Black Summer at Meringo Beach, New Years Day 2020
It can be hard to assess how changes to our climate will affect our individual lives. On New Years Day I sat by the radio at my family’s property in Meringo NSW, anxiously awaiting updates on the status of the fires that surrounded us.
At the time we had no power, no running water, no cell reception no road access out. The next day the fire would destroy the radio tower broadcasting these emergency updates to our region.
We were lucky, the winds changed direction and five weeks later the fire would be brought to an end by sweeping rain and floods, our community could be see from space as a little region of green surrounded by black.
Attribution science quantifies the extent to which man-made climate change makes weather events more likely to occur. A study published in the journal Nature has found that this fire season in Australia was made at least 30% more likely by climate change. While we currently find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic, as the head of the World Health Organization Climate Change Unit, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum stated, “If COVID-19 is a sprint to save lives, then acting on climate change is the marathon.”
Kelly Mills, Fernie – Canada
September 2020
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A fire season that changed everything.
That Fighting Spirit
‘ There’s a heatwave upon us and it’s only September. Under the Southern Cross there’s nowhere to hide. We’re a tinderbox waiting to ignite New Year celebrations decorate the night. The skies across 3 states turn shades of red. Half a billion mammals, birds, and reptiles dead. It looks like hell and feels like Armageddon. We know where we’ve been, but we don’t know where we’re heading. History will keep repeating ‘til we learn its lessons. You can breathe in a pack of cigarettes a day and not even smoke. Homes destroyed among the gusts. They say these fires could burn for months. Ghost towns left from mass evacuations. Heroes come in all shapes and guises. We’ve got that fighting spirit in a crisis. It looks like hell and feels like Armageddon. We know where we’ve been, but we don’t know where we’re heading. History will keep repeating ‘til we learn its lessons Words and music by Jo Brew ©
*Updated calculation – 3 billion animals were killed and displaced by Black Summer
WOOEE2022
