Eroğlu should lead a firefighting initiative
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Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 12, 2009 00:00
Last August, we reported on a very good idea put forward by Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroğlu. Now, we have to update the adjective. Eroğlu has a brilliant and visionary idea whose time has come: A pan-Mediterranean firefighting force that could exchange expertise and resources seasonally with Australia.
Our hearts go out to the people of Australia. Thousands of hectares, in fact an area the size of Luxembourg, have been devastated by fire in recent days. As the Daily News went to press yesterday, the death toll stood at 181 with officials saying it would probably rise above 200. And as we went to press, some 23 separate bush fires continued in southeast Australia. In addition to the staggering loss of life, the loss of property and the devastation of wildife is a tragedy that will scar Australia for generations. That arson is suspected makes this all the more difficult to comprehend.
Beyond the suspected arson, much discussion has focused on the additional culprit of climate change. Australia is experiencing its hottest summer in at least a century. Much of the country is tinder dry. This is a warning Turkey and other countries of the Mediterranean, with a similar climate but opposite seasons, should heed.
Save shutting down most of the world’s commerce, abandoning modern agriculture and waiting for a couple thousand of years for the atmophere to return to a pre-industrial blend of oxygen and carbon gases, there’s not much we can do about a warmer world. If scientists are correct, a growing risk of fire is just one of the threats. The hurricanes that are battering the Caribbean with ever greater force, the severe winter storms that have hit North America and other weather anomalies are the new norm. Governments, businesses and societies must prepare. Better flood control and shelters are the answer to hurricane and typhoon risks. Icier winters demand attention to energy efficiency and new technologies. And effective firefighting will require more physical resources such as helicopter or air tankers and more skilled personnel trained in the dangerous art of combatting wild infernos.
Which is why Eroğlu’s proposal, made last summer amid the blazes that devastated regions of Antalya, has such urgency. For firefighting in a costly business. Last summer, Eroğlu announced plans to equip his firefighters with a full compliment of helicopters over five years. We may not have five years, especially if the climate change misery now being endured by Australia proves prophetic.
Coordination is needed among Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. And Eroğlu’s suggestion that collaboration with Australia, with its opposite seasons, makes eminent sense.Turkey can and should take the lead in such an initiative. Eroğlu can and should be the leader.
Beyond the suspected arson, much discussion has focused on the additional culprit of climate change. Australia is experiencing its hottest summer in at least a century. Much of the country is tinder dry. This is a warning Turkey and other countries of the Mediterranean, with a similar climate but opposite seasons, should heed.
Save shutting down most of the world’s commerce, abandoning modern agriculture and waiting for a couple thousand of years for the atmophere to return to a pre-industrial blend of oxygen and carbon gases, there’s not much we can do about a warmer world. If scientists are correct, a growing risk of fire is just one of the threats. The hurricanes that are battering the Caribbean with ever greater force, the severe winter storms that have hit North America and other weather anomalies are the new norm. Governments, businesses and societies must prepare. Better flood control and shelters are the answer to hurricane and typhoon risks. Icier winters demand attention to energy efficiency and new technologies. And effective firefighting will require more physical resources such as helicopter or air tankers and more skilled personnel trained in the dangerous art of combatting wild infernos.
Which is why Eroğlu’s proposal, made last summer amid the blazes that devastated regions of Antalya, has such urgency. For firefighting in a costly business. Last summer, Eroğlu announced plans to equip his firefighters with a full compliment of helicopters over five years. We may not have five years, especially if the climate change misery now being endured by Australia proves prophetic.
Coordination is needed among Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. And Eroğlu’s suggestion that collaboration with Australia, with its opposite seasons, makes eminent sense.Turkey can and should take the lead in such an initiative. Eroğlu can and should be the leader.