There was a time on this planet when humans did not exist in our current forms. We did not produce CO2, our animals did not produce CH4, and yet, things went through cycles of warming, cooling, icing over, and all that.
Perhaps the solution to the question would be to look at say Australia's history instead of anecdotal 'well its really wet here' and 'its been dry here' as somehow proof of climate changes.
To this I turned to the powers of google, being I am not an Austrialian weather expert.
This was the first result.
http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...hc/drought.htm
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Drought
The “Federation drought” 1895-1902
The 1914-15 drought
The World War II droughts 1937-45
The 1965-68 drought
Short but sharp - The 1982-83 drought
The long El Niño - 1991 through 1995
Drought. The word evokes images of barren fields, dying stock, and water holes and reservoirs drying to cracked mud. Shrivelled hopes, failed crops, and often economic ruin are its trademarks.
Drought is also part and parcel of life in Australia, particularly in the marginal areas away from the better-watered coasts and ranges. drought near GunnedahOf all the climatic phenomena to afflict Australia, drought is probably the most economically costly: major droughts such as that of 1982/83 can have a major impact on the national economy. Moreover, apart from crop failure and stock losses, droughts set the scene for other disastrous phenomena, such as fires, dust-storms, and general land degradation.
Denuded earth and dry watercourses during drought near Gunnedah, in the normally well-watered Namoi Valley region of New South Wales (photo courtesy of the NSW Dept of Land and Water Conservation).
Why is Australia drought prone?
Australia is prone to drought because of its geography. Our continent sits more or less astride the latitudes of the subtropical high pressure belt, an area of sinking, dry, stable air and usually clear skies. The far north and south of the country come under the influence of reasonably regular rain-bearing disturbances for at least part of the year, and the east coast is watered reasonably well by moisture from the Tasman and Coral Seas. However over most of the country rainfall is not only low, but highly erratic.
Many, but by no means all, droughts over eastern and northern Australia accompany the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon, which typically lasts about a year, as in 1982/83. Droughts in the western areas and over much of the interior normally have different causes. Nevertheless, on some occasions (such as 1914 and 1994) El Niño-related droughts may extend across virtually the entire country. On such occasions, the economic and livestock losses are exacerbated
hand-feeding sheep in NSWHand-feeding sheep in western New South Wales during the extended drought in Queensland and New South Wales during the 1990s
Long-term droughts
Over much of the country, droughts can extend over several years, relieved only by brief, transitory rains. Indeed, probably the most damaging type of drought is when one or two very dry years follow several years of generally below-average rainfall. The “Federation drought” of the late 1890s through 1902 is an example, as is the more recent 1991-95 drought in Queensland, northern New South Wales and parts of central Australia. Over still longer time-scales, Australia’s rainfall history features several periods of a decade or longer that seem to have been distinctly “drought prone”. For instance, the mid to late 1920s and the 1930s were a period of generally low rainfall over most of the country, continuing through most of the 1940s over the eastern states. A similar dry spell occurred in the 1960s over central and eastern Australia. During these low rainfall periods, not every year is dry; it is just that rainfall in most years is below the long-term average, and there are often runs of years with recurrent drought. Thus in the late 1930s-40s major droughts occurred over eastern Australia in 1937-38, 1940-41, and 1943-45.
The 1990s saw formal Government acknowledgement that drought is part of the natural variability of the Australian climate, with drought relief for farmers and agricultural communities being restricted to times of so-called “exceptional circumstances”. In other words, the agricultural sector was expected to cope with the occasional drought, and relief would be available only for droughts of unusual length or severity.
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Climate issues are the current media shark attacks of 2001. In 2001 shark attacks were 'the news' that summer, it was considered a major safety issue by typical Americans, and yet, there were less attacks that year than previous years.
Now every time it rains a bit more, it snows a bit less, it snows a bit more, it rains a bit less, its warm in October, is cold in June, someone mentions 'climate change' as a reason as if that said something valid.
The climate does change, it always changes, as continents continue to drift, as volcanoes erupt or not, as solar energy reaches the earth or doesn't as eccentricities in the earths orbit tilts it slightly one way or another, the climate changes.
Sometimes those changes are due to mundane 'nature' reasons and there is no reason to think that current droughts are any different than the past ones.
From what I gather, there has been no real increase in sea level due to ice melt at this time.