Editorial - Things Are Getting Hot

For as long as Australian students have been going to school, the warming of the weather has symbolised the approaching tranquillity of the summer holidays, the thick block of relaxation that breaks up the stress of exams. It has meant icy poles after school, swims at the pool, and evening walks through backstreets as sunsets turn the sky orange. However, for young people in 2019, the impending heat is no longer associated with relaxation. Countless studies have identified a global increase in temperatures, rising sea levels and melting icecaps. Heat has become more than a season created by the steady circulation of the Earth. It is now radiation being trapped in our atmosphere by greenhouse gases. Gases that are produced by us through our excessive use of fossil fuels. The slow-burn of summer has become a reminder that we are watching a global crisis slowly unfold, and that in the sweaty stagnation of the Australian parliament, nothing is being done.

The NHS Spiel was founded halfway through this year because a few students decided that Northcote High School needed an outlet for students to express their ideas and opinions. It has always been difficult for young people to do this in the ‘adult world’, but the climate crisis has really emphasised the importance of youth voice. There have been examples of students speaking out, such as Greta Thunberg, the 16-year old activist who started the global strike for climate change. Despite the surge that her movement is currently experiencing, and the following it has gained, not enough is being done. While Thunberg campaigns, publishes books and makes speeches, our governments continue to ignore the warning signs. Thunberg’s status as a sixteen-year old girl, and her refusal to conform to the expectations of a teen influencer and a ‘celebrity’, are used as an excuse for world leaders not to take her seriously. Trump has mocked her, Scott Morison said that her actions would only ‘fuel anxiety among young people’ and Putin called her uninformed. Major powers such as America, Russia and China are yet to acknowledge that there is a climate crisis; our leaders aren’t listening.

While uncontrollable fires ravage areas of NSW, QLD and SA, the Australian Government refuses to acknowledge the connection to global warming. Former NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins stated: ‘If anyone tells you ‘This is part of a normal cycle,’ or ‘We’ve had fires like this before,’ smile politely and walk away, because they don’t know what they are talking about.’ He and 22 other retired fire and emergency services chiefs gathered to make a statement about the correlation between the fires and climate change: ‘We felt we had a duty to tell people how climate change is super-charging our natural disaster risks. I wish we were wrong but we’re not.’ As the fires blaze and 98.4% of NSW experiences drought (read more about this in Elspeth Pinnuck’s article), Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, provides drought packages, which address the effect but not the cause. Does this qualify as good economic management?

The heat of summer has lost its peacefulness for everyone, particularly students. Not only are they worried about what the future may hold, but they are angry that not enough is being done to shift direction. In Australia, over three hundred thousand people gathered to rally for climate action, but still our government seems to remain unmoved. What’s more, students have been criticised for striking, disgraced for their independence and initiative.

The NHS Spiel will continue to be the microphone for any young person who wants to have a say in their future. As Thunberg said in a statement made with 34 other climate activists: ‘This is about crossing lines – it’s about rebelling wherever one can rebel’. If you have something to say, The NHS Spiel will help you say it. Throughout the summer holidays, if you become frustrated or passionate, sit down and write about why that is, make your voice heard. Stay strong, stay sun-safe, and let the rising temperatures of our world be fuel for your inspiration, not your stagnation. Speak out, we expect to hear your voices rise from the throng of the next Climate Strike on November 29th.

Your Editor, Ieva