Two from Leunig

Megalopolis Down Under

State parliament yesterday voted for expanding Melbourne by another 43,600 hectares. Or 134,000 homes as the city's population rises and housing demand spirals.

We already span 100 kilometers east to west which makes Melbourne one of the world's largest cities by land area (population density is a fraction of what it is in comparable sized cities elsewhere). The decision was opposed by the Greens but supported by the Coalition and there is no suprise in either of these positions.

With population a leading topic of an otherwise scrappy, tepid Federal election campaign, this decision makes us wonder where we are headed.

The farms and cow and horse dotted farms just out of town that I remember as a child are vanishing under a sea of houses, and I like that not at all.

"It will put Victoria in a better position to retain its competitive advantage over other states in terms of housing affordability - it is a pity it took so long to do" the newspaper quotes some shmuck from a developers group.

I don't want an "advantage" over other states... they're Australians as well, last time I heard. I want a city that has sustainable service delivery and I frankly don't believe in 'the plan'. The politicians who champion it will be cosily retired before it ever catches up with them.

The newspaper polled the question "Do you support the move to expand Melbourne's city boundaries?"
75% of responders said no. Unfortunately this was passed by a Labor government, meaning both they and the conservatives (who never turn away an opportunity to trash the environment) want it.

It also kills prime food-growing land.
With climate change an indisputable fact (except to religious nuts and Right-wing morons) don't tell me we won't regret this some day....

Oh... and one more thing...
Where's the water going to come from?

Those cats at BP...

Where does it go from here?

Over the next 50 years the Earth may warm by an average of 3 degrees or more. Half the species alive today may be extinct. And half a billion or more people may starve to death as a result of climate change. Eco-systems which may hold the undiscovered cures to such things as killed my son will be gone. And a quarter of the world's oceans could be an island of rubbish.

Something's gotta give...

Red Dawn, Sydney Australia

If this were to happen a lot, then maybe Mars would start to look like home.

These are the same views of Sydney. One on a normal day, and the other in today's dust storm. That's the harbour bridge over on the right. The storm pushed air pollution to 1500 times norm, the worst ever. It covered half the state of New South Wales, dumped 75,000 tonnes of dust per hour into the Tasman Sea. Sydney airport was shut down.

Yuck.