Sunburnt country : the history and future of climate change in Australia

What does climate change in Australia really look like?"What was Australia’s climate like before official weather records began? How do scientists use tree-rings, ice cores and tropical corals to retrace the past? What do Indigenous seasonal calendars reveal? And what do settler diary entries about rainfall, droughts, bushfires and snowfalls tell us about natural climate cycles?Sunburnt Country pieces together Australia’s climate history for the first time. It uncovers a continent long vulnerable to climate extremes and variability. It gives an unparalleled perspective on how human activities have altered patterns that have been with us for millions of years, and what climate change looks like in our own backyard.Sunburnt Country highlights the impact of a warming planet on Australian lifestyles and ecosystems and the power we all have to shape future life on Earth."Part I: Colonial Calamities1: The Start of a Rocky Relationship2: Unearthing Australia's Climate History3: Life in Sodden Isolation4: Australia's Climatic Tug of War5: Twin Blows6: Rescued from the Rooftops7: Scarcely a Passing Shower8: 'The Changes Are Truly Astonishing'Part II: Weather Watchers9: What Does 'on Record' Actually Mean?10: The Weatherman11: Australia's Early Climate Records12: Frost and Fire13: Bursting Bubbles of Optimism14: Dust and Desolation15: Gumboot Weather16: Wisdom of the Elders Intro Title Copyright Contents Foreword Part I: Colonial Calamities 1: The Start of a Rocky Relationship 2: Unearthing Australia's Climate History 3: Life in Sodden Isolation 4: Australia's Climatic Tug of War 5: Twin Blows 6: Rescued from the Rooftops 7: Scarcely a Passing Shower 8: 'The Changes Are Truly Astonishing' Part II: Weather Watchers 9: What Does 'on Record' Actually Mean? 10: The Weatherman 11: Australia's Early Climate Records 12: Frost and Fire 13: Bursting Bubbles of Optimism 14: Dust and Desolation 15: Gumboot Weather 16: Wisdom of the Elders Part III: Time Travellers17: Sentinels of Deep Time 18: Old-growth Records 19: Tales from the Tropics 20: Frozen in Time 21: Ebbs and Flows 22: Piecing Together the Climate Jigsaw 23: Taking the Temperature of the Southern Hemisphere 24: The Saga of the Millennium 25: Welcome to the Anthropocene Part IV: History Repeating? 26: What about the Ice Ages? 27: Natural Variability Versus Human Influence 28: Life in a Shifting Climate 29: Human Fingerprints on Our Climate 30: Up in Flames 31: Vanishing Snow 32: Flooding Rains 33: Girt by Rising Seas Part V: The Age of Consequences 34: The 'New Normal'35: Redrawing Our Maps 36: Silent Killers 37: The Living Dead 38: A Symbolic Start 39: Our Political Hot Potato 40: The Clean Energy Revolution 41: We Are All in This Together Acknowledgements References Index What does climate change in Australia really look like? "What was Australias climate like before official weather records began? How do scientists use tree-rings, ice cores and tropical corals to retrace the past? What do Indigenous seasonal calendars reveal? And what do settler diary entries about rainfall, droughts, bushfires and snowfalls tell us about natural climate cycles? Sunburnt Country pieces together Australias climate history for the first time. It uncovers a continent long vulnerable to climate extremes and variability. It gives an unparalleled perspective on how human activities have altered patterns that have been with us for millions of years, and what climate change looks like in our own backyard. Sunburnt Country highlights the impact of a warming planet on Australian lifestyles and ecosystems and the power we all have to shape future life on Earth."

What was Australia's climate like before official weather records began? How do scientists use tree-rings, ice cores and tropical corals to retrace the past? What do Indigenous seasonal calendars reveal? And what do settler diary entries about rainfall, droughts, bushfires and snowfalls tell us about natural climate cycles? Sunburnt Country pieces together Australia's climate history for the first time. It uncovers a continent long vulnerable to climate extremes and variability. It gives an unparalleled perspective on how human activities have altered patterns that have been with us for millions of years, and what climate change looks like in our own backyard. Sunburnt Country highlights the impact of a warming planet on Australian lifestyles and ecosystems and the power we all have to shape future life on Earth.