Climate change sceptics say it’s hard to be heard: Sceptics of the seriousness of global warming complained on Wednesday of not being heard by the public or policy-makers while warning governments to take a second look at the scientific consensus on climate change. Scientists who doubt the scope and cause of climate change have trouble getting funding and academic posts unless they conform to an “alarmist scenario”. Reuters

Fears jet ‘flight guilt’ hitting Aussie tourism: Australia is concerned that growing guilt over the impact of jet flights on global warming could hit the country’s multi-billion-dollar tourism industry, officials said. With long-distance airline flights virtually the only way of reaching “Down Under” and climate change threatening major attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Government has launched a “Tourism Action Plan”. News.com.au

Britain in bloom: how spring is the new summer: Since the Middle Ages, it’s been known as May blossom. But should its name now be changed to April? The flowering of the hawthorn bush has, for centuries been an infallible sign in England that the month of May has arrived. But, this year, in our warm spring, its scented creamy-white flowers are appearing in many places a good three weeks earlier than normal. Independent

Republicans see global warming alarmism: House Republicans made it clear on Wednesday they won’t make things easy for Democrats trying to lay the groundwork for legislation on Greenhouse gases and climate change. At the first hearing of a special committee established by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to make the case for a bill, Republicans questioned efforts to paint global warming as a national security threat. Washington Post

Pray for rain: PM: The drought will leave farmers without irrigation allocations from the Murray-Darling Basin unless it rains in the next six to eight weeks, Prime Minister John Howard warns. Mr Howard described an  “unprecedentedly dangerous situation”. The Age