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Australian Bush Fires
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
Wow the devastation caused by these "fires" it's like hell on earth for many Aussies...The images coming out of Australia look like something out of a disaster movie...People on the beaches surrounded by smoke, being evacuated by the Australian navy...People fleeing by car...
The impact of these fires have reached NZ with part of NZ blanketed in smoke, you can taste it...the smoke from the fires is traveling across the Tasman sea from Australia to NZ, a distance of around 4000 kms...
Stay safe Aussies...
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Yes we have been following the news coverage, it looks pretty bad. I heard from my stepbrother that Sydney is very smokey, people walking around with mouth caps against the particles.
Yeah, I arrived in Sydney today. It’s actually not bad here now but they’re suggesting the smoke haze will be bad tomorrow.
My mum lives about 1.5 hours drive from where a lot of people have been evacuated. She said the town was a lot busier today with people coming through.
This is utterly disastrous. I honestly cannot begin to even comprehend the magnitude of this tragedy, a devastation of epic proportions. What I first imagined to be a sign of the usual seasonal phenomenon, has now grown into a destructive horror that affects every person on the planet
In what seems even as I write, an utterly useless gesture, my heart goes out to each and every person affected by this, whoever and wherever they may be.
Almost 5 million animals have lost their lives ....Sadly this toll too will rise...
It came over quite dark around 2.30pm this afternoon and when I looked out the window the sky was orange......I went outside and everywhere I looked, there's an orange tinge as if I was wearing orange tinted glasses...real eerie sight to behold...
It's 3pm and the skies are darken with an orange tinge....
This must be what some parts of Australia are experiencing on a daily bases, much thicker smoke no doubt...anyhow ...you can really taste the smoke...
Try to stay safe, Australia.
There was an orange free patch in the clouds earlier, but it didn't last long, it soon oranged over again... No doubt more smoke clouds will be heading NZ's way over the next few weeks...
Definitely not good for those of us on both sides of the Tasman who are quite sensitive to smoke fumes..... even with all doors and windows closed the particulate matter still finds a way in...
Take care @Shoshin
My family live in NSW. It's really bad on the South Coast. My cousin and her family just got out of Bateman's Bay in time 😢
Thanks @Bunks ...It must be worse for those living in Sydney ....
Glad to hear...Do they know if their house is still standing ?
A local news report...
No definite report but given their neighbours lost theirs, they are preparing for the worst...
I’ve read 0.5 billion animals have died and there is still at least 3 months of these fires to go. Australia is 2nd bottom of the climate change performance index (ccpi) and hopefully this will force action, not just there but worldwide. It’s such a massive tragedy for all concerned.
I remember last year when we had the moor fires and they were rapidly spreading. It went dark early in the afternoon and there was smoke cover for many miles around. That’s as near as I’ve come to any such an experience but on a massively smaller scale and with no loss of life.
Very smoky here today in Melbourne. Visibility is low.
I knows you like barbies but this is ridiculous
Too soon?
Terraforming for Planet 1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_engineering
Stay safe. Stay calm. XRist Be With Us. Green Buddha Nature.
Just saw a satellite image of Australia's fire 'Problem'. As I write, this was 4 hours ago (UK, 06.01.'20, 04:28)
It's on fire. The whole bloody country - correction - Continent - is on fire.
Nowhere is safe.
And this is just fucking sick. Sorry, but it is.
Interlude (a year in the life of a Sentient Oak eco-system):
and now back to the hysteria ...
That picture is fake @federica.
There’s a few similar ones going around.
Unfortunately they’re just adding to the hysteria around all of this.
Probably driven by the climate change people.
But for the apathetic city folk like me life goes on as usual.....ho hum.
Just in case you need evidence, your picture
Shows all of North Queensland basically on fire (top right corner of Australia) whereas the Queensland fire service website shows no incidents at all in that part of the country.
See below
Ah. Thanks @Bunks. Sorry if I alarmed anyone, but I guess social media is an all-too-easy platform for some numpties to get their kicks.
How easily we are taken in and fooled by images and words...
I mean, here we are, 15 years into my Moderator-career, and you ALL still think I'm a 60+ year-old housewife from the UK (Tee-hee! SO Gullible!)
Haha that’s fine mate. Happens to the best of us.
This one has been my favourite so far........There’s even a couple of blazes out in the middle of the ocean!
I suspect it all comes from a photo taken from space which shows where the light sources are, and then people start mistaking artificial light for fires and producing this kind of picture above.
Who knows @Kerome - no one lives in a lot of those places so not sure what any of the light sources could be?
Anyway, they keep coming up on my Facebook feeds with a fair amount of hysteria.
The main fires causing issues right now are on the South coast of NSW and Far East and north east of Victoria. There was also a fire on a small island called Kangaroo island that has burnt down a resort and a number of other buildings.
Apart from that there are no other major fires about the place. Just the usual flare ups that we expect at this time of year.
It’s no doubt the fire season is getting worse though. Just have to get used to it I guess.
I found this BBC news article interesting.. A visual guide to the bushfire crisis
Here's an article about volunteer fire fighters - very much an integral part of our society here. I have cousins who volunteer in the country town I grew up in.
Hats off to them....
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-07/my-dad-has-been-a-volunteer-fire-fighter-for-20-years/11844384
I feel very bad for the honest-to-goodness firefighters who risk life and limb, but who have to face up to the nasty reality of some volunteers actually causing fires.
It lowers their credibility, their valour and their true dedication.
It's just despicable and outrageous.
I received some clarity around the satellite image you posted above @federica - apparently it shows fires that burned over the last month as opposed to at this point in time.
Still quite sobering though.
The "Burnout" term used in the ABC news article you posted @Bunks is a poignant and appropriate description....
Yes, it can't be easy @Shoshin
A little light relief with the wonderful Judith Lucy.
Thanks @Bunks 💗 Funny
As we know eXistence is suffeRing.
So rather than being a wannabe wallaby Buddha ... what is the course of action?
Survive, sustain, improve.
Always is plan.
Hmmmmm.....the main reason why the part of Australia I grew up in isn't affected by bush fires is due to the early settlers cutting trees down to clear areas for farming.
"Good, bad, who knows?" - Ajahn Brahm
This was a headline in the LA Times 10 years ago.
It appears they may be on the money......
https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-climate-change-australia9-2009apr09-story.html
It would seem when the crises has passed and things gradually start to get back to normal, (with the mind in normal mode... ), the severity of the crises is slowly forgotten... ......until the next time...
"Lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen"
But sadly for many it's a case of...Out of sight out of mind...( "Crises!!! What Crises???" )
@Shoshin says something similar.
The balancing or middle way is to be cheerful in hell and not swallowed by para-dice. That is hard BUT we can practice it.
Practice is not indifference/laughing at or ignoring misfortune/detachment. Buddhism is disciplined mind pointing or direction.
Most of us as mainly human, need to focus on the positive reinforcements. Find an ease and stillness. This can take time.
... and now back to the flaming bush ...
But people also bring the sources of fire, no? The electricity poles, cigarette butts, all that jazz. So maybe we should have fewer people.
Im still very encouraged by reforestation efforts in Africa
Lightning too mate.....lots of it.
And, to be frank, compared to Europe, Asia and America, the amount of people in the places affected by these fires is very minimal.
And it has been burning long before man came. In fact the eucalyptus tree (native to Australia) thrives on fire and is a big part of the reason we have such wild fires here. They use it to spread their seed.
This country has evolved to burn and climate change is making it worse.
This is a good guide on the maps and other false info out there:
https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/fake-and-misleading-images-of-australias-bushfire-crisis-are-being-circulated/news-story/ce1a7def75e87e5a0146116c6eb734f6
Regarding the picture, a caveat was that it was a compilation. Take that to mean there is a grain or two of salt mixed in.
That said, it is till one major disaster. Especially for NSW.
Prayer always for those affected/impacted. the Human toll is terrible. the animal toll is horrifically beyond disastrous. For many, it will take years to recover (humans and animals). For others, there just is no recovery.
for all in Australia and New Zeland, please stay safe.
An interesting article about how far the smoke from the bushfires has travelled
The CFA (Country Fire Authority) "Bushfire Survival Plan"
Wow! Cool....
The ripple effect ...of the fires...
Odd isn't it, how you used water to illustrate the effect the fires are having?
In TCM, there are components which reflect and affect others: 2 x Metal, 2 x Wood, 3 of Earth, yet only 1 of both water and Fire, which on the 5-Movement circle, are diametrically positioned....
Fire and Water are essential Energies in their own right; they have no secondary (or tertiary) associated aspects. They reside, unique and powerful in their positions...
Good Servants. Bad Masters.
Earth, Metal and Wood are the three most useful, most man-managed and widespread Matetials used on this planet (we call Earth... )
Fire and water are harnessed they're never fully tamed....
As an ex-XR-extremist
https://tinyurl.com/u9qsj5p
I have now been officially pardoned, unlike the clown political dinosaurs profiting from insanity and inaction.
In the words of the Greta Good
“How dare you!”
... or as Aaron K. Solomon suggests:
Please be patient and please be wise, but please continue to respond. May we find the path home together.
http://www.dirt-mag.com/home/buddhist-monk-joins-extinction-rebellion-IX563183
and now back to somewhere over the rainbow ...
The smoke is as bad as I’ve seen it in Melbourne yesterday and today.
You can taste it and smell it.
Stay safe @Bunks ...
i take it your place of work has air conditioning or air purifiers...
Yeah it seems ok indoors. Just don't want to venture out too much.
I was laid low with an asthma attack on Monday night with all the smoke
Take care!