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The news recently has been dominated by the fires burning in New South Wales and Victoria though relatively few people have actually died given the scale of the disaster. But with a bit of vision Australia could be converted into a fully green continent, with a large inland sea and agriculture and forests deep into the interior. It could triple its population to at least 90 million and become a major international power.
There are several long term reasons why Australia is prone to bushfires like those recently:
1) Unlike Europe , blessed with numerous navigable , inland waterways Australia is a hot desert in the middle and what lakes and rivers that form there are temporary and then evaporate. In Summer a body of very hot and dry air sits at the centre of the continent.
2) Australians do not have strong state tradition when it comes to large scale infrastructure projects or concerted efforts to clear the bush for that matter. Even their fireservice for all its recent bravery is an amateur voluntary organisation in the main.
3) Climate change is making the world a hotter place and even a 1 degree rise has had a massive impact on drought prone Australia
Well I was praying for Aussie land today and I thought I would offer what I believe is a long term solution to the problem.
Basically I think Australia should invest in a dam/pipeline infrastructure from the North of the country pumping water from the wet North to the rivers that run down towards Lake Eyre in the centre of the country. At the same time it should create some massive desalination plants in the South of the country and South West.
The desalination plants in the SW would run regardless of the weather to restock the water table and dams and to ensure that there is never a hosepipe ban in NSW or Victoria regardless of weather. If the dams are full and the water table high then they can switch these plants off. They should replace bush with cleared forest, perhaps using goats and sheep to keep the vegetation between trees down.
A massive set of desalination plants should be built near Port Augusta on the South coast generating 10,000,000m3 of water a day(that is the equivalent discharge rate of the Danube river - produced for $5m a day - these costs could be entirely covered by water sales at the new price of $5 a m3 and the surplus water go towards the project). .
All of this water should be pumped 1000km north and allowed to fill up Lake Eyre North and Lake Eyre South and much of the Simpson desert to create a new semi fresh water super lake in the heart of the country. A water way can be easily created along a line from Port Augusta to Lake Eyre North. The waters from the South and diverted from the North should be enough to fill the whole basin. Initially this water will be quite salty and so drainage to the sea will be encouraged. The whole scheme could be solar powered with water pumped up into mountain reservoirs during the day and then being released at night to generate hydroelectric power and maintain the flow of the river while the desalination plants close down for the night.
When it becomes clear what the boundaries of the new inland sea in the heart of Australia are then towns and farms and forests can firm up these boundaries which will be artificially maintained regardless of weather and rainfall. Trade and commerce can flow up and down these water ways much as they do in Europe and large stretches of useless land will become cultivated and habitable. This should also completely alter the climate of inner Australia as the water tables rise, the stock of vegetation increases.
Basically the scheme can also cost out.
Water could be desalinated on such a scale for about 50 cents a m3 by reverse osmosis. But sold for a higher price of $5-$6 a m3 compared to about $2.5-$4.5 at present. Australians would pay more for their water but never have bush fires or hosepipe bans again. The scheme only involves pumping water 200 m uphill from the South which could be accomplished by gravity and aqueducts or pumping stations also and diversion schemes in the North can use natural waterways for their water flow. The underlying price of water would probably decline due to the surplus but the extra tax paid on water could fund a federal scale development planning and pay off disgruntled people who currently live in salt lakes or deserts.
Possible or not? Can a democracy do such grand projects like the Chinese did with their Grand Canal?
Bradfield Scheme - Wikipedia
Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - Wikipedia
There are several long term reasons why Australia is prone to bushfires like those recently:
1) Unlike Europe , blessed with numerous navigable , inland waterways Australia is a hot desert in the middle and what lakes and rivers that form there are temporary and then evaporate. In Summer a body of very hot and dry air sits at the centre of the continent.
2) Australians do not have strong state tradition when it comes to large scale infrastructure projects or concerted efforts to clear the bush for that matter. Even their fireservice for all its recent bravery is an amateur voluntary organisation in the main.
3) Climate change is making the world a hotter place and even a 1 degree rise has had a massive impact on drought prone Australia
Well I was praying for Aussie land today and I thought I would offer what I believe is a long term solution to the problem.
Basically I think Australia should invest in a dam/pipeline infrastructure from the North of the country pumping water from the wet North to the rivers that run down towards Lake Eyre in the centre of the country. At the same time it should create some massive desalination plants in the South of the country and South West.
The desalination plants in the SW would run regardless of the weather to restock the water table and dams and to ensure that there is never a hosepipe ban in NSW or Victoria regardless of weather. If the dams are full and the water table high then they can switch these plants off. They should replace bush with cleared forest, perhaps using goats and sheep to keep the vegetation between trees down.
A massive set of desalination plants should be built near Port Augusta on the South coast generating 10,000,000m3 of water a day(that is the equivalent discharge rate of the Danube river - produced for $5m a day - these costs could be entirely covered by water sales at the new price of $5 a m3 and the surplus water go towards the project). .
All of this water should be pumped 1000km north and allowed to fill up Lake Eyre North and Lake Eyre South and much of the Simpson desert to create a new semi fresh water super lake in the heart of the country. A water way can be easily created along a line from Port Augusta to Lake Eyre North. The waters from the South and diverted from the North should be enough to fill the whole basin. Initially this water will be quite salty and so drainage to the sea will be encouraged. The whole scheme could be solar powered with water pumped up into mountain reservoirs during the day and then being released at night to generate hydroelectric power and maintain the flow of the river while the desalination plants close down for the night.
When it becomes clear what the boundaries of the new inland sea in the heart of Australia are then towns and farms and forests can firm up these boundaries which will be artificially maintained regardless of weather and rainfall. Trade and commerce can flow up and down these water ways much as they do in Europe and large stretches of useless land will become cultivated and habitable. This should also completely alter the climate of inner Australia as the water tables rise, the stock of vegetation increases.
Basically the scheme can also cost out.
Water could be desalinated on such a scale for about 50 cents a m3 by reverse osmosis. But sold for a higher price of $5-$6 a m3 compared to about $2.5-$4.5 at present. Australians would pay more for their water but never have bush fires or hosepipe bans again. The scheme only involves pumping water 200 m uphill from the South which could be accomplished by gravity and aqueducts or pumping stations also and diversion schemes in the North can use natural waterways for their water flow. The underlying price of water would probably decline due to the surplus but the extra tax paid on water could fund a federal scale development planning and pay off disgruntled people who currently live in salt lakes or deserts.
Possible or not? Can a democracy do such grand projects like the Chinese did with their Grand Canal?
Bradfield Scheme - Wikipedia
Goldfields Water Supply Scheme - Wikipedia
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