My Country's Burning

My heart sinks as I see images of my country burning as they have burned before. Bush fires are common in Australia; however, the blazes which ravaged the country are very different from those the land and its peoples ever experienced before. I was one of only a hand full of people who knew the dangers of not acting on HUMAN INDUCED climate change, and our predictions have been realised.

Futurists and other experts predicted Australia would suffer from prolonged droughts, hotter summers, dry cracked land, severe floods and extreme fires which human technology is powerless to control. The only thing which surprised me, was the fact the fires occurred as early as they did. I'd assumed the devastation, wouldn't occur until at least 2050. Human induced climate change is a staunch reality as most of my fellow country men and women have realised.

The idea of the precautionary principle or a softly softly approach, was frustrating and arguably immoral because we humans have failed as stewards, with some notable exceptions. The indigenous peoples of this land are know how to care for their country, far better than non-indigenous people ever could. We the non-indigenous people need to learn from the real care takers and knowledge keepers of this land if we are going to minimise the damage which will inevitably occur in the decades, and centuries to come.

The current Australian government has no idea how much their inaction on human induced climate change will cost them. Their unwillingness to act means, they, and the rest of society are to blame for the ferocity of the blazes which will leave nature vulnerable to further devastation. Action is needed now, rather than in ten, twenty, thirty or more decades. Australians need to continue to fight for the land we call home. Inaction is worse than action as the insurance companies will not be able to compensate victims for the damage they are likely to face in the future.

It is not all doom and gloom; however, much I portray the issues we, the human race face. Young people are already questioning politicians and other world leaders for their unwillingness to radically reduce their emissions. I, and many futurists predicted what has already happened. Teenagers and other children will be forced to sort out the mess previous and current generations made.

The above image, reminds all Australians of the consequences of inaction on human induced climate change. There are some dire predictions for the future if action is not taken now. My country will almost surely burn until divine intervention occurs. It saddens me to see the country I grew up in, crying out for justice, yet knowing as it does, few people will rescue it from human greed and exploitation.

While the fires have subsided, the danger is by no means over, as the weather is both predictable and unpredictable. It is unpredictable because nobody knows exactly how the fires will respond to changes in the weather pattern on a daily basis. Fires are predictable as they will almost certainly become an annual occurrence. Experts confirmed what I, and the futurists have argued, for at least the last fifteen years. Australia, along with the rest of the world will suffer from prolonged droughts, drier, harsher, conditions, longer fire seasons, with dire consequences for the victims and their communities as well as those which are yet to be predicted.

It is simple. If we humans choose to conduct "Business as Usual" the repercussions will force us to question our decision to do little, if anything when we had the chance to reverse the damage. It is illogical to suggest people will lose their livelihood if they take radical action on climate change, when the in fact the opposite is true. I was a young, naive, twenty-five year old woman when I wrote my extended essay on the state of the natural environment and the need to reverse it. The planet is arguably worse now, than it was when I wrote my undergraduate essay and if we, do not see the error of our ways and stem the flow of destruction, nobody will have a livelihood.