Eden’s fortunes in the hands of Mother Nature during last weekend’s wild weather were mixed.
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As the town anxiously awaits news of the extent of damage to Allied Natural Wood Exports’ infrastructure, and the consequences for its workers, other people are thanking their lucky stars that their homes and businesses escaped relatively unscathed.
Some people, of course, never let an opportunity slip by. Anti-loggers have been out in force on social media applauding Mother Nature’s fury while others have continued plugging for a safe harbour and marina development for the town.
All of these arguments aside, it is no time to slip into a state of complacency when it comes to climate change and the weather experts predict it will generate.
Images of expensive Sydney real estate tumbling into the sea, of surf clubs that have withstood the elements for a century being hammered by giant waves, should hold our attention, even if they are not strictly local.
Climatologists have been warning for years that extreme weather will become more routine as the sea and air temperatures rise. Whether you believe climate change is man made or not has become immaterial because the data is in. The planet is warming at a much more alarming rate than was previously predicted and here on the coast we are destined to experience the weather effects that trend will generate.
The sight of giant waves sending mountains of spray over the tops of cliffs in Sydney, crashing over breakwalls in Coffs Harbour and smashing into beachside buildings in Cronulla and Coogee foretell a future in which the certainties we enjoy today are eroded and our coastal lifestyle carries much more risk.
This is not doomsaying; it is a reality with which the world is finally coming to terms if still too slowly and reluctantly.
At the local level, the future will have to involve changes to planning laws, limiting the development on low lying land and absolute beachfront. It will mean changes to infrastructure such as drainage systems to enable it to cope with extreme weather events.
With flood waters now receding, events will be held across the Bega Valley Shire this week to observe World Environment Day. The timing couldn’t be better as we reflect on the week that was, the challenges that lie ahead, and our own footprint on this fragile planet.