The first post of the year is taking a stance on how I really feel about the state of the nation. I usually write in a neutral tone as I do not want to upset anyone, but this year I feel it is important to be brave and stand up for what I believe in. Now is not the time to give up or give in as Australia is on fire and the leadership in this country is pathetic and hopeless! I lived in America with that orange fool as the president and everyone in California felt the pain daily with no hope for reprieve. Now I have come back home to Australia with the hope of a little progression but alas there is none! Currently, the news is on the current bushfire crisis stating that these fires are unprecedented which means “never having happened or existed in the past”. The destruction of what is happening now cannot be compared to what has happened in the past but according to our PM ScoMo he has no idea and feels that Australians should just carry on and face the challenges as they have done in the past!
According to what I have read about the current state of the climate in Australia we are dealing with a national emergency. Today I checked my Instagram to see videos posted of victims of the fires in regional NSW and the PM going in to shake hands and apologise — seriously no amount of apologies will bring back the homes and livelihood of these people. ScoMo has no clue, as he speaks to one of the residents and says that these people who are now homeless, are tired! Yes, of course they are but they have also lost everything. Where is the empathy in this person and why can’t he listen to the scientists, the chief fire officers and environmentalists who are calling this a climate emergency. We have not even hit peak summertime and most of Australia is burning and it is only January.
The post below rings true of my time in America after mass shootings and the NRA with their stranglehold on guns but what is the driving force in Australia? Is it the natural resources and coal driving the agenda, heck there will be nothing left if the country continues to burn.
Last night I found it hard to sleep as I got up in the middle of the night and started thinking how on earth can we find a solution to these losses. It is so hard to comprehend these tragedies and how we as a community can fix them. Yesterday we had a neighbour come by and collect food for people in the Gippsland fires in Victoria. She came by with a cart and asked if we had any food to share. This is what I love about community we come together to help each other, but knowing that this national emergency in Australia is hurting everyone in this country is so frustrating – what else can we do to help? Those poor defenceless animals as well.
When I couldn’t sleep, I had this picture in my mind of a fire fighter and a koala looking at this bushfire. I am finding it hard to concentrate when I know every time I look at the news something worse is happening! How much more can we take when the whole country is on fire even in places that were rainforests and beaches cannot escape the fires. There are tourist fleeing these places.
Extinction Rebellion states, “this is not business as usual” and this year it is the time to get these people in government who are blindfolded to notice what is actually happening. Carrying on like this level of catastrophe has happened in the past is just ridiculous and I will continue to write to my members of parliament and ask them to declare a climate emergency in Australia. This behaviour of ignoring the truth, will not be tolerated by our generation and generations to come we will continue to fight for our lives.
I remember living in Northern California when the wildfires destroyed thousands of homes and was spread over 99,148 hectares, the state was then declared a state of emergency by Governor Jerry Brown – the day after the tragedy! I remember the air quality living in the SF Bay area, the skies were misty and the EPA stated children could not go out to play (I was working at a school at the time). Now I am witnessing these horrific bushfires in Australia where just in Queensland alone 180,000 hectares have burned and that was November 2019. It is hard to even conceive the amount of land lost now in January 2020 as now the state of Victoria burns.
I am supposed to be studying but trying to focus is extremely difficult but I needed to write my thoughts down so I can process this nightmare to try and think of ways to help. I know that from Monday I will be volunteering with CERES, my favourite place to be in the north of Melbourne to help in their vegetable garden. Their mantra is fall in love with the earth again. When I am with others who fight for the cause at a local level it helps me process the bad stuff. Now to continue to study, I can promise my future students one thing is that they will be educated in climate change and science where everyone deserves the truth to do something positive for our future.
I am happy to have found some places where people can help with donations for people and animals in need:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-01/bushfire-relief:-how-you-can-help-frontline-services/11835156
poppypeach 