The Courier-Mail
By: Peter Michael
North Queensland is "ground zero'' for global warming, experts warn.
Forget melting ice caps, when it comes to climate change, the state's vulnerable reef and rainforest is Australia's "canary in the coalmine''.
Rainforest is dying, some animal species are on the brink of extinction, and mass coral bleaching events kill entire marine ecosystems.
Rising temperatures of man-made climate change - estimated at up to 1.2 degrees every year - threaten to make the state hotter, storms wilder, cyclones more frequent, and sea levels higher.
"It is ground zero,'' John Connor, chief executive of the Climate Institute, said yesterday.
``It will be one of the major battlefields of global warming, no doubt.''
His comments come amid fears the rare white lemuroid possum of the Daintree may be an early casualty of global warming.
Scientists say the native tree-dwelling creature, only found above 1000m in high-altitude mountain forest, may have become extinct, as it hasn't been sighted for three years.
Researchers, led by Dr Steve Williams, are preparing to mount a last-ditch expedition deep into the untouched wilderness of the Carbine ranges to search for the white possum. Even if a remnant population of the possum is found, it may prove difficult to save.
Other creatures listed as vulnerable to rising temperatures and changing ecosystems are the northern spotted-tailed quoll and mahogany glider, both also only found in the state's far north. Scientists believe some amphibians and insects have probably already disappeared.
Professor Paul Gadek, an internationally respected tropical scientist, said it often took 50 years before a species could officially be declared extinct.
"But what is unique about the white possum is that it was highly susceptible to any change in the climatic envelope in which it lived,'' Professor Gadek said.
"And it is disturbing there have been no sightings despite intense efforts. It may be gone forever. It is an indicator of the rapid changes in our ecosystem, occurring at a much greater rate than we are acknowledging.''
About 50 environmentalist groups this week collectively urged Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to use the possible extinction as the trigger for far-reaching cuts to carbon emissions.
The Federal Cabinet is preparing its final target emissions reduction ranges for 2020 next week.
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong leaves for Poland for an international meeting on Monday.