Before Covid happened Australia experienced the worst season of bushfires, or wildfires, ever. It wasn’t a surprise to some, but the enormity of it all was a massive surprise and wake call to everyone.
Black Summer
I remember the summer and watching what was happening. Listening to the stories and how heartbreaking it was for so many. It seemed to go on for months and they couldn’t seem to stop it.
We do have fires here every year, but nothing compared to this. It was so scary. Of course, we know it is because of climate change, however, in Australia, we have a government that refuses to do anything to stop it.
Amazon Prime has produced a documentary on the summer, but it was more than just a doco on the actual fires. It showed the lead-up to them and the aftermath. What our politicians had to say before and after.
It was really interesting and I thought you might enjoy it as well. I have attached the trailer for it. Unfortunately, I don’t know if you can watch it anywhere outside of Australia, please let me know if you can or can’t. It is on Amazon Prime.
We are living in a scary world and I am afraid of the future for my children and their children.
In the show, the Prime Minister was having a go at all the school kids who went out to protest. He said they should be in school learning, however, them fighting for changes to protect their climate is probably more important. After all, if nothing is done, what will happen to their future.
It might be more appropriate to say that the 2019/20 bushfire season was the most political bushfire season in living memory.
I have never seen so much political BS in regards to fires and that is from 15 years as a volunteer firey. Mind you my last big fire was the 1994 New Years fires in NSW and that one was so bad because of Green “no burn” policies which saw massive fuel loads build up over years. Net result is we lost tons of homes and people burnt because slow fires which do little damage were instead out of control and did lots of damage.
I’m kind of split on the climate change angle yet the changes in climate definately have an impact but it is only a part of the story of bushfires in Australia. Also the climate change science may be flawed as it doesn’t take into account solar maximum and minimums which impact Earth’s climate and instead puts the root cause almost exclusively into the actions of humans.
I think we are seeing a lot of political BS in everything that this government is involved in sadly. I know someone that work in the forestry thing after the Ash Wednesday fires, back in 83 and they recommended planned burning, and I know they do that here now, but they don’t get a lot of opportunities to do it anymore, They need the right conditions and that doesn’t happen much.
I work on the theory with climate change, that even if you don’t believe it you should still do something because what if they are really right, by the time we really start seeing an impact it will be too late. I have seen graphs of temperatures over the last 20000 years and we are meant to be heading into an ice age now, so something isn’t right. Also temperatures and changes with the planets take thousands of years to change, not in a couple of hundred. I’m going with the scientists and if most of them say we are the cause, then I am prepared to do what I have to do to stop it. I want my kids and their kids to have a future, a nice one, not one where they are fighting for survival.
You’re not alone. We are also experiencing more wildfires here in the western U.S. Fortunately our current President recognizes global warming, but still not much is being done.
I heard about your fires this last season. It is so horrible. Then you start hearing about all the after effects, what happens to babies because their mothers were pregnant during that time. It goes on and they are saying it is just going to get worse. I am so glad your president recognises it. Our PM does but refuses to do anything about it, his philosophy is while there is coal in the ground we will keep using it. We have an election coming up in the next few months, I really hope Australians open their eyes and remember how ineffective he has been. Thanks Anne.
I watched the videos in horror as the fires raged, so very sad, Leanne. However, I do not believe the climate change thing because of humans thing. Earth’s geologic record has proven without any doubt that Earth’s climate has warmed and cooled by itself for eons before humans came on the scene. It’s all about politics and controlling the masses of people. Sorry…
It was very sad. Though I have to disagree with you on some level. Yes, the planet has always warmed and cool, but it does it over thousands of years, not decades, which is what is happening now. The last ice age too over 10 thousand years before temperatures went back to normal. So this happening in such a short time is not what the planet does. My husband said to show you this link, https://xkcd.com/1732/
It is a bit hard to read, but go right to the bottom. It shows the planet cooling and then heating again over the last 20000 years, and then see the rapid rate it does that at the bottom. It isn’t normal. I wish it was just about politics, but here we are seeing it and I can tell the climate has changed in my lifetime. I’m not a scientist, but I believe what they say.
Well, I saythe climate is doing something different now, just doing what earth does. The earth’s climate is such a dynamic, complicated system that I don’t think any human can fully understand what can happen. Let’s agree to disagree… 😂🇦🇺❤️
We can agree to disagree, but I’m with the 99% of climate scientists who say we are responsible. YOu know when you say no human knows what is happening with the planet, but your comments are saying that you know. I think that is a bit strange that you claim to know more than the climate scientists.
I guess at the end of the day, I can’t help thinking that they are right, and I don’t want to make the mistake of not doing anything, because they know more than me. It is like smoking, I used to smoke, but they said smoking causes cancer. Then so many people were saying the doctors were wrong because we all knew someone who lived to old age and smoked every day. I gave up smoking, because what if they were right and I got cancer. Once you get lung cancer that can be it. I decided to err on the side of caution and take their advice. Now I am doing the same with the environment and the climate. What if they are right, so before it is too late I am going to do what I have to to help.