Medium: News Article

Vehicle: The New York Times

Reported by: Jamie Tarabay

Date: Jan. 21, 2020

Headline: Why These Australia Fires Are Nothing We’ve Seen Before

Story:

Wildfires in Australia have been spreading since late October and have covered over 16 million acres all over the continent. The crisis is centered in New South Wales and Victoria which are populated areas of Australia, setting it apart from other large fires that occur only in remote forested regions of the world. At least 29 people have been killed, more than 2,500 homes destroyed as well as hundreds of millions of animals (according to estimates) either dead or facing deadly living conditions without food or water in ruined habitats. According to NASA, the smoke plume released from the fires is the same size as the continental United States. The smoke has traveled around the globe completely and is causing harmful breathing conditions in New Zealand, discolored skies in South America, and producing large amounts of heat-trapping carbon emissions (as much carbon as the entire country of Australia emits from man-made sources in eight months). Climate change has brought longer and more frequent periods of extreme heat to Australia and some regions have been dealing with drought for several years. Last year was the hottest and driest year on record, causing fire season to start earlier than usual. The temperature increase due to climate change has caused a shift in rain patterns globally, “pushing rain out of areas where it once fell.” This occurrence did not align with typical warming patterns of El Nino, indicating more unpredictable weather patterns in the future.

So, What Does This Mean?

This article seems to be written for people who don’t believe in climate change. The reporter explains in detail how the fires in Australia can’t be explained by natural phenomena because the timing and location don’t compare to other naturally occurring fires. The planet works in cycles, and although part of climate change is natural, the rate at which the earth is warming is far greater than anyone predicted. Human actions like burning fossil fuels are accelerating the natural cycle, causing events like drought and severe weather (not to mention the damaging effects of the wildfire’s carbon emissions on the ozone layer).

News articles of these fires have been getting a lot of attention on social media, making it a hot topic of discussion. Many of my peers have been posting links to donation centers, spreading the word about the wildfires, and standing with Australia because they know that this is not the first or last natural disaster to become devastating to a community because of climate change and they want people to start doing something to stop it.

Scientists knew Australia’s wildfires would eventually get as bad as they are now, but didn’t predict it for another 40 to 50 years, which means that humans have been accelerating the natural processes of the planet, yet some people still don’t believe it.

I have heard many people say that they’re sad that koalas are dying, but at the same time, they don’t care since it doesn’t affect them directly. It is baffling to me that people can be so self-centered when almost an entire continent is on fire. I have a feeling it’s because they don’t want to give up the convenient lifestyles they’ve grown accustomed to, even if it damages the environment for future generations. They tell themselves that they have enough problems to worry about in their own lives so they let the rest of the world handle what happens “over there,” telling themselves that they don’t have the time or resources to make a change.

Most of the news coverage of this event is accompanied by photos of burned landscapes to generate an emotional response from the audience. What I’ve noticed, however, is the most widely-spread news pieces are those that include photos of cute animals. People have been very concerned about the collapse of Australia’s unique ecosystems and incredible biodiversity, but I don’t hear many people worried about what this could mean for the rest of the world.

In the future, we need to take a closer look at the global implications of events like this. We may not all agree on why natural disasters have become more frequent and extreme, but ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising and populated regions of the world may not be suitable for human life much longer. These facts alone should inspire a global change in mindset towards sustainability so we can protect what’s left of our beautiful planet.