The World in Turmoil...

Anyone that's "on the edge" at the moment concerned with what's going on in the world is surely to be tipped over that proverbial edge; also just coming through two years of Corona virus as well. Let's hope reassuring help is at hand....

Many have busy lives and don't like to even think outside of their family circle concerning what is happening but anyone, anyone, at the moment must surely have thoughts about the future, I know I do, frequently; now more than ever.

Amongst all the sadness that is Ukraine (my few recent blogs are about that if you care to read them) we in Australia are going through horrendous floods. Two years ago it was devastating bush fires where hundreds of homes and millions of animals were lost to the fires...now it's floods.

I am fine here and often feel safer living near the beach...not too near mind...but rather here than near a river...especially one that's known to flood. 

It was only ten years ago that the Brisbane river flooded previously and thousands of people lost their homes to the water. Now the same is happening once again in 2022. 

Last time in 2011 it was mostly caused by the Wivenhoe Dam release of water that flooded the city and the Brisbane river overflowed into surrounding suburbs. The weather, especially at this time of the year when it is usually our wet season, can be very unpredictable. I remember back then we were going through a rather dry patch and it was my impression at the time that water was stored in the dam because there could be a water shortage. Then it rained and rained and rained...a typical, usual, wet season and the dam got to dangerous levels and water had to be released...hence the city of  Brisbane flooded.

I may have simplified slightly but that seemed to be the general consensus of what happened at the time. This time ten or so years later was different. We had this, what is called a "water bomb", of rain starting in the north of the state, said to be equal to three to four Sydney harbours worth of rain falling from the skies in a matter of hours and very, very, slow moving, just hovering, creating so much fear and concern.

So far eleven people have lost their lives in Queensland and now the rain is slowly moving south and causing untold damage to places like Coffs Harbour, Lismore and all towns between here and Sydney. A very sad and trying time for many.

Thousands of homes ruined and, at this stage, the death toll is unknown. People being rescued from their roof tops by boat with water as high as the streets power lines.

How can you ever recover from that to have floods of that magnitude never before known in many places since records began.

Many deny climate change is happening. I find it is older people who usually say..."well the climate is always changing... it has since ..well forever!" Also the right wing commentators seem to do this as well. I really don't understand why. Surely it affects us all. Well it does and it is happening. Just ask scientists and the insurance companies in Australia. Soon I can see many places becoming uninsurable.

But now it's the frequency of extreme weather over such short period of time. Sydney last year reached 48.9c in January. A record temperature. Never ever recorded before.

Our fires here started in July 2019...our winter! Never a time for bush fires. That fire season overlapped with the North American fire season so they couldn't send their fire fighting 'planes and helicopters as has previously happened. We should have more of our own of course. Billions of native animals killed. Fifteen people lot their lives and over one thousand homes lost.

That January was the hottest ever globally. Antarctica , Antarctica mind, reached 38c!! 

Russia in 2021 lost more than 18 million hectares of forest setting an absolute record since they started monitoring forest fires. Siberias wildfires were bigger than all the worlds other blazes combined.

 Thawing permafrost is also a time bomb: There's more carbon stored in the permafrost; twice the amount that is in the atmosphere today. 

It doesn't take a genius to understand that alone risks accelerating global warming even further and yet we continue to burn fossil fuels adding to extreme weather conditions; not even counting how much this latest Russian war in Ukraine is adding to the heating of the planet.

So much is wrong and we, I, feel so helpless. 

As we see thousands of refugees having to leave their homes in Ukraine and so much sadness, today on Instagram, I watched an auction where one painting sold for 59.4 million pounds UK and a famous formula one driver just signed a five year contract worth an eye watering 40 million pounds UK a year. To drive a car around a track! Good luck to him but....

Honestly does that make sense to anyone?

Everything seems so out of kilter in the world I just shake my head at times.

I hope, wonder and pray for the future 🙏