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{"source_url": "https://thenews-chronicle.com", "url": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/australia-burns-fireworks-bush-fires-and-denial/", "title": "Australia Burns: Fireworks, Bush Fires and Denial", "top_image": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy.png", "meta_img": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy.png", "images": ["https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CHRO1-100x77.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_80/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Ogungbo-80x60.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_100/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blog-Auto-428263471-1265x843-post-100x70.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_696,h_385/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/women-of-the-decade-0-696x385.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_400/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Godknows-Boladei-Igali.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_500,h_600/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Adonis-Abbey-GIF-2.gif", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_100/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Akinwumi-A.-Adesina-Leading-Africa\u2019s-Economic-Transformation-100x70.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_100/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-08-28_Levant-Basin_400x267-100x70.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_218/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy-218x150.png", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_80/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/SAM4952-1-80x60.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_970,h_120/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/CROWNDOT-CAKES-BANNER.gif", "https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy.png", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_80/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/scotcg-80x60.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_218/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Gbenga-Oloniniran-e1574291365492-218x150.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_100/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/new-year-100x70.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CHRO-300x85.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_218/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/women-of-the-decade-0-218x150.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_100/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/President-Muhammadu-Buhari-600x338-100x70.jpg", "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4ab1c5f1469054120ab1a8e80a9088bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CHRO1.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_696/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy-696x411.png", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_80/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/lakeshore-cancer-center-80x60.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_640/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Dr-Reuben-Abati1.jpg", "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/client/q_glossy,ret_img,w_218/https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/STEM-218x150.png"], "movies": [], "text": "As 2020 approached, the sense that the barbarians were not only at the gates but had breached the walls of indifference had come to the fore. But these were not conventional human forms; rather, they were the agents of conflagration, driving people to the sea, forcing them from homes and consuming territories the size of small countries. Australia was burning.\n\nThen it became clear that the barbarians might have been among us all along, the dedicated wreckers of the biosphere, the climate change denialists who cling to a tradition highlighted by the smug authors of Genesis 1:26: that the non-human world is there for the conquest of humanity. Unfortunately for the smug scribblers of the Bible, the earth has not been too compliant in this regard.\n\nAs the continent scorched, the annual, exorbitant display of Sydney\u2019s fireworks that mark the opening of the new year seemed a touch vulgar. This was not a time to be solemn or mournful; the bread and circuses had to continue coming. The presenters of the ABC\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve show attempted to put on a brave face, turning it to a donations run for those who had suffered loss in the bush fires. Even as they did, a floating haze was evident; Sydney could not escape from the reality that it was surrounded by flames.\n\nAustralian towns are starting to sound like besieged forts and desperate holdouts. The Victorian seaside town of Mallacoota has been elevated to something like a First World War Verdun against the onslaught of fire. Thousands had gathered on Tuesday at the boat ramp. Pictures of a blood red sky have been taken, most notably that of Allison Marion\u2019s picture of her son, Finn. But will the flames pass? The question is never far away from those engaged. For those directly fighting the flames, deaths are accumulating. Men like Sam McPaul of the Morven Rural Fire Brigade have become the fallen warriors of hoses and salvation.\n\nThe Morrison government, despite the calamities, would not let up in its boastful assertions on environmental soundness. Energy minister Angus Taylor, who is Australia\u2019s de facto environment minister (that portfolio has little relevance in Australia, except for granting mining approvals) took to The Australian to claim that the country had a record that should make people proud. \u201cAustralia meets and beats its emissions-reduction targets, every time.\u201d The Kyoto targets were outdone by 129 million tonnes; the 2020 targets will be met by 411 million tonnes.\n\nBut the technique of such praise is always slanted; Australia was positively virtuous in climate change policy, yet was only \u201cresponsible for only 1.3% of global emissions, so we can\u2019t single-handedly have a meaningful impact without the co-operation of the largest emitters such as China and the US.\u201d\n\nAustralia had been fighting climate change as dedicated troopers against the odds. Pity that the odds were themselves compounded by his government\u2019s own scepticism at the very idea that disastrous burning events might be an effect of climate change. Selective accounting is the panacea sought in this regard, and Taylor does so by picking figures that exclude, for instance, emissions from the fossil fuels Australia digs and exports. Like an arms exporter with an amoral compass and a mind for the selective, the claim here is that Australia cannot be responsible for what others do with the earth\u2019s loot, despite actually providing them in the first place.\n\nThose actually versed with export and production figures tend to raise their eyebrows when Taylor takes to the podium of praise. Frank Jotzo, director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, was politely damning. \u201cI would characterise [Taylor\u2019s article] as a selective use of statistics that make Australia\u2019s emissions trajectory look good, when in reality it does not look good at all.\u201d\n\nA study by Climate Analytics published in July 2019 does much to shred the Taylor worldview in this regard. As the authors note with severity, \u201cAustralia is the world\u2019s largest coal (thermal + metallurgical) exporter, accounting for 29% of traded coal globally in 2016 and will soon be the world\u2019s largest natural gas (LNG) exporter. As a consequence, Australia\u2019s global carbon footprint is very significant, with exported fossil fuel emissions currently representing around 3.6% of global emissions.\u201d\n\nHardly insignificant, and even more damnable considering that Australia is in the big league when it comes to per capita emissions of carbon, including exports. China, for instance, is surpassed by a factor of 9; the US by 4, India by 37.\n\nThe prime minister is proving unconvincing in his efforts to fight the storm. A tweeted statement from Scott Morrison gave the impression that this was merely another housekeeping exercise to complete, the fires manageable interruptions to the perfect Australian life. \u201cFederal Government, especially our Defence Forces, are working together with the Victorian Government to respond to Victorian bushfires. VIC CFA are leading the response.\u201d He noted how both he and the Victorian premier had been in \u201cregular contact\u201d admitting that, \u201cReports of persons unaccounted for are very distressing.\u201d\n\nHis new year address sank like an unprized lead balloon. He conceded that 2019 had not been without difficulties. \u201cBut the one thing we an always celebrate in Australia is that we live in the most amazing country on earth and the wonderful Aussie spirit that means we always overcome whatever challenges that we face that we always look optimistically into your future.\u201d Australia remained exemplary as a \u201cplace to raise kids\u201d. The disasters, on the other hand, have not been singular. \u201cWhatever our trials, whatever disasters have befallen us, we have never succumbed to panic.\u201d A true man of advertising, to the last.\n\nDr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected]", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": ["Australia fire", "Morrison government", "Climate change"], "authors": ["Please Enter Your Name Here"], "publish_date": "Wed Jan 1 07:48:50 2020", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "Frank Jotzo, director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, was politely damning.", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CHRO-300x85.jpg", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0", "og": {"image": {"identifier": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy.png", "secure_url": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy.png", "width": 995, "height": 587}, "locale": "en_US", "type": "article", "title": "Australia Burns: Fireworks, Bush Fires and Denial - The News Chronicle", "description": "Frank Jotzo, director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, was politely damning.", "url": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/australia-burns-fireworks-bush-fires-and-denial/", "site_name": "The News Chronicle"}, "description": "Frank Jotzo, director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, was politely damning.", "article": {"publisher": "https://www.facebook.com/thenewschronicleNigeria/", "tag": "Morrison government", "section": "Editors' Pick", "published_time": "2020-01-01T07:48:50+00:00"}, "twitter": {"card": "summary_large_image", "description": "Frank Jotzo, director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, was politely damning.", "title": "Australia Burns: Fireworks, Bush Fires and Denial - The News Chronicle", "site": "@NewsChronicle_", "image": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Dr.-Binoy.png", "creator": "@NewsChronicle_"}, "generator": "Powered by Visual Composer - drag and drop page builder for WordPress."}, "canonical_link": "https://thenews-chronicle.com/australia-burns-fireworks-bush-fires-and-denial/"} |
