The bushfires in Australia are never going to go away but will get worse. That's according to Justin Leonard, a researcher dedicated to understanding bushfires and land management. Bushfires are ignited both naturally and by humans, but Leonard called them "inevitable."

"Climate change only worsens the conditions for fires," he said. Droughts and hotter weather only make for more intense fires and longer fire seasons — changes that are already being observed, he said. But a 50,000-year-old solution could exist: Aboriginal burning practices. Aboriginal techniques are based in part on fire prevention: ridding the land of fuel, like debris, scrub, undergrowth and certain grasses. What Australians should really learn from the Aboriginal people is custodianship over the land, says Leonard. The way Aboriginal people deeply know and care for the land is something Australians should ponder and embrace.