There is only a finite amount of wealth in the world, and currently, the divide has never been so great: so much wealth distributed over so few people. Look to our own politics, then consider this on a worldwide scale. The world is driven by money (first and foremost). There's little profit in saving the planet when you could be selling people commodities or expendable items.
Australian bushfires
- Thread starter Sankari
- Start date
There is only a finite amount of wealth in the world, and currently, the divide has never been so great: so much wealth distributed over so few people. Look to our own politics, then consider this on a worldwide scale. The world is driven by money (first and foremost). There's little profit in saving the planet when you could be selling people commodities or expendable items.
Associate
I don't know what benefit eradicating the wealth of billionaires would provide. Pollution and waste is a natural side effect of progress and production, and making everyone poor won't change the fact that people are greedy and will always want more.
I don't pay too much attention to the wealth inequality argument either. As far as I can tell most people's quality of life has improved over the last 50 or so years. So what if the top few have got rich faster?
Most billionaires wealth is in assets, what they're worth, most create jobs and wealth around them, it's only the rich who hide their money offshore that are the real problem. So I don't think being a billionaire in net worth is generally the issue.
My argument is not, per-se, to make everyone poor. But to add balance to the equation. I don't know what the solution is as people always want more and more, and in some cases, what they want can never be given (extra-time with loved ones, cures for horrible conditions etc).
Perhaps many people all around the world want the fires in Australia and Amazon to cease, but that is equally unattainable. I'm surprised Musk hasn't flashed his cash on this event.
Soldato
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The real disaster is the loss of nearly half a billion animals
Not to mention the potential impact all that smoke is going to have on an already questionable climate
Not to mention the potential impact all that smoke is going to have on an already questionable climate
Caporegime
The numbers are staggering and the photos harrowing. Joey's caught in fences and burned alive trying to escape the flames. Koalas lying part cremated at the bottom of trees after they climbed to try and flee the heat.
To no honest I don't think there was anything that could realistically be done to reduce this enough
The response and impact lessened, but it would still be near this scale.
The cost to mitigate something like this would be so massive a party proposing it would likely not get in due to tax increases
Its climate change, and although Australia isn't great it achieving its goals wouldn't prevent it.
This is simply a consequence of all of us not compromising our lifestyles enough as a species
This is only the tip of the melting ice burg.
More and more of this will keep occurring all over the world. I wonder if we will all get together and make the sacrifices in time?
Personally I think we won't. We are too greedy and fractured as a species.
To obsessed with "they aren't doing it so why should i"
So, no I don't blame the Australian pm for it. Not in its entirety. I blame all of us
Edit
I agree his response has been terrible!
The response and impact lessened, but it would still be near this scale.
The cost to mitigate something like this would be so massive a party proposing it would likely not get in due to tax increases
Its climate change, and although Australia isn't great it achieving its goals wouldn't prevent it.
This is simply a consequence of all of us not compromising our lifestyles enough as a species
This is only the tip of the melting ice burg.
More and more of this will keep occurring all over the world. I wonder if we will all get together and make the sacrifices in time?
Personally I think we won't. We are too greedy and fractured as a species.
To obsessed with "they aren't doing it so why should i"
So, no I don't blame the Australian pm for it. Not in its entirety. I blame all of us
Edit
I agree his response has been terrible!
Last edited:
Associate
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I think we compromise enough living this far north, Australia is to blame for this as they have failed to clear the fuel from the forest floor or to remove trees that infringed on human habitat. If proper winter burn back had been carried out this man made disaster would have been much reduced, if you look at the behaviour of the Australia PM you can see what the problem is. On holiday as unemployed volunteer firefighters fight to stop the fire that is gutting large areas of Australia, he will no doubt be screaming climate change and that there was nothing he could do. lessons will be learnt, measures will be in place and this most never happen again, bla, bla, bla.
I expect the human effect could have been much mitigated (like you suggest ) but less so the scale of the fire
Associate
Well I don't agree that we have a right to the wealth of billionaires, and I haven't heard a convincing argument for it. To be clear, there will always be rich people and poor people - at best you could create equality for a short period of time before some people became rich and some people became poor.
Add in the fact that rich people pay a huge amount of tax on the income they earn from their wealth and destroying it sounds like an even worse idea. For the record, I'm not rich.
Associate
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Those that can be rich should be rich, those that can't should be looked after and everyone in between should sleep easy that no matter what happens in their lives they will not be punished for it.
Caporegime
I'm no expert. The people who were asking for the money, however, are experts so I'm going to accept their view that money for better preparation would have helped.
Smoke from the fires, seen from a plane:
Australia's fire services have suffered cuts for years, and they consistently warned that these cuts would make it much harder to do their job properly. They were right.
Correct on both counts.
Australia's fire services have suffered cuts for years, and they consistently warned that these cuts would make it much harder to do their job properly. They were right.
Correct on both counts.
Smoke from the fires, seen from a plane:
Australia's fire services have suffered cuts for years, and they consistently warned that these cuts would make it much harder to do their job properly. They were right.
Correct on both counts.
Yeh but apart from fire breaks what can you do?
Soldato
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Invest in infrastructure and services and staff to combat them, or fund the efforts and deploy your army quickly, and in its entirety, rather than 3 helicopters a few weeks later.
If they happen, each year, as they do. Then you should be capable of mounting a form of organised response, not something based upon volunteer teams.
Yes but physically what are they going to do beat the fires out by hand?
As I said isn't there a lack of fresh water to drop on the fires?
Soldato
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If you have sufficient people for a period of time, as fires start, you snuff them out, then you are not left with a fire front that stretches from NYC to LA and back twice.
Instead, you sell coal, talk about it as much as can, bugger off to Hawaii on holiday, and come home to say there isn't anything wrong.
Instead, you sell coal, talk about it as much as can, bugger off to Hawaii on holiday, and come home to say there isn't anything wrong.
Is there data to back this up, these fires are starting spontaneously all over andt place and pick up very quickly under the right conditions, heat and wind etc.
So again can they be put out by hand or numbers of people?
Soldato
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https://twitter.com/StormchaserUKEU/status/1213387419459960832
Another record high 48.9c even for a summer heat lover that's too hot
Another record high 48.9c even for a summer heat lover that's too hot