Drying basin

Posted on June 30, 2008 by admin

The Australian    June 7 – 8, 2008  p.28
Dry future well ahead of schedule
      For the past decade, the autumn rains that heralded the grain planting season and produced winter pasture have failed in south-eastern Australia. This year was no exception: the last month was the driest May on record for Australia as a whole, while autumn 2008 was the eighth driest on record. For the Murray Darling Basin it was the fourth driest autumn on record, with a basin-wide average of just 40 mm of rain, well below the long term average of 128 mm. Autumn inflows into the Murray River were just 200 gigalitres or billion litres, the same as last autumn's record-setting low.  
    The head of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Wendy Craik, warns  "there is really no improvement in sight".
Continue reading →

Posted in updates | Comments Off on Drying basin

Peter Wray Cullen

Posted on March 17, 2008 by admin

28 May 1943 – 13 March 2008

(See also an earlier article by Åsa Wahlquist: Man with a plan).

After the news of Peter Cullen's final illness was made public on Tuesday March 11, Wentworth Group director Peter Cosier, said their phones rang off the hook. The day after Professor Cullen's death was announced, their website temporarily crashed.

Mr Cosier said the callers came from all walks of life: scientists, irrigators, conservationists, politicians, former students and people who have heard about him, read him or seen him on television. "It just tells me how wide a group he has touched," Cosier said. "His contribution to water reform was unparalleled".

Continue reading →

Posted in other writings | Comments Off on Peter Wray Cullen

Zac’s blog 4

Posted on May 28, 2007 by admin

Clancy has asked me to write about our best friend Hamish.
Hamish used to work at a puppy farm, before he was rescued and went to live with Åsa’s friend Annie. We like Hamish because he has, to quote Clancy, no tickets on himself. We like it when he comes to visit with us. I especially like going on walks with him. He is a big dog, and between Hamish and Clancy I feel very safe.
Continue reading →

Posted in Zac and Clancy's page | Comments Off on Zac’s blog 4

Water hogs leave Darling high and dry downstream

Posted on May 17, 2007 by admin

Published in The Australian April 28-29, 2007

Thanks to the drought and too much water being taken upstream, a once great river has been reduced to use as a cricket pitch. 

Continue reading →

Posted in water | Comments Off on Water hogs leave Darling high and dry downstream

Living with less rain

Posted on May 17, 2007 by admin

Published in The Australian, December 30, 2006

Much of Australia has been in and out of drought for the past several years, or continuously lacking rain.

Continue reading →

Posted in climate | Comments Off on Living with less rain

Once it’s wet, they’ll leave

Posted on May 17, 2007 by admin

Published in The Weekend Australian July 8, 2006

Åsa Wahlquist goes to the heart of the worsening drought that is afflicting all mainland states.

Continue reading →

Posted in climate | Comments Off on Once it’s wet, they’ll leave

Catch it if you can

Posted on May 17, 2007 by admin

Published in The Australian April 29, 2005

A long dry has sent water authorities back to the drawing board, but the figures they're using to estimate future dam levels may be flawed.

Continue reading →

Posted in climate | Comments Off on Catch it if you can

The Australian 40 Years: The Land

Posted on May 17, 2007 by admin

Published in The Australian July 29, 2004

In 40 years Australian farming has been turned on its head. At the heart of the change is a more hard-headed appreciation of the wide brown land. Rural writer Åsa Wahlquist examines the lessons learned.

Continue reading →

Posted in other writings | Comments Off on The Australian 40 Years: The Land

Man with a plan

Posted on May 17, 2007 by admin

Published in The Weekend Australian Magazine, May 31- June 1 2003

Not only can environmental scientist Peter Cullen demystify phenomena such as salinity and drought, he has workable solutions – and the ear of the Prime Minister.

Continue reading →

Posted in other writings | Comments Off on Man with a plan

The forensic fireman

Posted on May 17, 2007 by admin

Published in The Weekend Australian Magazine March 22-23 2003

Phil Cheney has spent his working life analysing bushfires. Despite the lessons of history, he says Australians still don't understand the nature of fire.

Continue reading →

Posted in other writings | Comments Off on The forensic fireman