Koalas and Kangaroos

Hello Readers

I hope you all are happy and well.

Jane Goodall quotes:

“As I'm travelling around, I meet many small children. And when I look at a small plant; and think how we've harmed this beautiful planet since I was that age, I feel a kind of desperation, anger, shame. I don't know what I think; I don't know what the emotion is.”

In this blog:

•       The deadly bush fires of Australia.
•     A comprehensive report of the ongoing situation and methods to prevent such conflagrations.
•         Thoughts by Jane Goodall- English primatologist and anthropologist.
  

A long time ago, there lived families of Koala bears Kangaroos in Australia who lived happily and were overwhelmed by nature which it was surrounded with and were very grateful to their life.

But one sad day, the same nature was engulfed by an unstoppable inferno. It could not help the grateful Kangaroo and its family, along with Kangaroo countless animals charred in the fire. The end.

So after you have read the above, I am sure most of you would have understood. What is this article going to be?

The bush fires in Australia it is.

Going back to the short story, why did nature betray those poor animals? Do you feel it is logical?

There is always rhetoric going on which says that forest fires, bush fires and other types of fervours which occur are purely natural.

The community of wildlife conservationists and ecological researchers do not agree with this explanation, as there are some culprits behind these fires which are triggered for industrial or personal gains most of the times.

Before this fateful incident, we witnessed the amazon fires which destroyed the ecosystem balance in the region, and many precious species of flora and fauna vaporized.

Now the problem from both sides, there are many research papers available on the web which show that vegetative fires do spread in a carbon-rich environment and the appearance of such fires is dated back to 420 million years ago,

On the other hand, there is a massive number of incidents where apocalyptic fires caused due to human intervention.

The bush fires of Australia have become a litmus test and a testing time for the political class and a miserable one for the animals in the wild.

Courtesy Google images

What caused the Australian Bush fires: A report from the Telegraph.

Question: Australia is burning - but why are the bushfires so bad and is climate change to blame?

Australia is no stranger to wildfires, but this season has been unprecedented in scale and intensity - and the summer is far from over.

So far at least 17 people have died in blazes that have swept the country, more than 1,200 homes have been destroyed, and 5.5 million hectares (13.5 million acres) of land has been burnt.

So what has caused the blazes which have devastated vast swathes of the country?

Why are the fires so bad?

Australia’s deadly fires have been fueled by a combination of extreme heat, prolonged drought and strong winds. The country is in the grip of a heatwave, with record-breaking temperatures over the last three months. In mid-December the nation saw the hottest day in history - the average temperature was 41.9 degrees Celsius.

These conditions, which show few signs of abating in the next few weeks, have been accompanied by brisk winds which fan the flames and push the smoke across Australia’s major cities.

On Monday wind speeds were recorded at 60 miles per hour.

All this follows the country’s driest spring since records began 120 years ago, with much of New South Wales and Queensland experiencing rainfall shortfalls since early 2017. Trees, shrubs and grasslands have turned into the perfect fuel for flames.

 

Courtesy Google images

Has climate change caused the fires?

Bush fires are a regular feature in Australia’s calendar - often triggered by natural causes such as lightning strikes - and cannot be blamed on climate change or rising greenhouse gas emissions alone.

But experts say that the changing climate is key to understanding the ferocity of this year's blazes - hotter, drier conditions are making the country’s fire season longer and much more dangerous.

And Australia’s climate is changing. According to the country’s Bureau of Meteorology, temperatures have already risen by more than one degrees Celsius since 1920 - with much of the increase taking place since 1950.

What is being done to stop the fires?

So far, the response has been mostly reactive - aimed at evacuating residents to safety and stopping the blazes from spreading.

Australia relies on hundreds of thousands of volunteer firefighters, who have been working around the clock to try and bring the fires under control for months.

The armed forces have now also been deployed to fight the fires. They evacuate residents, and the United States, Canada and New Zealand have also sent resources including firefighters to help stem the blazes.

But in the long term, experts have said that there should be a review of building standards in bushfire zones to create resilient homes and larger buffer zones between the bush and properties.

There have also been calls for an emphasis on traditional fire management techniques used by Indigenous communities and a paid fire service less reliant on volunteers.

Why has Australia’s government been criticised for its response?

The country’s government and conservative Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, have been widely denounced for their response to the crisis - particularly the insistence that fires are nothing new and climate change is irrelevant.

At the end of last year the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, said “raving inner-city lefties” were stoking concerns about the climate and that fires had existed in the country “since time began.” And Mr Morrison decided to take a family holiday to Hawaii in December despite the infernos.

Source : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/australia-burning-bushfires-bad/

How can we stop a wildfire which is caused by us!  here are some SOS tips recommended by the National Geographic society

·        Contact your local fire department or the park service if you notice an unattended or out-of-control fire.

·        Never leave a fire unattended. Completely extinguish the fire—by dousing it with water and stirring the ashes until cold—before sleeping or leaving the campsite.

·        Always take care when using and fueling lanterns, stoves, and heaters. Make sure lighting and heating devices are cool before refueling.

·        Avoid spilling flammable liquids and store fuel away from appliances.

·        Do not discard cigarettes, matches, and smoking materials from moving vehicles, or anywhere on park grounds. Be sure to extinguish cigarettes before disposing of them entirely.

·        Follow local ordinances when burning yard waste. Avoid backyard burning in windy conditions, and keep a shovel, water, and fire retardant nearby to prevent fires in check. Remove all flammables from the yard when burning.

Source:https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/wildfire-safety-tips/

Before I conclude, should we not understand that we came from nature and we go back to it, why intentionally harm it when you know the consequences would be catastrophic not only to you but for all those innocent animals and the life-giving plants?

Let us strive to protect nature. Indeed nature will protect you.

When you think of destroying nature, think, would you ruin your mother? Do you like to see her suffer?

Courtesy Google images

 

Thanks for all my readers who suggested to me to etch about this topic.

Thanks a lot for your time. Have a great day ahead.

Helios.