Some thoughts . . .
It has been said that in the before time, our nation was not covered so much by eucalypts. As in, they were not the dominant tree species that we have today in Australia. But they have thrived with clearing and the reduction of fire events. In some ways, they have made fires – when they do occur – much worse.
In our cities, the leafy inner suburbs with their quarter acre blocks have been carved up and subdivided. Built on to accommodate our increasing population. Paved to make for low maintenance lifestyles and convenience of living. Our soil and plants are replaced by concrete, paving, bricks and artificial turf. We wonder why our cities are so hot.
In other places like the UK it leads to water drainage issues. The infrastructure is not capable of dealing with increasingly larger volumes of water that stubbornly refuses to soak or penetrate into concrete, paving, bricks and artificial turf.
We are changeable beings and we readily modify our environments. We crave convenience, often to our long-term detriment, which also includes, early death.
We suffer noisily from our affluenza while watching nations burn, flood or dry out.
And so creeps in a new year and with it a new decade. Both inventions of the human mind. May we turn to face some truths and have the courage and humility to take the action that is required.
I am filled with gratitude and a quiet optimism. Not because I can’t stand the medias merciless coverage of issues and simply wish to be defiant. Not because of many things which I quietly rebel against in my own life. I rarely follow the media, but the Big Stuff will find you anyway.
I embrace a quiet optimism beyond these issues because in the cool of the evening there is a cricket singing peacefully.
All the best to you for the New Year and the New Decade.
J
Petit Paradis 
Best wishes for the New Year and new decade for you too. May your garden be productive! (Yip, that big stuff does tend to find you…) All the best, Martin
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Wow, I never hear others talk about this. It is the lack of burning that makes our forests so much more combustible. They burn so hotly that plants that are adapted to fire, and would normally thrive if burned ever decade or so, are incinerated. No one wants to talk about it. Furthermore, the clear cut harvesting of redwood a century ago allowed oaks, firs and other more combustible species to move it. They are very slowly being crowded out be the recovering redwoods (which are weirdly less combustible, and not adapted to regular burning). However, the redwoods regenerated with multiple trunks from stumps of what had been individual trees, so the forests are deterimentaly crowded. Harvesting would actually be beneficial. It is all so crazy that attempts to protect the ecosystems are interfering with recovery.
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