The Battle for Australia’s Water – Part II

Ranchers and environmentalists form an unlikely alliance in the dry Australian Outback to avoid the water wars.

Boom Times in Australia

Economic downturn? What economic downturn? By most traditional economic indicators, Australia breezed right through the global financial crisis. In fact, Australia was the first G20 nation to actually raise interest rates, an effort to cool down a simmering economy. The World’s Jason Margolis spent two weeks in Australia to look at how the nation has gone 19 years without suffering a recession, and to hear some voices behind that prosperity.

Why the Australian Floods Were Good for the Outback

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Floods in the Australian state of Queensland exacted a terrible toll last December and January. The bill could reach $30 billion, in clean-up costs and lost productivity. But one part of the Australian state welcomed the floods and is now thriving: The Outback. The World’s Jason Margolis has more from Australia. Download MP3
Slideshow: Animals of the Australian Outback

Cyclone hits Australia

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Our Geo Quiz comes straight out of the news this time: a massive cyclone is battering northeastern Australia. Cyclone Yasi went ashore in a state that’s known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The storm is impacting a part of the state that’s to the north of areas hit by massive flooding recently. What’s the name of the Australian state battered by Yasi? Download MP3

Talking Travel: Aussie floods and your travel plans

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A president toppled and protests in the streets, mudslides rolling down mountains and killing villagers, and flood waters cresting through through the streets of a major city. Not exactly what Tunisia, Brazil and Australia (respectively) want during the height of their tourist season. American Airlines says ‘get lost’ to Orbitz and Expedia, and in the northern hemisphere, it’s still winter. How do you avoid getting stuck at the airport?

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Global Political Cartoons: January 15 – 21, 2011

Tunisians say they want a revolution, ‘well, you know, we all want to change the world’.  What’s still not clear is what the Tunisians want to change into.  HU Jintao? He’s the Chinese president WHO went TO Washington TO DO some diplomacy TO WOO NEW sources of MOO-lah.  And Queensland underwater.

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Helping flood victims in Australia

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Aid workers in the Australian state of Queensland are scrambling to provide assistance to the victims of torrential rains. Jacqueline Pascarl of the aid group Operation Angel tells host Lisa Mullins about needs of survivors that are often overlooked. Download MP3

Video: Floods in Australia

Australia’s floods affect grain supplies

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A week of heavy rain across Queensland in Australia has brought flooding to an area the size of France and Germany combined. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Wayne Newton – a Queensland farmer – about what the floods will mean for global grain production. Download MP3

• Slideshow: Australian floods

Australia’s Gold Coast Islamic center

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Residents in Australia’s fastest-growing region have formed a protest group to oppose plans to build an Islamic centre on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Phil Mercer reports from Sydney. (Photo: Lakemba Mosque, Sydney Credit: Paul Carson/Flickr) Download MP3

• Residents against mosque ‘have nothing to fear’
• Buddhism and Islam in America

Gold Coast

We’re looking for the Gold Coast for today’s Geo Quiz. The question is… WHICH one? There’s a region of West Africa that was known as the Gold Coast in colonial times. There’s also a stretch by the same name in Florida between Palm Beach and Miami. It supposedly got its name from the gold coins that used to wash up on the beaches from sunken Spanish galleons…

Audio Slideshow: Camel Races in Australia

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Photojournalist Tim Bonham journeys deep into the Australian outback to profile Glenda Sutton. Sutton is a camel jockey, and has been since 1998. She learned how to ride in the United Arab Emirates, and now races in her native Australia. Bonham caught up with her at The Boulia Camel Races in Queensland. Download MP3

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• Australian Broadcasting Corporation story on Glenda Sutton
• More of Tim Bonham’s photos
• Drought drives camels to overrun Australian town

South Australia

Head for South Australia for today’s Geo Quiz. Travelers to Australia often flock to Queensland’s sunny beaches, or to Sydney Harbor to see the sights.