Author: Shaun Deverson
The Albanese government has declared the toxic algal bloom occurring off the South Australian coast; killing marine species by the 1000’s, decimating local communities and industries, and has been labelled an ‘underwater bushfire’, as not meeting the criteria of a ‘natural disaster’.
In that vein, he’s absolutely correct. Why?
We speak of natural disasters – recurring cyclones, floods, toxic algal blooms, lingering droughts – as if they were ancient gods lashing out unpredictably, punishing humanity without warning or cause. But the truth is harder to accept: most of these disasters are not natural at all. They are man-made – born of our decisions, shaped by our priorities, and amplified by our neglect.
We have bulldozed mangroves to build waterfront properties, drained wetlands and flattened ancient lands to expand agriculture, and crammed cities into floodplains in the name of “growth.” We’ve allowed pollutants to bleed into rivers, watched as urban heat islands intensified local droughts, and built infrastructure that defies ecological logic. Then, when catastrophe strikes, we blame the wind, the rain, or the heat – not the hands that reshaped the landscape.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor E. Frankl
And yet we resist that change. Why? Because for too long, the economy has been elevated above ecology, as if the two are separate. They’re not – in fact, they both share their ‘eco’ origins with the ancient Greek word ‘oikos’, meaning “house”. Unfortunately, this relationship is not just strained, but estranged. We are taught that short-term returns justify long-term damage, that GDP growth is more sacred than groundwater, and that nature is a passive backdrop to human progress. But nature is not passive, and it certainly doesn’t forget.
Some of the government bodies, laws, regulations and policies designed to protect our sensitive ecological lands and waterways have proven to be enablers for their very destruction – the results speak for themselves. If they haven’t been enablers, they have certainly been overlooked and ignored by the whims and interests of political ‘discretion’.
When mega-bushfires tear through Los Angeles in the middle of winter, or killer flash floods submerge communities in Texas and New Mexico during summer, the message couldn’t be clearer: anthropogenic climate change has rewritten the rules. These are no longer rare or freak events – they are the emerging norm of a destabilised system. The jet stream is wobbling, ocean temperatures are at record highs, and weather patterns are becoming increasingly erratic. We have entered a new climate reality – and our built environments, policies, and risk models are dangerously outdated.
Recurring toxic algal blooms are not accidental – they are the cumulative effect of nitrogen runoff, rising temperatures, and disrupted aquatic ecosystems. Floods and cyclones, once considered freak occurrences, are now seasonal headlines, made worse by deforestation, poor planning, and warming oceans. And droughts, while often blamed on weather patterns, are extended and intensified by over-extraction, poor land management, and loss of soil carbon.
As philosopher Hannah Arendt observed: “The earth is the very quintessence of the human condition… yet we act as though we are not of it.”
This willful disconnection from the natural world is our Achilles heel. We have suppressed ecological wisdom – warnings from Indigenous leaders, environmental scientists, and even farmers on the frontline. Their voices have too often been drowned out by developers and decision-makers driven by short-term incentives.
And now, the land and ocean is speaking louder.
To shift the narrative, we must first name the truth: natural disasters, as we experience them today, are largely constructed by human choices. They are the byproducts of a system that extracts, exploits, and externalises cost. Until we acknowledge our agency in creating these disasters, we cannot begin to undo them.
As Hans-Georg Gadamer put it: “Being that can be understood is language.”
We must learn to understand the language of the earth – not as metaphor, but as a message we ignore at our peril. It is time to let ecological wisdom live through our cities, our economies, our policies. To stop resisting the obvious links between our actions and their consequences. And to move from blaming nature to reclaiming our role as stewards – not owners – of the fragile systems we depend on.
To be clear, yes, floods, cyclones, bushfires and algal blooms are natural events and phenomena that occur, and need to occur, on a regular basis. There are organisms in the soil and seeds in tree pods that rely on these events to move, germinate, migrate and survive. Indigenous people around the globe were in tune with this balance, and need. The problem is, as intimated, is that ‘modern’ humanity and its ‘priorities’ has upset this balance, creating an ecological debt in the space of a few centuries.
That debt – is now being paid.
This isn’t about guilt. It’s about responsibility. Let’s call disasters what they really are: man-made warnings. And let’s make the next chapter about man-made solutions – rooted in humility, science, and the courage to listen.
In concluding, a good first responsible step would be to change the criteria for what now constitutes a ‘natural disaster’, and a second, but bigger step – a total reimagination of how the meaning of ecology and economy can reunite, for our planetary house to be returned to balance.