The Aussie Big Dry

File under scary. As in 'all the bees are disappearing' scary.

Also note later in the article that Peter Garrett former lead singer of Midnight Oil is now a prominent member of Aussie politics.

From NY Times

The Aussie ‘Big Dry’

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: May 4, 2007

SYDNEY, Australia

Almost everywhere you travel these days, people are talking about their weather — and how it has changed. Nowhere have I found this more true, though, than in Australia, where “the big dry,” a six-year record drought, has parched the Aussie breadbasket so severely that on April 19, Prime Minister John Howard actually asked the whole country to pray for rain. “I told people you have to pray for rain,” Mr. Howard remarked to me, adding, “I said it without a hint of irony.”

And here’s what’s really funny: It actually started to rain! But not enough, which is one reason Australia is about to have its first election in which climate change will be a top issue. In just 12 months, climate change has gone from being a nonissue here to being one that could tip the vote.