While California’s climate has always made the state prone to fires, the link between human-caused climate change and bigger fires is inextricable, said Park Williams, a bioclimatologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “This climate-change connection is straightforward: Warmer temperatures dry out fuels. In areas with abundant and very dry fuels, all you need is a spark,” he said.
Here is a selection of our coverage of the connection between climate change and California’s wildfires... (continues)
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How Climate Migration Will Reshape America...
As I watched the old-peoples news (i.e., NBC evening news at 5:30 on a television) last night, and saw the unimaginable devastation in Oregon, and thought about the hundreds of thousands of acres that are being burned to the ground, I wondered how the western states would manage those areas as they grew back. It is obvious that fire will be a constant threat for the distant future.
ReplyDeleteIn this morning’s Guardian, there is an excellent article by Bill Tripp, who is the director of natural resources and environmental policy for the Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources in California, titled “Our land was taken. But we still hold the knowledge of how to stop mega-fires.” It may show a better way to manage forest land that should be considered for the future. It ties in very well with our discussions about the wisdom of indigenous peoples regarding the land and our relationship to it. Here is an excerpt:
"Prescribed fire and cultural burns are fires that are intentionally set during favorable conditions, sometimes at regular intervals to achieve a variety of socio-ecological benefits. They reduce the density of small trees, brush, grass and leaves that otherwise fuel severe wildfires. Clearing undergrowth allows for a greater variety of trees and a healthier forest that is more fire resistant, and it provides more room for wildlife to roam with beneficial effects such as enhancing the success of our hunting. Fire suppression, meanwhile, involves extinguishing fires using teams of people, bulldozers, fire engines, helicopters and airplanes by land management agencies assigned that duty by federal, state and local governments.
Our land was taken from us long ago and our Indigenous stewardship responsibility was taken from us too. The land is still sacred and it will forever be part of us. We hold the knowledge of fire, forests, water, plants and animals that is needed to revitalize our human connection and responsibility to this land. If enabled, we can overcome our current situation and teach others how to get it done across the western United States."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/16/california-wildfires-cultural-burns-indigenous-people
I read a tweet a while ago saying that California is the new Australia. This sentiment terrifies me. Soon enough, if not already our reality, California and other surrounding states may be unlivable, no longer sustaining life due to the affects of climate change. We were told that if we wait too long, things will start to get actually bad. Well now that's a reality.
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