Reality can be a harsh mistress. It has a very blunt and uncompromising way of putting in their proper place those who hold fanciful beliefs based on faith, rather than on reason and facts. The current situation in Australia is a good example. The continent is facing an unprecedented drought, and most models do confirm that climate change is very likely to make Australia hotter and drier. But at the same time the country has a prime-minister, John Howard, who until recently was a firm denier of the science behind climate change. Moreover, Australia was one of the two industralised nations who refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol (the other being of course the US), and Australians are second only to the Americans in per capita CO₂ emissions (among the 20 top emitters).

Obviously, it would be a bit childish to invoke poetic justice or anything of the sort. The moral of the story here is that the universe couldn't care less about anyone's fairy-tale thinking. When push comes to shove, you can't negotiate with the laws of physics or "pray for them to go away". As for Mr Howard, facing criticism from pretty much all sectors of Australian society, he has been forced to acknowledge that "this climate change thingy might be on to something"...

Are you paying attention, George?