Oz Ag. Minister - Situation In Bush "Rapidly Deteriorating" - W/O Big Rains, "Unprecedented" Crisis

[hatrack]

FARMERS faced an unprecedented rural crisis within a month unless big spring rains arrive, Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran has warned. "Unless there are spring rains in the next three to four weeks of substantial volume then Australia will have an agricultural and rural crisis on its hands like never before," Mr McGauran said yesterday.

The Bureau of Meteorology will release today its latest outlook, but he held little hope of a break. Senior forecasters say there is only a 40 per cent chance of above-average spring rain in Victoria.

The Bureau of Meteorology's Richard Carlyon said: "It's not likely because we're getting later in the year now. "Certainly earlier in the year we were waiting for the signals of a turn towards La Nina, but it would be very late now if things did turn towards a wetter weather pattern."

EDIT

Mr McGauran said: "There's been too many predictions from the bureau that have raised expectations or hopes in the past. If by some miracle their predictions are more accurate this time then that will be a bonus. "Otherwise, everybody else is preparing for the worst. It's a rapidly deteriorating situation in many parts of Australia."

EDIT

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/more-gloom-in-the-bush-mcgauran/2007/09/11/1189276720835.html

[Magleetis]

1. Watch the Nova

program Dimming of the Sun. It touches on this type of catastrophe. It is scary.

[depakid]

2. "a ban on local cricket."

That'll rile everyone up!

but of course, the Ozzies are already onto a solution.

Fake turf the new reality for sport

THE AFL and Cricket Australia have joined forces to search for a new form of artificial turf suitable for Australia's drought-stricken summer and winter sports.

As experts warned this week there was no end in sight to the worst dry in memory, country and suburban clubs face another summer of hard, dusty ovals and Australian sporting life looks set for a big culture shock.

Synthetic turf, long a fixture of American sports such as gridiron and baseball, has never gained a foothold in cricket or football. That is likely to change as the country's top sporting administrators plan to convert country and suburban grounds to plastic grass.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/fake-turf-the-new-reality-for-sport/2007/09/07/1188783496206.html