Wildfires, Climate Change, and America

Anyone who lives in the United States is sure to have heard of the hellistic wildfires that routinely burn in California each and every year. In fact, you may have become accustomed to the routine news of a massive wildfire approaching Los Angeles, homes and neighborhoods being destroyed, or ex-president Trump criticizing California’s wildfire preparation. But what if I told you that the issue was far more extensive than you thought. What if when it came to wildfires, California was just the tip of the iceberg.

Over the past decade, the amount and size of wildfires in the continental United States has increased. This is no anomaly. As climate change continues to change our planet, the natural climates of many states, particularly in the west, have been changed so that they are more prone to wildfire conditions. As many states’ average temperatures increase with the changing climate, there is more of a likelihood for drought as rain patterns and average snowpack per year become less predictable. This acts as a breeding ground for wildfires. Not only is it easier for a wildfire to start, but they have more and more time each year to burn. This impact should be making the United States more cautious towards climate change, yet people still do not seem to care. So, how do we get people to care about the climate change that is starting all of these fires?

One of the biggest driving forces in our modern day society is economics and money. The way the global economy has been implemented makes it so that everyone needs some sort of monetary security to survive and countries are going to act in their best interest to make sure that their businesses and citizens remain financially secure. The United States has recently proven this as they used their economic power to provide bail-outs and stimulus checks to business and citizens during the recent economic crisis started by the coronavirus. However, the increasing costs of climate change are barely being considered when it comes to government spending. According to Ross Gorte, an affiliate research professor at the University of New Hampshire, “ In the 1990s, the average cost of federal wildfire protection and suppression was less than $1 billion annually. Since 2002, the cost of federal wildfire protection and suppression has averaged more than $3 billion per year.” (Gorte). The increase of wildfires due to climate change has proportionally increased the amount that is spent in preventing and containing the fires that do occur. In the United States, that means the taxpayers are funding wildfire protection, and as there are more wildfires, more money will be needed from taxpayers to prevent the fires. Other significant impacts on the economy can be traced back to climate change and wildfires. National economic interests are severely plagued by the wildfires as well. According to DW news California plus, “Oregon, Washington State and Idaho and the region accounts for 19% of US output” (DW). As the total economic impacts of fires reach $20+ billions of dollars just in California, the entire nation will start to feel the economic slow down of a region with a powerhouse GDP. Not only will this hurt the general economy, but also slow down job opportunities and economic growth in the local economic sectors as well. 

Another massive importance to our society is communal health and safety. The ever increasing wildfires are now burning longer and wider than ever before. While this is bad enough, the fires can take drastic long term health tolls on nearby communities. For example, In Colorado, recent wildfires from all over Colorado and Wyoming caused a multitude of public health advisories across the front range telling people to, “avoid outdoor activity and to keep the windows closed — especially those who are sensitive to poor air quality” (Tabachnik). According to the EPA, not only can this smoke hurt people sensitive to poor air qualities but it also can affect children, teens, diabetics, and pregnant women negatively. Even people without any of these conditions are not off the hook. A United States Geological Survey study found that water sources were being contaminated in areas where a wildfire had occurred. Burned watersheds (a water network), were “likely to move large amounts of suspended and dissolved material into downstream water supplies” (USGS). Considering the fact that all people need water, the increase in wildfire severity should make neighboring communities concerned for their health, since their water source is more likely to be polluted with unhealthy contaminates that will hurt people. 

When it comes to climate change in the United States, the topic is unusually controversial. Between the polarization around the issue due to the mass media, or the increasing prevalence of the topic in politics, climate change has become a hotly contested topic with sides trying to determine if the issue is even real or not. In fact, an article released by the Yale Program on Climate Communication states that only 69% of the general U.S. population actually believes that climate change is occurring. This is a very concerning figure when it comes to what we can do to prevent climate change. If just over ⅔ of the United States believes in climate change, how can that last ⅓ be swayed to help the climate? As previously stated, the worsening wildfires across the United States are a massive impact created by climate change. Not only are the fires burning longer and damaging more, but their increasing prevalence is now worsening economic ventures, health, and sustainable ecosystems that our current society depends on for comfort and survival. As climate change deniers are put into scenarios where they are found impacted by a direct cause of climate change (i.e. increasing wildfire, hurricanes, droughts) they may start to sway their decisions since their own livelihood is affected. After all, seeing is believing, so as climate change deniers start to see their ways of life change, they may also wake up and realize that climate change is a negative for our society. But is this method of waiting for the deniers to see how climate change affects them quick enough to save our planet and prevent the worsening of natural disasters such as wildfires? Probably not. With the current political, economic, and media influences that are creating a divided ideology around climate change, people need to realize that these groups are only out for themselves. They don’t care about the climate and the impacts it has on our society, they only operate for profit. People need to stand up for their beliefs and use “cognitive filters” such as to look past the persuasion circulated in the media around climate change. The only way to save our planet, country, and local communities from the grave impacts of climate change is to ignore the opposers and unify people to advocate against the polarization that is allowing climate change to survive. If our society cannot do this, then the worsening terrors we are seeing with wildfires, will be seen with other natural phenomena all across the globe. 

Sources:

• Gorte, Ross. The Rising Cost of Wildfire Protection. Headwaters Economics, 2013. 
• (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. “West Coast Fires Will Cost US Economy Dearly: DW: 17.09.2020.” DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/economic-impact-california-wildfires-us-west-coast/a-54956210. 
• “How Smoke from Fires Can Affect Your Health.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 14 Jan. 2021, www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/how-smoke-fires-can-affect-your-health. 
• Tabachnik, Sam. “People Urged to Avoid Outdoor Activities as Wildfire Smoke Inundates Denver and Front Range.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 30 Sept. 2020, www.denverpost.com/2020/09/30/air-quality-alert-denver-front-range-wildfires/. 
• Water Quality After Wildfire, www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/water-quality-after-wildfire?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects. 
• “Americans Underestimate How Many Others in the U.S. Think Global Warming Is Happening.” Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 2 July 2019, climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/americans-underestimate-how-many-others-in-the-u-s-think-global-warming-is-happening/.