We are beginning the fourth day of an unforgiving heatwave here in Adelaide, South Australia and we can't yet see an end in sight. It all began on Australia Day with a top temperature recorded at 35.9 degrees Cecilius. The next day, Tuesday January 27th 2009 the bureau of meteorology (BOM) recorded 30 degrees at around 8:45am and as I type more than 48hours later, we are yet to see the thermometer dip below 30.
The top for Tuesday 27th was officially 42 according to the BOM and yesterday the 28th was our 3rd highest on record, the hottest day in 70 years, 45.7 degrees Celcius. That just seems absurd until we endured the worst sleepless night on record last night. The lowest temperature recorded before sunrise over night was 34.1! Just after midnight! It was already back up to 36.7 by 4:30am!
So my question on this fourth day of the heat wave and 3rd day of temperatures above 40 (it's already 39 degrees at 10:30am) is, will we break a record today? Will the temperature topple 46 degrees? This time yesterday it was 40.7 so not far behind.
We thought last year was bad when in March we recorded 15 days in a row over 35 degrees with 4 of those over 40. However the outlook for this week looks worse. We still have another 3 days of predicted 40 degree heat after this one but the 7 day outlook only has the temperature dropping to 38 by this time next week.
So here's my next question, one that still divides many. Have we as consumers and polluters of this planet caused such extremes? Can we as responsible citizens of this world do anything to reverse it or endure it but help it slow and recover?
My own personal answer is yes and yes. However I still don't think we have the collective will to really do anything real just yet. The Premiere of our state caused an outrage a couple of days ago when he suggested that we use air-conditioning sparingly. I actually agree, however I do understand the young, the old and the sick take priority. My wife and I haven't turned ours on for heating or cooling for 4 months until 2 days ago. It's not about saving money for us it really is about being mindful of our impact on the environment. But we had to fold and turn it on because our animals could not survive in the heat in our backyard which currently has little shade and our house was up to 40 degrees inside. (We moved the cat and the rabbits into the coolest part of the house, however my fish tank reads 34 degrees and the heater is unplugged! I'm dropping massive iceblocks into my fish pond and fish tank twice a day to keep the fish from boiling)
So what can we do to find alternatives? I struggled to bring myself to use the air-conditioning here at the office because our units are old and energy suckers. I moved my office down to a local cafe in a shopping centre yesterday and enjoyed the air down there. I'm about to move back down there this afternoon. Last evening when we arrived home we put the fan on for the animals inside then went to a neighbours to cool in the pool instead of sitting in air-conditioning at home. This evening we're going to another neighbours place to sit in their pool. Mind you the pool temperatures are between 30 and 35 degrees. It's weird!
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that we will have more of these heatwaves more often in the near future. I even had a friend tell me there is a prediction of a 50 degree day here in Adelaide in the next couple of months (I hope not!). So how many more heatwaves will it take for us to change our ways? We need to reserve our energy for those who need it most (elderly, young and sick) and those who are able need to think twice before switching on the luxuries we take for granted.
Save the planet! Is that a corny cliche or do we need to actually take that statement seriously now?
Shalom Mark
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3 comments:
Hi Mark
This is the side of living in Adelaide we do not miss! Conserving energy in heat waves has been a big issue here in Perth in recent years. It is hard to change a community mind-set that is conditioned to comfort and relief at all costs. We reckon churches ought to be amongst those taking a lead in environmental responsibility, which is why we are launching a church sustainable energy policy this Sunday. I'll probably post it on the National CoC Facebook on Monday. Keep up the good work and stay cool.
Hi Mark!
It's appallingly hot in Melbourne too (although not quite as hot as Adelaide).
I think one of the ways of both stimulating the economy and saving the environment might be to give grants (and heavy subsidies) for greenhouse gas reducing household and industry initiatives... eg evaporative cooling systems are super-cheap to run and make sense in cities like Adelaide and Melbourne (not Darwin or Cairns alas)... but start up costs push people toward energy guzzling air-conditioners.
Solar electric panels... home water tanks... energy efficient appliances for home and industry... industrial sized solar and renewable energy plants... it seems to me if the government is looking at stimulating the economy you could both generate jobs and reduce our environmental footprint. Perhaps there could be tax incentives also that make landlords and boarding houses invest in things like evaporative cooling systems, so it's not just more middle class welfare.
Not saying individuals shouldn't take responsibility for their environmental impact also! But it would be good to see some bigger picture solutions.
I remember 'heat waves' growing up in the 60's and we had no fan...just ate ice blocks and went to the beach (under the jetty of course). A wet face washer at the back of your neck works wonders in an unaircondioned car:) plus put your feet in a bucket of water...cools you right down and then water the garden!!
People just need to 'get over it', 'think outside the square' and 'deal with it'.
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