Climate Change: An Excuse For Political Incompetence
Posted on Tue 07/27/2021 by PA Pundits – International
By Dr. John Happs ~
People have always been drawn to the coast and rivers because of their scenic locations. In earlier times there were clear advantages from riverside and coastal living since they provided easier trade and communication with other parts of the country and overseas. Around the world, building on the fertile soils of riverside floodplains has been widespread and still continues even though we know that floodplains are plains that will always flood.
Queensland Floods 1974
Climate change received little or no mention by the media or politicians during the inundation of Queensland floodplains in 1974:
After this event, houses were rebuilt only to suffer later flooding. There were floodplain inundations in Queensland during 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The more recent floods were met, not with expressions of regret for allowing building to continue in these areas, but with the anticipated cries of “global warming” and “climate change” from the media, green zealots and politicians.
Maitland Flood Scene by Elijah Hart
Flooding in Australia has been noted since records began. The Maitland (New South Wales) flood of 1857 was well documented by Elijah Hart (1821-1893) with his series of photographs now held in the State Library of Victoria:
More recently, Maitland experienced flooding in 2015:
Without any evidence, when flooding occurs today, climate alarmists point their collective fingers at the trivial emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide.
The self-appointed Australian Climate Council’s Dr. Martin Rice, well known for his unsubstantiated climate alarmism, predictably lamented:
“Greenhouse gas pollution is warming the climate system, increasing the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere. This leads to heavier rainfall.”
https://alga.asn.au/weather-gone-wild-new-report-from-the-climate-council/
Heavier rainfall?
The chief counsellor of the Climate Council and former Australian of the Year Dr. Tim Flannery said the exact opposite in 2005:
“One morning in the not-too-distant future in one of the major cities, taps will be turned on, and instead of water, there will only be a whistling in the pipes. Not a drop. Totally dry.”
Bob Brown
In response to the 2011 Queensland floods, Green Party leader Bob Brown claimed, again with no evidence, that the coal mining industry was responsible and should pay for the Queensland flood damage, saying:
“It’s the single biggest cause – burning coal – for climate change and it must take its major share of responsibility for the weather events we are seeing unfolding now.”
One would think that Rice, Flannery and Brown would locate a few facts about flooding in Australia before making such ridiculous statements.
https://www.qhatlas.com.au/brisbane-floods-1893-summer-sorrow
Uninformed climate alarmists, and others with vested interests, are not restricted to Australia. The recent inundation of floodplains across Europe has led to the much anticipated hand-wringing over climate change.
Floodplain inundation, Germany
Prior to the current disaster, the River Danube flooded in 2002, leading to an economic loss exceeding 15 billion Euros.
Climate alarmists shout “global warming” or “climate change” whilst conveniently overlooking the North Sea Flood of 1962, an event that destroyed about 60,000 homes with 315 deaths in Hamburg:
http://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/great-flood-1962-hamburg
Climate alarmists pretend that any inundation by European waterways is a recent carbon dioxide-driven calamity despite the many high flood marks on a number of historic buildings, such as (amongst many others) the record 1501 river Danube flood level recorded on this building in Melk, Austria:
Photograph: Dr. John Happs
Reference to past Danube flooding can be located at:
The German spa town of Bad Schandau is sited in a valley on the banks of the river Elbe. Not surprisingly, the town has been flooded many times, as the town’s collection of flood markers show: (image at right)
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