So, who is surprised? We are using combustion in unprecedented amounts during summer and winter – and not to keep ourselves warm.

The heat from the hundreds of thousands of motor vehicles idling at traffic lights and in gridlock must surely be injecting many megajoules of heat into the atmosphere through their exhausts and radiators.

Simultaneously, cars in the northern hemisphere – particularly north America – are snow bound so are not ejecting heat at the rate their counterparts are in the Wimmera.

In that part of the world more people than usual are dying from the record low temperatures.

How much hotter is it in summer in Birdsville and Marble Bar where motor vehicles are few?

As well as the record use of combustion in our motor vehicles, we are using air conditioners at an unprecedented rate.

These devices, and refrigerators, are in fact heat pumps that pump heat from a heated confined space to another space where it will supposedly do no harm.

In summer the former is your home, business premises, or the vehicle that transports you between them.

The latter is the ambience all around you.

In winter your reverse cycle climate control device picks up warmth from the outdoors, pumps it into the confined space, using their fans to force the cold air out into the open thus further lowering the ambient temperature.

Thus the northern hemisphere’s air conditioners are helping to push their record lows even lower while our air conditioners are helping to push our record highs even higher.

If you really want to get a “handle” on the natural temperature outside you would need to factor in the artificial temperature in every confined space in the world – a physical impossibility.

Ron Fischer, Horsham

AUSTRALIA Day is a day to spend time with family and friends, to recognise the volunteers in our community and to reflect on our unique a way of life and national character.

Australia Day is for all Australians, no matter where our personal stories began, to reflect on being Australian, celebrate our way of life and acknowledge our history.

It is about acknowledging and celebrating the contribution that every Australia makes to our nation. From the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk peoples – who have been here for many thousands of years – to those whose families go back generations – to those who have come more recently from all corners of the globe to call our country home.

These events are a chance to celebrate the people who make our region special; and to welcome new Australians who are going to make our community even stronger.

Citizens of the Year will be recognised across many towns in Lowan on Australia Day. These people have worked tirelessly to make our region a better place to live.

Enjoy your Australia Day whether than means putting a sausage on the barbie, attending a public event or simply getting together with family and friends. I thank all the community groups and councils who are hosting the community celebrations and making this public recognition possible.

Emma Kealy, Member for Lowan

IN MARCH, the iconic Australian fundraising campaign World’s Greatest Shave will be celebrating its 20th birthday.

To commemorate this milestone, the Leukaemia Foundation is calling on record numbers of Australians to register and join in the fun.

Across the past two decades, more than 1.9 million Australians have supported the campaign to help the Leukaemia Foundation’s continue its vision to cure and mission to care.

Every day, another 35 Aussies are diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukaemia, myeloma and lymphoma.

Thanks to those extraordinary Aussies, blood cancer patients and their families continue to receive free emotional and practical support, educational resources and transport to and from vital medical appointments from the Leukaemia Foundation.

Your support also means regional families continue to be provided with free home-away-from-home accommodation near their treating centres.

Our commitment to fund research projects continues to help more Australians with blood cancer survive and live a better quality of life.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite the Wimmera community to join us and register for World’s Greatest Shave in 2018 to help beat blood cancer.

Let’s make this year the boldest and bravest year ever. 

People can register today at www.worldsgreatestshave.com

Bill Petch, chief executive, Leukaemia Foundation