Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

California Fires

The Mendocino complex of fires is now the largest in California's history.  This sort of thing will only get worse as global warming advances.  For a while, anyway.  Eventually the backlog of flammable material built up by unwise policies will be exhausted, leaving only the small amounts of annually accumulated fuels.  Deserts are much less flammable than forests.
Tags: environment, nature, news, science
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  • 2 comments
elenbarathi

elenbarathi

October 2 2018, 07:04:14 UTC 2 years ago

That article was from August 7. Here's one from September 20: The largest wildfire in California history is finally contained.

" Eventually the backlog of flammable material built up by unwise policies will be exhausted, leaving only the small amounts of annually accumulated fuels. Deserts are much less flammable than forests."

That's exactly what Donald Trump said: "Tree clear." Hello, those 'backlogs of flammable materials,' AKA living forests, were not built up by unwise policies. They built themselves up, over thousands of years. The reason they're burning now is because stupid humans trashed the climate, and their loss will speed up the destruction: deserts are less flammable, sure, but they don't hold water in the soil.

Once the Eastern coastal cities have been flooded out, eventually the backlog of human trash built up by unwise policies will be exhausted, and there'll only be the small amounts of annually-accumulated trash belonging to whatever survivors or squatters still try to live in them. Ruins are much less vulnerable to hurricanes than thriving towns are, so I guess that will be just fine.
ysabetwordsmith

Well ...

ysabetwordsmith

October 2 2018, 07:13:03 UTC 2 years ago

>> Hello, those 'backlogs of flammable materials,' AKA living forests, were not built up by unwise policies. <<

Yes, they were. Humans spent decades suppressing wildfires as best they could. The problem is that, when you do that, dead fuel builds up. So when it lights -- and sooner or later it WILL light -- it burns hotter, longer, and wider.

Western forests are quite well adapted to periodic fires. Many species of wildflowers and trees rely on fires to produce fertilizing ash and clear the undergrowth so seeds can sprout. However, they can't survive the much worse fires that are burning now. That's a problem.

>> The reason they're burning now is because stupid humans trashed the climate, and their loss will speed up the destruction: deserts are less flammable, sure, but they don't hold water in the soil. <<

This is true.

>>Ruins are much less vulnerable to hurricanes than thriving towns are, so I guess that will be just fine.<<

For certain cavalier definitions of "fine," yes.