Anthropogenic climate change

[dichotomy]

This is an oldish interview but I thought it was interesting.

 

Landclearing & Rainfall in W.A

Saturday 17 July 2004

 

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s1152730.htm

 

"Alexandra de Blas: So basically because of the colour and the roughness, you’ve got more convection over the native veg, and therefore you get more clouds and more rain?

 

Tom Lyons: You certainly get more clouds, and then some recent modelling studies done by Andy Pitman at Macquarie University has taken those results and put them into a numerical model to compare what’s happened with pre-European vegetation and the current vegetation, and those modelling results show quite clearly a marked decrease in rainfall across the agricultural area that in terms of its spatial pattern compares very well with the observed decrease in rainfall."

 

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I know it's only one of the causes of climate change, but it seems like pretty solid evidence that landclearing is responsible for rainfall patterns changing. How much landclearing has been done globally over the period of obvious GW? Maybe rainfall can be increased/controlled by planting crops that have been GM to be darkened or lightened in colour? Maybe just cover the land cleared areas with the right shade of darkgreen food die, or whatever, to increase rainfall in drought areas?

[vampares]

That is a peculiar theory. I wouldn't think the effects would be seen directly over top of the same place the water evaporated from.

 

It could be the pollen or other dust particles that release help seed the clouds. I don't think pollens go up that far though. The Amish burn stuff that the English give them, pills, chinsy plastic stuff, batteries. I saw 'em fire bomb a Toyota Celica once (it's supposed to make rain -- it never hits them though). Whole county is full of smoke half the time. They eat worms and then punch you in the nuts. It is a lifestyle not to be disrupted.

 

Most rain occurs because of pressure differences. These are generated by temperature differences. A bubble of colder air should push warm wet air up and make rain. It must be cooler with the bush.

 

Maybe rainfall can be increased/controlled by planting crops that have been GM to be darkened or lightened in colour?

How very American. I've seen hay used at planting time. I guess it keeps some of the moisture in by preventing the sun from hitting the ground. I'm not much of a farmer though.

 

In Brazil they switched farming techniques. They now only clear strips in a checkered pattern. This allows the secondary growth to be restored quickly. Of course it means farms are twice the size. It could help. But you'd have to move the rabbit fences. Or start new farms, which means fences anyways. Which ever costs the least (it is an alien concept to some -- but no one wants to move fences, except the Amish, gives em something to do). Smaller farms would probably move the fences, where as industrial farms might buy new fences.