Australian Bushfires
Australia has been on fire for far too long now. I know that I have already made a brief post here about how these fires have affected me and my home personally but I haven't touched on the bushfires since then, nor my thoughts on how they are affecting Australia (and the world) on large. (FYI, my family and I are safe, and a massive thank-you to all our firefighters and volunteers. Australia owes you a debt of gratitude that we can never repay.)
I usually try to make some sort of joke in my posts, try to say something clever and fun. I don't think I can do that in this post. I have already shed too many tears over this disaster to attempt to make a lighter post. (Sources at the bottom, as always.)
My beautiful country has been on fire since September of 2019. We've had a drought since 2017 that has only made it worse, and as of writing this we are still on fire. We have lost over one billion animals, 28 people (as of Jan 13th), had 24 million acres burnt (that's an area larger than the country of Portugal) and lost 2,000 homes. We are burning, we have been burning, and we will still be burning, even when the rest of the world has moved on.
So how did we get here? Like I mentioned before, we've had a terrible drought since 2017. From September to November we experienced our driest spring on record, so of course once the flames began there was nothing we could do. The fires spread, urged on by the prolonged droughts and heat waves. There was a fire in Victoria that literally created its own weather system which led to lightning strikes that led to more fires.
The drought and heat waves aren't the only reason the bushfires are this awful, though, and those of you who know me well will know what I'm going to say next. Climate change is definitely a contributor. Our bushfire seasons are getting longer and more severe, and all of Australia's scientific agencies have clearly linked this trend to climate change. Australia is known for being climate change deniers (as I've mentioned in this post) and you can clearly see this in our government and media. There have been wild reports of arson by news outlets owned by the good Rupert Murdoch and our Prime Minister of the Week in an attempt to steer the conversation away from climate change. And to be fair, it sounds awful. It was reported that 183 individuals were arrested for arson, but that doesn't tell the whole story. That figure was for the year ending September 2019 and had almost nothing to do with the bushfires currently burning. Besides, that figure includes "a broader range of offences than arson, including the breaching of total fire bans, and was not a total of arrests, but a total of "police enforcement actions”." Has arson been a problem? Absolutely. However, according to ABC only about 1% of the land burnt in NSW and less than 1% in Victoria can be officially accredited to arson.
There have also been rumours that the bushfires are due to environmentalists (the Greens Party) blocking back burning, an important technique in lessening the fuel available for bushfires. This is simply not true. Australia has actually increased its back burning each year since 2017. Besides, no amount of back burning could have prevented this disaster.
I am beyond frustrated and heartbroken. I love this country to pieces but despite the overwhelming scientific evidence in support of the reality of climate change Australia is consistently behind on a) admitting to a scientific theory that we are as certain about as we are on gravity and b) doing anything about it. It is more than 95% likely that global warming is due to human activity since the mid 1900s and yet we are still arguing over policies, spreading misinformation, and pointing fingers while my people are forced to flee their homes, while my country is burnt to the ground.
This situation is beyond my comprehension. The worst part, I think, is the feeling of helplessness, like no matter what I do or say I can't make a difference in the face of such an overwhelming problem. And as I texted a wonderful friend of mine, I know I want to do something but no one listens because I'm not important, I don't have the money to make people listen and that's what it's all about. And that's an awful feeling.
One night I mistakenly spent about half an hour on Twitter and it ended with me sobbing, unable to grapple with the reality that is this disaster. If you can handle it, I would recommend that you do the same. Watch videos of ordinary people rescuing burnt koalas and kangaroos. Look at pictures of my country burning to the ground. Now look at your own beliefs, your own actions, and ask yourself if you are part of the problem.
***
Donations:
The Guardian (list of charities)
Red Cross
WWF
***
Sources:
ABC
AFR
Greens
The Guardian
The Guardian (2)
The Guardian (3)
Insider
Insider (2)
MamaMia
Morning Consult
NASA
NY Times
NY Times (2)
NY Times (3)
SMH
Wired
Vox
I usually try to make some sort of joke in my posts, try to say something clever and fun. I don't think I can do that in this post. I have already shed too many tears over this disaster to attempt to make a lighter post. (Sources at the bottom, as always.)
My beautiful country has been on fire since September of 2019. We've had a drought since 2017 that has only made it worse, and as of writing this we are still on fire. We have lost over one billion animals, 28 people (as of Jan 13th), had 24 million acres burnt (that's an area larger than the country of Portugal) and lost 2,000 homes. We are burning, we have been burning, and we will still be burning, even when the rest of the world has moved on.
So how did we get here? Like I mentioned before, we've had a terrible drought since 2017. From September to November we experienced our driest spring on record, so of course once the flames began there was nothing we could do. The fires spread, urged on by the prolonged droughts and heat waves. There was a fire in Victoria that literally created its own weather system which led to lightning strikes that led to more fires.
The drought and heat waves aren't the only reason the bushfires are this awful, though, and those of you who know me well will know what I'm going to say next. Climate change is definitely a contributor. Our bushfire seasons are getting longer and more severe, and all of Australia's scientific agencies have clearly linked this trend to climate change. Australia is known for being climate change deniers (as I've mentioned in this post) and you can clearly see this in our government and media. There have been wild reports of arson by news outlets owned by the good Rupert Murdoch and our Prime Minister of the Week in an attempt to steer the conversation away from climate change. And to be fair, it sounds awful. It was reported that 183 individuals were arrested for arson, but that doesn't tell the whole story. That figure was for the year ending September 2019 and had almost nothing to do with the bushfires currently burning. Besides, that figure includes "a broader range of offences than arson, including the breaching of total fire bans, and was not a total of arrests, but a total of "police enforcement actions”." Has arson been a problem? Absolutely. However, according to ABC only about 1% of the land burnt in NSW and less than 1% in Victoria can be officially accredited to arson.
There have also been rumours that the bushfires are due to environmentalists (the Greens Party) blocking back burning, an important technique in lessening the fuel available for bushfires. This is simply not true. Australia has actually increased its back burning each year since 2017. Besides, no amount of back burning could have prevented this disaster.
I am beyond frustrated and heartbroken. I love this country to pieces but despite the overwhelming scientific evidence in support of the reality of climate change Australia is consistently behind on a) admitting to a scientific theory that we are as certain about as we are on gravity and b) doing anything about it. It is more than 95% likely that global warming is due to human activity since the mid 1900s and yet we are still arguing over policies, spreading misinformation, and pointing fingers while my people are forced to flee their homes, while my country is burnt to the ground.
This situation is beyond my comprehension. The worst part, I think, is the feeling of helplessness, like no matter what I do or say I can't make a difference in the face of such an overwhelming problem. And as I texted a wonderful friend of mine, I know I want to do something but no one listens because I'm not important, I don't have the money to make people listen and that's what it's all about. And that's an awful feeling.
One night I mistakenly spent about half an hour on Twitter and it ended with me sobbing, unable to grapple with the reality that is this disaster. If you can handle it, I would recommend that you do the same. Watch videos of ordinary people rescuing burnt koalas and kangaroos. Look at pictures of my country burning to the ground. Now look at your own beliefs, your own actions, and ask yourself if you are part of the problem.
***
Donations:
The Guardian (list of charities)
Red Cross
WWF
***
Sources:
ABC
AFR
Greens
The Guardian
The Guardian (2)
The Guardian (3)
Insider
Insider (2)
MamaMia
Morning Consult
NASA
NY Times
NY Times (2)
NY Times (3)
SMH
Wired
Vox
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