What a remarkable piece. Wildfire is a difficult thing to communicate. The sheer scale, intensity, and the layers of its damage eclipse most people's understanding. The ‘event’ passes and the climate impact becomes lost in the smoke.
Unless the story of wildfire is delivered by a gifted communicator. That's what you have delivered … wildfire unmasked with a clear and insightful call to action.
Coming from you Margi, someone who experienced one of the worst fires ever, means a lot. I am incredibly fortunate to live in the Northeastern US at this point, spared the most immediate, direct effects of the climate emergency. There's not a day that goes by, I don't know it. I consider it my responsibility to raise awareness as best I can. Thank you.
Margi said it all. Thank you, Geoff, for helping us understand the enormity of the problem.
My sister lives in Utah, and normally has a wonderful view of the mountains. She told me a week ago that she has not been able to see them for quite a while, because of the "haze". (She does not believe in climate change. There are none so blind as those who will not see.... or who watch FOX news.) It is almost impossible to change someone's mind and see the problem, when they are fed daily with misinformation.
I agree with you about the importance of the election. If we don't have people in leadership positions at all levels who dare to speak the truth, things will deteriorate much faster. We need the best-qualified, most knowledgeable people available to make decisions. An administration led by Democrats is the only realistic choice we have to make that a possibility.
I'm glad you think I communicated some of the scale of what's occurring, that was definitely one of the goals of this article. The damage that Rupert Murdock has done to society is unconscionable. Free speech should not mean freedom to lie, but I don't know what to do about that. Responsible free speech depends on having a sense of honor and integrity, which clearly many do not.
This election is our last chance. There is no more time for half measures. Radical change is needed immediately. Radical change is coming one way or another. We need to embrace it and do our best to transition to a very different way of living, one that could actually be better in many ways, maybe most ways. I don't think we can objectively say we live in a healthy society at this point.
Geoff: Actually they live in Spokane Valley at the top of summit surrounded by pines. Good advice! I know they have insurance and sprinkler systems but geez that's not enough these days- one must be proactive about clearing the area around the property and take other such preventative measures. Your articles are always great and trigger thoughts!
Thank you Geoffrey. I’m reminded almost daily of the forest fires far away by the yellow cast they cause on the daylight here (some days worse than others). It’s like I’m wearing yellow-tinted glasses, with varying shades from day to day.
There is no smell, but it provokes an eery feeling & deep apprehension within me. Have you noticed it too, in your location? No one else seems to, at least no one says so.
The news forecasts now often include a smoke & haze forecast! And the smoke is blowing from across the country, thousands of km away, and I live here in Southern Ontario!
The first time I had that kind of reminder may have been in 2019, thereabouts, anyhow. I was living in upstate NY, near the Catskills. The wildfires in California were so severe that our skies became gray, and the smell of smoke was in the air from what, like 2500 miles away. And of course, again, from Canada's horrible fire season last year. We are finding out just how small the Earth is in the face of our arrogance.
I have been looking at Gironde and the increased horror of the fires in the last couple of years. I find this Al Jazeera article conveys the sense bereavement that comes from sudden death https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/scorched-southwestern-france-braces-itself-fires-come-2023-03-25/ . I have lived through fires in La Garde Freinet & La Croix Valmer, and French firefighters are among the world's best, if such a review could exist. I am found to remark that they have been on the steepest learning curve and making great strides, and sharing the love with Canada last year and now with Greece. This is the future of forest management and nearby towns and villages. With better preparedness come certain needs that are largely not being met. The Canadairs are awesome, but always the problem dump water-go to coast & refill- go back to fire that has fully resumed, when the need is fixed part submerged cisterns holding 1.5 acre fields of water compressed into 1/6th of that surface area, to cover 16 sq KMs with a 'CND' shaped fixed metal pipe hydrant network for delivery to 3 localised cistern depots. Then fire trucks can fill continuously as required. It will cost to install but surely the forests are worth it. Also I can't see the emergency use of collected ground grey water being an issue, particularly where firefighters tooled up with breathing apparatus that shrug over bio-hazards from dirty water. Combine with debris/fuel clear ups, fire breaks and mixed woodland. And for goodness sake let the Native Americans resume stewardship of their wooded land. L'Esprit Fait Vivre.
Saving the forests is absolutely critical. Not only do they absorb carbon, they provide wildlife habitat and the 6th Extinction is a thing, too. I am fearful the Amazon may be tipped and the Arctic as well. The heat and fires occurring in Siberia and the amount of carbon and methane stored in the permafrost far exceeds what we have put into the atmosphere so far. Firefighters are real life heroes, and no doubt they are pooling their knowledge and experience to fight these incomprehensible blazes better, but at times they can't get ahead of it and have to watch them burn. Last I looked, fires were perilously close to Athens, and the Park Fire in California had consumed 170,000 ha. Gray water seems a sensible use as long as it's not filled with toxic chemicals. The Canadian government seems indifferent to wildfires, logging old growth trees and the Province of Alberta experiencing devastation in the Rockies economy is powered by tar sand oil and pipeline construction. Premier Smith wept over the fires, but protects the industries causing the disasters. Lunacy, right? Yeah, local reservoirs to fight these things if possible makes absolute sense.
Yup. Like any other animal, we're designed for a fight or flight response. Long term planning and thinking through consequences, or about the greater good, seems to elude most of us.
Thank you Geoff. My step-daughter and her husband who live in Spokane, recently escaped the smoke and headed to Montana to camp, hike, and work remote. My stepson bike races competitively as a hobby. He said the race took place just in time before winds would push smoke into Montana. Fires represent a tragic global state of human-driven climate change.
Fire season in Canada has been much less catastrophic this year, and people are used to hearing about California burning. It felt like it was time to talk about fire again. The wetter winter in California drove atmospheric rivers and the extra water encouraged more vegetation that quickly dried out, creating fuel for fire, a vicious circle. The extra water is also speeding up coastline erosion and landslide conditions. I met a woman from Washington State last year, and she talked about how summers have changed there, blue skies to smoky haze.
It's also concerning that insurance rates are skyrocketing or becoming unavailable in the areas hit hardest, a situation that will ripple through the entire economy left unchecked.
I hope your step-daughter and her husband live in a safe area. If it's heavily wooded, I would be taking precautions clearing out brush, and creating fire breaks if possible.
Great article, I'm impressed by your understanding of this issue. So few "get it" yet. You had a bunch of info I hadn't seen. Thanks!
These are THE issues that are driving the paradigm shift in Climate Science and people are just starting to "see" it. We are "early voices" who are still "crying in the wilderness". Our hour has not come round, "at last".
I have written some articles you might find helpful in "fleshing out" your analysis.
036 - The World’s Forests are Burning, Ecosystem Turnover is the Cause. Let’s All be Really Clear on What that Means.
037 - Anthropogenic Particulate is a form of Geoengineering. We have been geoengineering the Earth's Climate for awhile. Part One
038 - Anthropogenic Particulate is a form of Geoengineering. Dissecting a Climate Disinformation Campaign and Discussing Historical Geoengineering of the Climate. - Part Two.
039 - Anthropogenic Particulate is a form of Geoengineering. Dissecting a Climate Disinformation Campaign and Discussing Historical Geoengineering of the Climate. - Final
040 - What if I told you there was a way to pull enough CO2 out of the atmosphere to cool the planet down over the next century. How many lives would you be willing to sacrifice to save the FUTURE? - On Reforestation.
046 - What went wrong. A Climate Paradigm Postmortem, or "How the Fossil Fuel Industry, the Republicans, and the Climate Science Moderates of the 80's stole the rest of your life"
047 - What went wrong. A Climate Paradigm Postmortem. Part Two, Understanding our Current Climate Paradigm. Where it came from and why it gained ascendancy.
048 - Understanding the Global Climate System isn't as hard as you think. We have most of the pieces to "SEE" it clearly now.
049 - The Earth’s Climate System - A Short Users Guide. Part 02. Arctic Amplification — Understanding why the Polar Zones are warming 4X faster than the rest of the planet.
050 - The Earth’s Climate System - A Short Users Guide. Part 03. Permafrost Melting — The role of permafrost in the Climate System.
051 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our Climate Paradigm. In order to understand “Why” things are happening “FASTER than Expected”.
052 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our “Climate Paradigm”. Part 2 - Acceleration of the Rate of Warming (RoW).
054 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our “Climate Paradigm”. Part 3 - Latitudinal Gradient Response and Polar Amplification.
056 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our “Climate Paradigm” - Part 4. The PERMAFROST — is MELTING, “faster than expected”.
057 - Short Takes — A few thoughts on Climate Models.
Thank you, Richard. For the last three years. I have become consumed with learning and communicating all I can about the climate emergency. It's a central focus in my life. This article was supposed to be published last week, but I wasn't happy with my work. Now that I have it behind me, I'll be able to read the articles you shared with me. Looking forward to reading them with a clear head.
What a remarkable piece. Wildfire is a difficult thing to communicate. The sheer scale, intensity, and the layers of its damage eclipse most people's understanding. The ‘event’ passes and the climate impact becomes lost in the smoke.
Unless the story of wildfire is delivered by a gifted communicator. That's what you have delivered … wildfire unmasked with a clear and insightful call to action.
Coming from you Margi, someone who experienced one of the worst fires ever, means a lot. I am incredibly fortunate to live in the Northeastern US at this point, spared the most immediate, direct effects of the climate emergency. There's not a day that goes by, I don't know it. I consider it my responsibility to raise awareness as best I can. Thank you.
Margi said it all. Thank you, Geoff, for helping us understand the enormity of the problem.
My sister lives in Utah, and normally has a wonderful view of the mountains. She told me a week ago that she has not been able to see them for quite a while, because of the "haze". (She does not believe in climate change. There are none so blind as those who will not see.... or who watch FOX news.) It is almost impossible to change someone's mind and see the problem, when they are fed daily with misinformation.
I agree with you about the importance of the election. If we don't have people in leadership positions at all levels who dare to speak the truth, things will deteriorate much faster. We need the best-qualified, most knowledgeable people available to make decisions. An administration led by Democrats is the only realistic choice we have to make that a possibility.
I'm glad you think I communicated some of the scale of what's occurring, that was definitely one of the goals of this article. The damage that Rupert Murdock has done to society is unconscionable. Free speech should not mean freedom to lie, but I don't know what to do about that. Responsible free speech depends on having a sense of honor and integrity, which clearly many do not.
This election is our last chance. There is no more time for half measures. Radical change is needed immediately. Radical change is coming one way or another. We need to embrace it and do our best to transition to a very different way of living, one that could actually be better in many ways, maybe most ways. I don't think we can objectively say we live in a healthy society at this point.
Geoff: Actually they live in Spokane Valley at the top of summit surrounded by pines. Good advice! I know they have insurance and sprinkler systems but geez that's not enough these days- one must be proactive about clearing the area around the property and take other such preventative measures. Your articles are always great and trigger thoughts!
Thanks-
Thank you Geoffrey. I’m reminded almost daily of the forest fires far away by the yellow cast they cause on the daylight here (some days worse than others). It’s like I’m wearing yellow-tinted glasses, with varying shades from day to day.
There is no smell, but it provokes an eery feeling & deep apprehension within me. Have you noticed it too, in your location? No one else seems to, at least no one says so.
The news forecasts now often include a smoke & haze forecast! And the smoke is blowing from across the country, thousands of km away, and I live here in Southern Ontario!
The first time I had that kind of reminder may have been in 2019, thereabouts, anyhow. I was living in upstate NY, near the Catskills. The wildfires in California were so severe that our skies became gray, and the smell of smoke was in the air from what, like 2500 miles away. And of course, again, from Canada's horrible fire season last year. We are finding out just how small the Earth is in the face of our arrogance.
💔😢
Wipe your tears and use that broken heart to keep fighting and informing, Jasmine.
Will do😊
I have been looking at Gironde and the increased horror of the fires in the last couple of years. I find this Al Jazeera article conveys the sense bereavement that comes from sudden death https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/scorched-southwestern-france-braces-itself-fires-come-2023-03-25/ . I have lived through fires in La Garde Freinet & La Croix Valmer, and French firefighters are among the world's best, if such a review could exist. I am found to remark that they have been on the steepest learning curve and making great strides, and sharing the love with Canada last year and now with Greece. This is the future of forest management and nearby towns and villages. With better preparedness come certain needs that are largely not being met. The Canadairs are awesome, but always the problem dump water-go to coast & refill- go back to fire that has fully resumed, when the need is fixed part submerged cisterns holding 1.5 acre fields of water compressed into 1/6th of that surface area, to cover 16 sq KMs with a 'CND' shaped fixed metal pipe hydrant network for delivery to 3 localised cistern depots. Then fire trucks can fill continuously as required. It will cost to install but surely the forests are worth it. Also I can't see the emergency use of collected ground grey water being an issue, particularly where firefighters tooled up with breathing apparatus that shrug over bio-hazards from dirty water. Combine with debris/fuel clear ups, fire breaks and mixed woodland. And for goodness sake let the Native Americans resume stewardship of their wooded land. L'Esprit Fait Vivre.
Saving the forests is absolutely critical. Not only do they absorb carbon, they provide wildlife habitat and the 6th Extinction is a thing, too. I am fearful the Amazon may be tipped and the Arctic as well. The heat and fires occurring in Siberia and the amount of carbon and methane stored in the permafrost far exceeds what we have put into the atmosphere so far. Firefighters are real life heroes, and no doubt they are pooling their knowledge and experience to fight these incomprehensible blazes better, but at times they can't get ahead of it and have to watch them burn. Last I looked, fires were perilously close to Athens, and the Park Fire in California had consumed 170,000 ha. Gray water seems a sensible use as long as it's not filled with toxic chemicals. The Canadian government seems indifferent to wildfires, logging old growth trees and the Province of Alberta experiencing devastation in the Rockies economy is powered by tar sand oil and pipeline construction. Premier Smith wept over the fires, but protects the industries causing the disasters. Lunacy, right? Yeah, local reservoirs to fight these things if possible makes absolute sense.
People ignore what's in front of their eyes. Denial of our mortality created the 'success' that threatens to end humanity.
Yup. Like any other animal, we're designed for a fight or flight response. Long term planning and thinking through consequences, or about the greater good, seems to elude most of us.
Thank you Geoff. My step-daughter and her husband who live in Spokane, recently escaped the smoke and headed to Montana to camp, hike, and work remote. My stepson bike races competitively as a hobby. He said the race took place just in time before winds would push smoke into Montana. Fires represent a tragic global state of human-driven climate change.
Fire season in Canada has been much less catastrophic this year, and people are used to hearing about California burning. It felt like it was time to talk about fire again. The wetter winter in California drove atmospheric rivers and the extra water encouraged more vegetation that quickly dried out, creating fuel for fire, a vicious circle. The extra water is also speeding up coastline erosion and landslide conditions. I met a woman from Washington State last year, and she talked about how summers have changed there, blue skies to smoky haze.
It's also concerning that insurance rates are skyrocketing or becoming unavailable in the areas hit hardest, a situation that will ripple through the entire economy left unchecked.
I hope your step-daughter and her husband live in a safe area. If it's heavily wooded, I would be taking precautions clearing out brush, and creating fire breaks if possible.
Great article, I'm impressed by your understanding of this issue. So few "get it" yet. You had a bunch of info I hadn't seen. Thanks!
These are THE issues that are driving the paradigm shift in Climate Science and people are just starting to "see" it. We are "early voices" who are still "crying in the wilderness". Our hour has not come round, "at last".
I have written some articles you might find helpful in "fleshing out" your analysis.
https://richardcrim.substack.com/p/substack-index
036 - The World’s Forests are Burning, Ecosystem Turnover is the Cause. Let’s All be Really Clear on What that Means.
037 - Anthropogenic Particulate is a form of Geoengineering. We have been geoengineering the Earth's Climate for awhile. Part One
038 - Anthropogenic Particulate is a form of Geoengineering. Dissecting a Climate Disinformation Campaign and Discussing Historical Geoengineering of the Climate. - Part Two.
039 - Anthropogenic Particulate is a form of Geoengineering. Dissecting a Climate Disinformation Campaign and Discussing Historical Geoengineering of the Climate. - Final
040 - What if I told you there was a way to pull enough CO2 out of the atmosphere to cool the planet down over the next century. How many lives would you be willing to sacrifice to save the FUTURE? - On Reforestation.
046 - What went wrong. A Climate Paradigm Postmortem, or "How the Fossil Fuel Industry, the Republicans, and the Climate Science Moderates of the 80's stole the rest of your life"
047 - What went wrong. A Climate Paradigm Postmortem. Part Two, Understanding our Current Climate Paradigm. Where it came from and why it gained ascendancy.
048 - Understanding the Global Climate System isn't as hard as you think. We have most of the pieces to "SEE" it clearly now.
049 - The Earth’s Climate System - A Short Users Guide. Part 02. Arctic Amplification — Understanding why the Polar Zones are warming 4X faster than the rest of the planet.
050 - The Earth’s Climate System - A Short Users Guide. Part 03. Permafrost Melting — The role of permafrost in the Climate System.
051 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our Climate Paradigm. In order to understand “Why” things are happening “FASTER than Expected”.
052 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our “Climate Paradigm”. Part 2 - Acceleration of the Rate of Warming (RoW).
054 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our “Climate Paradigm”. Part 3 - Latitudinal Gradient Response and Polar Amplification.
056 - Unclothing the Emperor : Understanding “What’s Wrong” with our “Climate Paradigm” - Part 4. The PERMAFROST — is MELTING, “faster than expected”.
057 - Short Takes — A few thoughts on Climate Models.
Thank you, Richard. For the last three years. I have become consumed with learning and communicating all I can about the climate emergency. It's a central focus in my life. This article was supposed to be published last week, but I wasn't happy with my work. Now that I have it behind me, I'll be able to read the articles you shared with me. Looking forward to reading them with a clear head.