bushfires
By now everybody has heard about the horrendous bushfires in Victoria. At the moment the death count is 182, and expected to increase greatly as more bodies are found. And the fires are still burning.
The fires are in rural areas, or else at the fringe of the city, outer suburbs that border the bush. So thank you, all you blogging friends from other parts of the world, who have kindly asked if I am OK. People like me, in urban or inner suburban areas, are generally safe from bushfire.
The government will review bushfire strategies and policies. But this event, like the floods in Queensland, is of a different order to past natural disasters. Most informed people here believe that climate change is a significant cause of the fires. It is also due to arsonists, which is difficult to comprehend and even more difficult to know how to respond.
This year summer temperatures got hotter and hotter. The land and its vegetation got drier and drier, enabling and leading to fires of uncontrollable intensity.
What does this mean for our relationship with nature?
This is a question the planned Royal Commission into the bushfires will ask. It is relevant for thinking about whether and how the destroyed communities should be rebuilt. And it is also a question for gardeners, including suburban ones like me.
The fires are in rural areas, or else at the fringe of the city, outer suburbs that border the bush. So thank you, all you blogging friends from other parts of the world, who have kindly asked if I am OK. People like me, in urban or inner suburban areas, are generally safe from bushfire.
The government will review bushfire strategies and policies. But this event, like the floods in Queensland, is of a different order to past natural disasters. Most informed people here believe that climate change is a significant cause of the fires. It is also due to arsonists, which is difficult to comprehend and even more difficult to know how to respond.
This year summer temperatures got hotter and hotter. The land and its vegetation got drier and drier, enabling and leading to fires of uncontrollable intensity.
What does this mean for our relationship with nature?
This is a question the planned Royal Commission into the bushfires will ask. It is relevant for thinking about whether and how the destroyed communities should be rebuilt. And it is also a question for gardeners, including suburban ones like me.
We are thinking of you over there - terrible thing to happen.
ReplyDeleteClimate change is a big thing. What to do? No one really knows but I sure wish we could figure it out.
ReplyDeleteThe fires and the casualties are all over the news even here in Sweden. The flood in the north is also a disaster - but they are not talking about that as much as of the fires.
ReplyDeleteWe are thinking of you all, and hoping that they will get control over the fires really soon.
Glad you are okay. Hate to hear about these fires. Been listening to it on the news here in Florda, USA.
ReplyDeletePlease keep us posted on any organized relief efforts, needs, etc.
ReplyDelete