"How can we dance when our earth is turning?
How can we sleep when our beds are burning?"
Midnight Oil, Beds Are Burning (1987)
From the safety
Of my Toronto apartment
Half a world away.
Australia's holocaust unfold
Unimaginable ferocity
And scale.
Wiping out
Millions of years
Of evolution.
There's no reversing
Extinction
Once gone - is forever.
From New Zealand's
South Island
(About 2 000 km away)
Angry orange skies
Dominate the horizon.
Toxic fires
Burn unabated
Spewing forth gases
Accelerating climate change.
Across Australia
Pregnant women march
Concern about their health
And the unborn child
They carry.
Morrison - like Nero
Are seen fiddling their lyre
Unable to do anything
But watch.
As Australians wonder
When this Dreamtime horror
Will ever end.
Therisa © 2020
Author's note:
Before Paradise, California, or the Australian wildfires of 2019-20, there was Fort
McMurray, Alberta.
On May 1, 2016, the wildfire started that would, within 2 days, forced the evacuation of this
northern Alberta community of nearly 88 000 people. Which, is the operational hub for
Alberta's tar sand extraction, via pit mining. Mercifully, only 2 deaths were indirectly
linked to the fire.
Until August 2, 2016, when the fire was finally extinguished, almost 560 000 hectares
(1.46 million acres) of land was burnt. Alberta's Ministry of Natural Resources forest
firefighters, were joined by the Canadian military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police,
and other provinces' forest firefighters. Unlike Australia, Canadian forest firefighters,
are professionals and not volunteers.
The final bill, for this fire and recovery, was Cdn$9.9 billion, paid out by insurance
companies and various levels of government. I remember the national telethon,
held during prime time, on a Friday, by all of Canada's major TV networks, English
and French. Raising funds, for those without coverage and other needs.
companies and various levels of government. I remember the national telethon,
held during prime time, on a Friday, by all of Canada's major TV networks, English
and French. Raising funds, for those without coverage and other needs.
Truthfully, Canada, as a whole, has gotten off lucky, with deaths and damage done.
Considering that 90% of the population occupies 10% of the land, nearest to the US
border. Next time, we may face a similar situation, as our Commonwealth sister,
Australia, is right now.
Considering that 90% of the population occupies 10% of the land, nearest to the US
border. Next time, we may face a similar situation, as our Commonwealth sister,
Australia, is right now.
