Emergency bag

Sydneysiders are being urged to have a "Go Bag" packed ready for serious emergencies, such as big storms, fires and terrorist attacks.The bags should be easy to carry, stored at home and at work and contain important documents, maps, phone numbers, insurance details, AM/FM radio, first-aid kit, spare set of keys, coins and spare glasses or contact lenses.I would add torch and batteries, bottle of water and chocolate bar for that energy boost and rescue remedy, disposable poncho, basic first aid kit, swiss army pen knife.The bags are part of a four-point guide to preparing for a major incident in the CBD, launched by the City of Sydney council.The Let's Get Ready Sydney guide encourages developing a personal emergency plan with family and friends, so that they all know what to do, where to meet and how to communicate in an emergency, when mobile phone services might be disrupted.The guide also suggests becoming familiar with workplace evacuation points and remembering to tune in to radio and TV stations for updates.Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the guide, which is part of a wider public education campaign of bus stop advertising and website www.getreadysydney.com.au, was designed to encourage people to be prepared."A serious emergency such as a fire, hazardous materials incident, flood, severe storm or transport accident, could cause significant disruption to the community and will require a coordinated and immediate response," Ms Moore said."These incidents would have an impact on Sydneysiders and their families and friends and it's important that people think about what to do if they are directly involved, or if regular transport arrangements or mobile phones are affected."Council staff will be handing out the pocket guides at CBD railway stations this week and spare copies will be available at neighbourhood service centres.

I think this is a highly commendable stance that Sydney Council has taken.
Let's be prepared (not pranoid) for what ever may come our way!
Ten points!

Snow warning (the event that didn't happen)

SES issues wide snow warning for NSW.As temperatures plummet across NSW this week the State Emergency Service (SES) has issued an unusually wide snow warning for the state.Snow is expected to fall in the Central and Southern Tablelands to rare lows of 600 metres above sea level.Snow more often falls at 1,000-1,100 metres.SES spokesman Craig Ronan said the SES was regularly called upon when it snowed."It's lower than usual, people in these areas have had snowfalls before but because snow is predicted for 600 metres, more roads will affected and a wider area."People may be isolated, (with a) loss of power, roads closed, so we want them to be prepared," he said. SES Region specific snow plans exist for a number of locations along the NSW Great Dividing Range.The Bureau of Meteorology predicts snow in the Central Tablelands and Southern Tablelands over the next days.Falls are likely on the western slopes of the divide and major centres like Blayney, Orange, Oberon and Bathurst.Power may be lost if snow is heavy enough to bring down trees and branches onto powerlines.The SES recommends residents in these areas prepare for the possibility of several days of isolation.Recommended survival tools include a battery powered torch and radio, cooking equipment, heaters, medicines and fuel.

Well done SES! You must be all boy scouts, "be prepared"

The Sun: The Real Climate Driver

this is info I have been waiting for.
Debunking the whole global warming (I won't say myth)figures that have been "interpreted" in the most profitable and controlling manner for the powers who control the world economy behind the scenes and move the pawns of humanity as they please. I'm including the first half of the summary put forward by Mitch Batros from Earthchanges TV as there is quite a bit. The information is obviously a summary of the true findings put out to the scientific community in Febrary of this year and just now to the plebs. Enjoy!
Now that the latest IPCC report which was announced in February 2007, and just now made public and available to all scientists, immediate blowback has forced the IPCC to recant many of their exaggerated studies. No surprise to many of us who know of the political fingerprints all over this mess --- of which they are trying to claim as science. Thank God there are enough of us who have not fallen prey to the lock-step fascism as presented by the global warming army. Let's not forget Al Gore, their commander-in-chief, has told the world: "The scientific data is in, there is no more debate. You are either with me, or you are with the polluters, now what's it going to be". (Al Gore).A recent report by Joseph D'Aleo - ICECAP (Intl' Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project) has presented an outstanding overview of the recent discoveries fraught throughout the IPCC report. The report's final summaries had several failings. First, it blindly accepts a 20th-century carbon dioxide rise of 36 percent, when direct measurements (1) suggest the change is closer to 15 percent. Their models assume an annual increase of 1 percent, although over the last 50 years the long-term annual average consistently has been less than half that, 0.43 percent. Their models treat the oceans as distilled water when in reality they are an infinite buffer for atmospheric CO2. Burning all the Earth's fossil fuels would amount to no more than a 20 percent increase. It could never double (2). In any event, ice cores tell us carbon dioxide lags, not leads, the temperatures by as much as 800 years.
The IPCC acknowledges no problems with the global data bases, stating urbanization has a negligible effect on global changes, and ignoring dozens of peer review papers that show urban contamination is significant (in diverse areas including China, central Europe, and even Barrow, Alaska). During the 20th century, the population of the world increased four-fold, from 1.5 billion to 6 billion. More and more areas are urbanized. Airports, once rural, find cities growing around them. The report ignores the fact that total global stations decreased by 66 percent after 1990, and there was a ten-fold increase in months with no reported data from the remaining stations, mainly in the former Soviet Union and Africa. They also ignore the issue that the majority of world stations may not meet World Meteorological Organization standards for sitting instruments, a problem that has also been widely documented in peer review journals. They ignore the half-dozen peer review papers suggesting that these problems could well account for 50 percent or more of the warming shown for the world data bases. The National Climatic Data Center has a network of 1,221 stations in the U.S. that is more stable and continuous than the rest of the worlds. Those stations adjust for urbanization and thus are more likely to produce data that more accurately represents the climate change picture. Data from those stations show changes that are cyclical in nature with a smaller rise over time, some man-made and some natural.When dealing with cycles such as those shown in the long range graphs, trends in changes are best determined by looking at maximum to maximum and minimum to minimum. In both cases, the changes are just 0.25 degree Fahrenheit over 75 years or 0.37 degree Fahrenheit for the entire record. This is well under half the global trend and the often quoted U.S. temperature trend. (The late 90s are the apparent peak, as many of the measures have been declining, certainly in the last 5 years.) This same cyclical behavior can be seen in Greenland and the Arctic.What could be behind the temperature cycles? The data strongly indicates it is the Sun and oceans, whose cycles are very much in-sync with the observed station data.

Who invented the Telescope?

It might sound like a simple question but - who do you think invented the telescope?
The invention of the telescope was a major advance in the science of Astronomy.It wasn't Galileo Galilei who invented it as we were taught.Although Galileo Galilei was a great astronomer, he didn't invent the telescope.So,Who was it?? A man named Hans Lipperhey invented the telescope. He was born in Wesel, Germany and made his home in Middleburg, part of the Zeeland province in the Netherlands. He was married there in 1594, and became a citizen in 1602. He was a spectacle-maker by trade.The Italians developed new glass-making techniques which were introduced to the Netherlands in the 1590's. These new techniques helped to bring about new ideas and innovations in the glass-making community and people started to experiment with different ways to combine lenses.In 1608, (one year before Galileo got the device), Hans Lipperhey offered the new invention to the government for military use.Many other people claim to have invented the telescope, but Hans Lipperhey is the only person documented to have applied for a patent for the device.
By the way, legend has it that it wasn't Hans himself, but his children who actually invented the telescope while they were playing…. kinda muddies the water a bit huh?

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Now it's Australia's turn to see what the fuss is about when the ABC airs The Great Global Warming Swindle on Thursday. Australian climate change scientists have condemned the program, but the ABC, the only government broadcaster in the world to air the show, has defended its decision to run it. The program has attracted criticism from not only climate scientists but researchers in other fields.Tom Lowe, a social scientist at RMIT's Centre for Risk and Community Safety, said the documentary showed the tendency of the climate change debate to be polarised into extreme views, "either depicting catastrophic effects as a result of man's influence upon the climate system or, conversely, deeply sceptical views of climate change".
Mr Lowe said the polarisation had convinced the public they could do little about the problem."The public is being subjected to a media-led campaign of alarmism and doubt. At either end of the spectrum are states of denial or despair. As a result, research indicates that the public feel unwilling or unable to do anything about climate change."Mr Lowe also said it was not proper to give deniers of global warming equal media space on the issue, given the overwhelming scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions — and not solar activity, as The Great Global Warning Swindle purports — are the driving force behind climate change."Given the current state of understanding and global scientific consensus on climate change, the ABC's decision to show the documentary appears to have more to do with ratings, shock and awe than free speech and journalistic balance."ABC managing director Mark Scott yesterday defended the showing of the documentary. "I don't think it is inappropriate to air a documentary that asks if we are overreacting. We back the intelligence of our audience and encourage a full range of viewpoints."The program, which supports the view that changes in solar activity are the main causes of global warming, provoked a storm of controversy in Britain. Climate scientists and organisations such as the Royal Society and the British Antarctic Survey ridiculed it.
Lydia's view on the subject is that the microcosm is a replica of the macrocosm and what is happening in the Universe is not unique to just one place or planet. Norwegian scintists have found that Iceland had lush vegitation in the past, so the Earth's climate is in constant flux and change. Why? because the Earth is a living Being as such changes and evolves. Change is constant and ongoing regardless of whether mankind lives on the planet or not

Rain on 07/07/07

the rain is raining all around
it falls on fields and trees
It's falling on the umberellas here
and on the ships at sea
and if you don't believe me just look out the window...
fine, hazy, drizzling sweet rain

Winds, tide, new dangers in flood area

The State Emergency Service (SES) has warned Lakes Entrance residents that even though rivers are receding, a king tide and strong winds could force a wall of water back into the town.Overnight, 54,000 sandbags were shipped to the Gippsland region where volunteer emergency staff worked feverishly to barricade up doors of businesses and homes in Lakes Entrance to block out the murky waters.The coastal township was starting to count the costs of the deluge as residents enjoyed a break in the weather on Saturday with the water level beginning to drop.SES spokesman Allan Briggs told AAP that a king tide and expected 50km/h winds could send the water back into the streets of Lakes Entrance, where the lakes are catching water from seven flooded rivers."Even though water is receding, it is anticipated it will rise again tonight," Mr Briggs said."We are telling residents to remain alert and not to become too complacent."All communities on the Gippsland Lakes are being told to be prepared for major flooding at high tide tonight.He said 14 homes had been flooded on Raymond Island, 200 metres off the coast of Paynesville, with another 23 at risk.The island has been cut off for four days from the mainland with the regular ferry service replaced by a water taxi used only for emergencies.The names of people who have been evacuated from the area have been registered at Red Cross relief centres operating in Bairnsdale, Paynesville and Lakes Entrance.Prime Minister John Howard has also offered help to Victorians affected by the flood waters."This morning I spoke to the Victorian Premier Mr (Steve) Bracks, I've offered him any additional commonwealth help that may be needed by the Victorian authorities," Mr Howard said."At this stage, there is no request, but if it comes, we will render any appropriate additional assistance Victoria may need... We are only too ready to help."Cash assistance has already been offered to flood-affected residents.The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) said 260 cattle have been reported dead or missing.Eastern Victoria is a major dairy-producing region with up to 60,000 dairy cows.DPI spokesman Jack Winterbottom estimated that up to 30 per cent of the stock had been impacted by the floods.And vegetable growers around Bairnsdale have not escaped damage.Mr Winterbottom said their produce - cauliflowers, cabbages and lettuces - which is transported daily to the Sydney and Melbourne markets, are under water.