By David Washington
Executive Director
Some critics thought the allegorical movie, Don’t Look Up, was a bit heavy-handed.
After all, who could believe that scientists would be ignored after discovering a planet-killing comet heading towards Earth? The damn thing was even visible as it closed in, sparking their despairing catch-cry: Just look up!
The 2021 film is a satire on climate change and its premise looks more and more reasonable as the years pass.
In South Australia, we simply have to go for a walk on a beach and ‘look down’ to see what we are doing to the planet.
We know why the disastrous algal bloom has spread so quickly and with such devastating impact: a marine ‘heatwave’ combined with a heavy supply of nutrients in the water and other ‘favourable’ conditions.
The state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions says the heatwave has now abated in the coastal and gulf waters, but remains a problem in deeper waters.
Soberingly, they add: “Nothing can be done to dilute or dissipate the bloom.”
Globally, numerous studies have explained why harmful algal blooms occur. It isn’t a mystery. Our oceans, lakes and rivers are in deep trouble.
There isn’t any debate about what causes these blooms, just as there is no significant scientific debate about the reality of climate change and what we need to do to address it.
A federal and state government aid package announced this week will mostly be spent on helping industries that have been severely impacted by the bloom, with some funds going to understanding the science better.
The algal bloom highlights an issue of central concern to the Don Dunstan Foundation: climate justice.
The reality is that climate change is with us, is getting worse, and it’s going to cost us in the short, medium and long-term.
The longer the world waits to create meaningful change, the higher those costs will be.
As a community, we need to focus on making our communities more resilient to climate change. This means investing in science and building climate-resistant housing, communities and industries. It means placing climate justice near the top of our policy concerns as a community.
It also means, surely, an end to the voices of denial being amplified or listened to.
Their time has passed. The reality of inaction is washing up on our shores.
We’ll be publishing spotlight articles on issues of interest like this on a regular basis.
Also in the news…
There’s lots of activity related to climate justice happening in South Australia, nationally and across the world.
Did you know the State Parliament is considering a Bill to introduce mandatory minimum standards for rentals? You can read SACOSS’s submission on the Bill here. Better housing standards are needed as the climate changes, if we are to protect our community, particularly vulnerable people. The first heatwave of this year’s European summer, which lasted just over a week, killed an estimated 2300 people.
Torres Strait Islanders are experiencing the pointy end of climate change more than most communities. That’s why a group of them looked to the courts to provide an element of justice. Earlier in July, the Federal Court handed down its judgement, finding the Australian Government did not have a duty of care to protect the Islanders from climate change. Nor did the court recognise – legally – the cultural loss and harm the community is experiencing from sea-level rises and flooding. These findings were despite the court accepting many of the Islanders’ factual representations about the negative impact of climate change and government policy. Read a summary here.
By contrast, the International Court of Justice has just issued an advisory opinion that climate change “imperils all forms of life” and nations could face consequences under international law if they don’t tackle the issue head-on. As many commentators have noted, the “momentous case opens the door for countries impacted by climate disasters to sue major emitting countries for reparations”.
