Green | February 09, 2010 | Comment on this video (2)

Saltbush Country - Australia - Facing Water Crisis

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Australians are used to the fact that the Great Outback is not more than barely-populated arid grassland and desert that has adapted to the climatic conditions. However nowadays climate change causes a major concern in previously mild regions as well, since scorching summer months, coupled with persistent drought, demonstrate what happens when water scarcity looms. Recent bush fires have been catastrophic, but water crisis in its full complexity will be the real issue to deal with in the coming years.

Australia has a poor track record in saving resources and fighting climate change. Its per capita carbon dioxide emissions are still among the highest in the world. Farmers were traditionally engaged in rice and beef production, which are the plant and the animal species most costly in embedded “virtual water”. Australia in the past hundred years has relied solely on water from dams for agriculture and consumption. However there is a gradual shift in the Australian approach to the crisis. Now schemes like sewage-water recycling, government rebates for homeowners to install water tanks, and tougher restrictions on industries have come into effect. In today’s Australia, it is considered socially irresponsible to waste water in any form.

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    Climate Change Australia Drought New South Wales 2 more
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