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Hope for Snowy cloud seeding to fight climate change

The New South Wales Government says it hopes an expanded cloud seeding program for the Snowy Mountains will help counteract the effects of climate change.

The next phase of the trial begins today and will run for five years.

It will cover an area of more than 2,000 kilometres, which is twice the size of the previous program.

Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says the Government has been pleased with the first stage, which has led to an increase in rain of about 10 to 15 per cent.

Mr Macdonald says the region needs help to protect its snowfalls.

"There are predictions of reduced snowfalls in that region due to climate variation and often it's said that this variation's due to human intervention," he said.

"Well this is human intervention to try and address some of the problems that may be created by human induced, too much carbon in the atmosphere."

- ABC

© ABC 2008

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Minister not surprised Wivenhoe accounts differ

20:29 EDT Queensland's Water Minister has told the inquiry into last January's flood disaster that he is not surprised about conflicting evidence on how Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam was operated.