Lest We Forget: The Fires of 2019 and 2020 in Australia
As fires burned throughout the country towards the end of 2019 and still burn at the beginning of 2020, creating havoc, chaos and tragedy, we must not forget what happened (and is still happening) in Australia. It is a wake up call for the world and Australia on the consequences of climate change and inaction. We have never done enough, and we are still not doing enough. Most world leaders, including Australia’s Primer Minister have failed to rise to the occasion and the challenges of climate change. Even worse, a lot of them fail to acknowledge it and to take decisive actions such as terminating coal production and coal generated energy. All due to selfish interests, economic interests, political interests, power plays and so on. Slowly but surely they are killing the world. And I say they, because those in power have direct responsibility over this. They lead countries, they lead people, they lead the world… and for better or worse, their actions or inactions, shape the future of humanity.
The tragedy of climate change here in Australia in 2019/2020 is unprecedented. And when I say tragedy I do mean tragedy:
- Over One Billion animals have perished to date and the number continues to rise. Many unique creatures only found here in Australia.
- 28 people have lost their lives to date. And sadly that is likely to increase.
- More than 12 Million acres of land have burned. That is an area bigger than many countries! Bigger than Costa Rica for example. A number that dwarfs all other fires seen by humanity to date.
- Tens of thousands of homes have been lost.
- And of course I also estimate the economic impact of this tragedy in the Billions. I haven’t seen a figure on this yet, but I dare say with confidence that it’s in the Billions.
So I write this to remember, so that my son remembers, so that others remember, so that I remember… I don’t want to forget.
Sadly, it is easy to forget. People forget. When the storm passes and the dust settles, tragedy becomes normality and life goes on. And don’t get me wrong, obviously it must go on, but these events should not be forgotten. They should lead to actions such as terminating coal, increasing the funding in fighting climate change and policies that protect our environment. The time for inaction is over. The time of this is something to worry about in the future or for other generations is over. The time of coal is over. Climate change has arrived harshly to remind us that our way of life must change if we are to survive as a species. Unfortunately like many things man made, it is a situation we created ourselves. And now we must fix it.
The Australian Government took a loooooong time to react to this situation with blunders such as having the Prime Minister holidaying in Hawaii whilst people’s homes burned in Australia; while the nationed burned. Or things such as the same Government utilising their actions as propaganda to advance their political agenda, by leveraging on the honorable actions of our ADF (Australian Defense Force) –an institution which by the way is apolitical and took offense on the Government leveraging on their name. Or how about the Sydney 2019 end of year fireworks going ahead to satisfy an economical and tourism agenda whilst many places had an enforced fireworks ban across the country? Again whilst people’s homes across the country burned. Whilst having smoke polluting the pure Australian air our brilliant Government (both local and federal) decided and supported the Sydney fireworks at the end of 2019 going ahead. Despite over a quarter of a Million people signing an online petition to stop them and to direct those $6.5 Million dollars to affected areas instead. Obviously those fireworks going ahead serve as a reminder that there is still lots to be done and that even with this tragedy the Government is far from understanding the long term priorities of the nation and how our way of life must change. Myself like many other Australians and even people from around the world found those fireworks going ahead a disgrace. And even as the Government starts to wake up to the tragedy in Australia I have not seen any single action that will remedy or prevent this in years to come. It’s all reactive and short term focused. And they still remain reluctant to ditch coal. How sad. How illogical. How stupid. Obviously we must make them understand with our votes, our words, our peaceful protests. Our day to to day actions which even though small, help.
And last but not least I think the headlines below speak for themselves of the severity of this situation and what it means not only for Australia but the world. Lest we forget
