The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology has the “responsibility to provide decision makers and the general public with accurate observations and information about our changing climate."
" Australia and the globe are experiencing rapid climate change. Since the middle of the 20th century, Australian temperatures have, on average, risen by about one degree centigrade with an increase in the frequency of heat waves and a decrease in the numbers of frosts and cold days. Rainfall patterns have also changed – the northwest has seen an increase in rainfall over the last 50 years while much of eastern Australia and the far southwest have experienced a decline.”
Living in Mutual Co-Existence with the Land
The indigenous people of Australia have managed to co-exist on the land for thousands of years without damaging or causing any disruption to the natural rhythms. “It’s easy to imagine that us Australasians have really made a secure future for ourselves here, but ever since the time the first Europeans arrived we’ve altered nature so much that we’ve become an exterminator species the third and most damaging wave of the people I call the future eaters.” ( Dr Tim Flannery)
Separating People from the Land
As indigenous people have become separated from the natural way of living on the land, and separated from their spirituality, language, and their dreaming, they experience sickness and depression, and are in danger of becoming an extinct race.
Their plight could be seen as a reflection of the bigger picture. Converting them into western ways has only brought about an unmanageable situation. Similarly it could be seen with the effect of industrialisation, as it has contributed to the minimisation of village life that connects people with land, in exchange for modernisation.
Restoring the Relationships of People to the Earth
David Tacey, a Reader in literature at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and author of nine books and numerous essays and articles on religion, culture and depth psychology, is of the opinion that an eco psychology is one of the most important disciplines of our time. “The core work in this discipline is to restore the earth by using the relationships of people to the earth, as the aboriginal people of Australia do."
"Just as the aboriginal people have their dreaming, the western people need to consider theirs to help in the local environment situation.”
“Where there is no vision people perish.”(Proverbs) The responsibility of the vision lies with everybody. The vision of a healthy, alive and growing planet and simultaneously becoming aware of the current global situation on an individual basis could be a healing process for all of earth’s inhabitants. Thinking globally and acting locally is a concept that has been used by various NGOs as they have worked on altering the effect of the damage of greenhouse gases caused by the ignorant behaviour of a consumerist society.
Making a Difference by Taking Action
Here are a few ideas to become a climate change leader.
Create a personal vision of a healthy planet earth with healthy inhabitants being able to co-exist.
Have climate change conversations over coffee.
Lower consumerism and save money.
Recycle with a caring attitude.
If there were no problems only solutions, then accepting the deterioration would be a first step, whether it is caused by humans in a physical way with pollution and chopping down the rainforests, or whether the changes are a natural cycle that the earth goes through, is not relevant. Adopting a caring attitude and a vision will at the least restore harmony between people, which can only be a good thing.
Sources
- The Future Eaters, Tim Flannery, (2009)
- Edge of the Sacred, David Tacey(2009)
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