Citation

Komesaroff P, Kerridge I. J. Bioeth. Inq. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Haematology Department, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Bioethics Centre, University of Otago)

DOI

10.1007/s11673-020-09968-9

PMID

32152898

Abstract

The havoc wreaked by the disastrous Australian bushfires has caused great pain but has also generated some critical lessons. The damage has been unimaginable: over the course of three months more than seventeen million hectares of forest have been burnt (Gunia and Law 2020; Chapman 2020; Noble 2020), two dozen lives have been lost (Fife-Yeomans 2020), more than two thousand homes have been destroyed (SkyNews 2020), and around a billion animals have been killed (Reality Check Team 2020; Snape 2020; Elsworthy 2020; The University of Sydney 2020). Unknown numbers of rare indigenous species of plants and animals have been rendered extinct (Bevege 2020). Vast areas of Eastern Australia, including the entire Alpine area, have been evacuated (Wahlquist et al. 2020). In addition to the suffering, loss of life, and property damage, the entire country has experienced massive disruption to infrastructure and the economy and unprecedented levels of air pollution (Australian Associated Press 2019; Pengilley 2020; ABC News 2020a).

The sheer extent and ferocity of the fires has been stunning. Never before has a large part of an entire continent gone up in flames. However, it is the nature of the fires that has been so truly terrifying. With gale force winds and tornado fireballs producing their own thunder and lightning, they have behaved like evil science fiction monsters, ruthlessly annihilating everything in their paths (Lavoipierre 2019).

The entire country is in shock and mourning. While the horror of the terrible events—evocatively described by one bushfire victim as an “apocalyptic nightmare”—will undoubtedly resonate for generations, the damage already runs deep. Once a place where the bush and the outback could represent an endless expanse of harmony and peace, the all-pervasive threat of bushfires has produced a cultural reversal. From now on, the bush cannot be separated from threat and danger.

The national trauma has provoked vigorous reflection and debate, along with some anger and recriminations, about the causes, mistakes, and omissions that gave rise to the catastrophe ...

Language: en

Keywords

Australia; Bushfire; Climate change; Ethics