Australia’s Water Crisis: Climate Change, Salinisation

Synopsis
Film 1 THE BIG DRY: Farmers in south-east Australia are suffering their worst drought in living memory. It’s a question of adapt or go under.

Film 2 THE SALT PROBLEM: White settlers tried to use water to turn Australia into a green land like Europe. But when they irrigated, they lifted buried salt.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Year of release
2009
Year of production
2009
Subjects
Agriculture; Environmental science; Geography
Keywords
Australia; climate change; drought; farming; irrigation; salinity; salt; water supply

Distribution Formats

Type
DVD
Format
Region 2 PAL
Price
£97.00
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
69 minutes
Year
2009

Type
VHS
Format
PAL
Price
£97.00
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
69 minutes
Year
2009

Sections

Title
Big Dry, The
Synopsis
Parts of Australia are suffering their worst drought in living memory. Is this down to global warming? Opinions are divided. This film follows the experiences of farmers in the Mallee district of Victoria in south-east Australia.
The farmers and townsfolk of Birchip, Victoria, have seen little of the rains that have flooded other parts of Australia. It’s likely to stay that way. For Birchip is bang in the middle of the swathe of southern Australia that is forecast to dry out as temperatures rise, cutting farm production by as much as 10 per cent in the next 20 years. Some farms in productive areas may become marginal; small farms on marginal lands could become unviable, eventually being swallowed up by bigger operators or abandoned to nature. Farmers go to their bank managers, digging deeper into debt, hoping that the next hand deals them a good season. It’s a question of adapt or go bust. But are the farmers’ problems a result of natural climate variation - or of catastrophic climate change?
Duration
35 mins

Title
Salt Problem, The
Synopsis
"We’re trying to run a first world economy in what you might call a third world environment." Australians are among the world’s biggest consumers of water - but they live in the driest continent on earth at a time of global warming. And if this wasn’t enough, they face another major environmental problem: salt

White settlers tried to tame Australia and turn the land into something green like Europe. But when they irrigated, they lifted buried salt - instead of greening the interior, they turned it white. Previous government policies, and giant river diversion projects like the Snowy Mountains Scheme, have all made matters worse, encouraging an attitude that water is a free resource to be used or lost to the sea. Now attitudes are changing and many communities are facing difficult choices. Some farmers are tackling the water crisis by embracing radical change, adopting new methods unthinkable in the past. But will Australians learn by past mistakes? A great challenge lies ahead.
Duration
35 mins

Distributor

Name

TV Choice Ltd

Email
tvchoiceuk@aol.com
Web
http://www.tvchoice.uk.com External site opens in new window
Phone
020 8464 7402
Fax
020 8464 7845
Address
PO Box 597
Bromley
Kent
BR2 0YB
Notes
Producer and distributor of over 100 educational videos and DVDs, most with support materials, designed for use in UK schools, colleges and universities. Wide coverage across the curriculum, but particularly strong in the areas of business/management, ICT, geography, DT/manufacturing, history, English/media studies, PSHE, and leisure/tourism.

Record Stats

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