Now that Melbourne’s heat wave has passed (I hope!) and my brain is working again, I thought it was worth reflecting on the week that was.
A week in which Melbourne sweltered under 40+ degree 3 days in a row. The extreme heat caused bushfires, chaos on the trains and power outages.
It seemed kind of ironic that as we all cranked up our air con and fans trying to keep a little cool, we were all cranking up our brown coal consumption, which in turn will only lead to hotter and hotter temperatures in the future as the impacts of climate change set in.
I don’t blame anyone for trying to keep cool last week. I had my air con on, so I’m not pointing any fingers. I’m just reflecting on the irony of it, and the massive task ahead of us to convert our lifestyles to a low carbon future. Significant investment in alternative and renewable energy sources is absolutely required.
If we don’t tackle the climate change challenge soon and decisively we are committing ourselves to a future that will feel like last week, where are we no longer have the good fortune of cooler temperatures that allow the brain a chance to reflect!
