Wildfires Out West Spark Concern - and Debate - Over Climate Crisis
Images of uncontrolled wildfire like this one, seemingly taken from an apocalypse film, have been common fare in the western United States over the past decades. This years wildfires in California have been among the worst ever recorded. Source.
As wildfires ravage California, Oregon, and Washington, the smoke from these fires is contributing to some of the worst air quality in decades and covering cities in a red haze. Apocalyptic images of these states have gone viral, providing a stark reminder that climate change is not a future issue, but a current one.
In fact, eight of the 10 largest wildfires in California history have taken place in the past decade. With temperatures on the rise and droughts becoming more common, fires now tend to survive longer and spread farther. This creates an issue not only for Californians, but Americans across the nation as the smoke from these fires reaches as far as the Atlantic Ocean and settles close to the ground, spreading microscopic particles that, once inhaled, can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, resulting in a number of health problems from inflammation to difficulty breathing.
Breaking his silence on the fires in mid-September, President Donald Trump visited the Golden State to thank firefighters and first responders for their efforts. However, despite numerous warnings by Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of California’s Natural Resources Agency, Trump failed to acknowledge climate change as a contributing factor, citing negligent forest management as the central cause. California Governor Gavin Newsome got involved, pleading with Trump to listen to scientists, but the President rejected his claims, noting that other “forest nations” like Austria and Finland aren’t seeing the same issues.
Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden used the opportunity to warn Americans that a second term for Trump would only allow the current climate crisis to continue. He criticized the President for failing to recognize the severity of the issue, claiming that Trump’s denial has permitted unprecedented fires, floods, and hurricanes.
As California nears a tragic milestone of four million acres burned, 2020 is indeed a record-breaking year for wildfires. There are currently as many as 17,000 firefighters battling 24 fires across the state, and since fire season usually doesn’t peak until the fall, there’s still plenty of opportunity for that destruction to continue.
As such, the battle over the legitimacy of climate change is likely to take center stage at the next Presidential debate. Just last week, an explicit question about the climate crisis was posed to candidates on the debate stage for the first time in 20 years. This is likely due to an increase in young people pushing for aggressive climate action. And although Biden may not be on board with the Green New Deal, notoriously championed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey, he has said that he recognizes the bill as a crucial framework and has proposed one of the most progressive environmental policies of any presidential nominee in history.
As for the fate of California and the fires ravaging the West, the opposing stances of Trump and Biden create yet another reason the upcoming election will play a crucial role in shaping the future of this nation.