Everything's on fire
Everything’s on fire
If you’re unaware of the bushfires that have dramatically ravaged so much of Australia, then you must have been either under a rock, or somewhere with no signal for the last three or four months!
Here are a few facts:
2019 was the hottest and driest year ever recorded in Australia; the average temperature (nationwide) for December was 41.9 degrees!
Since September the fires have claimed 25 lives, including at least three firefighters. Entire towns have been ruined and almost 2,000 homes have been destroyed.
As at January 2nd 2020, more than 12 million acres had been burned - currently the estimate has increased to around 15 million acres. One third of the vineyards in SA’s Adelaide Hills have been lost.
It is estimated that 480 million animals may have been killed to date in NSW alone - this figure only includes mammals, birds and reptiles and excludes insects, bats and frogs.
Air quality has been seriously affected, with several major events cancelled, rescheduled or moved, for the safety of those involved. In places the air has been measured at 20 times the level considered hazardous!
It is estimated that 350 million tonnes of CO2 have been pumped into the atmosphere - which is around two thirds of Australia’s annual emissions from 2018-19! This may take up too 100 years to be reabsorbed by our planet’s forests.
Some say that this is a direct result of climate change while others (controversially) have intimated that it may some kind of judgement. Whatever the case may be, there are a number of questions we need to ask ourselves:
How can we help (every small individual kind act helps)?
How do we minimise the risk of further catastrophic events?
Is there any hope for the future and what can we look forward to?
The first question is relatively simple - we can all help in many ways and there are currently a heap of organisations that can be contacted to point us in the right direction.
The second question is far beyond my knowledge and expertise, so I will leave that for those who are qualified to deal with it.
The third one is for some of us also reasonably straight forward - if you read the Bible, you will find that difficult times like the ones we are experiencing were prophesied long ago. But we shouldn’t despair - God will send His son to put things right. We read “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4, NLT)
Sound good? Search your nearest Bible for more information!