then make it so !

A triple bottom line has a place in decision making, but first and foremost before that must be the ongoing health and ecological viability of the entire Murray-Darling river, wetland, lakes, and floodplain system during ALL weather cycles including droughts, heatwaves, cold snaps, and breaking rain events.

As per the initial research from Professor Kingsford that kicked this thread off, the latest river problems are the canary in the coal mine for wider ecological problems and decline. Had the whole basin been in better condition, with more natural functioning in line with Peter Andrews Natural Sequence Farming (ie. a more saturated soil sponge continually releasing water to the system, and intact functioning vegetation communities aiding microclimate functioning and thus moderating climate and providing refugia in harsh times), then the whole system would be a lot more resilient.

Opposing legal, scientific, stakeholder, government office, or political opinion pales into insignificance when the river speaks ..... and the river has well and truly spoken !!!




Chosun :gh:
 
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I have seen some bad cases of fish kills due to river pollution but nothing on that sort of scale. It is often the bigger fish which succumb due to the obvious need for more oxygen but to see such a blanket of fish of all sizes does nor bode well for future breeding recovery. This is going to take years for the fish stocks to recover.
 
The River has Spoken !

The Drum Tuesday February 12 - this episode was brilliant !

The river system is on life support .... large breeding Murray Cod are being individually removed from affected parts to be kept alive elsewhere.

Even the big years long droughts of the turn of the 20th Century (the Federation drought) and at the turn of the 21st Century (the Millennium drought) didn't have fish kills on this scale .....

The South Australian Royal Commission report hit the nail on the head but seems to be fading away to a whimper with all the impact of being slapped by a wet lettuce.

To put this in perspective, the Murray-Darling Basin covers an area the size of France and Germany combined, or 4 times the United Kingdom (for those of a Brexit bent :)

I have been waiting for some fair dinkum analysis and 'truth telling' and finally it has been broadcast on a recent episode of Australian TV ABC program "The Drum" of Tuesday 12th February 2019.
I cannot recommend highly enough that you spend 1/2 an hour watching this program (starts at the ~26:00min mark).
https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-13/the-drum-tuesday-february-12/10809248?pfmredir=sm

Featuring representation from the northern basin Aboriginal Nations group, as well as highly informed commentary from Professor John Williams of the Australian National University.

Takeaways are that:
* The political process has corrupted the MDBA plan and is only delivering less than half the required water to the environment (2750GL vs the 6900GL that scientists originally recommended)
* This is insufficient through drought periods
* The Water Act has not been implemented properly, and this improper implementation is not in accordance with First Nations Principles
* Apart from illegal take of water as exposed in the 'Four Corners Program - Pumped' , that the 'harvesting' of northern floodplain deltas is unregulated, unknown, and excessive
* Vegetation clearing, and damage to the soil sponge has a deleterious effect, and any climate change effects have not been accounted for

Three guys stand out to me as being absolutely bang on the money:
Professor Richard Kingsford
Professor Mike Young
Professor John Williams

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams_(water_scientist)
https://www.policyforum.net/authors/john-williams/

I also highly recommend reading last year's Murray Declaration:
https://murraydeclaration.org/
https://murraydeclaration.org/signatories
https://murraydeclaration.org/the-declaration


I can't fathom that we have so many accomplished absolutely leading world class scientists, and have wasted a significant part of the $13Billion spent, and are still in this huge bl**dy mess ....... :-C

It has GOT to be The Environment first and foremost, and everything else to follow from that subject to sustainable limits that don't impinge on environmental health in any way, no matter what the cyclical climate conditions are at any point in time, or a likely to be coming up.




Chosun :gh:
 
Flipside - Independent Scientific Panel report - chaired by Professor Craig Moritz

"The conditions leading to this event are an interaction between a severe (but not unprecedented) drought and, more significantly, excess upstream diversion of water for irrigation," the report said.

"Prior releases of water from the Menindee Lakes contributed to lack of local reserves."

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019...e-menindee-fish-kill-report-released/10820248




Chosun :gh:
 
The Senate was right on the Murray-Darling proposal. Here's why

Dr Jamie Pittock is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and an associate professor at the Australian National University
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...ight-on-the-murray-darling-proposal-heres-why

"Not even the Murray-Darling Basin Authority knows how much water is being pumped out of the river. More than two-thirds of the water used by irrigators in Queensland is unmetered, and more than a third of water use is unmetered in NSW."

According to the video in the article, there are 240 dams in the system that hold 30,000 GL (Billions of Litres of water), and yet the MDBA (pushed by irrigators) sought to reduce water returned to the environment by a further 70 GL, despite the originally recommended levels not being achieved. Is there no end to the greed of the corporste irrigating sector ?!

"Further, the authority’s proposal included allowing a massive increase of 160 billion litres per year of groundwater to be taken from the poorly-studied aquifers across the region.

The Wentworth Group has had serious concerns about the assumptions used to try and justify the proposal."

"the NSW government has not reversed regulations that it adopted in 2012 which allow irrigators to extract water when the Darling and tributary rivers have low flows.

This is made possible by regulations to allow irrigators to accumulate unused water allocations from year to year, extract up to 300% of water under some water licences, and remove limits on pumping capacity."

$13 Billion of taxpayers money, a flawed governance regime, and a near dead river systems basin to show for it !! :storm:






Chosun :gh:
 
Murray-Darling water flows worsen despite $8.5 billion cash splash, analysis finds

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.sm...sh-splash-analysis-finds-20190211-p50wzx.html

"A distinguished alliance of scientists says water flows in the Murray Darling river system have failed to improve under a $13 billion rescue plan and in some cases have become worse, in startling findings that indicate the controversial policy is floundering.

The analysis adds to a chorus of authoritative voices calling for the troubled Murray-Darling Basin Plan to be radically overhauled, including a (State) Royal Commission that last month accused federal officials of maladministration and gross negligence when managing Australia's largest river system."





Chosun :gh:
 
Cash Splash - Four Corners, ABC TV Australia, 8:30pm Monday night 8th July

New exposay' coming tomorrow night ..... :storm:

"Cash Splash" - Four Corners, ABC TV Australia, 8:30pm Monday night 8th July, ...... a little bit over 24hrs from now.

More on the whole Environmental and Tax-Payer funded $13 Billion disaster that is the Murray-Darling basin ..... more must see viewing. Summary here:
https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/cash-splash/11275810



Chosun :gh:
 
"Cash Splash" - Four Corners ABC TV, Australia 8:30pm Monday night, 8th July

On in a bit over 3 hours .......

"Others worry that the scheme is encouraging the planting of crops even thirstier than cotton, creating a potential time bomb.

"There's been an explosion in the production of nuts in the Murrumbidgee, and more broadly in the Murray-Darling Basin...This may well be a time bomb." Former water official"

Four Corners investigates how the scheme is being regulated and whether water users and the authorities responsible are being properly held to account.

"We're talking about billions of dollars in taxpayers' money on a scheme that many, many capable and reliable scientists have said, this isn't going to work." Lawyer"





Chosun :gh:
 
From Bad to Worse .....

Jeez, I just watched the Four Corners program. :storm:

Vast swathes of taxpayer money going to a few big businesses.

Worse than that, much worse - is that the very systems designed to fix the environment have actually made it worse - much worse .....

Infrastructure that captures overland flows will further degrade the natural flooding and soil formation processes, and has led to even more inappropriate crops (water intensive nut trees). I was dismayed to see fallow fields being deeply tilled - all that carbon just evaporating straight up into the sky.

I am reminded of this earlier post:
Water being subject to gravity, One of the gross failures of logic that is now being more widely understood, is that gains from irrigation and water use efficiences, result in corresponding losses by reduced return (leakage) back to the environment. This useless loop coming at great financial cost to the taxpayer!

Here is a quote from one of the plethora of who's who water economists that brought quite the smile to my face:
''The government's claim that it is creating 'new' water is spurious in the extreme. When water is purportedly 'lost' in the irrigation district, it does not go to Mars. It is not lost at all, it has just gone somewhere else.''
http://www.stockandland.com.au/story...-plan-savaged/
Click to expand...

Unfortunately at this stage, I cannot tell Ed that we are not in some Dune like novel ....... :-C
The only Silver Lining is that in the eternity of the Dreaming, this is just the blink of an eye ......

Surely now these revelations warrant a full Federal Royal Commission !




Chosun :gh:
 
Rubbery figures !

Independent Water Scientists have calculated only about 1/10th of claimed Government extra water is being returned to the environment AND at 10x the cost !! :eek!:
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au...bVevOQ7BCZNL_7C0Vx7lFCvwqFs73ONzNfHnyl244dcyY

*** NB: the article link is only able to be read in full once per month without subscription. If someone could make a Pdf and attach here for fair use educational purposes that would be great :t:


This just beggars belief ...... so far Greens Senator Sarah Hanson Young has called for a Federal Royal Commission, but the incumbent Government with numbers on their side is hardly backing them up ......






Chosun :gh:
 
Darling recovery in peril

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au...M3Y7XHt-UzskaeXqxW6DuUpLEXoEzZbtnpGAZ3N1NswiI

*** Again - you only get one crack to read this - if someone could make a fair use educational pdf of the article that would be great.

"WILLIAMS AND GRAFTON CRITICISE WHAT THEY CALL “A DEARTH OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION” ABOUT THE WATER IN THE MURRAY–DARLING. THEIR CONCERN REFLECTS AN INTERGENERATIONAL FAILURE IN THE QUEST FOR A SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT PLAN."

The scientists parry, the politicians deflect. I will post this video from the farmer who sent the massive millions fish kill viral. Use your own eyes to judge .....
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...7905&id=175716459215409&fs=0&focus_composer=0

Interviewed by a couple of fishermen bemoaning the lack of recreational opportunity. It saddens me to think that even this is regarded as "woke" deep thinking in this country ...... meanwhile the Barkinji people are undergoing cultural genocide ......
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thecon...g-their-mother-the-drying-darling-river-57884

2019 Darling River Update:
https://theconversation.com/the-dar...KqG9cPvQtOHzt8PeyaZQAsD3jtKuD5OP_UoYZnCxC3-tQ






Chosun :gh:
 
Not on the same scale as the Darling but abstraction is causing the small local streams/rivers close to my home in SE Kent to dry up...…….
sad sight to see fields with little stone bridges over a dried up overgrown ditch that not many years ago held a thriving population of small fish/crayfish/voles and Kingfishers. All gone now.

Den
 
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poledark said:
Not on the same scale as the Darling but abstraction is causing the small local streams/rivers close to my home in SE Kent to dry up...…….
sad sight to see fields with little stone bridges over a dried up overgrown ditch that not many years ago held a thriving population of small fish/crayfish/voles and Kingfishers. All gone now.

Den
Click to expand...

It's a very 'empire' an masculine engineering thing to do to control nature and bend it to man's will. The trouble is modern man hasn't observed the world long enough, or deeply enough, or connectedly enough to understand how it all works.

Hopefully your little band of critters might put in an appearance during the next flood event, and hopefully all the engineering earthworks /over extraction, can be undone to let the land naturally flood, go through it's cycles, and build soil and life ..... :) :t:

You might like this next post .....




Chosun :gh:
 
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