Catastrophe at Coorong reaches point of no return This document is published on the web. document is publicly viewable at: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcgk9t7p_71ct6mwfgf
CANBERRA, Australia, February 2, 2009 , Australia's Labor government used the occasion of World Wetlands Day to slam the former Liberal government for its treatment of the country's 65 wetlands that are officially designated under the Ramsar treaty. World Wetlands Day marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The Ramsar Convention (The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat) is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. It is named after the town of Ramsar in Iran. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsar_Convention Date: July 24 2009 IT'S an appalling irony that the five-year Living Murray agreement between the states and the Commonwealth to rescue six "icon" sites expired last month just as one of the sites, the Coorong near Adelaide, is dying. Gone is the abundance of birds, fish and other wildlife that earned the system of lakes and lagoons exposed to air, the soil chemistry produces toxic levels of acidity. The unique meeting of waters — seawater and river water, rainfall and groundwater, which meant so much to the area's original inhabitants, is a thing of the past. 500 sq miles ,1400 sq km of pristine World heritage and at nature reserve at risk http://www.mdbc.gov.au/subs/dynamic_reports/foundation_report/images/chp6/fig62.jpg For seven years, no water has flowed down to the mouth of the Murray to rescue the landscape that was celebrated in the book and movie Storm Boy. From pristine world class protected World Heritage Listed Wetlands ,to toxic sewer in a few decades , thanks to taxpayer funded experts and politicians pillage of cash and water to fund their rich " mates " funds meant to preserve it were plundered ruthlessly by experts from a gullible trusting public with a bottomless "purse" , and little REAL knowledge of what they were doing >From this http://www.heritageatrisk.org.au/Coorong_aerial.jpg http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200807/r268069_1123363.jpg A three-year CSIRO study has found the system has undergone such fundamental change that it can no longer sustain most of the species once found there. Just a single species of fish survives in the lagoons. Only two types of birds and a saltwater shrimp can prosper in the southern lagoons, which are now four to six times saltier than seawater. http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200810/r301753_1310288.jpg The New South Wales Government is refusing to release water into the system, saying it would put its human and industry needs at risk. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says that is not good enough. "I think it's about what we need to prioritise and I absolutely understand that human critical needs is an essential part of water security, what I want to know is how can we maximise the limited water sources we have to ensure that we don't lose the Coorong and lower lakes," she said. "There is a lack of understanding of what crisis we're facing and the situation of environmental devastation that is quickly unfolding in the lower lakes and Coorong." http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200803/r234795_943210.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_e4PLD4ygZm4/ScAZ7cnYd-I/AAAAAAAABmM/fcALEXBKH8g/s400/coorong+np.jpghttp://www.goolwaheritagecottages.com/josephscottage/assets/cog_coorong.jpg The system is at tipping point because of two effects of a lack of fresh water: rising salinity and acidification. When the lake beds are exposed to air, the soil chemistry produces toxic levels of acidity. http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200809/r293194_1256680.jpg A last resort would be to pump seawater into the lakes, but researcher Justin Brookes, of the University of Adelaide, warns that the impact would be irreversible. "It would be very difficult to get the salt back out." Professor Brookes and other scientists argue that the Coorong can be saved, but only with a flush of fresh water this year. That was meant to happen under the Living Murray agreement, with states to provide 500 billion litres a year, on average, for river flows. That never happened because it depended on buying surplus "sales water" once farmers had received their allocations. To put it bluntly, governments made a choice between honouring various treaty and statutory obligations to preserve the environment and looking after irrigators, who in Victoria use three-quarters of the state's water. Some might say that when there isn't enough water, something has to give and that is the environment. That is a position the Federal Government appeared to come to last year when Climate and Water Minister Penny Wong left open the option of giving up on the river's lower reaches because no extra water could be found upstream. One should not undervalue that environment. but the Coorong is now beyond saving it must be returned to sea water only and restored to pre European environment instead of a toxic moonscape , fatal to any poor animal bird or insect that tries to live ion the area , a total loss of even insects and spiders is inevitable The last few fish and birds will soon be gone and nothing can now save them , its too late , those that could left those that couldn't leave are dead , Aussie taxpayers are still to drunk watching sport and enjoying life too much to care about YOUR kids future http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200805/r247539_1013248.jpg Water was being pumped from Lake Alexandrina into Lake Albert to prevent levels of sulphuric acid getting too high. A wall between the two lakes will stop the water flowing back. both failed miserably The Coorong was one of Australia's top six waterbird sites, supporting more than 1 per cent of the global populations of several migratory waders and up to 20 per cent of one species, the sharp-tailed sandpiper. In addition, rising salinity in the Murray will cause incalculable economic losses. If Europeans can let a piece of pristine landscape die so quickly there is no hope at all for the rest of their word , ignoring all advise until its too late them claim its too hard and too expensive to fix A year ago, eminent economist Ross Garnaut warned: "Under business as usual, the economic base of the Murray-Darling will be gone, however clever governments may be at COAG or elsewhere." The Murray supplies 90 per cent of Adelaide's water, and a weir may be built near where the river runs into the lakes to temporarily protect that supply from the salinity creeping upstream.Its only a matter of time until the next section of goes exactly the same way if we let the same EXPERTS tryand fix the problems they were PAID to solve and they permitted it to die at OUR expense Clearly all EXPERTS need arresting as Environmental criminals , and charged with fraud to recover the moneys they stole pretending to sell us a cure under false pretenses , WHY listen to anybody who was paid to care for the environment and permitted it to DIE, its now time to let the REAL experts FIX the problem , the people who 30 years ago SCREAMED until they were breathless , and got LAUGHED at by highly paid highly qualified EXPERTS who knew nothing of what they were doing FIND those who SCREAMED 30 years ago and beg them to do what ever they can to save what ever is left for GODS sake ONCE the so called experts are thrown out of the comfortable air conditioned city offices and Government 4WD vehicles and pensions plans are removed , if we ask them to save the country we are dooming our children to a fate worse than death and paying experts to inflict the crime against the planet on them for ever or accept your guilty of a crime against your own childrens lives But the state's Minister for Water Security, Karlene Maywald, says that unless at least 350 billion litres a year flow past the weir into the lakes to cleanse the river of its salts, "you will spread a cancer up the river … That is the point that is missed by most irrigators." That point underscores the folly of governments that, when signing the latest agreement on the Murray-Darling Basin a year ago, NOTHING will save the lower reaches of Australia's greatest river. Based on recent buybacks, securing that flow could cost roughly $1 billion, plus possible compensation for leaving fields fallow for a season or two. Governments declined to make the necessary tough choices. As South Australian senator Nick Xenophon has observed: "Ultimately, what we are seeing here is not a lack of water; it's a lack of political will." It is widely accepted that current allocations to irrigators are unsustainable. The time has come to bite the bullet and retrieve some of that water. But time has run out for the Coorong. REAL experts were destroyed long ago by taxpayer funded EXPERTS and wont now bother trying to save taxpayers from paying for their CRIMES in full Once taxpayers have totally destroyed the planet by employing experts until they are totally penniless , only THEN can we ever hope to start rebuilding the planet , while taxpayers still have money the EXPERTS will work out some way to scam it from them , with more promises and more cures , until there is nothing left to steal , or nothing left to save ONLY then can the planet AGAIN be run by the WISDOM of the ELDERS , not the CEO of foreign and local capitalist criminal corporates ruled and guided by the bottom line and foreign interests The catastrophic impacts of the short-term political judgments involved in putting irrigators first is irreversible But you can still show your grand kids what it WAS like before DRUNKEN AUSSIES meat heads paid EXPERTS to destroy it and GIVE away our water , up river to their RICH mates for FREE http://www.shortcruises.com.au/coorong.jpg http://www.thecoorong.com/assets/tc_expl_windsurf.jpg http://www.victorharbortimes.com.au/multimedia/images/full/490878.jpg Siene netting http://www.goolwaheritagecottages.com/josephscottage/assets/cog_coorong.jpg --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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