There is so much information out there, yet, sometimes IG becomes a ground of repetition, a thread that doesn’t completely unravel. I made a list of articles in regards to the Australian bushfire because I felt so much guilt — entire species of animals have gone extinct in this fire, people have gone into the water surrounded by flames to try to escape, the smoke has stained glaciers red in New Zealand.

I started reading articles and came across one from Vox that covered the aftermath of another devastating fire, The Amazon Fire. It boldly states “social media makes people believe they’re making a difference when they really aren’t.” That resonated with me especially after seeing so many posts about ‘acting now’ and donating. I think we have come to a point where we can’t donate and feel like we did our part. We need to do more.

The reality is that this is a crisis in so many grand levels—to our ecosystem, to humanity— and a globally political one to boot.

So a political summary below, all article links at the bottom in the order mentioned and they are all worth a read.

From The Fader article: the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, “took an extended holiday to Hawaii as the fires first began to rage...experts have alleged that Minister for Emergency Services David Littleproud flat-out ignored their early warnings that this year’s bushfire season would be one of the worst ever, as well as their calls for extra equipment and water-bomber planes.”

From ABC: “Twenty-three former fire and emergency leaders say they tried for months to warn Prime Minister Scott Morrison that Australia needed more water-bombers to tackle bigger, faster and hotter bushfires.”

From The New Yorker: “Mr. Morrison has minimized the connection between climate change and Australia’s extreme environmental conditions...He has derided calls to end coal mining as “reckless,” prioritizing economic interests and loyalty to a powerful lobby. He has opposed taxing heat-trapping emissions or taking other significant steps to reduce them, although a majority of Australians say the government should take stronger action.”

From Yahoo Finance on the PM’s pledging 1.4 billion in aid, going against his campaign goal of having a budget surplus.

“It should be recalled - part of that budget surplus has been due to an underfunding of emergency services which at the time looked mean, but now looks as budget austerity gone mad.”
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It saddens me that our leaders don’t take global warming seriously but it’s sickening that this isn’t shocking in our own political climate, within the US.

So here’s my final take, if you want to help the animals, the environment, if seeing koalas burning makes you want to cry: VOTE. Vote every day. Vote with your dollar and most importantly vote for those candidates—no matter where you are in the world—that take global warming seriously.

xx

Virginia
Blog IG: @valle_oeste
Personal IG: @saltandbleach

Ps. There are many ways to donate, I have chosen only to include WIRES (Wildlife Information, Rescue, and Education Service) as all other major nonprofits are easy to find. They are rescuing animals, assisting and informing people how to care for animals affected by the fire. Follow them at @wireswildliferescue.