The
south barely reacting as the north burns tells you everything you
need to know about England
Newspaper
front pages have been as likely to focus on prospective hosepipe bans
and fears of a lettuce shortage as they have been to report on the
vast fires destroying square mile upon square mile of our northern
uplands
1
July, 2018
Moorland
fires are not new to Britain. They occur more or less every year, but
rarely spread far these days before they are quelled either by
effective fire-fighting techniques or a deluge of summer rain.
The
fires currently raging on Saddleworth Moor near Oldham and at Winter
Hill, close to Bolton, are a reminder of the damage that can be done
when the rain stays away – especially when a blaze takes hold on
land rich with peat.
With
the army having been drafted in last week, the Saddleworth fire is
said to have been broadly contained, though not extinguished. The
soldiers might like to pop over to Winter Hill before they head back
to their barracks. Given that the hot weather appears set to stay,
they might indeed be in for quite a summer.
How
much blame can we place for the recent destruction on climate change?
Certainly parts of England have just experienced their driest ever
June. Temperatures have reached 32 degrees centigrade. Only the
breeze has been normal – and that hasn’t helped the
fire-fighters. It’s notable too of course that the burning of peat,
that great carbon store, further impacts on the climate (not to
mention the immediate health implications of such a blaze).
All
this follows one of the wettest starts to the year on record,
pointing to the now well-established notion that the primary impact
of climate change on our weather is at the extremes: cold is colder,
wet is wetter and hot is hotter. Despite warnings over many years, we
still seem to struggle to accept that we must adapt.
Not
everyone wants to of course. On Friday a man was arrested on
suspicion of arson in relation to the Winter Hill blaze, while
fire-starters were spotted attempting to set alight areas of woodland
at Healey Nab over the weekend. The original Saddleworth fire is
alleged to have been started – inadvertently or otherwise – by
young men driving their motorbikes around a homemade track, perhaps
leaving cigarettes smouldering in the heather.
The
lack of care for these areas of natural beauty, and worse still the
deliberate acts of destruction, are as tragic as they are moronic. It
says something desperately sad about the state of society that
individuals would make an active choice to annihilate the countryside
in which we supposedly have so much pride. If Brexit was, as has been
said many times, the biggest act of self-harm in this country’s
history, it is plain that some have got a taste for it.
Perhaps
they have their reasons – unjustifiable though their actions
undoubtedly are. Oldham was not long ago named the most deprived town
in England. And Bolton is among the top fifth most deprived areas.
Hopelessness breeds acts of despair; and lighting a fire on a
tinder-dry moor is a pretty clear cry of anguish.
Yet
this brings us to another factor in all this, which is the degree to
which the wildfires have highlighted the still-yawning north-south
divide existing in Britain. That is evident not least in the media
coverage of the incidents. Newspaper front pages have been as likely
to focus on prospective hosepipe bans and fears of a lettuce shortage
as they have been to report on the vast fires destroying square mile
upon square mile of England northern uplands – let alone examine
why angry young men might want to start them.
Imagine
if the flames were ravaging Box Hill in Surrey, Ivinghoe Beacon in
the Chilterns or even the New Forest, forcing residents in the
Southeast to keep their windows closed during the hottest weeks of
the year. You can bet your bottom dollar we would see front pages
dominated by fires then, with letters of outrage to editors published
by the bucket-load and hard questions put to ministers.
Things
might even be different if the flames were swallowing up Lake
District woods or other beauty spots popular with holiday-makers. As
it is, most people in the south – if they have heard of Saddleworth
Moor at all – are likely to think only of the moors murders
committed there by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. The area’s barren
magnificence doesn’t conform to populist ideals. It might fit “grim
up north” stereotypes though.
As
a symbol of modern Britain, these terrible fires are pretty apt, as
climate change, deliberate acts of destruction, and the north-south
split jostle for pole position as threats to our future national
health. The country’s going up in smoke, people. Does anyone care?
It's
despite the obvious environmental disaster as infernos tear across
moorland at Saddleworth Moor near Oldham and Winter Hill, near Bolton
Environment
Secretary Michael Gove has failed to visit the scenes of the wild
fires raging in the North West.
The
Cabinet minister has prided himself on helping the environment - from
banning plastic cups and straws to cracking down on diesel cars.
But
despite the obvious environmental disaster as infernos tear across
moorland and scarring the countryside, neither he nor one minister
from his Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has
bothered to go and see the damage for themselves
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