While sharing many of Diana Gillies’ concerns about human impacts on the planet (BDN, 13/6), the notion that logged forests will not grow back because of climate change, is not one of them.
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Recently published research on the genome of flooded gum (E.grandis) has confirmed eucalyptus trees have a very broad range of genetic features, which provide for a large range of adaptive capacities.
One of these can be readily observed in regrowth forest red gum (E. tereticornis) in agricultural areas on the Far South Coast, where the trees grow more like mallee scrub and will never attain the height or diameter of the original forests.
In the original forests, forest red gum was a “primary” koala feed tree, however the capacity of these trees to support koalas was lost early last century.
These changes came due to reduced soil fertility, which explains why the trees stopped growing and since that time can only support insects.
The current logging industry is based on the notion that slow tree growth is due to too many large trees, and cutting these large trees down will result in abundant regrowth suitable for koalas.
Similarly the whole NSW Government believes agricultural land remains suitable for koalas, it just needs more trees.
Regrettably, and despite measures being put in place to more accurately measure forest growth, under the Regional Forest Agreements, the Forestry Corporation NSW has not been required to comply with these measures.
Beside the delusions - and illegality - is the reality of what is actually happening in forests on the Far South Coast.
A significant El Nino is expected to develop in coming months, increasing the probability of below average rainfall, and the likelihood that forests in the region will again turn brown.
Coupled with “blow-up” weather, the potential for wildfire is not just increased, but fire intensity will be greatly magnified, because most of the leaves on trees will already be brown.
I certainly agree the environment that supports us is under increasing threats, but community options are limited when dealing with a culpable, and unaccountable, state government.
Robert Bertram
Bermagui
The former Greens/ALP governments saturated Australia with the alarmist virtual science claims of the UN IPCC, presenting it as “settled science” and the foundation for introducing the clean energy legislation and carbon tax.
The settled science claim is fraudulent.
No established scientific theory exists that accurately describes the chaotic complexities of global climate.
Nascent human knowledge is seeking to unravel its mysteries, but has no evidence that man-made climate change has exceeded or influenced natural variability.
For example, how much carbon dioxide (CO2) seeps from the carbon crust of our Earth?
This is important to assess the consequences of man-made emissions.
A Live Science article indicates that in 1992 volcanic degassing (not eruptions) were estimated at about 100million tonnes per year, now the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology have raised the figure to 600million tonnes, and it appears only 33 of the 150 volcanoes have been assessed.
Then there are super eruptions to consider.
Japan has had its IBUKI satellite operating since January 2009, designed specifically for monitoring atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane from space.
Apparently it is the first “concrete demonstration of satellite-based observations in the field of global carbon cycle research.
A study of its 2010 data to see how much CO2 each country either emits or absorbs in gigatonnes carbon, by “net emissions” or by “net sequestration” shows the top four net emitters are China, USA, India and Congo, while the top four net sequestering nations are Argentina, Brazil, Australia and Canada. (Note, Australia is not a net emitter).
The surface temperature of Earth has been flat for 17 years 10 months.
These highlight the absurdities of the virtual science claims in the political Summaries for Policymakers of the IPCC, arguably the socialist political agency of the UN bureaucracy.
Yet Mr Shorten has now widely distributed his email “our earth is warming, our seas rising, humans are the cause, act or (else)”.
Cry wolf again?
Neville Hughes
Surf Beach
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