Wildfires are clearly a major problem for Canadians in 2023. Primary causes are known but solutions conflict with policies of governments. Canadian politicians prefer to promote fossil fuel production and eliminate forest diversity without regard for long-term costs to the planet.
Failure to moderate greenhouse gas emissions and change forest management practices and will result in greater fire disasters in the future.
British Columbia says 60 percent of wildfires are caused by lighting and other natural causes, with human activities causing the remainder. However, of the 409 fires burning in BC on September 6, the province says only 5 percent are caused by people.
Regardless of how they are ignited, climate change is a key factor increasing the risk and extent of wildfires.
Methods of forest management contribute to fires. Logging removes the largest and most fire-resistant trees, while young replacement trees are more susceptible and serve as fire ladders, allowing the fire to reach into the canopy of the forest.
“Diversifying the forest … is a really effective way to create resilience in our landscape and resistance to these major fires we’ve been witnessing.”
Meanwhile, much of the Canadian forestry industry is doing the opposite, spraying thousands of hectares of public forest with glyphosate each year to promote profitable coniferous growth, and eliminate hardwood species like aspen and birch.
Grooming forests could be making fires worse, researchers warn
Forests are threatened by disturbances associated with long-term changes in average climatic condition, such as storm activity, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. With continued changes in climate, certain tree species become more susceptible to bark beetle attacks. Drought and insects have killed hundreds of millions of trees across North America in the past two decades, providing fuel for wildfires.
Research shows that changes in climate create warmer, drier conditions, leading to longer and more active fire seasons. Increases in temperatures and the thirst of the atmosphere due to human–caused climate change have increased aridity of forest fuels during the fire season.
Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions.
As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth.
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Categories: Climate Change, Forestry
in-sights.ca 
Evil Eye
Adapt?..Who just might that be? Climate disruption takes no
prisoners and will eventually visit every neighbourhood on
the planet. Nature will play no favourites. It is a true failing
of our species to continue to let those sociopaths that are currently
driving the bus to continue to do so. We have crossed the Rubicon
and need to collectively gather and formula a plan to rewrit the ship.
Start locally because that is were you are closest to the levers of power
and can demand change. Voting is not going to change anything and the
mechanism to effect that change is the speed bump. The answer(s) are out there and we need to collectively do the heavy lifting and formulate a formative game plan besides ranting like what I am doing here. Protesting?
Where are the truckers, BLM, Freedom, Fairy creek, Site C, LNG, Trans M and on and on now and what have those protests actually accomplished?
There are just to many groups out there on so many different issues that it is very difficult to sustain traction long enough to effect change.
Beating your head against the wall is not working.
I can’t imagine (for example) the impact if you had 10,000 people show up at the legislature on a single most important issue; say climate and demand action and if nothing is done before term end then the premier gets recalled. How about a no kids going to school day.
Yes that would be tough for both working parents, employers etc but climate is about our
kids and grandkids isn’t it? I know that would not happen but you have to hit the servants of the owners of power hard. No Marquess of Queensberry Rules.
Were is Mike Tyson when you need him?
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To adapt is to adjust your lifestyle to deal with climate change; we have not. The government will lie and lie about climate change, but will not change.
Presently the government has the public believing that the “Carbon Tax” is on the forefront of dealing with climate change, but it is not. The Carbon Tax is a mere placebo, designed to make people believe the government is doing something, while it is doing nothing.
The belief that taxation will stop climate change is wide spread but as phony as a three dollar bill as one cannot tax themselves out of global warming.
You can protest all you want, but change will not happen simply because change will hurt and the government bringing change will be defeated.
As i have stated, we have crossed the Rubicon on global warming and now we will have deal with chips as they lay and that will be ugly.
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We have not managed our forest well and because of this, we have squandered our future for forestry profits today.
The government has not prepared for drought as this year proves, and i doubt the current or any government has the moral fortitude to deal with climate change and forestry practices.
We are entering a new age of climate change and global warming, yet our society is still living in the Neo Liberal fantasy of trickle down profits and major corporatization of everything.
We are going to see a bit of Darwin here and very soon: Those who can adapt will survive and those who cannot will die.
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