Australia Fires Continue To Devastate — Here's How You Can Help

Skip navigation!ADVERTISEMENTStory from NewsADVERTISEMENTAustralia Fires Continue To Devastate — Here’s How You Can HelpMekita RivasLast Updated 3 January 2020, 14:57 Photo: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images.The term “climate change” is often associated with a far-off, distant time in the future in where apocalyptic things will happen — rising sea levels, bizarre weather events, and staggering loss of life. But as we enter 2020, so does the unimaginable reality of our global climate crisis. Recent floods in Jakarta have displaced 60,000 people and left dozens of others dead. The fifth straight year of drought in Central America is affecting migration patterns. And, as we speak, Australia continues to burn. For months, the continent has battled some of the most destructive wildfires it’s seen in decades, with a rising rate of 14.6 million acres already burned, and 900 homes lost. Australia now enters an immense crisis — so far, 17 people have died nationwide and no sign of stopping. And, this comes at the heels of the blazing Amazon forest fires last year.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTMillions of wildlife are feared dead or, worse, extinct. Glaciers in New Zealand have turned brown from the bushfires’ smoke, ash, and dust. And by all accounts, the situation is likely to get much worse. “It’s going to be a blast furnace,” Andrew Constance, the transport minister of New South Wales, told The Sydney Morning Herald. Mike Kelly, an elected official whose constituents live in much of the South Coast area currently under threat, said the reach of the fires has been about as bad as it can get. “There is nowhere in my electorate that isn’t being touched,” Kelly told the publication. As the world continues to watch the heartbreaking fires that spread across the continent, many wonder how they can help relieve the ongoing horror. For residents and bystanders alike, we've outlined all the ways you can help.

Hold politicians ⁠— and ourselves ⁠— accountable.

2019 was Australia’s hottest and driest year on record, and many climate experts are pointing to a warming planet as the cause. One climate scientist vacationing near the affected area wrote an op-ed in The Guardian, bluntly titled: “Australia, your country is burning — dangerous climate change is here with you now.”“The brown skies I observed in the Blue Mountains this week are a product of human-caused climate change,” writes Michael Mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University. “Take record heat, combine it with unprecedented drought in already dry regions and you get unprecedented bushfires like the ones engulfing the Blue Mountains and spreading across the continent. It’s not complicated.” AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTHolding the right people accountable, though, can be complicated. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison abruptly ended his visit to a fire-affected town on Thursday after local residents criticised him for not doing more. Morrison is a climate change sceptic who has downplayed the role that it’s played in the fires. “There are some fires that have been started by just carelessness, others sadly have been the result of direct arson, many have been created by dry lightning strikes,” he said at a news conference in December. “The drought conditions have certainly been a big contributor in terms of the dryness of the fuel load. There are also many other issues.”But it’s not just politicians and lawmakers in Australia who need to be held to a higher standard. It’s us, too. “Right now, on the outskirts of a hyper modern first world megapolis, at the end of a year in which the public seemed finally to wake up to the dramatic threat from global warming, a climate disaster of unimaginable horror has been unfolding for almost two full months, and the rest of the world is hardly paying attention,” writes David Wallace-Wells in New York Magazine, who argues that our collective “global apathy” toward the disaster is an eerie sign of the times. In short: We’re becoming desensitized to the devastation that the climate crisis is causing, which isn’t good because the worst is still to come.

Sign a petition.

According to the ongoing petition from Change.org, this catastrophe needs awareness and presence on another level: a national emergency. Signing this petition calls for Morrison to officially declare the Australian fires a national emergency and ignite a movement toward real change against these hazardous brushfires. One way to jolt yourself back to reality is by getting involved — no matter how seemingly small or inconsequential your contribution might feel. Petitions can enact real change.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT

Donate to organisations doing the hard work on the ground.

To have a more direct impact, you can reach out to local organisations who are accepting donations and raising funds. (A local Australian news organization has compiled a longer list of organisations to donate to.)New South Wales Rural Fire Service: On behalf of three volunteer firefighters killed during this fire season, they will accept donations for their families. A separate GoFundMe page has also been created for the families.St. Vincent de Paul Society: They are accepting donations on behalf of evacuees ($50 (£33) can provide food for a family that’s been evacuated from their home).Salvation Army Emergency Services: They are also accepting donations to provide meals to evacuees and frontline responders.

Help protect affected wildlife.

Currently, an estimated half a billion animals and plants have died in the Australia brushfires, according to ecologists at the University of Sydney. Eight thousand of those were koalas. Viral videos of badly burned and dehydrated koalas have sparked concern for the beloved and uniquely Australian species. Donating to koala conservation efforts is more crucial than ever. An emergency fundraiser for the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has raised nearly $2 million (£1.5m), while the University of Sydney is crowdfunding to create more koala drinking stations to cope with rising temperatures.The British government currently advises tourists to be vigilant and gives further advice on its website. AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT UnbotheredMen, Your Reaction To Abuse Allegations Says More About You Than ...It’s been a heavy week online as stories of abuse involving high-profile men and Black women in the public eye have resurfaced and unfolded in real time.by Susan AkyeampongUS Election 2024Donald Trump Wins The PresidencyDonald Trump has won the presidency — this time, as the first convicted felon to become president of the United States. Trump, who is also the oldest perby Refinery29 StaffUS Election 2024Election Stress Disorder Is A Thing — Here’s How To CopeThis article was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated. With counting underway in the 2024 US presidential election, you may be feelinby Elizabeth GulinoAdvertisementADVERTISEMENTWellnessPlease Stop Saying “Natural” When Discussing ChildbirthYesterday during my 36-week pregnancy appointment, my doctor started to perform the standard late-pregnancy cervical exam, but she couldn’t finish it becby Natalie GontcharovaUnbotheredAs We Mourn The Death Of Lauren Smith-Fields, Where Is The Justic...Black TikTok influencer Lauren Smith-Fields was found dead in her apartment on December 12. As the 23-year-old’s family continues to dig for answers overby Stephanie LongClimateNew Climate Change Report Confirms: Everything’s Terrible, ...A major United Nations (UN) scientific report has concluded what any sentient being has long known to be true: Global warming is not only real, it is gettiby Danielle CampoamorNewsShould Wealthy Countries Give COVID Booster Shots When Other Coun...On Wednesday, the World Health Organization called for a moratorium on wealthy nations distributing COVID-19 booster shots to already vaccinated people, duby Erin CorbettOlympicsAt 7, Rayssa Leal Went Viral For Skateboarding In A Fairy Princes...On Monday, 13-year-old Rayssa Leal won the silver medal during the Tokyo Olympics‘ first women’s street skateboarding event. Medaling for Braziby Asia EwartNewsWe Have A Lot Of Questions About That Bizarre Olympics Opening Ce...The delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games finally kicked off on Friday with the traditionally over-the-top opening ceremony. And as SNL’s Stefon would sayby Danielle CampoamorNewsSpelling Bee Champ Zaila Avant-garde Might Be The Most Interestin...After 93 years of National Spelling Bee competitions, a Black American student is walking away with the trophy for the first time ever. 14-year-old Zaila Aby Danielle CampoamorNewsThe Olympics Don’t Care About Black Athletes. They Never Did.In late June, sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson ran the 100m dash in just 10.86 seconds, quickly becoming a favourite to win the gold in the upcoming Tokby Erin CorbettNewsDarnella Frazier Says Her Uncle Was Killed During A High Speed Po...Just weeks after receiving a Pulitzer Prize special citation for filming the police murder of George Floyd, Minneapolis teenager Darnella Frazier wrote thaby Lydia WangAdvertisementADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENT