Feds’ Misguided Firefighting Efforts
In late June, with San Francisco covered with a blanket of smoke from forest fires, a reader asked me whether forest fires had been made worse by climate change. My answer was probably. An article in...
View ArticleThe Ballad Of The Whitebark Pine
New York Times Yesterday, the Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned to have the whitebark pine tree listed as an endangered species, adding to the controversy surrounding the tree. You don’t...
View ArticleUp In Smoke
Blame my love of the outdoors on the fact that I was born on the summer solstice, June 21. This year’s solstice found me in the Lakes District of the Sierras, car camping with some friends. As we sat...
View ArticleWeird Weather Watch: Australian Fires
Fires in Australia killed at least 166 people this weekend, in addition to 750 houses. The fires—the worst in the country’s history—were so hot and spread so fast that some people were incinerated...
View ArticleThe parks debacle
I wrote in a June 2 post the Governator’s plan to shutter state parks might end up costing the state more than it saves by turning away tourist dollars and eliminating good government jobs. Chronicle...
View ArticleFeds failed to control L.A. brush
Woulda, coulda, shoulda: That’s what the Feds are saying about burning highly flammable brush near the Los Angeles urban area to prevent just the kind of wildfire burning there now: Months before the...
View ArticleBurning down the park
Not only did the Forest Service fail to control flammable brush in the Angeles National Forest; the Park Service actually started the wildfire in Yosemite National Park, intending it as a controlled...
View ArticleRenewables standard is big news
The state legislature managed to pass a renewable energy standard on its last day of the session. The bill would require state utilities to obtain a third of their power from renewable sources by 2020....
View ArticleFact of the day
7 of 10 of California’s largest wildfires have occurred in the last six years, and most were caused by people. Take fire-prevention guidelines seriously.
View ArticleYellowstone will change dramatically under Climate 2.0
A new study found that the wildfires made more frequent by climate change will give Yellowstone National Park an extreme makeover by 2050. According to the researchers, the prized park will have almost...
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