Should global warming be a hush topic when there are severe bushfires?

[donnashuggy]

I don't think so, what do others think?

[icyfroth]

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@am*3 wrote:

icy - 

but increasing in frequency over the last few decades.

As have floods and other freak weather conditions throughout the world

Are you able  give some examples of those, especially Australian examples?... as I posted above, the current major  NSW bushfires are being compared to the ones in 2001 for severity.. that is more than 10 years ago.

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statements off the top of my head are easy...

research takes a bit longer and I'm busy listing.

I'll wait til I get back to work tomorrow lol.

I did say "decades",though. that would cover the one previous to 2001.

[icyfroth]

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@catmad*2013 wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

"Bush fires have  been a part of the Australian landscape for approximately 60 million years.... According to the Australian University of Canberra."

true.

but increasing in frequency over the last few decades.

As have floods and other freak weather conditions throughout the world.

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The last two floods up here are 100% normal... they came with cyclones or ex cyclones.... The only difference is that they happened over populated areas... 

we have I think four or five cylclone every year but only a few make landfall and fewer than that make landfall in populated areas. 

The one that hit us on Australia day was 100% normal... the only problem was that it stalled for 24 hours in one spot... and that spot was from Gladstone down to the Wide Bay, a very populated area. 

Not one person here was surprised by anything other than the fact it hung around for so long. 

Statistically these weather events are not increasing in number around the world.. population is exploding around the world... we are building and living in locations that have never had permanant populations before and in third world countries inparticular they are living in locations that are possibly more exposed. They are also destroying the land around them that often protected them from major flooding. Vegetation is very important in slowing down water flow and ehlping it absorb better into the environment. 

Some places have experienced some pretty severe weather but just because it is a storm that has not been seen for 100 years does not mean it has never happened before. 

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Not saying severe storms bushfires floods tsunamis cyclones droughts are undprecedented...I'm saying the frequency and severity are unusual.

And the more vegetation is eroded, and cleared for settlement, the more frequent it's likely to become.

[cherry*135]

I did say "decades",though. that would cover the one previous to 2001.

From 2003 to 2013 - how many major bushfires in NSW? None, if officials are saying this week, the last major, widespread bushfires in NSW were in 2001.

[cherry*135]

bactbr - Please note: I do not wish to receive any further emails from you ever again on my ebay email account.

[monman12]

SRA: "On the 6th of February 1851, 5 million hectares, were burnt during a bush fire in Victoria.   Anyone heard of a larger bush fire in Australia.?"

"The Northern Territory experiences fires annually on a scale which dwarfs those in southern Australia. For example, in 1974-75, following lush vegetation growth due to heavy rainfall in the previous two years, over 117 million ha or 15% of the total land area of the continent was burnt in central Australia during the fire season"

nɥºɾ

[donnashuggy]

You assumed wrong catmad. I guess I am rather miffed at this statement directed to me:

I think you should let the people bury their loved one and let the people that have lost their homes at least find a bed for the night before you start making political statements... 

I don't think I am being disrespectful to anyone caught up in this disaster 😞

[freakiness]

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@catmad*2013 wrote:

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@crystal-gems wrote:

I think you should let the people bury their loved one and let the people that have lost their homes at least find a bed for the night before you start making political statements... 

Catmad, in all fairness.....the OP did not introduce/mention politics into this thread......it was the poster with those 'cartoons'.

Perhaps you meant to direct your comment to her.

I agree with you that climate change should be discussed at any time..

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It was Adam Bandt that introduced politics to this discussion... I would assume that the thread was possibly started because of the uproar that was caused by that man attributing man made climate change and these bushfires to the PM. 

In no way am I attributing the OP to the statement that was made by the Greens second in command... Even the Greens leader distanced herself from that mans comments. 

The one good thing that the Greens leader said was that no one event can be attributed to man made global warming. yes... we may be having an influence on the weather but to make a political statement during a disaster is very upsetting to the people that are going through it. 

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He did not attribute these fires to the PM.

[icyfroth]

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@am*3 wrote:

I did say "decades", though. that would cover the one previous to 2001.

From 2003 to 2013 - how many major bushfires in NSW? None, if officials are saying this week, the last major, widespread bushfires in NSW were in 2001.

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So unless they're not "major" they don't count?

Tell that to the people that recently lost their homes and animals in the Blue Mountains last week! Not to mention the wildlife.

How many hectares have to be burnt down before they're classed as "major"?

I'm talking frequency, not magnitude.

[cherry*135]

So unless they're not "major" they don't count?

Tell that to the people that recently lost their homes and animals in the Blue Mountains last week! Not to mention the wildlife.

The ones last week were considered major and the worst ones since 2001, so that makes your question redundant.

My point is if NSW has only had 1 major bushfire outbreak in 12 years, where is the evidence they are occuring more frequently? From the decade before that or the one before that one?

Obviously major bushfires cause more damage to properties, put more peoples lives and  harm more wildlife, so the impact is larger.

The issue was increased frequency of bushfires not the impact of them that I responded to in your post orginally.

[icyfroth]

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@am*3 wrote:

So unless they're not "major" they don't count?

Tell that to the people that recently lost their homes and animals in the Blue Mountains last week! Not to mention the wildlife.

The ones last week were considered major and the worst ones since 2001, so that makes your question redundant.

My point is if NSW has only had 1 major bushfire outbreak in 12 years, where is the evidence they are occuring more frequently? From the decade before that or the one before that one?

Obviously major bushfires cause more damage to properties, put more peoples lives and  harm more wildlife, so the impact is larger.

The issue was increased frequency of bushfires not the impact of them that I responded to in your post orginally.

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So how many bushfires counting the minor ones as well as the major ones?