Re: SC4

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/climate-the-heat-is-on/2006/01/04/1136050492336.html

Rising temperatures in Australia prove the need for urgent action on climate change, writes Don Henry.

CONFIRMATION that Australia has just experienced its hottest year on record puts the heat on our politicians to deliver real action on global warming.

The alarming report from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology that the mean annual temperature for 2005 was up more than one degree on the standard average between 1961 and 1990 is yet more scientific evidence that our climate is changing. Greenhouse pollution from the use of coal, oil and gas to power our industries, homes and cars is the primary cause of this climate change, making the world a hotter and more dangerous place to live.

And the foreboding news is not just confined to Australia. The World Meteorological Organisation is forecasting a global mean temperature rise for 2005 of almost half a degree above normal.