Summers are no longer carefree. We are constantly on edge, constantly watching weather reports, constantly ready to to go.
Northern Tasmania
We moved to our verdant valley in the northern Tasmania mountainscape 12 years ago. It felt good not to have to worry about the increasing threat of more severe cyclonic activity and rising sea level surges in Australia’s tropical north anymore. Respite for us lasted about 5 years. The gentle summers with frequent soft rains began to stretch out into longer, hotter, drier seasons, and our always verdant valley started showing it first signs of our now common blonde landscapes.
At around 8 years of having lived in our precious Tassie home, we were evacuated for 8 days as a raging regional fire threatened our access. Summers are no longer carefree. We are constantly on edge, constantly watching weather reports, constantly ready to to go. But these are not the only changes for us. Winds have picked, rains have got heavier and snow falls much less.
It is heart breaking watching a pristine environment decline, and it’s heart breaking losing a carefree way of being.
Yet here in Tassie we are still poisoning our waterways with chemicals from conventional farming, mining and forestry, and we are still logging the old growth forests we so urgently need to store carbon and maintain habitat for our unique biodiversity. We are deep in climate emergency, yet there is no state government focus on regenerative practice or localisation.
Like the children of the Torres Strait, our children are also threatened species. Though we are overjoyed by the fresh energy in federal government, 43% carbon reduction by 2030 is simply not enough. We need a federal focus that truly acknowledges the emergency we are in.
Hundreds of people from across the country are sharing their stories to send a clear message to the Australian government - it's time for real action on climate change.
Every story appears as a point on this map. Click around to read how climate change is affecting our communities, and add your own story to the map.
I don't need scientists to tell me that the climate is changing. I have felt it for myself.
Read my storyPeople all across Australia are being harmed by climate change. These are some of their stories.
We're reviewing your story now. As soon as it's up on the website we'll send you an email to let you know. We need as many people as possible to share their climate stories - so we can show the government that Australians need urgent climate action. Will you spread the word by sharing this campaign on social media?
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It doesn't matter how big or small the impact you've felt - everyone's story is important.
Together we can show the government that taking real climate action is in everyone’s interest.
