The world is on fire, quite literally.  

California’s deadliest wildfire season occurred just two years ago in 2018. 

It resulted in the burning of 1.8 million acres of land.

Now, these same flames have ignited in Australia. 

If the pictures of the hellish flames scorching havoc across innocent wildlife or the heart wrenching reports of wounded animals and Australian natives aren’t pushing people to talk, then I don’t know what will. 

Like California, wildfires are a part of Australia’s ecosystem. The weather, vegetation and topography make Australia prone to wildfires. 

Over time, Australia’s plants and organisms have even developed a symbiotic relationship with the fires because of this susceptibility. This symbiotic relationship has resulted in the plants and organisms dependence on the fire to cycle nutrients and clear decay, among other things. 

However, too much of anything, especially fire, isn’t a good thing.

As the symbiotic relationship has developed, so has the intensity of the Australian wildfires. 

Why is this happening? 

For starters, the number one concept people like to blame for the longevity and danger of the wildfire season is climate change. 

Supporters of this idea believe the earth’s average temperature is increasing do to emission of greenhouse gases like CO2. This increase in temperature causes warmer and drier summers for places like Australia, which adds more fuel to the flame already lit.

Even though I agree with this idea, climate change is not the root of all evil.

People are talking about what we can do better and how we can prevent tragedies like this. 

The truth is, human beings are the reason these flames were ignited. Climate change wouldn’t   exist without humans to fuel it. 

The sad thing is, according to numerous news sources, people were the cause of numerous wildfires this season. Humans deliberately lit fires during Australia’s wildfire season and are currently being charged for arson. 

Now, people aren’t only inadvertently causing wildfires,but they are doing it intentionally. 

This is not the time to play with fire.

Climate all over the world is becoming more extreme (on both ends of the spectrum, too warm and too cold) because of human activities. We are the cause of these tragedies and we are the solution we are searching so hard for. 

Our daily lives revolve around human inventions and activities that pollute the earth and add to the gases already in the atmosphere. So, how can we change? That’s the million dollar question. 

Can we reverse the effects of climate change? 

Studies have shown that even if we reduce air pollution, we won’t see the effects for years to come. Will that be enough to save us from the fires that pave our future? 

Only time will tell.