If anything good comes out of the Australian bushfires, it will be an understanding of their impact on our planet . There are still those in Australia who claim that the bushfires could have happened at any time, but the voices of reason, the voices of science, are being heard.
For an independent commentary on matters Australian, I tune into Radio Cumbo -Jo’s twitter feed as she is in the country over Christmas and promotes an independent view that I trust.
The rest of this blog is given over to Bodie Ashton, an Australian micro-blogger who in gobbets of 280 characters, leads us down a pathway of understanding.
One-seventh of the state of Victoria is on fire. The fire front in the state of New South Wales is so long that, if you made it a straight line, it would stretch from Sydney to Afghanistan. The fires are being fought by volunteers.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
Many of the volunteer firefighters are unemployed; their benefits have been suspended because, while they’re saving people and habitats and homes, they can’t apply for the requisite number of jobs per week the government expects them to to continue receiving benefits.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
The New South Wales emergency services minister has also gone on holidays. And in the midst of this, the prime minister has declared that the country should take heart from its brave and courageous…cricketers, who are playing against New Zealand.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
It is true that Australia has bushfires every year, but the sheer scale of this event is unprecedented, as well as the fact that the fire season is now so long that typical preventative initiatives, such as backburning, are far too dangerous.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
Public buildings have been forced to close in Sydney and the capital, Canberra, because the smoke is concentrating in the ventilation systems, and is setting off building fire systems.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
And that firefront? Imagine an unbroken line of fire, stretching from New York to Los Angeles, then back to New York, then heading back to Los Angeles and getting at least as far as Indiana. That’s the firefront in JUST ONE STATE.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
And it is HIS people who, learning that two people had been killed, quipped that it was okay because they “probably voted Green.”
This man is a gormless quisling who fiddles (at resorts in Hawaii) while Australia burns, and he comes back to sing the praises of coal. Fuck him.
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 1, 2020
Also this, concerning distances. I said that New Zealand is still a way away from Australia, yet is affected by the smoke. For non-Aussies or non-Kiwis, this might help you visualise it a little better: https://t.co/m7efTtAQXX
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 2, 2020
I have to mute this thread for a while—there are just so many responses that I simply can’t keep up! BUT some people asked what you can do to help. Please consider donating to the firefighters on the frontline; @GuardianAus has some good info at this link. https://t.co/IcjClp0O1Z
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 2, 2020
This kind of journalism comes not from a Bloomberg or an FT, but from a mild-mannered guy who has caught the mood in the way of Greta Thunberg
So um I seem to have picked up a lot of new followers (more than 1,000 in the last few hours!), so… Hi! I’m Bodie. I’m an identity historian, chiefly focused on Germany, and I’m Australian. I love sci-fi, our cats, and coffee. I’m also loud about LGBTQIA+ rights. Welcome! pic.twitter.com/FQwyjbnaT2
— Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan) January 2, 2020
People are listening to him rather than their Prime Minister
Disastrous attempt by Australian PM Scott Morrison to console victims of wildfires pic.twitter.com/GzFHEOGQGu
— Rohit Kachroo (@RohitKachrooITV) January 2, 2020
