fire haiku

Kookaburra smells

the Australian spring simmering

waiting for the BBQ

Waiting

 

 

Note: A repost (image is from Google searches).

If you live in Australia you will know that there is an emergency situation in regards to bushfires in New South Wales.

There are over 60 active fires, particularly in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. The weather conditions are likely to deteriorate tomorrow with increased winds and temperatures and there is a fear that some fires will join together into a mega fire with a huge perimeter.

There are thousands of fire-fighters working on the ground and more are arriving from around Australia as we speak.

It is October and spring in Australia. But February is our hottest month and usually our peak bushfire period.

There are some active fires in the national parks about 40 kilometres from where I live. A piggery was destroyed yesterday in these fires and livestock killed and buildings destroyed. The Bruce Highway and local roads were closed for several hours because of these fires.

The risk will increase unless we get significant rain. The recent floods in this area (January 2013) have caused huge increases in flammable undergrowth. The grass in the fields around here is as dry as bedding hay.

Please let it rain!

And thank you all the firies for the great work you do – true heroes 😀

Waiting for the aliens

Photo by Michael Bryden

Waiting for the Aliens

A volcano burped lava in
Eyjafjallajokul

media commentators hoped the
ash plume would cool the earth,

and block her tear ducts,
some planes were stopped for a while,

a blip on their radar,
carbon emissions dipped an incy bit

it was perceived as a major hiccup for passengers,
the effect was stunning

in its mediocrity,
we await the arrival of aliens

to undertake the hard work,
what a joke!

___________________________________________________

note: this is an edited repost but more relevant than ever, given the new Government doesn’t give a toss for the environment and will try to axe the carbon tax and introduce a ridiculous direct action program that makes no sense if you look at the detail (and it makes no sense because Abbottabad has no intention of implementing it and is already talking about reducing the target for emissions downwards – he is just a skeptic in disguise). They also want to cut back on so called ‘green tape’ and roll back hard won environmental protections for the sake of ‘progress’.

Just remember phony Tony, you can’t breathe money or eat coal seam gas, so chew on that for a while!

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef: Watch and Share if you Care 🙂

Back from Bargara

Bargara Beach, Queensland

Just got back from a short family holiday at Bargara beach – about an hours drive North from us and the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

We had good weather and bad weather!

I haven’t actually seen the Great Barrier Reef but intend to one day soon before it disappears.

There is 100 percent agreement among climate scientists that human activity is contributing to global warming.

Climate scientists may disagree about specific effects (eg., will cyclones increase in number, will sea levels rise and by how much) but on that basic and fundamental principal they all agree – despite what you may have read on the internet and heard from shock jocks on the radio.

Global warming will have a catastrophic effect on the reef. An increase of a couple of degrees in temperature may not sound like a lot but it will effectively destroy this natural wonder of the world. It will result in severe mass coral bleaching and threaten the habitat of key reef species.

We all need to take action on climate change before it is too late. There is not much time left.

Enjoy your Easter everyone and may peace be with you 🙂

peace, shalom, chill,

Earth Hour

Earth Hour

It’s Earth Hour this Saturday 26th March 2011, so don’t forget to switch your lights off at 8.30pm 🙂 to show your commitment for action on climate change.

Australian Poetry is celebrating Earth Hour by encouraging poets to spend their hour of darkness, writing a poem. Follow this link for the details.

I would love to spend my hour writing a poem, but don’t think my children will let me. They get a bit excited when all the light are off and insist we do things like prance along the beach and view the stars. Given that the stars are so much brighter and more numerous when there is little competition from lights, I think they are on the right track.