6500

The New York Times ran this in 1988.

https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/24/us/global-warming-has-begun-expert-tells-senate.html

Until now, scientists have been cautious about attributing rising global temperatures of recent years to the predicted global warming caused by pollutants in the atmosphere, known as the ‘‘greenhouse effect.’’ But today Dr. James E. Hansen of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration told a Congressional committee that it was 99 percent certain that the warming trend was not a natural variation but was caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide and other artificial gases in the atmosphere.

Senator Timothy E. Wirth, the Colorado Democrat who presided at hearing today, said: ‘‘As I read it, the scientific evidence is compelling: the global climate is changing as the earth’s atmosphere gets warmer. Now, the Congress must begin to consider how we are going to slow or halt that warming trend and how we are going to cope with the changes that may already be inevitable.’’

Dr. Woodwell, and other members of the panel, said that planning must begin now for a sharp reduction in the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide. Because trees absorb and store carbon dioxide, he also proposed an end to the current rapid clearing of forests in many parts of the world and ‘‘a vigorous program of reforestation.’’

Some experts also believe that concern over global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels warrants a renewed effort to develop safe nuclear power. Others stress the need for more efficient use of energy through conservation and other measures to curb fuel-burning.

6501

We’ve come so far in the past 30 years!

6502

So if we had the internet the way we have it now, my generation could’ve been fully aware of how our future was being screwed for a 99 cents a gallon of gas.

6503

Here’s a case study in how fucked up we are as a species.

Kangaroo Island is a smallish island in South Australia, and features the gorgeous Flinders Chase National Park. My wife and I hiked around the park several years ago and we adored it. We saw quite a few wild koalas, it was incredible, including a mother and young joey from close range in a tree in the middle of the national park’s parking lot. We tried hard for the local platypuses but no luck, and there’s many other species around including echidnas and of course plentiful numbers of kangaroos and wallabies.

Some example photos that we took:

12440708_10156438346750010_1699971923193806336_o
12440708_10156438346750010_1699971923193806336_o1224×816 187 KB

921241_10156438345075010_2296656847166670645_o
921241_10156438345075010_2296656847166670645_o1224×816 178 KB
12471701_10156438345955010_3506625404177113744_o
12471701_10156438345955010_3506625404177113744_o1224×816 156 KB

A bushfire destroyed 1/3 to 1/2 of the island, including all of Flinders Chase and the lovely farm stay that we stayed in nearby while there. The fire was violent and left alot of scored earth and most of the animals dead. It was particularly devastating to read about this, the scale of the destruction in the Australian bushfires is hard to fathom but when it’s an exact place that you have had great memories of enjoying it hits really hard.

Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park was outside of the burnt area and had staff and a number of volunteers to try and rescue as many surviving animals as possible. Surviving animals will almost always have burns, and will probably starve to death without intervention as all of their food was destroyed with the rest of their habitat. The volunteers did a great job so the Wildlife Park actually collected over a hundred koalas (bringing the total number of animals in their care to at least 700), and had plans to house them all and help them recuperate! It was a ray of light in the darkness.

They set up a GoFundMe to get more funds to feed the koalas and build enclosures for them:

The Prime Minister of this country visited Kangaroo Island yesterday and had sent Defence Force there. Of course he didn’t say anything about the devestating loss of wildlife (he even forgot about the two people that died, and incorrectly said there was at least no loss of life) or the heroic efforts of the volunteers at the Wildlife Park, nor promise them any assistance whatsoever.

Today the fire is spreading again and is now threatening the Wildlife Park. They got an evacuation order to leave asap, (now this is my speculation as I don’t have any solid info) but without any means to transport the koalas and other animals (where’s the fucking army anyway) the owners of the park and a number of the volunteers have decided to stay and try to defend the property from the fire.

So that’s going on as I write this, as far as I know they have been completely abandoned. No anger towards the firefighters as I am sure they are doing their best, but I am at a loss why noone thought to help the Park evacuate the koalas to safety, particularly when the government sent the Army there to help. I really hope the people survive and that the koalas and other native animals aren’t burnt to a crisp in their enclosures all because the government doesn’t give two fucks about wildlife.

6504

The uneducated fuck is just trying to create more of this:

6505

Accurate.

6506

Deep in the burning forests south of Sydney this week, volunteer firefighters were clearing a track through the woods, hoping to hold back a nearby blaze, when one of them shouted over the crunching of bulldozers.

“Don’t take photos of any trees coming down,” he said. “The greenies will get a hold of it, and it’ll all be over.”

The idea that “greenies” or environmentalists would oppose measures to prevent fires from ravaging homes and lives is simply false. But the comment reflects a narrative that’s been promoted for months by conservative Australian media outlets, especially the influential newspapers and television stations owned by Rupert Murdoch.

And it’s far from the only Murdoch-fueled claim making the rounds. His standard-bearing national newspaper, The Australian, has also repeatedly argued that this year’s fires are no worse than those of the past — not true, scientists say, noting that 12 million acres have burned so far, with 2019 alone scorching more of New South Wales than the previous 15 years combined.

And on Wednesday, Mr. Murdoch’s News Corp, the largest media company in Australia, was found to be part of another wave of misinformation. An independent study found online bots and trolls exaggerating the role of arson in the fires, at the same time that an article in The Australian making similar assertions became the most popular offering on the newspaper’s website.

It’s all part of what critics see as a relentless effort led by the powerful media outlet to do what it has also done in the United States and Britain — shift blame to the left, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.

6507

Relevant to the discussion upthread about arson:

I spoke to my mum and sister (in the UK) over the phone the other day, and all they could talk about was how terrible the arson problem was. Someone in India mentioned it to me yesterday, someone in Indonesia the day before that, and I’ve lost count of how many have mentioned it in Australia. The war on truth is constant and all-pervasive.

The only thing burning more fiercely than those fires is anger towards this criminal government. I hope they are able to save what they can, and that they remain safe themselves.

6508

Austin passed an ordinance requiring multiple use plastic bags at the supermarkets. I thought it was great. The texas legislature then banned such ordinances at the state level just cause they like fucking with austin. They did the same thing when we banned lyft and uber when they wouldnt do background screens. Cant wait for texas to go blue.

6509

In case anyone bought into the right wing propaganda up thread (although as timex pointed out even if it was arson it wouldn’t make it any less about climate change).

6510

I was just sitting here thinking to myself, “self, you’ve worn a mask before, spent months under what looks like clouds but is actually smoke, you even remember when it literally rained ash and none of the kids could play outside because lungs matter, and I said self, if only there weren’t any arsonists, we’d be saved.”

No, no of course not because that’s just stupid. Anyone who has lived in a fire prone area knows arsonist are an issue, but they are not THE issue.

6511

The only therapy these days is attending protests with like-minded people:

Every capital had one, I was at the one in Sydney. There were alot of people there for something hastily organised and on a hot and humid day, over 30000! It is hard to get good photos of the scale because we were spread around a very urban area and not an open field. One of the pleasures of attending these events is looking at some of the signs. I will post some examples, you’ll see alot of Simpsons ones at these things which is great:

81693050_2559131127640618_8982602015691505664_n
81693050_2559131127640618_8982602015691505664_n834×960 136 KB

81828507_2558771471009917_2405584725491056640_n
81828507_2558771471009917_2405584725491056640_n720×960 100 KB

![82026949_2558766734343724_9062849283434217472_n|375x500(upload://w7KuUMeGGPlgqtgQvCrl3zXElx6.jpeg)

82578022_2558739964346401_8645172677494964224_n
82578022_2558739964346401_8645172677494964224_n960×720 96.7 KB

82043560_2558615204358877_8511093363406012416_n
82043560_2558615204358877_8511093363406012416_n720×960 59.3 KB

6512

So they want the PM replaced, the volunteer firefighters to be paid, action/commitment on the climate crisis… am I missing anything else? I am just trying to make sure I understand what the ask is.

6513

I mean those are good things to demand, I’d say.

6514

Yeah, it is. Our coverage of this is seems kind of, well piss poor in the States. When you go directly to the Aussie sites, they’re going to make some assumptions about what their readers already know, so I am just trying to make sure i understand what the protesters actually want, what they’re asking for.

6515

Some want the PM replaced, others think he’ll be replaced by someone just as bad so little point demanding that (a politician named Dutton who looks like voldemort and has the same worldview). The guy is a total moron, he even went on holiday in hawaii while it was peaking. It’s shocking because its an environmental catastrophe, probably the worst natural disaster in Australia’s history, certainly my lifetime.

Action on climate change is the protests biggest demand, then proper funding for firefighters (the party cut funding awhile ago and keep in mind mostly all of them are volunteers who have been working really hard for months now), and more efforts to save wildlife (which again has been to date all volunteer effort and the gov doesn’t seem to care at all).

Living in a city with regular smoke for almost two months now has made people more on edge than they would otherwise be.

6516

I can understand how a country would have to call in as many hands as they could, volunteers, for something this big, but I was under the impression the firefighters in Australia were seasoned and a fairly sizable. I mean they come here for our big fire seasons, and they often talk about how the training and risks are different due to the rugged nature of the wilderness there, and those fire blankets come up too, aka the news said Australia will not even hand them out because they only save people in very specific cases, aka not under direct flames).

So they’ve been cutting the fire fighting funding as the fires have been getting worse?

I did not realize it had been so long:

This is the first time since 2010 that the U.S. has sent firefighters to help Australia battle wildfires. The National Interagency Fire Center, the government agency coordinating the U.S. firefighters going to Australia, told the Los Angeles Times that “roughly 100 firefighters” had been sent in December and early January, with “50 to 60 more planned to be dispatched” this week.

I honestly thought this exchange was more common than I guess it is.

Canada has also sent firefighters to Australia for the first time. Those firefighters were also received with cheers at the airport, according to a New York Times Australia correspondent on the scene.

6518

It turns out the volume in question is literally titled Donald J. Trump: An Environmental Hero , and it was written by Ed Russo, who worked as a consultant for Trump’s business.

6519

Because I am me… I looked three times to make sure I was not reading a parody site or a site referencing a parody site or a site becoming a parody site when I read that.

6520

Let’s face it. Trump is a living, breathing parody.