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Kouno Kenich
Faculty of Liberal Arts,
The Open University of Japan,
Chiba, Japan.
E-mail: info@globalculturz.org
Extreme weathers are showing their presence across the globe. Bushfires had happened earlier too but rains were able to extinguish and control them in time. The bushfires of Australia have extended to almost three states due to strong winds and scorching temperature. People and firefighters didn’t receive well, PM Scott Morrison during his recent visit to fire hit areas of New South Wales (NSW). As the death toll has reached almost 23 and supposed to rise, anger and pain growing among common folk.
One might see this as a natural disaster but, as we know, human activities are more responsible to incite such a dangerous happenings of the history. In telecast, Scott Morrison seems helpless. He said, "In recent times, particularly over the course of the balance of this week, we have seen this disaster escalate to an entirely new level.” It was Amazon a few months ago, it is Australia now, it will be some other part of the earth in years to come. Relationship between humans and nature is completely changing and new models of development are continuously burdening the nature and its channels. A wast population is chemicalizing the earth by dumping beauty products, fertilizers, vehicular and electronic wastes, and various types of plastics. It is absolutely destroying the ecosystem of the earth. Rains have become uncontrolled phenomenon. Where as there is no sign of it in Australia, there are immense floods in Indonesian capital Jakarta. Both disasters are happening together in an unbalance way causing deaths and destructions. New Zealand Herald has stated that, “The fire danger increased as temperatures rose Saturday to record levels across Australia, surpassing 43C in Canberra, the capital, and reaching a record-high 48.9C in Penrith, in Sydney's western suburbs.” Jakarta is reeling under water and Canberra under fire. Two capital cities have met altogether different fates but the reason is one i.e. our policies and ignorance towards environmental issues. DW has reported that, “Australia's deadly fires have burned through more than 5.25 million hectares (13 million acres) of land since September, causing catastrophic damage to property and wildlife.” Though one cannot agree to the idea of blame game on a single or a few people. "There has been a lot of blame being thrown around," PM Morrison opined. "And now is the time to focus on the response that is being made. Blame doesn't help anybody at this time and over-analysis of these things is not a productive exercise," the PM added."There is no dispute in this country about the issue of climate change globally and its effect on global weather patterns and that includes how it impacts in Australia," stated Scott Morrison. Bushfires in Australia can happen anytime in the year but there are several seasonal bushfires too. Exploiting natural resources would not help. A balanced lifestyle and restraint desire for industrial development is the only way to go ahead. Consumerism is another threat for the future of mother earth.
