VSalonistas Down Under and the fires

[rwsaunders]

Folks...I really feel helpless watching the news everyday of the horrible fires that you are dealing with. I can’t even imagine the position that many people are in...perhaps the folks in California and the PNW can relate in some manner.

[mzilliox]

Fires are horrible. one feels so defenseless. Water is life. its "The Ecology stupid" we should be focusing on, not the economy.

heart goes out to anyone suffering, and today especially those suffering from climate devastation.

[j44ke]

Antti Lipponen does some interesting graphic constructions on climate and weather. He did this short clip to convey the volume of smoke coming from the fires. Click the image to see the animation as it won't show here.

Australia bushfire smoke 1 Jan 2020 by Antti Lipponen, on Flickr

[BBB]

Well...what to say...

The fires started in parts of New South Wales and Queensland in September (or the start of spring) and again in November (or the end of spring). Very hot and windy conditions saw the fires break out in the Adelaide Hills in Sth Australia in the lead up to Christmas, as well as exacerbating the pre-existing fires in NSW. Post Christmas, fires started in remote areas of New South Wales and Victoria and were fanned towards the coast, where large numbers of people were holidaying. There has also been fires on the other side of the country in Western Australia. People have died (including volunteer fire fighters), people have lost their homes or businesses, lots of native species have been killed, very large amounts of land have been burnt out. In short, the fire season has been a disaster.

The fires have taken place in parts of the country that have been suffering from years of drought and amongst the backdrop of an on-going debate about climate change and what to do about it. The fires have exposed the current Federal Government's weak spot and the Prime Minister has been revealed as the emperor with no clothes (or at least a Hawaiian shirt as he chose to spend a week away when the fires flared up pre-Christmas and was castigated for it). We are a country crying out for some decent leadership on these issues, but we've got nada.

Here's some recent coverage:


Bushfire-ravaged communities return to ruins – in pictures | Australia news | The Guardian

Page not found | The Guardian

Page not found | The Guardian

New Zealand glaciers turn brown from Australian bushfires' smoke, ash and dust | World news | The Guardian

[Too Tall]

News coverage is heartbreaking. Massive devastation. OZ is strong, you'll recover and figure this out.

[Blue Jays]

Very unfortunate fires hurting our Australian friends. We are pulling for you in North America! Stay strong.

[ericpmoss]

News coverage is heartbreaking. Massive devastation. OZ is strong, you'll recover and figure this out.

I don't think they will. These fires burned too hot, and sterilized the ground. Estimates are over 500 million animals dead, hundreds of species extinct, if not thousands. Maybe in several generations they'll crawl back to something livable. Maybe.

[Mabouya]

We are a country crying out for some decent leadership on these issues, but we've got nada.

Sounds familiar in oh so many ways, but specifically for this thread, it's painfully true on the climate change issue.

But, let's continue to ignore the problem and we'll see how that works out in the long run.

[guido]

Heartbreaking pictures...

The Australia Wildfires in Pictures - The New York Times

[Colinmclelland]

Sounds familiar in oh so many ways, but specifically for this thread, it's painfully true on the climate change issue.

But, let's continue to ignore the problem and we'll see how that works out in the long run.

z

We’ve got a Prime Minimal rather than a Prime Minister.

Ignoring would be a big step forward for our government. The modus operandi before waa: spin, lie, deny...repeat

[Colinmclelland]

...Estimates are over 500 million animals dead...

Today’s estimate is 480m in NSW. Add VIC, SA and QLD to that and it will end up a properly big number. Not good.

On the upside, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the Aussie bush (the plants, not the animals) comes back from a fire.

I remember driving along Bells Line of Road after fires in 1994 thinking “well this is fcuked...i guess we just need to learn to like a moonscape”. 12m later regrowth was well under way. Same area burnt again this time

[guido]

See Where Australia’s Deadly Wildfires Are Burning - The New York Times

[BBB]

It's raining here in Melbourne. What a relief.

[Mark Kelly]

Unfortunately the promised rain in the north east hardly settled the dust: still not a litre in my tank.

The cool weather is at least a temporary reprieve but the smoke is worse than ever. If this keeps going vintage is toast, which is small beans in the scheme of things but a year's income lost for me.

[BBB]

That's a real bummer. The fires in the Adelaide Hills pre-Christmas took out about 1/3 of the vines planted in the hills.

We've had about 11mm of rain here in Melbourne in the last 24 hours and today is wet and very smoky.

[BBB]

Here’s some more about the misinformation:

Police contradict claims spread online exaggerating arson's role in Australian bushfires | Australia news | The Guardian

[zachateseverything]

Here’s some more about the misinformation:

Police contradict claims spread online exaggerating arson's role in Australian bushfires | Australia news | The Guardian

You guys realize you're arguing with a Russian troll account right?

[Blue Jays]

"...You guys realize you're arguing with a Russian troll account right?..."

Russia and Russian agents likely have minimal interest in global patterns of floods, drought, heat, cold, famine, etc.

[zachateseverything]

Russia and Russian agents likely have minimal interest in global patterns of floods, drought, heat, cold, famine, etc.

Russia has a strong financial interest in maintaining the status quo for consumption of hydrocarbons and a stronger political interest in sewing discord among western nations.

All I'm saying Comrade is that you seem to have yet to have found a conspiracy theory that you aren't willing to parrot back and pedal on this forum.

[Blue Jays]

"...All I'm saying comrade is that you seem to have yet to have found a conspiracy theory that you aren't willing to parrot back and pedal on this forum..."

Pedal. I see what you did there! LOL!