Record low rainfall has contributed to a continent-scale emergency that has burned through more than 5m hectares and alarmed scientists, doctors and firefighters
As the area burned across Australia this fire season pushes beyond five million hectares, an area larger than many countries, stories of destruction have become depressingly familiar.
"They believe they have the situation in hand. That is definitely not the case."
The ring of bushfires raging around Australia is "out of control," firefighters said Monday night, and the country's government appears unwilling—or unable—to take action to assist those battling the blazes despite the danger.
"These are the realities that make me wonder at how corrupt must be the souls of people who have the power to stop this and fail to act."
As Australia endures ongoing wildfires that have choked out cities with smoke and are incinerating wildlife habitats, Prime Minister Scott Morrison made clear that he would not entertain any curtailment of coal production—a signal to observers that the country's leader isn't willing to take seriously the threat of the climate crisis.
The day Terry Christenson jumped the Trans Mountain work site security fence he wore a camera on his head. As the camera scanned the leaves on the ground, Christenson announced in a crisp voice, “This is Tango Charlie for the Coast Salish People.”
To build the power to take on climate change, we can’t simply validate individual movements or assume single-issue struggles will add up to something greater than the sum of their parts. We need class politics to connect the dots of our many struggles — and to save the planet.
A reduction of economic activity is necessary and just – and can lead to human flourishing.
To sustain the natural basis of our life, we must slow down. We have to reduce the amount of extraction, pollution, and waste throughout our economy. This implies less production, less consumption, and probably also less work.
In the United States, coal, that supervillain of fossil-fuels, is in a death spiral. But on a global scale, there’s no spiral, just an arrow pointing to Asia. Turns out coal isn’t dying; it’s moving.
![The Khadia open pit mine is 27 km long. Workers loading coal into trucks work in hazardous conditions wear no protective equipment and accidents are frequent. Photo by: international accountability project. Flickr [CC BY 2.0]](https://ecosocialistsvancouver.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article-image/12227000925_f2549129a2_c.jpg?itok=ZQWYdfQK)
