Happy New Year

We celebrated NYE in the comfort of our own home, with a few friends and some total strangers. The highlight for me was my assertion that Red Dawn and First Blood were the two essential movies that one must see in order to understand America. I may have had a bit too much to drink.

Photos here

Merimbula

Christmas brought another Preston family adventure. While last year, we circumnavigated Tasmania, 2007 saw us on the South Coast of New South Wales setting up camp at the Merimbula Beach Holiday Park. Merimbula is well known as a coastal playground for Victorians who sneak across the border into NSW in search of warmth (although given the water temperature was downright frigid, I think some might have been disappointed).

While our previous adventures in Australian caravan parks were quiet affairs, where we encountered mostly foreign tourists, the caravan park in Merimbula was solidly populated with Australians. We had the place largely to ourselves up until Boxing Day, at which point the hordes arrived - a seemingly endless stream of Aussies on holidays, complete with caravans, tent cities, and all the comforts of home (refrigerators, television sets, DVDs, etc.). It wasn't exactly a tranquil experience, but we had a choice spot on the cliffs overlooking the beach.

We checked out the surrounding beaches (Tula, Pambula, Tathra) as well as the inland cheese-making community of Bega (which I'd previously visited on the job), but ended up spending quite a bit of time at Bar Beach. This small spot was sheltered from the northern winds, and clearly quite a gathering spot for Merimbula's locals. We dropped in on Mandeni "resort" on a couple of occasions for little golf action. Despite being a bit tourist oriented, it was actually a nice place to place a round in peace and quiet at low cost. On our last day, we ventured into Bournda National Park for a little bushwalking, where we encountered heaps of wildlife (Jacky Lizards, Lace Monitors) including a rather exciting run-in with a red-bellied black snake ( better than stumbling upon a common death adder I suppose).

On the return trip, we dropped in briefly on Eden, to the south of Merimbula, and topped things off with some fish and chips at Lakes Entrance, Victoria.


Photos here

Because Everyone Loves Vanilla Ice

The man himself is currently down under, playing New Years shows at Sydney's Coogee Beach and Wollongong, followed by other assorted dates.

Dramatic End

The end of 2007 brought interesting weather to Melbourne - first, three days of impressive rain which brought flooding to much of the state (including the streets of Melbourne and my own office building). This event suggested to me that rooves in Australia largely exist for decorative purposes, as they proved themselves to be rather incapable of keeping out rain. Actually, it seemed as if nothing in Melbourne works when it rains - the roads, the trains, the trams, the drainage systems, electricity. In short, semi-arid regions appear to cope with extreme rainfall about as well as Florida copes with a snow storm.

This drama was followed with miserably hot conditions between Christmas and the New Year. Temperatures reached 41C on the last day of the year (making it the hottest day of Victoria's hottest year on record), and temperatures are currently climbing back up toward 40C today.

Ave, Preston!

I was fortunate enough to pick up one of CSIRO's Julius Career Awards just before the Christmas break, which opens up a slush fund for me over the next three years to do (more or less) as I will, including a bit of globe-trotting.

Permanent

As of 18th December, Uta and I are officially permanent residents of the Commonwealth of Australia. On the positive side, we now don't have to worry about our visas expiring (which they would have at the end of February) and we'll be able to ride out the upcoming U.S. recession in more stable waters. On the negative side, we can no longer deduct our living expenses from our taxes (which was saving us quite a bit of $ every year). Barring deportation from something sordid, we'll be positioned to apply for citizenship in early 2009.

Congratulations UNFCCC

In 1992, Article II of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change committed the world (both developed and developing countries alike)to "stabilisation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." Granted, that left a bit of work in regard to figuring out what that goal means and how to achieve it. But, here we are 25 years later and what did our world leaders agree to at the Bali conference? A recognition that commitments to reductions need to be made, but no actual agreement on the size of those reductions or an actual commitment. 25 years of diplomacy and all the world has to show is a continued agreement that emissions need to be reduced (somehow), but very little in the way of actual actions to make such reductions. A US commitment to emissions reductions is perhaps just one Presidential election away, but that would still leave the big emitters in the developing world reluctant to come to the party. 50% reductions in emissions by 2050? That'll be the day. . .

Zorba the Greek Yolngu Style

The latest entertainment craze that's taking Australia by storm, and giving new meaning to the concept of cultural assimilation. . .Apparently the Greeks love it!

He Fought the Law (and the Law Won)

Airport anger: man downs litre of vodka
December 13, 2007 - 6:19AM
"A man nearly died from alcohol poisoning after quaffing a litre of vodka at a German airport security check instead of handing it over to comply with new carry on rules, police said on Wednesday."

I can't say much for this guy's capacity for rational thought, but I appreciate his defiant behaviour. I thought of doing something similar this afternoon as security at the Christchurch airport called me out for having a water bottle in my carry-on bag. In fact, the security dude actually suggested I just chug it down, but after reading this, downing 250 ml of water just seems a bit weak.

Christchurch

I rocked up to Christchurch NZ this afternoon to attend the MODSIM07 conference. Took a bit of time getting through customs, etc. Despite its laid back atmosphere and reputation, the passport control guys in NZ can be a bit cheeky. Before I could even say hello, my friendly neighbourhood immigration agent said "you again, didn't I see you last week? Why are you back so soon?". This was followed by, "what were you doing in Thailand?," "Do you smoke marijuana?" and "What kind of conference are you attending?". Despite this interrogation, the guy on the x-ray machine that was supposed to be checking whether or not I was smuggling large quantities of dope into the country was, I believe, asleep. Meanwhile, as I was walking around the streets of Christchurch this afternoon, I noticed a large number of shops that appear to sell nothing but "energy" and "sex" pills (but then it makes sense that one would sell these together). So maybe immigraton just wanted to know if I was going to be contributing to the local economy.

In any case, so far I'm really enjoying this small gateway to NZ's southern island (despite the fact that everything was closed today, presumably because it's Sunday, but who knows?). NZ continues to be the only place in the antipodes where one can score a decent burrito, and the influx of students, backpackers and nerdy conference goers makes for a diverse town. Given it's summer, the tourists and flocking into the country, and given it's distance from the rest of the world, I reckon Christchurch has the highest incidence of jet lag of any country on Earth. Perhaps that's what all those energy pills are for.

More Evidence of Global Warming?

NFL Meteorologists Warn Steaming Black-Guy Heads Occurring Later Every Year

NEW YORK—Steaming black-guy heads, the traditional sign of approaching winter for generations of football fans, have been occurring later in the season with every passing year, a fact that may be evidence of a climatic change with long-term...

SNAFU

This update from the ongoing negotiations in Bali suggests any future progress on international climate change policy aren't going to yield much in the way of a substantive agreement:

1) The US and Japan oppose mandatory cuts.
2) China and India oppose cuts for developing nations.
3) Meanwhile, Europe is pushing for developed world emissions reductions by 2020 that the developed world probably can't meet.

Sounds like a recipe for success!

Queensland Moves into the mid-20th Century

The Premire of Queensland announced today that the state would step up and start adding fluoride to the water supply over the opposition of the small, but apparently powerful, anti-fluoridation lobby. According to The Australian,

"Townsville is Queensland's only city with fluoridated water; it was introduced in 1964. The north Queensland centre now has 65 per cent lower tooth decay rates in children than Brisbane."

Hard to believe it took 40 years for that little real world experiment to get the ball rolling. But then, this is also the state that refuses to adopt daylight savings time. Skeptical people those Queenslanders. Kind of like Texans.

Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

Today marks the official launch of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (affectionately known by the awkward label of CAWCR). This joint venture between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology promises to better coordinate national efforts on climate and weather research and data delivery.

'Tis the Season for Climate Stuff

With negotiations in Bali underway, The Age reports on Ross Garnaut, the man charged with executing what has appropriately been called the Garnaut Review - in other words, the Stern Review down under.

"The Review will examine the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy, and recommend medium to long-term policies and policy frameworks to improve the prospects for sustainable prosperity."

Meanwhile, the Climate Insitute released its own take on the costs of GHG mitigation, in a report which concluded that Australians can tackle climate change and continue to grow wealthier in the process. And in other news, CNN reports on the much publisised plight of the small-island states.

One Day, Two Talks

There's nothing I like better than a license to shoot my mouth off. Friday gave me two opportunities. First, I served as an "inspirational speaker" in the WOW! Program sponsored by the Education Foundation. I shared the short and winding road that took me from birth to my current position as a climate change researcher. Despite the many bits of wisdom I passed along, during Q&A, the boys in the yard were a bit more interested in my choice of film (they were quite disappointed that I hand't seen Saw or Saw II, III or IV), but hey, at least I got them thinking.

From there, I moved on to Melbourne Uni to participate in a panel discussion on climate change as part of Engineer's without Borders annual conference.

One to Go!

Hours after being sworn into office, Kevin Rudd signed off on the Kyoto Protocol, leaving Bush as the last man standing. The practical implications for Australia's emissions are negligible, as the official Howard policy was for Australia to meet its Kyoto target independent of the protocol. However, this will give Australia a seat at bargaining table in Bali.