Climate Change

Familiar dystopia

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I did not think I would feel like doing a post so soon but this is what I’d have been telling Janet had she lived… so now I’m telling you!

I was given an op shop book that by chance is highly resonant, set in places I know well, have camped in and have protested in, and dealing with issues close to my heart.

It is set in the future, where humans have continued on their current trajectory of stuffing things up in the natural world, of being greedy and human-centric, so it’s not a good future. Hence we would say it’s dystopian, that is, the opposite of utopian.

But sadly, the world Inga Simpson has evoked is so close to what we are now doing and seeing that it is eerily familiar.

Siding Springs Observatory in the Warrumbungles features large in this terrific and terrifying book, as does the Dark Sky rating and the Artesian Basin we are trying to protect from the Santos Narrabri gas project.

The main characters race through well-known parts of the amazing volcanic Warrumbungles, on to the precious Pilliga, heading to Mount Kaputar near Narrabri. It’s a great story as well as scarily realistic.

When I went to Mount Kaputar, I was entranced by its differences, but also horrified to be able to see the spoil heaps of the Boggabri area mines even from there.  And the pollution.

I urge everyone to read this book: anyone who cares about what is happening in the north west, about the gas project, the pipeline, the tragedy of Maules Creek, the likelihood of losing so much more if the ill-approved Santos project goes ahead.

It is well-written, totally credible, very place-based, and deals with the social and environmental issues we are all anxious about now.

I use World of Books to get secondhand copies of books, with free delivery, so have immediately ordered another of her books, ’Where the trees were’, from them. How did I not know of her passionate and clever writing?

Please, go find a copy of The Thinnings; this is where we are heading.

Thank you, Inga Simpson. And brava.

Our Sunburnt Country

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I have just read this powerful yet accessible book and my copy is bristling with post-it notes, marking lines I want to quote or recall, to tell others.

Dr. Anika Molesworth is not only a farmer with lived experiences of climate change impacts, but a highly qualified doctorate scientist and well-recognised agricultural researcher. The former drove the latter. 

She writes clearly, authoritatively and passionately. Her book deals with all the well-known aspects of climate change, but her perspective on food systems as critical, as both impacted, and offering solutions, is unusual. I found her discussions of food systems both insightful and fascinating, drawing on many examples worldwide.

Anika has included wonderful quotes by others at the start of each chapter, but her own text comes up with plenty to note, such as  ‘It’s not game over, but it IS game on.’ She pulls no punches, yet manages to keep constructive, to encourage bold and courageous thinking and to inspire action.

As its blurb says, ‘Beautifully written and full of hope…’

Michael Mann suggests ‘Read this book and be inspired.’ And don’t we all need that!

I highly recommend this book (Pan Macmillan):  find it here and for the audiobook here.

Uplifts

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I have never been able to choose between the ‘real’ dramatic sunsets of a western sky and its reflected eastern sky glories, less often seen.

This golden cumulus cluster just on dark was a rare treat, just when I needed something to lift my spirits as the Trump rampage through what was once a great democracy continued on its mad way… and our heads-in-the-sand government goes for gas instead of the zero emissions way forward we need…

After untamed Nature, my garden has always been my next source of solace, where living things sometimes thrive under my care. This Crepuscule rose seemed to hold and reflect that fabulous sunset, further cheering me.

And then came the news of Jacinda Ardern’s re-election, a beacon of sanity and compassion, giving me heart and hope in an increasingly dark world. 

If only…

Her victory did lift my spirits, and they were further buoyed as my Lamarque rose seemed to suddenly burst into the most profuse flowering of its short life. Not golden, but purest white.

Maybe in honour of the integrity and genuine empathy that we can only envy from across the ditch: Yay for Jacinda!

Colouring the times

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This an Illawarra Flame Tree, flowering in the reserve next to me. The densely forested reserve is the reason I bought this place; it is also what makes my place so vulnerable to ember attack.

My yard is constantly carpeted with dry leaves– perfect kindling.

So the Flame Tree is a good symbol of the situation in many places as our country explodes into flames.

I took the tree photos before the worst of our smokefilled days, like the one above.

The main colour now comes as the sun rises and sets red.

Under necessary water restrictions I am watching my garden die from thirst, and crisping as the day’s heat rises.

Many have had to watch their whole life’s work — garden, home, belongings, even animals — become burnt offerings to our climate crisis.

I need to find reasons not to despair… and rage with anger… at this time.

So I instead I will turn away, to celebrate the colour from the trees — Silky Oak and Flame Tree — that are native but not indigenous to here.

I hope they lift your spirits a little too.

Nature is beautiful, and bigger than us; we have not treated her well, and right now she is giving us a mighty wake-up message. Last chance?

Climate Change: The Facts

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I urge you to watch this film with your family, to recommend it, to share it and/or show it to groups.

Al Gore’s film woke many of us up. David Attenborough sums it up and shakes us hard, in this excellent and comprehensive documentary.

It covers the varied causes, the current status, the possible tipping points, like the release of ice-trapped methane, and the likely solutions. 

Not all solutions are yet to be invented, like TREES! And yet deforestation, clearing and burning, is the cause of one-third of carbon emissions.

Many different experts in their fields tell us why we are at this point, and the voices of now, like Greta Thunberg, tell us why that point is so urgently in need of action.

This film reminds us with an electric jolt why we need to make this election a climate change one.

Our own actions matter. but we – and our world –  are running out of time. We need leaders to see that it is in their hands NOW to take us forward to a future that is not catastrophic.

How many election terms until 2050 when we must be at zero carbon emissions??

Mr Shorten, methane will warm the atmosphere 21 times faster than carbon dioxide; still think subsidising fracking for gas is a good plan?!I

This is no short clip; but it is no simple matter.

Again, I urge you to watch it all, with your family, to recommend it, to share it and/or show it to groups