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That’s a good representation of the sky over Sydney on Friday, December 6. It’s artistically composed and faithful to reality. Temperature had not risen much yet: at 1600 AEDT that day it was 27.4º C in Sydney, according to my little weather station (humidity: 57%).
That red, luminous disk is not the full Moon, although one could be forgiven to think otherwise (as people I spoke to afterwards, as a matter of fact, did). It wasn’t the Moon, because, for one, the real Moon was midway between new and full.
No. That wasn’t the Moon. It was the Sun.
Below, my own attempt, a bit earlier (1715 AEDT) that day. That was literally my best shot, but in truth, my picture isn’t good (product perhaps of a clumsy, inexperienced photographer using a cheap camera). Still, the late afternoon sky looks faithful enough to reality (the dust blowing west from Australia’s dry Red Centre gives the smoke clouds from the bushfires surrounding Sydney that orange colour), but the Sun’s colour is most definitely unfaithful: it was as red that afternoon as the opening picture shows.
When I stepped out into the street, neighbours were already outside, taking pictures with their mobile phones and commenting, awe mixed with fear in their voices.
Although much less dramatic, my own photo has an unintended virtue: allowance made for colour contrast, it represents reality accurately in another way. That afternoon one could see the Sun with one’s naked eyes, much like one can see the Moon, or indeed the photo itself.
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The Schoolchildren and Extinction Rebellion keep pressure on the Government, with the support of unions and some politicians. Below is a photo I took from the November 29 protest in front of the Liberal Party NSW headquarters. I was standing near the corner of William with Palmer.
Below is a view from the balcony of Sydney Town Hall, where 20,000 protesters gathered on December 10.
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The next protest is scheduled for Thursday, December 19:
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NSW Rural Fire Services firefighters are largely volunteers and include many retirees. They are not paid for their time, much less to put life and health on harm’s way. Yet that’s what they have been doing all over the State for more than a month now, with the assistance of interstate volunteers and small contingents of Kiwi, Canadian, and American firefighters.
Scott Morrison (whose annual pay is about $500 thousand, excluding superannuation and expenses) refused to provide firefighters any additional support (see also the letter of Chris Nicholls, from Merimbula Rural Fire Brigade). After facing strident criticism, he finally agreed to a tokenistic $11 million.
Change.org is campaigning to provide volunteer firefighters with face masks as protection against the particulates in smoke. I am not sure a Scott Safety half-face RQ2000LR twin filter respirator, fitted with two RC64R dust filters (P2 class) is adequate for firefighters, but I do know it can be purchased from retailers from as little as $43.85. Firefighters’ efforts, lives, and health surely are worth more than that.
Let’s help our brothers and sisters. Support that petition and if you can donate. And let’s keep fighting.
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Next week temperatures around NSW, South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland could go sky high.
And next Tuesday a crucial meeting in Brisbane is set to decide the future of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. Anne Davies explains who speaks for whom in that meeting (question: who speaks for the environment?).
Water wars: will politics destroy the Murray-Darling Basin plan – and the river system itself?
Drought is not the only threat to the river system: the plan to save it is in doubt as states spar over the best way forward
Sat 14 Dec 2019 06.00 AEDT.
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UPDATE:
Here we go again. From Bega District News, three days ago:
Bega bats dying in great numbers due to food shortages, drought
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