r/ClimateNews

This is a video of the recent wildfires in Croatia, and it made me think about everything that lies behind a wildfire.

People being evacuated. Homes and livelihoods being destroyed. Enormous amounts of material wealth being lost. Ecosystems being damaged.

And then there are the lives we rarely see on our screens: animals whose homes are burning around them, often with nowhere to escape.

There is another layer we don't see as easily.

Wildfires release fine particulate matter and other pollutants that can harm human health. They also release enormous amounts of CO₂. Globally, wildfires emit billions of tonnes of CO₂ each year, although some of that carbon can eventually be absorbed as vegetation regrows.

Climate change is also making conditions for severe fires worse in many regions through increasing heat, drying vegetation, drought and changing weather patterns.

So we become better at fighting fires. We evacuate people faster. We build better firefighting systems. We rescue animals. We rebuild homes.

All of that is necessary.

But if we keep treating only the symptoms, how far will we get?

At some point, we have to look upstream: at our consumption, our demand for more, the energy we use, the forests and land we transform, and the enormous material footprint of the way we live.

Climate change isn't some distant environmental problem happening somewhere else. It is increasingly showing up as heat, fire, smoke, displacement, destroyed ecosystems and enormous economic loss.

And perhaps this is where the real question begins.

We are the ones consuming. We are the ones demanding more. Now is the time we need to look at ourselves that what is it within us that keeps pushing us to consume endlessly, even when we can see the consequences?

Perhaps the environmental crisis is also a crisis within us.

If we don't understand ourselves (the ego) that constantly demands more, we may keep treating the symptoms while leaving the disease untouched.

Treating the symptoms can save lives today. But understanding the disease is what can change tomorrow.

Hi all,

I'm really sorry if this goes against any rules around self promo, please take it down if it does. In April this year I travelled to Jakarta to film about the subsidence happening in the city. It's something I hadn't really heard much about until I went to Indonesia to film this, but I found it very interesting and pretty saddening seeing the consequences this is having on those living in Northern Jakarta. I interviewed someone from WALHI, and I also tried to fairly cover the Government's response to this issue while also sharing the allegations about corruption surrounding the response. Just wanted to share it here as I think some people in this reddit may find it interesting. I'd be really interested to hear any feedback about anything relating to my documentary and just this issue in general from people in Jakarta/this subreddit too.

For anyone interested here is my documentary - Jakarta: Who Profits When a City Sinks

https://youtu.be/v3Dp75K3TQo?si=a_OJgC3oJh-do45w