Greta Thunberg: 'miracle' climate saviour or puppet?

Yahoo – AFP, Gaël BRANCHEREAU, September 25, 2019

At 16, Greta Thunberg has become the voice for millions of youths worried about 

climate change (AFP Photo/Alastair Pike)

Stockholm (AFP) - She's the icon of a young generation rising up against climate change. But Greta Thunberg also stirs up derision and scorn among those who see her as a mere puppet of eco-evangelism.

At 16, the Swede has become the voice for millions of worried youths who sort their garbage, clean beaches, turn their noses up at meat and airplanes, and vote for green parties.

Just over a year ago, at the start of the school year, the then-ninth grade student left her books at home and began sitting outside the Swedish parliament to raise awareness about the climate emergency.

Her "school strike" made the rounds of social media before gaining momentum in the international press -- and the "Fridays for Future" movement was born.

The Greta phenomenon went viral. Her Twitter and Instagram accounts now have more than six million followers.

As the unofficial spokesperson for her generation, Greta Thunberg wants to sound the alarm about global warming among the world's politicians, as witnessed in her rousing "How Dare You?" speech at the UN climate summit on Monday.

"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," a 

visibly angry Greta told world leaders at a UN summit in New York (AFP 

Photo/TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," she thundered, visibly angry and close to tears.

The teen has spurred millions of youths to protest, drawn by her fragile intrepidness, her steely determination in sharp contrast to her young voice.

All of which drive her detractors crazy.

For the most scornful, such as Australian columnist Andrew Bolt, Greta's a doomsayer, "the deeply disturbed messiah of the global warming movement", with the neuroses of an autistic teenager (she has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome).

It's all because "she's powerful," says Canadian biologist Severn Cullis-Suzuki who once found herself in Greta's position.

At the age of 12, she addressed the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992.

"She's calling for a revolution so of course she's getting pushback. They try to silence her" by discrediting her, Cullis-Suzuki told AFP.

Greta's fans include rormer US President Barack Obama who said she was 

"changing the world" (AFP Photo)

'Miracle' or 'cyborg'?

Extraordinary, almost mystical references abound when it comes to Greta, born in 2003 in the least "religious or spiritual" country on the planet.

Famed French environmentalist and wildlife photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has called her "a miracle". Barack Obama said she was "changing the world."

French philosopher Michel Onfray described her as a "cyborg" while US conservative commentator Michael Knowles said she was a "mentally ill" teen responsible for "climate hysteria".

In April, Greta met Pope Francis in Rome as part of the second anniversary of "Laudato Si", the Catholic Church's encyclical on ecology and climate change, whose subtitle "On Care for Our Common Home" echoes Greta's own words of "Our house is on fire".

Critics say that kind of language muddles the climate fight's scientific message, hurts technological innovation and masks other environmental challenges.

"The climate issue has eclipsed all other environmental issues like cruelty to animals, the meat industry and pesticides. And those who question (Greta's) positioning are quickly accused of being climate sceptics," political scientist Katarina Barrling said.

Her detractors say Greta is being exploited by "green capitalists" (AFP Photo/

Bryan R. Smith)

Greta has also been accused of sowing anxiety rather than delivering a rational argument.

"I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day," she told the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Lately, she seems to have changed her tune. "I want you to listen to the scientists," she urged the US Congress last week.

Land of Pippi Longstocking

While the teen's upbraiding of adults has irritated some abroad, her comments raise few eyebrows in Sweden.

Her impudence, pigtail braids and baby face are reminiscent of the famous storybook character Pippi Longstocking, an emancipated child experiencing the world on her own -- a model drawn from Sweden's education system and its child-rearing traditions.

"It's no coincidence that Greta is Swedish. I don't think she would have existed without Pippi or Lisbeth Salander," the tattoed hacker from the Millennium crime series, according to Swedish essayist Elisabeth Asbrink.

Barrling, the analyst, said that "for decades the Swedish school curriculum has prioritised students' critical thinking rather than accumulation of knowledge".

Greta has spurred millions of youths around the world to protest (AFP
Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

But what good has Greta really done?

She's defending human rights, says Amnesty International which earlier this month honoured her and Fridays for Future with its top prize, the Ambassador of Conscience Award. Greta has also been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nobel committee has honoured environmentalists in the past -- Al Gore, the IPCC, Wangari Maathai of Kenya -- linking their work to democracy efforts.

But Greta's contribution remains to be seen, said Henrik Urdal, the head of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO).

"The link between peace and climate change is very tenuous. It's built on assumptions that are quite academically disputed," he said.

"She's been creating a very impressive momentum on climate change, (but) the question is: Is this relevant for the peace prize?"

Related Article:

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… "Wow, Kryon, how long is that going to take?"

The Humans in the room control that and those listening later and reading. When you leave this room, what are you going to do? Go home, report this, rub your hands together, and wait for it to happen? It won't. For the Humans in the room and the old souls hearing and reading have got work to do, and I've told you this before. You've got work to do.

There's an alliance that you're going to have to create with one another and with another group - the young people of Earth. The youth of this earth are changing the way things work. Can you see it? You're not supposed to sit around and watch them either, because they need you, old soul.

It's time for you to align with the indigos and the concepts of the youth of the planet. Do not think for a moment that their age shows their wisdom. These two attributes are not commensurate with one another; they're not linear. These young people may be older souls than you are! Don't think that because they've got technology that you don't understand that you can't be one with them. Their technology is social networking, the very thing we are talking about, where everyone can talk to everyone. The new consciousness on the planet starts in two areas - the children and the old souls.

Conclusion

This is the message of the day. The recalibration of awareness is going to change systems, education, government and finance. Those who don't choose to be spiritual at all will still move with a new awareness, for they will be aware of something that they are not aware of now - a softer way of living.

We close with a trite statement that we've given before, but that many have stated in jest: "If women ran the world, they would never send their sons to be killed on a battlefield."

Many laugh. How trite, how simple minded. Indeed, there have been women leaders who have put wars together; they had to. They sent their sons, so that's not really a correct statement. However, it's more right than you may think, dear ones.

So now I will make the statement I have made over and over in these recalibrated channellings: "When recalibrated Humans run the world, there will come a day when they will never send their sons into the battlefield." You see, awareness will change all of that. They will eventually see the wisdom of unification, new ways to settle issues, and the intuitive attribute of putting things together instead of tearing them apart.

There will be a time when government armies will not need to be large, and weapons will not be as powerful. Slowly, government won't need them. Slowly, slower than you want, these things will happen as the old soul carries his light and looks at the masters of the planet and emulates them.

You've all heard it: There will come a time when the masters will come back to Earth, and there are many who are waiting for this. However, it has already happened! They couldn't come back until the alignment was right and now it is right. This is what you are feeling in 2012 and beyond. It's starting to happen, and they're back. But they're not back as corporeal Human Beings. They're back as the energy of recalibrating of the awareness of God.

I wouldn't say these things unless they were true. Watch for these things, dear ones. Remember where you heard them first and when some of them start to occur in your news. And when you see the earth working in this fashion, dear one, maybe you'll realize that what I have given today is real.

Be circumspect. There is no perfect timing. Humans will create all this at their own pace. Do not be in fear of the things that might follow, for I say it yet again that the old energy will show itself soon in survival mode and it won't be pretty.

In this beginning of new energy, stand tall and turn on your light. Darkness will shirk before you. That is the truth of the day.

I am Kryon, in love with humanity.

And so it is.

KRYON.

From the streets to the summit: young climate leaders mobilize at UN

Yahoo – AFP, Issam AHMED, 21 September 2019

Young activists take part in the first UN Youth Climate Summit on September 21

A day after youth-led global climate strikes, several hundred young activists including Greta Thunberg gathered for a climate summit at the United Nations on Saturday, chiding older generations for doing too little to curb carbon emissions.

The UN has invited 500 young activists and entrepreneurs to take part in the New York meeting, the first of its kind, though some were unable to attend after being denied US visas, a point raised by the organizers.

It comes days before a climate action summit which UN chief Antonio Guterres has called to seek greater commitments from world leaders on reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris accord to avert runaway global warming.

The tone for Saturday's event was set by an impassioned speech by Argentine activist Bruno Rodriguez, 19, who led school strikes in his native country.

"The climate and ecological crisis is the political crisis of our time, it is the economic crisis of our time, and it is the cultural crisis of our time," he said, as Guterres, who was billed as the "keynote listener," watched on.

Students participate in the Global Climate Strike on September 20 in New York

"Many times, we hear that our generation is going to be the one in charge of dealing with the problems that current leaders have created, and we will not wait passively to become that future: The time is now for us to be leaders."

Thunberg, whose protests outside Sweden's parliament last year sparked the global youth movement, spoke first but briefly, saying she wanted to give more time to others.

"We showed we are united and young people are unstoppable," said the 16-year-old, who will also address Monday's summit.

On Friday, masses of children skipped school to join global strikes that Thunberg said were "only the beginning" of the movement.

Some four million people filled city streets around the world, organizers said, in what was billed as the biggest-ever protest against the threat posed to the planet by rising temperatures.

Swedish teen Greta Thunberg has become the poster child for a new 

youth-led climate change protest movement

'Greenwashing' under fire

The corridors of the UN were filled Saturday with young people in formal suits and ties, dresses, and traditional wear from their home countries, and others wearing simple t-shirts and jeans.

"This is the change, and it's coming," said Lalita P-Junggee, a green entrepreneur from Mauritius, who turns billboards and textile waste into fashionable bags.

The day also saw young innovators proposing solutions, pitching their ideas to panels from leading global companies like Google.

But corporations also came under fire for their ties to the oil and gas industries.

During one testy exchange, Kathleen Ma, a 23-year-old delegate who lives in New York turned to a representative from Microsoft, which this week announced a deal with Chevron and oilfield services company Schlumberger to provide cloud computing services.

Map of protests and actions planned during the "Week for the Future" scheduled 

from September 20 to 27, according to the Fridays For Future movement

"Do you care more about getting contracts from fossil fuel companies than you care about youth? Do you care more about profits than you care about us?" she asked, to wide applause.

Lucas Joppa, Microsoft's chief environmental officer, thanked her for the question, replying: "That's one that the entire tech sector, and everybody in the world we live in today which is predicated upon an oil and gas economy has to answer.

"It's one that you'll be hearing more about both from Microsoft and our peers in the broader tech sector as this moves forward."

Rodriguez, the activist from Argentina, later told AFP that young activists were strongly in favor of efforts to divest from the fossil fuel industry, which was responsible for "pillaging" across Latin America.

Pacific Islanders marched in Sydney in one of the first protests in a global 

day of action on climate change

He added that he welcomed the fact that the corporate sector had a heavy presence on the sidelines of the main UN climate summit this week, but that their efforts need to go beyond rhetoric and "they also need to be conscious that the greenwashing speech has no place anymore."

A landmark UN report to be unveiled next week will warn global warming and pollution are ravaging Earth's oceans and icy regions in ways that could unleash misery on a global scale.

But Guterres struck a more optimistic note Saturday, crediting young activists with spurring action.

"This changing momentum was due to your initiative and to the courage, with which you have started these movements."

Kathleen Ma, 23, criticized Microsoft over a cloud computing deal it has

signed with Chevron and Schulmberger

Kathleen Ma, 23, criticized Microsoft over a cloud computing deal it has signed with Chevron and Schulmberger

Young activists take part in the first UN Youth Climate Summit on September 21

Students participate in the Global Climate Strike on September 20 in New York

Swedish teen Greta Thunberg has become the poster child for a new youth-led climate change protest movement

Map of protests and actions planned during the "Week for the Future" scheduled from September 20 to 27, according to the Fridays For Future movement.

Pacific Islanders marched in Sydney in one of the first protests in a global day of action on climate change.

Related Articles:

"The State of the Earth" – (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

Five-year period ending 2019 set to be hottest on record

Yahoo – AFP, Issam AHMED, September 22, 2019

Protestors hold a banner during a demonstration for the climate called 'Act Now
or Never' to raise awareness for climate change, organised by 'Rise for Climate
Belgium', in on September 22, 2019 in Brussels. (AFP Photo/HATIM KAGHAT)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - A damning new UN report published Sunday said the world is falling badly behind in the race to avert climate disaster as a result of runaway warming, with the five-year period ending 2019 set to be the hottest ever.

It comes ahead of a major UN climate summit Monday that will be attended by more than 60 world leaders, as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pushes for countries to increase their greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The report "highlights the urgent need for the development of concrete actions that halt global warming and the worst effects of climate change," said its authors, the Science Advisory Group to the summit.

Average global temperature between 2015-2019 is on track to be the hottest of any five-year period on record, according to the report, which was compiled by the World Meteorological Organization.

The period "is currently estimated to be 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (1850-1900) times and 0.2 degrees Celsius warmer than 2011-2015," it said.

The past four years were already the hottest since record-keeping began in 1850.

Guterres said last week the world was "losing the race" on climate change, with the latest report spelling out the extent to which the gap between what is required and what is happening is widening.

Rather than falling, carbon dioxide grew two percent in 2018, reaching a record high of 37 billion tonnes.

More importantly, there is also no sign yet of reaching what is known as "peak emissions," the point at which levels will start to fall, though these are not growing at the same rate as the global economy.

The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries lay out national targets to reduce their emissions in order to limit long term temperature rise by either 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5 degrees Celsius.

These are benchmarks that will limit in important ways the impact of warming on world weather systems.

But even if all countries meet the goals they set themselves, the world will warm by 2.9 degrees Celsius to 3.4 degrees Celsius, the report found.

The current levels of ambition would need to be tripled to meet the 2 degrees Celsius goal and increased five-fold to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal -- technically still possible.

"This reads like a credit card statement after a 5-year long spending binge," said Professor Dave Reay, chair in Carbon Management at the University of Edinburgh.

"Our global carbon credit is maxed out," he added. "If emissions don’t start falling there will be hell to pay."

Deadly Heatwaves

In 2018, global carbon dioxide was 407.8 parts per million (ppm), 2.2 ppm higher than 2017 and set to reach or exceed 410 ppm by 2019.

"The last time Earth’s atmosphere contained 400 parts per million CO 2 was about 3-5 million years ago," the report said.

At that time, global mean surface temperatures were 2-3 degrees Celsius warmer, ice sheets at both poles had melted, and seas were 10 to 20 meters higher.

Other major takeaways include that the extent of Arctic summer sea ice has declined at a rate of 12 percent per decade over the past 40 years, with the four lowest values between 2015 and 2019.

Overall, the amount of ice lost from the Antarctic ice sheet increased by a factor of six each year between 1979 and 2017, while glacier loss for 2015-19 is also the highest for any five-year period on record.

Sea-level rise is also accelerating as is the process of acidification, with an increase in 26 percent in acidity today compared to pre-industrial periods, as a result of absorbing increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The report also found that heatwaves were the deadliest weather hazard in the 2015-19 period, affecting all continents and setting new national temperature records.

The summer of 2019, which included the hottest ever month on record (July), saw unprecedented wildfires in the Arctic.

In June, these were responsible for emitting 50 megatons of carbon dioxide.

The report also comes at a time of increasing mobilization over the question of climate change, with millions taking part in a youth-led global strike Friday, before the first UN youth climate summit on Saturday.

Related Article:

"The State of the Earth" – (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Reactor at worst US nuclear accident site finally closed

France24 – AFP, 21 September 2019

New York (AFP) - The last reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania was finally shut down Friday, marking the end of the operation of the site of the worst civilian nuclear accident in US history.

The plant's first reactor -- which went online in September 1974 -- was shut down at noon local time (1600 GMT), according to the plant's owner Exelon, and the site will be dismantled in the coming weeks.

On March 28, 1979, the second reactor experienced a cooling problem that -- coupled with a human error -- resulted in the partial melting of the reactor and the evacuation of 14,000 people.

There were no casualties, but the incident led to the definitive closure of the reactor and reopened the debate on the potential danger of civilian nuclear power.

Pennsylvania officials had unsuccessfully attempted a bailout, but Exelon decided to close ahead of the end of the license because the plant had been in deficit for many years.

"At a time when our communities are demanding more clean energy to address climate change, it's regrettable that state law does not support the continued operation of this safe and reliable source of carbon-free power," Bryan Hanson, vice president and head of nuclear for Exelon, said in a statement.

Three Mile Island employed 675 people and roughly 300 will remain at the site during the first phase of decommissioning, the nuclear operator said, before falling to 50 from 2022.

The dismantling of the main components, including the cooling towers, will not begin until 2074, a century after the plant was first commissioned.

Greta Thunberg hopes climate strikes will be 'social tipping point'

Yahoo – AFP, Catherine TRIOMPHE, September 20, 2019

Teen activist Greta Thunberg told AFP she hoped worldwide youth strikes would
mark a turning point in the fight against climate change (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

New York (AFP) - Teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg told AFP that she hoped Friday's massive worldwide climate strikes would mark a turning point in persuading leaders to take decisive action on global warming.

The 16-year-old described the numbers of people who took to the streets as "unbelievable" -- from Asia-Pacific to Europe and Africa, culminating in New York where a million students have been permitted to skip school.

"You see the pictures of all these people. You can't believe what you are seeing," she said during an interview, as thousands of protesters started marching in the US financial capital.

"This is not just because of me," said the Swede, who has spurred teenagers and students around the world, mainly Europe, to strike from school every Friday under the rallying cry "Fridays for future."

"This is because thousands of local organizers who have spent I don't know how many hours. They worked very hard. I'm eternally grateful for what they are doing.

"I hope this will be another social tipping point that we show how many people are engaged, how many people are putting pressure on leaders, especially before this UN climate action summit," she added, referring to Monday's carbon emissions meeting.

Thousands gathered in Manhattan's Foley Square at midday (1600 GMT) to rally the one mile (1.6 kilometers) distance to Battery Park on the tip of the island.

New York authorities gave their blessing to the one million children in over 1,700 schools in the metropolis to miss school for the event.

Children carried placards that read "There Is No Planet B" and "Make The Earth Great Again," a twist on President Donald Trump's rallying cry of "Make America Great Again."

Thunberg is due to attend a summit on zero emissions at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday and said she hoped the size of the protests would spur world leaders into action.

'Take responsibility'

"It's a great opportunity when they are gathered here," she told AFP at New York's city hall, before joining the march, adding that some leaders "seem more determined than others."

"They need to take their responsibility and do this and that's what we are going to try and push for.

"Now we have proven what we can do, now they have to prove what they can (do)," she added.

Thunberg has become a symbol for climate action since she began sitting outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018 calling for politicians to cut carbon emissions and curb global warming.

She sailed into New York on a zero-carbon yacht last month after refusing to fly because of the carbon emissions caused by planes. It took her 15 days to cross the Atlantic.

Thunberg addressed Congress this week and met with former president Barack Obama.

She said meeting Trump, a climate change skeptic who is not taking part in Monday's summit, is not a priority for her.

"I don't see why he would want to meet a teenager, a climate activist... when he does not listen to science," she said.

Thunberg also batted back criticism she has received for her uncompromising attitude, describing it as evidence that "as a positive sign that we are actually having an impact."

She said she does not yet know how or when she will return to Europe.

Related Article:

Climate activist Greta Thunberg meets with Obama in Washington

'Day Zero' looms in Australian Outback as climate change bites

Yahoo – AFP, Holly ROBERTSON, September 19, 2019

Angus Ferrier stands by his few remaining citrus trees at his drought-hit
orchard Stanthorpe, regional Queensland (AFP Photo/William WEST)

Stanthorpe (Australia) (AFP) - An unprecedented water shortage in drought-stricken eastern Australia is driving home the brutal realities of climate change and threatening the much-mythologised Outback way of life.

From sunny Queensland all the way to Sydney, more than a dozen small towns are facing their own "Day Zero" within months, a water crisis reminiscent of the taps being turned off in Cape Town and Chennai.

It's getting hotter, it's getting drier, and adding to the misery, precious water supplies are being tasked to fight hundreds of bushfires ripping through the Australian countryside.

In the small horticulture hub of Stanthorpe, Queensland, a prolonged crushing drought has left water supplies at the local dam sitting metres below normal levels.

Despite sitting within the basin of Australia's biggest river system -- as do all of the towns running dry -- Stanthorpe is set to run dry by Christmas.

Authorities will have no choice but to truck-in water at a monthly cost of Aus$1 million ($690,000) -- a temporary reprieve expected to remain sustainable for just 12 months.

In Angus Ferrier's orchard, citrus trees that once blossomed in orderly rows now lie in a twisted heap.

Cattle feeding on a drought-affected farm near Armidale in regional
New South Wales (AFP Photo/William WEST)

His farm's water own supply will be empty within weeks, so he has dug up thousands of trees and expects to sacrifice the same number again before the year is out.

"They were eight years old," he said, pulling a dried flower off a gnarled branch, "so eight years of your life, gone in a day."

Radical measures

The local growers' association believes drought will cost the region's economy Aus$100 million this season alone -- an enormous amount for a small community like Stanthorpe.

Farmers are taking radical measures just to survive, spending a small fortune to truck-in water for their crops or renting land in other districts that have been less badly affected.

"I do know of some growers who are literally bone dry and have decided to plant nothing this year and practically close their businesses down in the short-term," Ferrier said.

Their struggles have had a knock-on effect in town, where shops are on the brink of shutting, and desperation has led to several instances of water theft across the region.

To the south, the entire state of New South Wales was declared in drought last December. Some reservoirs are as low as one percent of capacity, and smaller towns such as Guyra have effectively already run dry.

Water is being trucked in until a fast-tracked Aus$13 million pipeline comes online at the end of September. But at current water usage rates, even the pipeline's supply will only last the wider 30,000-strong Armidale district another year.

Grazier Gordon Youman helps a struggling sheep back to its feet on his 

property at Guyra in regional New South Wales (AFP Photo/William WEST)

"We are looking at alternative sources of water, not just that which comes from the sky by way of rain," Armidale Regional Council CEO Susan Law said.

'Sunburnt Country'

"A hydrogeologist has identified nine sites around the Guyra region where we will be drilling to see if there's groundwater there to supplement our supply."

Australia -- dubbed the "Sunburnt Country" -- has long been buffeted by drought and floods.

But scientists say weather extremes are exacerbated by climate change, which Australians -- even some in these conservative bush areas -- increasingly acknowledge.

The government, anxious to support the country's huge coal mining and export sector, has rejected calls to make fighting climate change a priority on the grounds this would undermine economic growth.

Local authorities are scrambling to respond to the immediate crisis with measures such as pipelines and drilling, but there is growing pressure for a national policy response.

Storm King dam near Stanthorpe in regional Queensland used to be a popular
swimming spot, but there is hardly any water left now (AFP Photo/William WEST)

That could include dam-building and more stringent restrictions on using river water for irrigation.

"You get the feeling that everyone's on edge because you've got to watch everything you do -- you've got to be careful of every little drop you use," said Stanthorpe resident Tom Hehlen.

"That can be very stressful."

Guyra grazier Gordon Youman said the very fabric of Australia's Outback is at stake, with many farmers suffering mental health issues as they face the prospect of going broke.

"It's that core of the country -- where mum and dad and the kids work together -- they're the ones that are going to be pulled down," he said.

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

"2013 - What Now ?" – Jan 6, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

“… New ideas are things you never thought of. These ideas will be given to you so you will have answers to the most profound questions that your societies have had since you were born. Inventions will bring clean water to every Human on the planet, cheaply and everywhere. Inventions will give you power, cheaply and everywhere. These ideas will wipe out all of the reasons you now have for pollution, and when you look back on it, you'll go, "This solution was always there. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't we do this sooner?" Because it wasn't time and you were not ready. You hadn't planted the seeds and you were still battling the old energy, deciding whether you were going to terminate yourselves before 2012. Now you didn't…. and now you didn't.

It's funny, what you ponder about, and what your sociologists consider the "great current problems of mankind", for your new ideas will simply eliminate the very concepts of the questions just as they did in the past. Do you remember? Two hundred years ago, the predictions of sociologists said that you would run out of food, since there wasn't enough land to sustain a greater population. Then you discovered crop rotation and fertilizer. Suddenly, each plot of land could produce many times what it could before. Do you remember the predictions that you would run out of wood to heat your homes? Probably not. That was before electricity. It goes on and on.

So today's puzzles are just as quaint, as you will see. (1)How do you strengthen the power grids of your great nations so that they are not vulnerable to failure or don't require massive infrastructure improvement expenditures? Because cold is coming, and you are going to need more power. (2) What can you do about pollution? (3) What about world overpopulation? Some experts will tell you that a pandemic will be the answer; nature [Gaia] will kill off about one-third of the earth's population. The best minds of the century ponder these puzzles and tell you that you are headed for real problems. You have heard these things all your life.

Let me ask you this. (1) What if you could eliminate the power grid altogether? You can and will. (2) What if pollution-creating sources simply go away, due to new ideas and invention, and the environment starts to self-correct? (3) Overpopulation? You assume that humanity will continue to have children at an exponential rate since they are stupid and can't help themselves. This, dear ones, is a consciousness and education issue, and that is going to change. Imagine a zero growth attribute of many countries - something that will be common. Did you notice that some of your children today are actually starting to ponder if they should have any children at all? What a concept! ….”