Tasmania burns while leaders fiddle

It is time for our political leaders to listen to the wake-up calls Mother Nature has been sending out to the world, writes Kristine Barnden

OVER the past few years, as a member of an environment and health advocacy group, I have had many conversations about climate change.

Often, the response from Tasmanians has been to acknowledge it as a problem that might affect other places, but “we’ll be all right here”.

In their minds, Tasmania’s cool climate and clean air meant that a few extra degrees of warming would be something we could easily handle. Global warming would take the bite out of winter, give us some extra beach days in summer, and expand the versatility of our wine growing regions.

Tasmania has just experienced its driest and second hottest ever summer, and the hottest March day on record.

Despite all my own reading about climate change, I had no idea of the fragility and vulnerability of our beautiful island until this summer. I did not know that rainforests could become tinderboxes, or that our skies could crackle with dry lighting. I did not know that fires could burn all summer long, closing national parks and walking tracks and filling our skies and lungs with smoke.

Fires like these are a product of our changing climate. As a society, we need to rapidly adapt to this “new normal”. More importantly, we need to take steps to slow the rapidly accelerating pace of change.

Among other things, climate change is a medical emergency.

Beyond the more obvious health impacts of extreme weather events such as fire, floods and heatwaves, climate change brings with it a decrease in air quality, an increase in many infectious and allergic diseases, and a decline in the nutritional quality and overall availability of food. Outdoor workers are already experiencing significant health effects from occupational exposure to heat and pollution.

Mental health will inevitably suffer, and we are seeing this already in rural communities whose livelihoods and beloved landscapes are threatened.

The response to the threat of climate change has mirrored other public health issues — think tobacco, unhealthy food, air pollution or pokies.

Companies whose profits might be affected deny or downplay the impacts of their activities, cast doubt on scientific evidence, shift blame to individuals, and buy political influence. They try to convince us that our economic wellbeing depends on them continuing to operate with minimal regulation or taxation.

Those who argue that the Australian economy cannot afford to move away from its dependence on fossil fuels, such as coal and increasingly gas, which are the main drivers of climate change, do not factor in the economic price we are paying for the effects of extreme weather events, and the increasing burden climate change will impose on our health system.

Many of the most effective actions our society can take to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels — transitioning to clean energy sources, improving the quality of our houses, boosting spending on walking and cycling paths, enhancing public transport choices, and promoting sustainable dietary choices — will also have immediate health benefits that will translate into significant savings, and improved quality of life

Once health is factored into the equation, the costs of responding to the threat of climate change are negligible. But maybe the question should not be one of costs, but of value.

It seems ludicrous to consider whether the ability of our children to live healthy lives in a healthy environment is worth losing a few points of GDP growth, but these are the arguments being put to us in favour of continuing to mine and burn fossil fuels.

If we understand the health impacts of climate change but refuse to make the rapid transition to a low-carbon economy, we are behaving as if trapped by an addiction, in much the same way as smokers continue to buy packets of cigarettes despite the graphic pictures of diseased lungs and amputated limbs.

Sadly, many people with unhealthy lifestyle habits make changes only after a wake-up call, a significant health event that brings home to them how precious life is.

The environmental catastrophes that have visited Tasmania and the rest of Australia this summer are our wake-up call.

We cannot continue to ignore these, or choose inaction because we think there are more important issues. Our health and our economy are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and if these two things are vulnerable, then so is everything else we care about.

Tasmanians live on a small island on the edge of the world. But our actions are as important as anyone’s.

All of us can act within our sphere of influence. This means our own households and communities, and the leaders we elect.

Nothing is more important than climate change at the upcoming federal election, because effective leadership in tackling climate change is critical if we want to maintain our health and good quality of life into the future. Dr Kristine Barnden is an obstetrician based in Hobart and a member of Doctors for the Environment Australia.