Question 3.

Australia is the second driest continent, and suffers severely from droughts which have led to many water restrictions across of Australia. Australias land consists of desert, semi-arid, forests to alpine heaths. It is isolated due to being surrounded by water. Climate change is the main issue that affects our water resources which are caused through deforestation, industrialisation and pollution and mainly greenhouse gases. Australias main problem is rainfall, where rainfall doesnt occur where it is needed resulting in droughts and occurs frequently in other areas causing floods. On average, each Australian emits 20.58 tons of carbon every year, resulting in Australia being one of the highest carbon emitters in the world per capita, which is a result from burning fossil fuels, industrial use, consumer goods and natural gas drilling etc. These all contribute to the greenhouse effect, working in combination with deforestation, making the land less effective in absorbing CO2 and increasing the lands carbon emission. The increase in temperature will cause extreme changes in Australian weather, an increase in precipitation variabilitiy which will result in more droughts and more floods. Australia will undergo a decrease in flow and rainfall in catchment areas. The greenhouse effect will also result in the melting off the ice caps, which will increase coastal erosion due to the increased sea level. Also due the the stress on water resorces, desalination plants may have to be built in order to have safer drinking water. The Murray-Darling basin spans the majority of New South Wales and its surrounding areas, climate change has greatly affected the basin. The total volume is just under 35,000 gigalitres, the major storages at the Murray Darling Basin make it possible to store water during the wet seasons and release it during summer or drought throughout NSW, VIC and SA. The long-term productivity and sustainability of the Murray-Darling Basin is under threat from over-allocated water resources, salinity and climate change. Water use in the Basin has increased fivefold in less than a century. The problems caused by over-allocation have been exacerbated by severe drought and the early impacts of climate change. There is insufficient water to maintain the Basin's natural balance and ecosystems, resulting in a marked decline in its ecological health.

References "Murray-Darling Basin." Environment, Water and Heritage (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts - DEWHA) - Home Page. Web. 28 Mar. 2010. http://www.environment.gov.au/water/locations/murray-darlingbasin/index.html

IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. http://www.ipcc.ch

"State of the Climate - Snapshot (Fact Sheet)." Welcome to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Web. 28 Mar. 2010. http://www.csiro.gov.au/resources/State-of-the-Climate-Snapshot.html

Climate Action Network Australia. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. http://www.cana.net.au/bush/summary.htm