As an Aragon student, it is likely that many have had an outlandish experience today. Today, Sept. 9, thousands of communities across California were greeted with a smoky haze that covered the sky, leading to an orange darkness.
This 2020 California Wildfire season has been the most destructive in history, already destroying over 2.5 million acres compared to the 259,823 acres burned in 2019. “The worst fire conditions in three decades persist,” Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon said.
The Bear Fire, located near Chico, California, exploded, notably on the night of Sept. 8, burning 254,000 acres. As of Sept. 9 at 4:00 p.m., although contained at ~38%, it expands at a rapid rate.
The fire’s smoke emits large amounts of ash and ice known as pyrocumulunimbus clouds into the atmosphere. Pushed by the wind, these clouds have reached the Bay Area. These smoke clouds, refracting sunlight, have left us with darkness and an orange glow. As fires persist, the National Weather Service forecasts that the smoke will lower in altitude “lead[ing] to darker skies and worsening air quality.”
Gov. Newsom expressed his frustration over the worsening situation in a tweet: “We do not have time to deny the reality of climate change.” However, politicians such as President Trump deny that the California wildfires are due to climate change. Rather, he states that fires are a result of the lack of cleaning: “You’ve got to clean your floors. You’ve got to clean your forests,” he said.
I have observed that multiple politicians in the government don't consider scientific findings or principles seriously, some instead labeling phenomena such as climate change as a hoax, despite its strong evidence. This can be frustrating, especially now, when California is experiencing deadly wildfires. This mindset stunts progress to mitigate such situations from happening in the future. The federal government should take drastic short term and long term steps: aid California in combating the wildfires and creating policies to take steps in mitigating the effects of Climate Change.
Questions
1. Do you think the federal government should be taking any action in response to the wildfires? If so, what?
2. Do you think the Calfornia Wildfires present an exigence to take drastic action in regards to Climate Change?
6 comments:
The federal government has taken action in help california deal with fires be sending in the national guardsmen to fight the fires. Usually fires are fought by fire fighters and convicts. I think the deployment of the national guard is enough help from the federal government at the current time. I believe the federal government should work with california to find a longer term solution reducing the number of fires. The fires should become a yearly happening in california. The fires do serve as good remind that government should work to reduce the effect of climate change.
While Governor Newsom is correct that we should be taking more steps in development of alternative energies, President Trump is also correct in his assessment as to the reasons behind the intensity of fires. A lack of controlled fires and other methods of "cleaning" due to public dissent means buildup of potential fuel sources such as dead trees, grass, or other plants, and if it wasn't obvious, this leads to stronger and longer fires and is the root(no pun intended) of the problem. Climate change may be a contributor to the problem, but as it stands, the most important thing right now in preventing fires is to get rid of the fuel source.
While there has been a great increase in fires due to Global Warming, I think that Trump does bring up an interesting point. I think that our government should start to fund more cleanup crews in order to help reduce the spread of fires, since the fuel available to the fires is the main reason why they burn so quickly. In short, both Newsom and Trump have points that are both true in different ways. I think the California Wildfires should be a wake up call to our government and people since it is a prime example of how much damage Global Warming can do to our country and our planet. I think if anything, these fires should inspire us to work together in order to solve the problems we have. The most important things to do when fighting these fires is to acknowledge where they come from, and why they are getting increasingly devastating.
Like others have said, I think the California wildfires should act as a wake up call to take drastic action in regards to climate change, in addition to being environmentally conscious (ie. clean-up crews). However, temperatures ARE at a record high. For example, at the beginning of 2020, the Australian bushfires began after Australia experienced its "hottest day ever on record" (Aoraha, The Sun); rising temperatures are a result of climate change, another issue the government must battle.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/214149/what-caused-the-australian-bushfires-and-why-are-they-spreading-so-quickly/
This is a good example of where politics gets in the way of doing the “right” thing. Theoretically, if there was no agenda to push forward or image to maintain, the government would do what it could to help the situation instead of blaming people. But because California is a “blue” state and Governor Newsom has publicly disagreed with the President on multiple occasions, everybody who supports Trump (or acts like they support him for their careers) are automatically anti-California, even if both sides have valid arguments. Trump is correct that shrubs and trees act as fuel, but climate change is what causes these shrubs and trees to become more dry and thus flammable.
https://www.c2es.org/content/wildfires-and-climate-change/
With the burning of the forests in the Amazon and in Australia, it’s become apparent that there is some form of global warming occurring. As fires become the new normal in California, I think it’s also imperative for local municipalities to also begin taking steps forward in curbing these fires. In addition to the proposed initiative of funding more cleanup crews from earlier responses, I think cities should begin establishing a climate action plan, gas ordinances or complete bans, and electric reach codes. If there is already a plan in place, a stricter/harsher plan should be implemented. To build on what Arnav said about the effects of climate change on the conditions of the environment, it has been also reported that drier conditions bring about a “spread of the mountain pine beetle and other insects that can weaken or kill trees, building up the fuels in a forest” (https://www.c2es.org/content/wildfires-and-climate-change/#:~:text=Climate%20change%20has%20been%20a,in%20the%20Western%20United%20States.&text=Climate%20change%20causes%20forest%20fuels,in%20the%20western%20United%20States).
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