| ISBN |
052287942X |
| 9780522879421 |
| Author |
Christoff, Peter (author) |
| Title |
The fires next time : understanding Australia's Black Summer / edited by Peter Christoff. |
| Publisher and/or associated date/s |
Carlton, VIC : Melbourne University Press, 2023. |
| ©2023. |
| Description |
xxiii, 343 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations,maps,plates ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Part 1. What happened -- 1. The fires: a long historical perspective -- 2. Fire and Australia's changing climate -- Part 2. Impacts and responses -- 3. Emergency responses and the fire services -- 4. Three billion animals: can we do better for biodiversity next time? -- 5. National political responsibility and the Fires -- 6. Economic damage to Australia: climate change and the Black Summer fires -- 7. Health impacts and the fires -- Part 3. Looking forward -- 8. The fires, crises and the Australian climate state -- 9. Future fire management -- 10. On ignorance and imagination: just adaptation, community knowledge and sustainable recovery. |
| Summary |
Following a three-year drought and during the hottest and driest year on record, a flume of scorching air set the Australian continent aflame. The Black Summer fires were unprecedented. Over six months in 2019-20 they burned more than 24 million hectares of Australia's southern and eastern forests - one of the largest areas burnt anywhere on Earth in a single event. The fires killed 33 people and 430 more died as an indirect consequence and they caused unfathomable harm to native species. Their economic ramifications were extensive and enduring State and federal governments and communities were under-prepared for that inferno and its many impacts. Yet global warming is increasing the likelihood of such events. The Fires Next Time offers a comprehensive assessment of the Black Summer fires. Its contributors analyse the event from many vantage points and disciplines - historical, climate scientific, ecological, economic, and political. They assess its impact. Yet global warming is increasing the likelihood of such events. The Fires Next Time offers a comprehensive assessment of the Black Summer fires. Its contributors analyse the event from many vantage points and disciplines - historical, climate scientific, ecological, economic, and political. They assess its impacts on human health and wellbeing, on native plants and animals, and on fire management and emergency response. They consider whether reactions could have been different, and what is needed to improve our handling of future bushfires. Contributors include Sophie Aitken, Danielle Celermajer, Andrew Dowdy, Robyn Eckersley, Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Tom Griffiths, Michael Grose, Pham Van Ha, David Karoly, Rod Keenan, Andrew King, Tom Kompas, Christine Li, Greg Mullins, Stephen Pyne, Libby Rumpff, David Schlosberg, Kevin Tolhurst, Sotiris Vardoulakis, Iain Walker and Brendan Wintle. |
| Subjects |
Wildfires -- Prevention and control -- Australia |
| Black Summer bushfires, 2019-2020 -- Australia |
| Grassland fires -- Australia |
| Natural disasters -- Australia |
| Natural disasters -- Social aspects -- Australia |
| Disaster victims -- Australia |
| Aboriginal Australians -- Social life and customs |
| Fire ecology -- Australia |
| Natural disasters -- Environmental aspects -- Australia |
| Forest fires -- Australia -- History -- 21st century |
| Forest fires -- Economic aspects |
| Forest fires -- Environmental aspects |
| Wildfires -- Prevention and control -- Australia |
| Wildfires -- Australia |
| Forests and forestry -- Fire management -- Australia |
| Forest fires -- Australia -- Prevention and control |
| Climatic changes |
| Other Authors &/or Associated Persons |
Christoff, Peter (editor) |
| Pyne, Stephen (author of foreword) |
| Call number |
2024.032 |
