wildfires

What You Need to Know About Trump’s Choice for Department of Interior

What You Need to Know About Trump’s Choice for Department of Interior

By Adam Markham U.S. natural and cultural resources—the parks, landmarks and history of America—are under assault from climate change. So it is troubling that Ryan Zinke, Donald Trump‘s pick to run the Department of the Interior (DOI), seems unsure whether climate change is a real problem or not. Just this week, in an interview with […]

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    Man-Made Global Warming Root Cause of Relentless Forest Fires

    Man-Made Global Warming Root Cause of Relentless Forest Fires

    By Paul Brown Climate change has already doubled the number of forest fires in the western U.S. since the 1980s—and it is a trend that will continue to increase, according to new research. The study says the rise in temperatures and aridity sucks the moisture out of the plants, trees, dead vegetation on the ground […]

    10 Western States Continue to Battle Wildfires

    10 Western States Continue to Battle Wildfires

    Ongoing wildfires have torched more than half a million acres in 10 western states, according to the National Fire Information Center. In Washington, where at least 16 houses have been destroyed, Gov. Jay Inslee attributed the wildfires in part to climate change. Another fire in central California has charred more than 33,000 acres while the […]

    82,000 Evacuated as ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Wildfire Shocks California

    82,000 Evacuated as ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Wildfire Shocks California

    With more than 25,000 acres still burning, firefighters managed to achieve four percent containment of the Blue Cut fire in California late Wednesday night. The blaze, which spread from a few acres to 30,000 in just 24 hours, was called a “once in a lifetime kind of fire” by the U.S. Forest Service. Sizzling temperatures, […]

    Don’t Get Burned by Misinformation About Dead Trees and Wildfire

    Don’t Get Burned by Misinformation About Dead Trees and Wildfire

    By Douglas Bevington In California, dead trees are big news. In June, the U.S. Forest Service reported that 66 million trees had died since 2010 as the state has experienced a prolonged drought. Drought stress has weakened trees’ natural defenses to native bark beetles, resulting in a pulse of tree mortality. Yet amid all of […]

    California Wildfire Triples in Size

    California Wildfire Triples in Size

    A huge wildfire burning since Friday in the Santa Clarita Valley area north of Los Angeles has tripled in size over the weekend to 33,172 acres, destroying at least 18 homes and leaving one man dead. More than 1,500 homes have been evacuated as 1,673 firefighters battle the Sand fire. A California wildfire spread across […]

    31 Science Groups to Congress: Greenhouse Gases Emitted by Human Activities Is Primary Driver of Climate Change

    31 Science Groups to Congress: Greenhouse Gases Emitted by Human Activities Is Primary Driver of Climate Change

    A group of 31 of the country’s top science organizations sent a letter to Congress this week highlighting the dangers of climate change and urging immediate action. The letter, representing millions of scientists, mentions several impacts of climate change, including extreme weather, sea level rise and wildfires. Photo credit: Shutterstock “The severity of climate change […]