Mining company losing money because of Global Warming

[a_unique_person]

They are leading the 'skeptical' charge, but maybe how they will realise that they are wrong. Rainfall in most of Australia is falling due to climate change.







RIO Tinto is to halve production of energy coal and cut 160 jobs at its Tarong mine in south-eastern Queensland, after water shortages caused an adjacent power station to cut output.
Production would drop to 300,000 tonnes a month from 605,000 tonnes, Alison Smith, a spokeswoman for the company, said in a statement. The cuts follow measures taken at the Tarong and Tarong North power stations to cut water use during the drought.






http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/rio-to-cut-coal-jobs-as-drought-bites-into-power/2007/05/16/1178995236604.html

[Beerina]

You presume the drought is caused by global warming. Given the Earth is almost 3/4 water, warmer air should cause increased rainfall everywhere.

My question is: how far out of the ordinary is this drought historically? While warming could also cause climate shifts for the worse locally, and warmer air could cause worse or longer droughts also locally, just because of warmer air makes a natural cycle drought worse.

[Francesca R]

Nothing in the story says that Rio Tinto believe the drought is due to GW.

[a_unique_person]

Nothing in the story says that Rio Tinto believe the drought is due to GW.

No, they don't believe in it. You don't have to believe in something for it to affect you.

[a_unique_person]

You presume the drought is caused by global warming. Given the Earth is almost 3/4 water, warmer air should cause increased rainfall everywhere.

My question is: how far out of the ordinary is this drought historically? While warming could also cause climate shifts for the worse locally, and warmer air could cause worse or longer droughts also locally, just because of warmer air makes a natural cycle drought worse.

That's why models are useful. They predicted lower rainfall for various parts of Australia, and it happened.

[Francesca R]

No, they don't believe in it. You don't have to believe in something for it to affect you.Oh . . . so if I don't believe in taxation I'll be rich?

Your OP is really: "I think global warming is the cause of depleted Austrailan rainfall". The story is not evidence of the hypothesis, nor evidence that Rio Tinto agrees with you.

[Dr Adequate]

Oh . . . so if I don't believe in taxation I'll be rich? No, because as aup pointed out, "You don't have to believe in something for it to affect you."

[Francesca R]

No, because as aup pointed out, "You don't have to believe in something for it to affect you."Whoops! My very bad :o

[Beerina]

Is the drought out of the ordinary historically?

[a_unique_person]

http://www.bom.gov.au/inside/eiab/reports/caa03/chapter4/drying_trend_drought_fire.shtml