(Image source: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-08/us-forest-service-struggles-to-complete-prescribed-burns) Poor air quality in an area that usually has great air quality (like Vancouver), causes temporary commotion among the average community, and then is usually dismissed and left on the back burner after headlines stop posting about them. Or, after you stop directly smelling or seeing the smoke on a regular basis. Why do most of us do this? Why don't we dig deeper, educate ourselves on why forest fires are happening more frequently, and why don't we feel a long-term sense of urgency? I envision a future where we have continue to have access to good air quality- not because it materializes spontaneously out of nowhere, but because we worked hard for it to stay as healthy as possible. I understand that sustained poor air quality leads to health conditions, and I would hate for our mistakes to bleed into oncoming generations leading to ailments that could have been mitigated to an extent. Since fires and air quality aren’t things that can be changed overnight, one potential small intervention could be starting up a campaign and spreading awareness on how fire qualities have changed overtime as a result of climate change and chemicals- and how they make devastating super-fires more frequent and catastrophic. In that same vein of approach, we could also start getting people to normalize prescribed fires that greatly improve certain ecosystems sustainability and health, by letting them know they aren’t done during the hottest/driest times of the year, and that they are highly controlled. In this way we could motivate stronger actions, and start getting more people to think about the whys and hows, as opposed to just waiting for crises to blow over. #unleashvalues
Hi Anna! Thank you for sharing your post! Your title immediately drew me in! I agree that once the smoke blows away, people stop talking about the forest fires and how we can prevent them. If we can implement the regular use of prescribed fires, we definitely could except to see a drop in large uncontrollable fires
Hi, Anna, I definitely agree that managing forest fire requires long-term actions. We should work hard for reducing unnecessary forest fire and keep the air clean instead of taking it for granted. There are so many things to do and monitoring forest fire trends is one of the most important topics for foresters currently. In fact, they are trying with artificial intelligence as well as machine learning techniques to monitor and evaluate the entire forests across North America, I believe that would be helpful this technology could be applied across the world.
I agree with the idea that it is our responsibility as a public not just to complain about the smoke from wildfires causing air pollution when there is a fire. Fire management needs to evolve so as to reduce the potential fuel and intensity of future wildfires.
I totally agree with how the public only cares about these situations when it impacts their daily lives individually. For example, right now in Vancouver we finally have gotten a downpour of rain and I already hear students complaining about how it’s affecting their days negatively. It’s only been three days! We need to be more appreciative of what we are fortunate to have or else we will take so much advantage we end up with nothing. I agree that prescribed fires are the way to go, and including to the conversation, it should be done by right hands, by Indigenous communities. They are the ONLY ones who understand historically and culturally the roots and lands of the forest. They are the professionals and they are the ones who can sufficiently take care of THEIR land.
Hi Anna!
This was a very interesting read and I completely agree with your points! Before this course, I was also one of those people who just didn't think I could be of any help towards these "natural" disasters. However, after this week's lesson, I learned that we all contribute to these "natural" forest fires through global climate change. So, I also believe that at the very least, everyone should be educated on forest fires and how to prevent it from getting worse.
Ever since I came to Vancouver my freshman year, I felt like I would experience a mountain fire every year. The heat of the fires only lasts for about two weeks, and then it goes back to normal after two weeks, year after year. People should look deeper into the causes of the fires each year and look more into why they are getting worse.
I can't help but wonder if people growing up in areas with yearly wildfires and smoke events will have an increased chance of certain health conditions in the future, like people growing up with leaded gas and paint.
Education and advocacy has always been very important whether it's wildfire related knowledge or air related knowledge. In common sense, people do tend to misunderstand through their own judgment, as you say, that bushfires only happen in dry weather. Therefore, I think it is a necessary step to popularize education in this field for environmental protection.
You think long term, Anna, protecting the environment is not only for ourselves and our present life but also for the next generation, so they can have a better living environment. We need to take practical actions to protect the environment and make the air environment better to save our planet.
Hi! Your post was very eye-opening to me because I was just commenting about how BC only seems to have a 2-3 week period of bad air quality whereas other countries have to go through months. People like me seem to forget about the consequences since the term seems much shorter than others when we should really be digging in deeper to make sure even these 2-3 weeks do not happen.
We definitely do have short-term memories when it comes to wildfires.. they also seem to escape general public attention in BC unless they are affecting major cities such as Vancouver.
Yes, we should totally normalize prescribed fires! I also agree that we need to make people understand that they're actually beneficial to ecosystems.
I agree, having prescribed fires during times when it's less hot could be beneficial in preventing or minimizing future fires.
I remember growing up here and never experiencing smoky summers...and then all of a sudden it became the new normal. As you said we need to act now to prevent the situation from getting worse for future generations.