Journalist: Today everyone is talking about climate change and its negative effects on our planet. In recent years, natural events such as huge forest fires, severe droughts and major hurricanes have made people around the world more aware of the importan ce of our environment. To talk about these and other issues, today we’ve invited Dr. Robert Thomas from Australian National University to our program. Welcome, Dr. Thomas.
.Dr. Thomas: Thank you. Happy to be here.
.Journalist: What can you tell us about the effects of climate change in Australia, Dr. Thomas?
.Dr. Thomas: Climate change is affecting the amount of rain in the country. Simply put, it rains less. Right now one of the major issues in Australia is the shortage of water in the outback, the central pa rt of the country that is quite a distance from the coastline cities where most Australians live. In the outback, there are more than a dozen towns without a reliable source of water.
.Journalist: Oh, I didn’t know that.
.Dr. Thomas: In the past few years, there has been a severe drought in Australia. Most people don’t realize that Australia is the world’s most arid continent. Rivers and lakes are disappearing, so people are beginning to fear that many of the rural areas in the middle of the country may have to be abandoned.
.Journalist: Is the lack of water only a result of climate change?
.Dr. Thomas: Not exactly. In addition to severe drought in recent years that IS related to climate change, the government approved mining projects that depended on an intensive use of water. Tourism in the outback has been promoted for years, and the population there is growing. More mining and more people mean more pressure on water resources.
.Journalist: So there has been a combination o f factors involved.
. Dr. Thomas: That’s right. Besides the new mines and the growing number of people, the country has not invested enough money to prepare for its future water needs. Australia is behind countries like the United States and China in prepar ing for the future. And the sad part is, the future is now. It rains less in Australia than it did before, so the rivers are drying up. And every year there are huge forest fires that are uncontrollable.
.Journalist: What are people going to do?
.Dr. Thomas: Well, actually a lot of the farmers in the outback are giving up. Many have decided not to plant any crops on their land and are selling all their livestock. They are moving away. And the towns that developed to serve the farmers and ranchers will probabl y be abandoned. Those towns depend on the business created by the farmers, and the farmers depend on access to water. With no water, whole towns will probably disappear.
.Journalist: It’s surprising that nothing can be done. Can’t they dig wells? I know tha t some deserts do have underground water.
.Dr. Thomas: In some places, wells already supply part of the drinking water. Many towns want to dig new wells. But digging wells is not a permanent solution to the problem.
.Journalist: Why not?
.Dr. Thomas: Because the water underground is not high quality water for drinking. It often has a metallic taste, and there have been some studies to suggest that it is responsible for some long - term health problems like high blood pressure. This water has to be treated, and w ater treatment plants in the outback are expensive and harmful to the environment.
.Journalist: Is the situation as bad in Australia’s big cities, like Sydney and Melbourne?
.Dr. Thomas: No, the situation in coastal areas like Sydney and Melbourne is better but not without problems. Both cities restrict the amount of water people can use. In Sydney the government has hired “water officers” to educate the public and enforce water restrictions.
.Journalist: How about using sea water, like they do in other parts of the world? Australia obviously has easy access to oceans.
.Dr. Thomas: We do use ocean water. The coastal areas have desalination plants, which are crucial to Australia’s water supply. Desalination plants, however, also create some environmental problems because they require a lot of energy to operate and the salt they remove from the water is dumped back into the oceans, which is not good for fish and other sea - living creatures. But the fact is these plants are necessary for Australia.
.Journalist: Can wa ter be recycled? I know that in some places in the U.S. recycled water is used to clean streets, for example.
.Dr. Thomas: Yes, recycling water is important now and will become even more important in the future. Recycled water is often used to water parks i n cities. There are other things that can be done, too. For example, fire stations are studying how to use sand, instead of water, to put out fires. Gardens can have artificial lawns, as opposed to grass. We still don’t know the long - term results of climat e change, but it is clear that no matter what, Australia must plan for its future water needs.
.Journalist: That’s all we have time for today. Thank you, Dr. Thomas, for joining us today.
.Dr. Thomas: My pleasure.
.(adapted from an article by Livia Albeck - Rip ka published in The New York Times, Dec. 8, 2019)