Climate change
is drying out the planet, causing drought, famine,
wildfires — and making parched koalas drop from
trees. These otherwise very hardy creatures
evolved to survive previous waves of heat, dry spells,
floods, and more, but they simply can't handle the level
of intensity they are now facing. Researchers in
Australia are finding evidence of dehydrated,
desperate koalas crawling into humans' backyards to lap
up water in birdbaths. And in severe cases,
their severe lack of water has caused these expert
tree-climbers to fall out of their trees. Unlike
humans, wildlife are completely powerless to do anything
about climate devastation. These koalas are
completely at the mercy of our leaders' action or
inaction about global warming.
Despite
constantly-worsening climate conditions, the
Australian government seems committed to making the
problem more severe. At the end of 2021, while
the United Nations shared data confirming that we must
end fossil fuel reliance, Australia's federal leaders
instead began exploring the possibility of allowing more
oil and gas extraction off their coasts. Such activities
would unequivocally exacerbate global warming —
meaning koalas will suffer. This
species is already endangered, and we can't afford to
take risks with their survival. Sign the petition to
tell the Australian government that it must save the
koalas by fighting climate change, including by banning
any further drilling off their
coasts!
