Forest Fires in the Northeast? The New Realities of Climate Change | Amanpour and Company

[@judykinsman3258]

We’ll go down in history as the first society that couldn’t save itself because it wasn’t cost effective. ~Kurt Vonnegut

[@daveblodgett2438]

Love KV

[@annagolden]

That's not what it's about at all. It's greed and ignorance.

[@rui569]

Funny is that it is cost effective, but greed makes it hard to see.

[@williamlyons3947]

The United States accounts for the 16% of the world total human-made CO2 annual emissions. Other countries need to clean up their act!

[@mbthe8731]

More like that it would reduce shareholder returns.

[@vtfollett]

I live in the Green Mountains of Vermont. I was just chatting with our librarian, and we both realized that our town is surrounded by forest, and trees line every street. If the current drought continues, we may face the same threat as many California towns.

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

I live in the green hills of PacNW. We had a second EVEN COLDER Summer of No Summer (and no tomatoes). It stopped raining in July, a full month too late, after killing the tomato and pepper starts, then started raining again in late September, a full month too early. _The backyard hammock hasn't been out since COV19!_ *Magic CO2!*

[@patricialongo5870]

Nothing you can do? I'm sure it's not like people can stop driving cars.

[@judykinsman3258]

But the weather extremes of climate change also caused the devastating floods Vermont had this summer.

[@OldJackWolf]

We moved north and away from the ocean about 6 years ago now, and then we made improvements to the house to prepare for the weather impacts. Since we're not far from the Allegheny National forest, we tore off the wood siding and put up cement board siding. And we plan on a metal roof in the next few years. Both will cut down on the fire risks.

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

@OldJackWolf Deployed to Guam where years ago super-typhoon blew trailers and stick frames away and power was down for 6 months. They banned trailers and only allow cinder block houses with concrete roofs. The mass evens out day -to - night temperatures, buildings (with steel shutters) are fire-proof, storm-proof and comfortably ride out typhoons where trees are crashing all around. Eat dinner with candles, then go to bed to woo woo roaring outside.

[@M00Nature]

This was just excellent! Very clear explanations of our current problems and state of affairs. Thank you for interviewing this author and I hope more people will read his book as a result. We all need to prepare our families for increasing climate threats: wildfires, droughts, intense storms, etc. No one is immune as my friends in Asheville North Carolina will attest to.

[@daveblodgett2438]

I have been having these arguements since 85 when Mr. Sagan told Congress of the issue. I thought then, and still think, that far too many are simly unable to imagine a world which climate shift produces, and if humans cannot truly imagine what could be then they find it impossible to take it as a serious threat.

[@Skunk106]

During wildfire season last year, I said to my wife that we (Pennsylvania) are only a couple degrees or a little less rain away from having serious forest fires in the northeast. I'd like to believe this year is an anomaly, but I don't think it is.

[@heatherscott3008]

Fire Weather is a fabulous book and required reading for anyone who cares about forests.

[@isatousarr7044]

The recent forest fires in the Northeast serve as a stark reminder of the new realities of climate change and the urgent need for action. These fires, which have become more frequent and intense in recent years, are not just natural disasters they are a direct consequence of a warming planet, exacerbated by human activities such as deforestation, urban sprawl, and the continued reliance on fossil fuels. Climate change is amplifying extreme weather events, including prolonged heatwaves, droughts, and erratic rainfall, creating conditions that are more conducive to wildfires. From a democratic and justice standpoint, the impact of these fires disproportionately affects vulnerable communities particularly low-income areas and marginalized groups who often lack the resources to prepare for, respond to, or recover from such disasters. This highlights the urgent need for policies that not only address the root causes of climate change but also prioritize equity in climate resilience efforts. It is critical that we invest in sustainable solutions, such as reforestation, better land management, and the reduction of carbon emissions, while also providing resources and support to those most affected by these devastating events. Ultimately, forest fires in the Northeast are a call to action for governments, businesses, and individuals alike to prioritize climate justice and sustainability. We can no longer afford to ignore the connection between environmental degradation and social inequality our response must be one that ensures a just, resilient, and sustainable future for all.

[@robstimson4234]

This guy is very well-informed, very easy to understand, and his message is chilling.

[@nancylaplaca]

Thanks for your great book Fire Weather - one of my favorite books ever…

[@davestagner]

Fire Weather is an outstanding book! Highly recommended.

[@moiracneill6478]

AGREED! Excellent book!

[@nancylaplaca]

@@moiracneill6478agreed

[@geoffkeeton4311]

Nature is going to square it up for us

[@mendyboio3917]

Nature bats last!

[@fj103]

We're screwed

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

@@fj103 Blah blah blah from the Cult of the Well- Chewed Sweater.

[@cristinataliani5619]

Over 70 million people voted for Trump----that is scary!!!!

[@deepashtray5605]

Three times. Pretty much guarantees the U.S. will not be a major factor in trying to curb climate change.

[@FacingFuture]

yet there are 346,000 people in the US. Democracy depends on an involved electorate.

[@mbthe8731]

And while other countries switch to reasonably priced EVs, US drivers will be saddled with expensive gas guzzling pickup trucks.

[@deepashtray5605]

@@mbthe8731 But for the vast majority of truck owners it is an unnecessary status symbol which too many of them confuse as a necessity.

[@jomckeag4482]

I ❤️climate change (and so do YOU)

[@jimpawa5793]

If you look at how many big fires Oregon has suffered the last few years it’s amazing. The summer of 2024 Oregon had several fires in the 200,000 acres size. Next year 2025 I expect Washington will have larger fires. I was really amazed how dry the forests were the last couple years. The summer temperatures in the mountains were in the 95 to 110 F range with extreme low humidity. This isn’t a forest management problem it’s a very extremely low humidity extremely dry brush and timber dryness problem.

[@JimmyD806]

Happens every interglacial. The mechanism that brought water into the region goes away. That mechanism is alpine glaciers and pluvial lakes.

[@mikeyknox7897]

If you heat up a gas, our atmosphere for example, it is able to hold more water vapor. This makes for more evaporation, drought & wildfires. The atmosphere is carrying around more water vapor, so when conditions are right for rain, massive amounts of water can fall from the sky in a very short amount of time. This creates flooding & huge amounts of snowfall.

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

@@mikeyknox7897 official 97% agree ipcc agw is 1.8 degree more by 2100, that's 0.025 degrees per year, or 0.013% temperature change per year. Then by any metric the amount of moisture in the atmosphere due to agw can only be 0.013% higher. Try finding something else to pin the tail on the Donkey

[@williamlyons3947]

"This makes for more evaporation, drought & wildfires" No, evaporation is a cooling process and causes more rain! Good god ,you're not too bright.

[@KeredYo]

The parallelism of nature’s balance sheet and humankind’s should be obvious. Yet, the willful blindness of U.S. corporate and political elites AND everyday consumers burns 24/7.

[@eaglerider2012]

Forest fires have been on this planet for millennia and the climate has always been changing as a natural cycle of the planet. Hundreds of scientists also agree with this assessment but now one hears this opposing argument that is being suppressed.

[@BobQuigley]

Reinsurance industry has been ringing the alarm bell for over a decade. Aon reinsurance requires every employee to attend climate training annually. They also train suppliers.

[@mavisharris692]

Excellent

[@mendyboio3917]

Thank you for this. I still have family who completely deny man made climate change.

[@GrandpaSaid]

Maybe they have this reason too....kzbin.info/www/bejne/opvJY3t6oputnas

[@phil20_20]

Quite a pity, since they are the only ones reforesting in their areas. They account for most of the reforestation in the U.S. - Reforestation and Nuclear Power are the rational ways to reduce global warming.

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

I live in the green hills of PacNW. We had a second EVEN COLDER Summer of No Summer (and no tomatoes). It stopped raining in July, a full month too late, after killing the tomato and pepper starts, then started raining again in late September, a full month too early. _The backyard hammock hasn't been out since COV19!_ *Magic CO2!*

[@moiracneill6478]

I live north of you, and i see your point. Climate change is normal. Climate instability, is the true term we need now! The unstable unpredictable weather we are getting now, very cold June weather, fog in December, trees in bud in January, killed by a deep cold snap. We see unstable weather not changes! It's a complete misnomer.

[@moiracneill6478]

His book, John Valliants' 2023 book, Fire Weather is extremely good, very easy to read, deep perdonsl intrnse and scary!

[@seansmith3058]

His other books, particularly The Golden Spruce, are also very good.

[@BenSmith-mg5jv]

We ALL KNOW a Trump return AT BEST HALTS all progress made over the last 4 years and MORE LIKELY based on Trump's OWN PUBLIC STATEMENTS will SET US BACK YEARS OR DECADES in THIS fight.

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

500 years ago, after a 1,000 Year Dark Ages *where the Emperor and Pope owned all property and crushed personal freedoms,* the grip of the Church disintegrated into Three Popes, Two Kings and the Reformation. Today, 23 years after a 2001 Papal Encyclical to 'Save the Common Good', al-Gore's Eco-Trerorists monetized and raised up a $ trillion Brussels dark papacy, a Compulsory Carbon TIthe, Mandatory Energy Austerity, State Control of Private Property, and Iron Claw Lockdown of Personal Freedoms, *as the West doom scrolls towards Bethlehem,* ...again.

[@phil20_20]

They will put up parking lots instead

[@richardv.2475]

Trump is the worst, but you shouldn't blame him for this. If you look at a couple graphs (like US oil production, world energy consumption, the living planet index, atmospheric CO2, etc.), then it's pretty trivial to see nobody ever did anything measurable against climate change. Period. There are no bumps and inclinations on these graphs that could indicate any meaningful and successful actions. (Except maybe from financial crises and COVID.) And considering the fact the green movement exists for 50 years this is pretty remarkable.

[@sohu86x]

Yep. Insurance companies are gonna jack up prices.

[@patricialongo5870]

What progress? You drive more and so emissions as really are up.

[@richardgrumbine4867]

As is often the case... the actuaries are the data we need to be looking at...

[@jamesdecker8630]

Decarbonization is fairy dust, the tipping point was 200 years ago. That ship has sailed.

[@mendyboio3917]

So few of us are able to see the truth. Take care, enjoy each moment.

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

@@jamesdecker8630 carbon capture is provably an energy negative overall scam for the carbon credits, by looting workers of their paychecks for carbon taxes, so corporations can continue to pollute

[@danlowe8684]

Or history: The spring of 1903 was a perfect example of these conditions; the only spring moisture was supplied by snow melting in late March, followed by a seventy-two-day drought. The unusually dry spring resulted in a number of forest fires that burned over 600,000 acres of land in the Adirondack Park. The center of the 1903 fires was at Lake Placid, New York. However, fires also raged around the Adirondacks in Schroon Lake, Lake George, Olmsteadville, Newcomb, Ausable Forks, Saranac Lake and Clintonville. The fires were so significant that there were reports of cinders falling as far away as Albany, N.Y., 150 miles south of Lake Placid. The smoke from the fires even caused concern in Washington, D.C. Late September marked the climax of this fire season, with the worst single fire of all destroying the small community of Long Lake West, now Sabattis, N.Y. While the Long Lake West fire was not the only one of late September as fires raged all over the Adirondacks, it was by far the most destructive. The fires of 1908 were the worst of their kind and convinced the public that humans caused most forest fires and therefore could be prevented. While the fires of 1903 were bad, most people at the time saw them as an act of God. It was not until 1908 that opinions started to change. Five years later the Adirondacks would face the most devastating fire season in history and endure blazes that burned on an off for four months. The most destructive fires would burn during the fall, the Adirondacks’ other fire season. In September 1908, New York City and Quebec City to the north were blanketed in clouds of smoke from fires raging in the Adirondack counties of Hamilton, Herkimer, St. Lawrence, Franklin, and Essex.

[@Tris_muc]

Literally almost every day except for one it smelt like a a barbecue in NYC

[@WilliamEricStone]

I would not be surprised if one of two events happen in the next 100 years to the human race. 1, We go extinctic. 2, We go into another Dark Age.

[@davestagner]

Some numbers to think about, to understand the seriousness of this issue and the cost of continuing to burn fossil fuels… 1. The atmosphere has gone from a pre-industrial 280ppm CO2 to over 420ppm today, a 50% increase. 2. This totals a trillion tons of anthropogenic (man-made) CO2 in the atmosphere. In contrast, the total biomass of all living things on Earth today is 550 billion tons - our CO2 weighs almost twice as much as every living thing on Earth put together. (No, we can’t just “grow trees” to solve the problem!) 3. We are currently adding about 40 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere every year, about 85% directly from burning fossil fuels.

[@pavelsmith2267]

True: There was once an implementation of a short sighted plan which didn't really run itself through an entire cycle but it did somewhat get started. I tell you, here. Mines and elemental identification numbers. The roads and biways which are leading to and away from or all around that specific zone. Some, unfortunately only some, roads give the likelihood of combustion and the type of elements which could be conflagrated. So, fire fighting and a short sighted failed plan. Good luck with that, I guess. -Commish

[@alphaomega8373]

Fact is that the climate would chance without humans, the earth is not static.

[@dcfromthev]

No one disputes that. But it is a FACT that human activities have caused insanely fast change compared to the thousands of years it would take naturally.

[@MartinReiter143]

@@dcfromthevAlso, producing the food that sustains all our lives depends on some climate predictability and stability. And it is restricted to specific climatic locations. Rapid climate change upends all that, with unwelcome and harsh results.

[@moiracneill6478]

I know your argument is reasonable, because climate change is normal. Climates, change, naturally. Climate INSTABILITY, erratic, unpredictable, out of sync with the sun, huge floods, drought, etc, is all unstable weather systems disrupting our world.

[@WD-41469]

Pretty loose with the word fact there, bud.

[@stevenhanson6057]

Instead of trying to convince others. Oh, that’s the whole agenda!

[@mnemosynevermont5524]

Those who have made millions and billions on oil would do well to, instead of just squirreling away every dime while they can, INVEST in the next energy industries and make them available to the world.

[@chesterfinecat7588]

Wish granted. They’ll be happy to sell every kind of energy. Solar plants will destroy habitat like nobody’s business but the money is good.

[@john-ug7nc]

Not only America but also Africa. Average temperatures are rising faster in Africa than in the rest of the world. Rainfall is increasing in Africa by 30% in wet regions and decreasing by 20% in dry regions. 95% of Africa’s farmers rely on rainfall and do not have irrigation systems. Before 1999, a poor rainy season in Africa occurred every five or six years. Today, farmers grapple with lack of rain every two or three years, according to the International Livestock Research Institute.Across Africa, agricultural productivity has declined by 34% due to climate change, more than in any other region, the U.N. says.

[@javiersantos4385]

Maybe a chart or visual for next time?

[@cformosa]

💔

[@dillon4060]

5:45 The little ice age came on abruptly and lasted for 300 years, so, yes, homo sapiens have experienced, and survived, catastrophic climate change in the past.

[@nsbd90now]

Yeah... change over a period of centuries, not decades. Life can't adapt that fast. If we go up 4-5C fast enough-- and we might-- ALL life will go extinct, leaving a dead rock of a planet.

[@MartinReiter143]

Not without pain and suffering. And I venture not everyone survived.

[@pavelsmith2267]

12:02 according to many insurance professionals, America is largely no longer a safe place to live.

[@WD-41469]

Imagine thinking that you can control nature.

[@williamlyons3947]

Nature absorbs 98.5% of the CO2 that is emitted by nature and man. As CO2 increases in the atmosphere, nature causes plant growth to increase via photosynthesis which is an endothermic (cooling) reaction. For every pound of biomass formed some 10,000 Btu are removed from the atmosphere. CO2 is absorbed, and oxygen is liberated. Further, a doubling of CO2 will increase the photosynthesis rate by 30 to 100%, depending on temperature and available moisture.

[@felixdasilvaparada]

Earth will always change with or without us. Please stop being vain, humans.

[@Danl1960]

Seems like a good idea. The west shouldnt have to suffer them all

[@PeterJamieson-h2p]

We are mammals adapt or die

[@donniemoder1466]

Can we stop this weather vs climate argument? Weather is climate once you look a a longer unit of time of weather data.Weather data is climate date once you aggregate it.

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

Do you realize the only YT topic in the world of all the millions of topics and all the billions of people, the only KZbin topic that has a compulsory UN Climate Change banner, *the same UN that is demanding a $ trillion dollars in reparations,* defines every post on climate caused by 'humans and fossil fuels!' *That is the precise '1984' definition of Big Brother!*

[@astronautical1082]

No, "big brother" is the "monied class" of greed-driven sociopaths like the president elect, who reject facts under the science-illiterate guise they reveal some something other than the problem.

[@mnemosynevermont5524]

Here in Vermont this year, we are clearly having October weather in November. It's off by at least a full month. Not to mention drought the entire summer and fall.

[@jodi-bethfelton3696]

Geoengineering for profit or land grabs.

[@nsbd90now]

Yeah... that's why the insurance companies are pulling out. 🤔

[@dillon4060]

Is that a gas range I see there in the background?

[@nsbd90now]

Is that a dumb Republican I see in the comments?

[@dillon4060]

@nsbd90now Natural gas is a fossil fuel.. Swapping out your gas range for electric is one of the easiest things a person can do to reduce CO2.

[@nsbd90now]

@@dillon4060 From BuisnessInsider Sept 18 2021: “The companies polluting the planet have spent millions to make you think carpooling and recycling will save us” From Hegemonic_Imposition: “According to Oxfam... the top 1% of the wealthy managed to steal almost a quarter of the total required wealth to address climate change in just two years. Evidently, the rich could easily address climate change and not even break a sweat - and worse, they could have done it any time in the last 50 years. Studies have shown that just the top 10% of wealthy Americans are responsible for 40% of the world’s planet heating pollution. It’s also well understood that the top corporations in the world account for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The top 1% of the wealthy now own half the world’s wealth, yet average consumers are the ones being asked to make sacrifices? ... Put properly in context, you quickly understand that the wealthy, both private and corporate, are responsible. Instead of addressing climate change they chose to actively undermine and suppress climate data to continue exploiting the world’s resources for personal wealth and they will live in infamy as the bloated, disgusting, selfish psychopaths that they are...”

[@FacingFuture]

@@dillon4060 convection is great - works with magnets, not heat. And it cooks really well

[@NeverTakeNoCut-offs]

trump will make this go away

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

Yea, like he made his billions disappear, his many adulterous relationships vanish, and the honesty of self-styled Christians become a joke.

[@christopher7824]

The ice caps on Mars are melting.

[@paulcunningham2859]

Of course the northeast has never had a drought. Or big Forrest fires. Maby also if the liberals there would have allowed the cutting and ckearing of timber like the indians did this would be much less an issues

[@0920121908250727]

That is completely ridiculous. The northeast was barely forested 100 years ago after the industrial revolution took off. The issue is not that there is forest to burn, but the climate has warmed so much that the soils and forests are dried out and subject to fire.

[@jackbeagle8458]

Boy will you be sad when you find out liberals are not your enemy, reality is.

[@costidisa]

Derp

[@paulcunningham2859]

@@costidisa yes you are

[@costidisa]

​@@paulcunningham2859 good one. Explains your previous post.

[@johnvoelker4345]

both global warming and higher levels of CO₂ would benefit the biosphere the Earth is too cold and CO₂ is a nutrient

[@costidisa]

Derp

[@johnvoelker4345]

@ what i’m saying is established science

[@astronautical1082]

No, ecological illiteracy is not a credible position from which to understand your blunder.

[@johnvoelker4345]

@@astronautical1082 the Earth is currently in a major ice age has been for 2.6 million years it’s called the Quaternary ice age it’s extremely cold today 99% of the last 245 million years were warmer than today CO₂ is essential for life CO₂ is necessary for photosynthesis 6H₂O + 6CO₂ => C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ without CO₂ there would be no plants without plants, there would be no animals

[@costidisa]

​​@@johnvoelker4345😂 just for giggles, look up AMOC and come back to tell us how global warming and increased CO2 are good. Try also looking up tipping points and feedback loops. If you have any legitimate interest in science...