Heat

So it's been hot. Saturday was 34degC plus. I don't like the heat but it's one of the side effects of living in Brisbane. It really wears me down. I get a little easier to anger, less hungry and desperate for that point in the afternoon when the temperature suddenly drops about 5 degrees (or at least it feels like it). I hate the work thing, but at least it's air conditioned.

What I particularly love is living in a city with the largest output of climate-change-contributing emissions in the world and a government who thinks that development and the doubling of Brisbanes population is a good idea. It's actually the coal based electricity and land clearing that contribute to the emissions, but air conditioners don't help (part of the way they work is to shift the hot air out of the cooled space, and all refrigeration uses some heat to cool - i'm not sure on the exact science). We've got climate change, it's going to get hotter in my lifetime up to 5degC on average across the world by 2100), and we need to be able to live. We need air-con. I hate it. I think it's partially responsible - catch 22.

So long term I'm looking at strategies - communal air conditioning (see Malls/Libraries/Work places and one dedicated summer air con living space in our house), moving south for the summer (but it's getting warmer there too) or switching hemispheres so we always live in winter. Nocturnal is good too, except it's sometimes really hard to sleep in the heat. I think I get so angsty because I just can't do anything from about 10am - 5pm on hot days, and unfortunately I haven't been able to slip into a completely nocturnal lifestyle with this whole summer-work malarkey.

The following links are to the bureau of meteorology (always a fun site) looking at the weather in Queensland - go and check the radar images next time there's a storm.
Queensland Bureau of Meteorology

And just to prove my angst about the temperatures - it doesn't end!
Queensland Seasonal temperature outlook

"There is a moderate to strong shift in the odds towards above average maximum temperatures for the late summer to mid-autumn quarter (Feb-Apr) across most of Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology announced today."

The EPA has some links to further information on Greenhouse emmissions including links to the Greenhouse emmission inventory.
Here's some info on what you can do about reducing emmissions
What you can do EPA/QPWS

A report (pdf) commissioned by ACF in 1999 showing details of the impact of land clearing on the rate of emmissions.

Details about the Kyoto agreement which goes into effect on 16 Feb 2005, even though we haven't signed onto it are here.