2019-12-01_Harper__x27_s_Bazaar_Australia_UserUpload.Net

IGHTNOWit’shardnottofeelas if
theapocalypseis uponusandwecan’t
do a damnthing tostop it.Wecan
ditchourplasticstraws,buya KeepCup,
drivea Teslaandgovegan,butthese
littlethingsarestartingtofeelpoint-
belchingoutcrazycarbonpollutionlev-
elsrightnow,andtoputa truedentin globalemissions,
weneedlarge-scalesystemicchange.Tomeetour 2030
ParisAgreement,Australianeedstoachievea 26–28per
centreductionon 2005 levels.Thatmeansa cutof 695 milliontonnesofemissionsin
thenext 10 years.Officialssaywewilldoit,but 367 millionofthosetonneswillcome
fromcreditswerackedupundertheKyotoProtocol.We’lllookgoodonpaper,butthe
factis,undertheMorrisongovernment,we’renotmeetingourtargets.
When faced with thesedepressing stats, how does onestay sane and hopeful?
Personallyspeaking,I’mina denial-fuelledplaceatthemomentandit’smakingme
feelcrappyeverytimeI thinkabouttheplanetI’mleavingmytwoteenagegirls.
Mydon’t-missreadthismonthis “EmergencyonPlanetEarth”,byANUclimate
scientistDrJoëlleGergis(page54), whoencouragesustonotwriteofftheapocalypse
asa donedealandignorethe“hardwiringofourreptilianbraintowanttorunand
hide.Wemustchoosetostayandfacethisonetogether,”shewrites.
Takingtheideaofbeingthatkindofpersonwhodoesthings—evenwhentheyfeel
inconsequential—wasthestartingpointbehindthismonth’scovershoot,whichsawus
photograph five of Australia’s top models on Hayman Island and surrounds in
Queensland’sGreatBarrierReef[“ParadiseLost”,page86]. ThispastAugust,ourbleached
reefwasdowngradedfrom‘poor’to‘verypoor’,withexpertssayingit couldbegoneby
2050.Thereefis resilientandit canrecover,andwitha governmentgrantof$444mil-
lion,programsarebeingputinplacetohelp.Buttheseeffortsarecriticisedbyactivists
whosaytacklinglocalissues(crownofthornsstarfishcontrol,overfishing,dredgingand
improvingwaterquality)isn’tenough.Cuttinggreenhousegasemissionsis therealissue.
Werecognisetheironyofa fashionmagazinechampioningsustainabilityandcon-
servationwhentheindustryis amongthemostpollutingonEarth,butif wecanbring
awarenessbyremindingeveryoneof ourownbackyard’sunique beauty, more of us will
feel inspired to join the fight. The industry has
startedto makepositivechanges,andnowtherestof
usneedtofollowsuitanddoourbit.Andevenif it
ultimatelyhasnoeffect,at leastwewillbehonour-
ingourprinciplesandbethatpersonwhotried.
Andmaybe—just maybe — our futures will feel
a little less bleak. DARREN

Mc

DONALD.

STYLED

BY

NAOMI

SMITH.

EDITOR’S

PORTRAIT:

KRISTINA

SOLJO.

HAIR

AND

MAKEUP BY SAMANTHA POWELL AT UNION. PRICES APPROXIMATE. SEE BUYLINES FOR STOCKISTS

EDITOR’S

letter

EUGENIEKELLY

Editor-in-Chief

26 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU December 2019

“Protectingtheenvironmentcanfeel

almostoverwhelmingbecauseweexpect

changeto happenin a perfectway.

Butchangehappensbytinynumerous

pivots.Youmaythinkthelittlechanges

won’tmakea difference,buttheydo.It

couldbe,I won’tusea single-useplastic

waterbottleorI’llintroducemore

meat-freedaysandmakesustainable

seafoodchoices.OrI’lloffsetmycarbon

footprintwhenI haveto travel.

Everythingmakesa difference.”

• GeorgiaFowler
  “Wehaveto changeourthinkingand
  embracenewwaysof creating,usingand
  reusingourresources.Wecanandmust
  doourpartforourplanet,forourselves,
  forourfellowinhabitantsandfuture
  inhabitants.Letthemnotlookbackat
  us withdisappointment.Letus bethe
  incrediblehumaninnovatorsweareand
  inventourwayoutof this.”


• GemmaWard
  “Everysecondbreathwetakecomes
  fromtheoceans.Eightmilliontonnesof
  plasticentertheoceaneachyear.Avoid
  usingsingle-useplastic.Expressa demand
  forchange.It’sourtimeto beinnovative
  withnewmaterialsandsustainable
  designsthatrespectourenvironment,
  saveouroceansandourfuture.”


• AlexandraAgoston
  “Thereefis thelargestlivingmarine
  structurein theworld.Agricultural
  run-off,urbandevelopment,plastic
  pollutionand,at a globallevel,human-
  inducedclimatechangeareall
  contributingto therapidincreasein coral
  bleachingandplacingunprecedented
  pressureonourreef ’sabilityto recover.
  However,throughincreasingawareness,
  reducingourconsumptionof resources
  and designinnovation,there’s hope.”


• VictoriaLee
  “Indigenouspeopleandtheir
  understandingof theenvironmentis
  somethingwecanalllearnfrom.
  Theconnectionwehaveto thelandis
  powerful,butit’schanging.Takea small
  momenteachdayto appreciate
  whereyouare,begraciousandshowthat
  gratitudebysimplywalkingorriding
  yourbiketo workin themorning.Reuse
  yourwaterbottleorbathtowel.Plant
  someflowersor growsomefruit.Putyour
  rubbishin thebin.Everything helps.”


• Charlee Fraser

WHATOURCOVER

MODELS ARE DOING...

A specialthankyoutoHayman

IslandbyInterContinentalfor

providinga stunningbackdrop

to our cover shoot.