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By: Tori Poma Summary. Australia is undoubtedly one of the most exotic and beautiful places to exist on Earth. The country is home to crystal clear water, filled with colorful coral reefs and an array of extravagant fish along with other varieties of sea life. More than 80% of Australia's wildlife is made up by species exclusively native to the nation, and cannot be found anywhere else. Animals such as Koalas, Kangaroos, and Wallabies make up a few of the different 140 species of marsupials that are unique to Australia that fall into this category. As well the 828 bird species to exist in this beautiful country, half of which living nowhere else. Australia was recently ranked last, out of 193 other United Nation countries, for actions taken to reduce greenhouse gases being put out into the atmosphere. This report highlighted Australia's reliance on coal oriented power, which in turn results in a large eminence of greenhouse gases. The report also took into account the countries with the largest amount of carbon emitted per capita, which Australia seemed to unfortunately accomplish. The United Nations has put forth an organized and thorough list of goals to fully meet the Department of Economic and Social Affair's requirements. This list is known as The 17 Goals of Sustainable Development. Australia sadly ranked 35th in its progress to meet all the Sustainable Development Goals. Casting more doubt on the country's environmental compliance, the sworn in deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, is not a believer of global warming to say the least. He has made statements in the past about "refusing to be bullied into" being more environmentally progressive. He has also commented on this matter using religious analogies to try and explain why he does not believe in global warming. Why we should care? Australia is an environmental paradise filled with ecosystems and species that can exist no where else, if the country's own leadership does not believe in its preservation it cannot be saved.  Photo Credit: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/01/australia-ranks-last-for-climate-action-among-un-member-countries Example Article. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/02/australia-climate-action-un-sustainable-development/ I enjoyed the way this article dove into the leadership aspects of Australia, to give the reader a deeper understanding of why this may occurring. I for one can say that I knew absolutely nothing about the Australian government and politics, despite those being a crucial part in how environmental policies are enforced. Without explaining why something is flawed and just presenting the outcome with no context, there is no room for speculation or improvement. When the politics and government are brought in to the conversation, there becomes a person or group of people who can appropriately be held accountable and open to change. Science in Action.
Richie Merzian is a Climate Specialist at the Australian Institute. Richie researches both domestic and international climate change affairs. This is especially relevant to my blog topic both because he is an expert in human affects on climate change but also because he was once a part of the Australian government, the exact country I am writing about. Richie has an inside view into how environmental issues are handled in this country, yet he also has the knowledge and education how they should be handled instead. This makes him the perfect guy to trust on this topic.
15 Comments
courtney mcintosh
11/28/2021 18:46:09
It is so completely disheartening to know a country such as Australia with their unique ecosystems and biodiversity is so far behind in terms of being environmentally conscious. Unfortunately their prime minister which is the equivalent to a president has much to do with that. His actions however will have long lasting effects on the country to which I say, lets penalize him personally for that.
Rachel Mangulabnan
11/29/2021 11:37:48
This is upsetting to hear that the leader of Australia is among so many others and refuses to acknowledge climate change. The fact that it is home to so many species which are being directly impacted by human interactions with the environment and he is referring to helping as being bullied into something is absolutely awful. The increase in wildfire in Australia and the mass destruction they do more and more each year, you would think he would be more inclined to do something, especially because it is harming the citizens in the country and not just the environment.
Mikaela Owen
11/29/2021 12:44:03
It is shocking to me that a country so beautiful and plentiful in natural life is so far down on the list of countries making a change. I would think Australia out of anyone would want to protect the exotic animals and plants they care for by reducing their coal plants for a more sustainable energy choice. I also find it interesting that their leader would be so anti-climate change. Hopefully they will change their mindset moving forward after this year's conference.
Abby Plonka
11/29/2021 14:15:57
I had no idea that Australia has put very little effort into reducing carbon emissions. I had always thought it was a country that cared so much about its ecosystems and exotic animals, so this is really disappointing to see. I really hope that we can eventually show Australia’s leaders all the harmful impacts of carbon emissions and that climate change really is a huge issue that needs to be tackled, otherwise the many species they have there will go extinct.
riley stledger
11/29/2021 14:30:53
It's terrible to hear that the prime minister refuses to believe in climate change, and will let all of Australia suffer because of his own beliefs. There is no reason the diverse wildlife and ecosystems should be negatively affected by one persons choices or beliefs. Hopefully something will be done in the near future to help Australia become more progressive when it comes to reducing greenhouse gases and fighting against global warming.
Matthew Vassilakos
11/29/2021 20:49:33
I find it very interesting how some people in places of great power can still deny things such as climate change that have been proven time and time again by scientists in both the public and private sectors. It is disheartening for the future of people my age and future generations that some old curmudgeons refuse to take actions necessary to protecting our earth. I have never been to Australia but the kangaroos at the zoo are really amazing, it would be such a shame to lose them and all the other amazing plants and animals endemic to Australia and the rest of the world because politicians refused to take action.
alexandria simpkins
11/29/2021 21:02:48
For a country who has taken a strict stance on covid it is very interesting to hear their lack of know how when it comes to the environment. I'm interested in what exactly their bounce back plan is and what exactly has caused them to still rely so heavily on coal for electricity, or why they are so afraid to be dependent on or integrate more green ways.
Jacob Philip
11/29/2021 21:36:32
Super interesting article choice, Tori! To be completely honest prior to reading this I knew next to nothing about Australian politics, but it is saddening to hear that someone as high ranking as the deputy prime minister would think like this in the modern day.
Loren Solomon
11/29/2021 23:37:47
Very interesting article!! It's fascinating how many native animals and other wildlife solely live in Australia and can't survive outside it's conditions in other countries. It's also. fascinating yet sad that the president and government aren't taking further actions to protect the environment when they home so many marvelous creatures. Saying that global warming doesn't exist is a simply an excuse to look the other way to grow economically while harming our planet. That is truly infuriating.
Jenin Kaddoura
11/30/2021 00:33:20
It was astonishing to know more about Australia’s ecological diversity and that 80% of their wildlife is made up by native species that can only be found in the nation. It is unfortunate that the prime minister is one of the many others that politicize and deny climate change by disregarding all the disasters and scientific information about the topic. A country like Australia should be at the top of the list due to it being a first-world country with developed technology. Denying science and factual information will not help the country in any way but will rather have a huge negative impact on many other aspects instead. 11/30/2021 10:40:30
This is so frustrating that this leader does not value being environmentally progressive. He clearly does not understand the importance of the environment and the potential destruction it could do to Australia's ecosystems. I did not know that Australia was home to that much diversity. That is a good point in the comments on how strict they were about COVID restrictions yet it's ironic how the leaders handle the environment.
Lindsey Wheaton
11/30/2021 10:48:00
I was really interested in reading this blog post because Australia is a place I've always wanted to visit or live. I loved the idea of this beautiful biodiverse place and had no idea that their leader would not put work into preserving and protecting the environment. It's really sad and I hope another leader who values the environment comes to power.
Rochelle Durand
11/30/2021 21:43:57
It is super heartbreaking to hear about world leaders ignoring global climate initiatives in countries with such vast biodiversity. It is a shame that Barnaby Joyce is so stubborn with their views on climate change. I feel like the effects of climate change have been pretty obvious in Australia, with such large increases in wildfires, so it's frustrating to see no action being taken.
Ximena Mazariegos
11/30/2021 22:43:06
This is honestly such a shocker to me. I thought Australia was more environmentally conscious. Considering how many different species they have that are exclusively native to their nation, they should definitely be trying to protect those species more. This was a great article Tori and the title was really eye catching!
Briana Carlton
12/12/2021 16:19:06
Like Tori, I also knew nothing about Australian politics, but this article was a good start. Tori stated that “when politics and government are brought into the conversation, there becomes a person or group of people who can appropriately be held accountable and open to change.” While I can’t comment on how well Australia is handling its climate problem, I can say that altering behaviors and any investments in favor of alternatives to fossil fuels will be a whole lot easier at the local level because that’s where people are directly impacted. The more that local people understand that it's not the end of the world to adjust to other sources of energy or modify behaviors, the more that "from the ground up" changes may positively affect national policy -- in Australia and beyond. Thanks for posting, Tori. Leave a Reply. |
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