Assessing Risks of Changes in Extreme Events

With 7 or so billion it would be foolish to think there isn't some human influence.

its not people.Its cow farts

Officials say half of Queensland's 715,305 square miles (1,852,642 square kilometers) is affected by the relentless flooding, which began last week after days of pounding rain caused swollen rivers to overflow. The flood zone covers an area larger than France and Germany combined and bigger than the state of Texas.'s 715,305 square miles (1,852,642 square kilometers) is affected by the relentless flooding, which began last week after days of pounding rain caused swollen rivers to overflow. The flood zone covers an area larger than France and Germany combined and bigger than the state of Texas.

When was the last time you heard of flooding in Queensland, Australia? The Eaarth is not the same as it used to be.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/30/EDDO1H1SI3.DTL#ixzz19iq7YHZk

The first of those is global climate change. Though no single mega-storm is the fault of climate change, scientists agree that weather - including snow patterns - will become more intense as the planet's ecosystem is transformed by human-produced pollution. So while New York's near-record snowstorm may not be the direct result of unbridled carbon emissions, powerful storms like it will undoubtedly be more frequent thanks to our head-in-the-sand attitude toward the environment.

The last time I heard of flooding in Queensland was 2007, 2005, 1993, 1992 (in which I was involved in the cleanup in Bundaberg and then Townsville), 1983 etc etc. You get the picture. Qld has the highest rainfall of any state in Oz. Most of the flooding is occuring west of the Dividing Range where its generally dead flat and sparesly inhabited, so the water runs off very slowly.

Australia is always affected by floods, droughts and fires. Our most famous poem was written by Dorothea McKellar back in 1904:

"I love a sunburnt country

a land of sweeping plains

of rugged mountain ranges

of droughts and flooding rains"

Pointing to this event as an example of climate change is as negative to the cause as Fat Al Gore's stupid assertion that Hurrican Katrina was caused by global warming, or Danny Glovers claim that the Haiti earthquake was caused by climate change. All it does is turn people with half a brain into sceptics.....and with good reason.