Australia on fire

[Osvaldo de Banfield]

My condolences for the people living this inferno. Too high temperatures, people and animals dead, kilometers of trees burned.

I believe it's time to think what we are doing to the Earth, and how it is returning back the damages we did.

 

[Stuey]

Indeed, the temperature records here are being broken this year. I am in the West where we have only had relatively small fires, but the Eastern states are suffering terribly.

Most of our fire fighters are unpaid volunteers. To see what they are faced with, look at the video below...a 'burnover' where the bush fire rapidly passes over a fire truck and they use external water sprays and foil heat shields just to survive. They did survive... The bad part starts at around 3 minutes.

YouTube

 

[rabbitz]

We're used to bush fires here but it's very different this season.

Had a taste early November in Coffs Harbour and also the return trip to Newcastle (about 400km). We were lucky to get home as roads were being closed and we just made it through before those detours was closed. We happened to stop for lunch at a little place called Johns River on the way back and watched the fire smoke and water bombing activities in the far distance. It wasn't until we got home that we found out the fire ripped through the area a couple of hours after we left and a woman was killed. What it showed was how fast the conditions can change as it didn't look like a threat while we were there.

This picture (in the press) was taken a couple of days ago in Victoria and it's a sign as have a look at the devil face in the flames. If this is not hell, then I don't know what is.

I will not get into the politics of this but there are plenty that are angry at the Government over their lack of policies on the environment.

 

[Osvaldo de Banfield]

I will not get into the politics of this but there are plenty that are angry at the Government over their lack of policies on the environment.

It is not necessary. We can maintain a correct dialog without politics.
This is a fact from Nature.

 

[Charles Darwin]

Has the Lucky Country run out of luck?

 

[Cal Weldon]

Stuey, that video is beyond words.

 

[diyiggy]

How are managed the aborigens in the country side, here in EU we heard a lot about Koala and kangarous at TV but nothing about isolated populations? Is it safer cause the fires are mostly near the costs ?

That's just incredible the numbers of people than authoritys are moving with calm and good organisation. Kudos... here I believe people will run in all directions !

Time to stop coal for electricity purpose and a worldwide Marshall Plan against global warming to reduce the futur events to be worser ?

Anyway, so sorry for Oz and its great people.

 

[jan.didden]

Just saw an interesting report of a prof interviewed in 2008, saying that increased temperatures would increase drought in many areas, along with strong winds.

Literally said: 'from 2020 onward, South-East Australia will be faced with extreme bush and forest fires that will last for months'.

And in my country, the Red Cross collects donations for the Aussies.

Jan

 

[Galu]

Time to stop coal for electricity purpose

In Scotland, coal-fired generation ended completely in 2016.

In 2018, renewables provided an equivalent of 75% of Scotland's gross electricity needs and we're on target for 100%, hoping to join Albania, the Congo, Iceland, and Paraguay who have already accomplished that goal.

Here, climate change would appear to be resulting in increased rainfall. I just wish we could share some of it with the beleaguered Australians!

 

[Darakon]

The Fires in Australia are only the Beginning.
Humankind needs to change dramatically.

 

[diyiggy]

It's time industrials and authorities listen to scientists !



Here we are : if they focused on greener energy and passive constructions (I mean not just for the shows) they will make profits too !


Here in Europe, people seems to use more and more cooling systems (= more power) for instance and without significant less heating when winter iscomming (no GoT joke)!


After children bawl out the parents and grand parents !

 

[Bonsai]

In Scotland, coal-fired generation ended completely in 2016.

In 2018, renewables provided an equivalent of 75% of Scotland's gross electricity needs and we're on target for 100%, hoping to join Albania, the Congo, Iceland, and Paraguay who have already accomplished that goal.

Here, climate change would appear to be resulting in increased rainfall. I just wish we could share some of it with the beleaguered Australians!

Overall the UK is not doing too bad on the renewables front. Only about 15% of the countries energy requirements come from coal and that’s declining as well. We need to get it to zero as do the other major energy users around the globe. Mother Earth is buckling under the strain.

(NB Jan I also recall seeing an article a few years ago that said Oz would be ground zero for this type of thing - fragile environment, very dry continent etc etc easily driven to a tipping point).

Anyway, the whole world is wishing this ends ASAP. Strength.

 

[Bonsai]

Here’s the current UK power supply structure - I forgot about gas which is huge.

 

[Osvaldo de Banfield]

In any case I believe that nuclear explosions are much worse than power plants/stations.

 

[diyiggy]

Uh, let's get a great worldwide atomic fireworks for 2021... great chance we see we are all equal, CEO chair or on grass !


... where did I shelve my 13th crystal skull... this one is less hard than some other todays living skulls !

 

[cowanaudio]

The total area that has burned during this fire season so far on the east coast of Australia is more than 84,000 KM^2, this is a larger area than more than half of the countries on this planet of ours and more than 1% of our massive country. It's an area almost 10 times as large as burned in the Amazon in the last year (9,000 KM^2).

More than 2,500 homes and 21 lives have been lost this fire season with lots of people still missing. This fire season still has months to go.

I hope the world (Australia included) wakes up to the idea that climate change is very real. Decisive action is required.

 

[Bonsai]

You can get some idea of the scale of this thing from this NASA photo

 

[afa]

We are all guilty, everything we consume helps to contribute to climate change.
Mahatma Gandhi once quoted "live simply so others may simply live" probably now needs to read "live simply so that we all may simply live"
Rampant consumerism is the culprit.

This guy noticed the causes of climate change quite a while back
Alexander von Humboldt: the first environmentalist - BBC Science Focus Magazine

Time to rethink our next purchase/project ?

Arthur

 

[radiosmuck]

Michael Collins, the Apollo 11 astronaut on the command module noted how fragile the earth looked from space.
During a 50 years on interview he was asked if we are looking after our fragile planet?
He replied, "no, back then there were 2 billion humans on the earth now there are 8".
We are all doomed, that little manipulated Swede doesn't have a clue.

 

[AKSA]

The consumption of energy and the destruction of the atmosphere is correlated to overpopulation, but no government dares going there........ China tried with single child policy in 1978, but even they have given up.......

HD