BBC recently posted an article about the rising temperatures in Australia. Their intended audience being the general public, in order to raise awareness and seek a solution. I don’t think there is any bias in this article as it is solely factual and posted by a credited news source. In the last five years, Australia has broken the record for its incredibly high temperatures. Temperatures have been in the high 30’s and 40’s, which is equivalent to upper 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit. In outer suburban Sydney, the heat hits 43.3C (117F) before a cool change knocked it down to 43.6C.

More than 40% of the most populous state, New South Wales, recorded at least 50 days hotter than 35 degrees Celsius. It is causing many changes in the environment, effecting people of Australia, wildlife, agriculture, etc. Bushfires, destroying peoples homes and land, have started earlier than usual due to this heat. A section of a highway connecting Sydney and Melbourne started to melt last week. Bats are falling dead from trees struck down by the heat. The coral Reefs are being bleached as well, and they may not be able to recover if things don’t change. Some potential causes of these high temperatures are global warming, overpopulation, and lack of policies. Over-population is a condition in which population of organisms exceed the carrying capacity of its environment. So maybe there is a connection in regards of the most populated city having the highest temperatures. Everything that we experience today is happening in a world that is about one degree warmer than the long term mean. While it is normally what is record-breaking that makes the news, it is the chain of hot days that cause the major problems for not only humans but wildlife as well. A lack of policy may also contribute to the rising temperatures. The government recently repealed carbon pricing laws which required big businesses to pay for its pollution. Since this repeal, Australia’s industrial emissions have been on an upward curve. This environmental issue correlates with our class by bringing up issues of our carbon footprint, the carrying capacity debate, and environmental sustainability. One potential solution is to reinstate the Carbon Pricing Laws.