Earth Fights Back

[Jamie in Chile]

A weird one this, the smoke clouds have grounded planes and send a cloud of smoke to wall street, it's almost as if the climate is finding back...or sending a message. Anyone living through this in the north East US or Canada?

I hope the smoke clears for the best health for everyone. Although if it hangs around wall street where all the banks are that make fossil fuel investments that would be handy.

It seems like the US is really starting to feel in the last few years more effects of climate change, more than Europe, similar to tropical countries.

I am sure some people will die because of this air pollution but maybe the net effect is good if it wakes up the US a bit on climate.

 

[Lou]

Mother Earth,
Use your words.
Samantha Bee and Ingrid Michaelson have some help with words (and music) for you

 

[Emma JC]

yes, we are living through it - I am now wearing my mask outside as well as inside... we have a slight window this morning of a little bit better air so my honey went for a walk - I prefer my rebounder inside - a least another couple of days before the wind shifts

we would love to have the windows open as it is a wonderful temp outside however just can't allow that air in - thank goodness for air conditioning and a filter for the air on the fan

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Graeme M]

Several years ago (2019) we had strong El Nino conditions here in Australia leading to some very bad fires. To be fair, a lot of these fires can be in part caused by land use change and poor forest management, as well as human intrusion (eg sparks from people working or from electricity grids). The fires here led to a massive smoke cloud over the SE portion of the continent. Here in Canberra, the capital city, we were shrouded in very thick smoke for a couple of months. At its worst you literally could only see clearly for maybe 50-100 metres. We went up a local lookout and from the top all we could see was a wall of dusty orange on all sides. Nothing else at all. During the huge fires in the 1930s, the smoke was blown all the way to New Zealand (which also happened in 2019).

 

[Kathy Lauren]

I live in Nova Scotia. We have had some big fires, but most of the smoke has blown away from us. It still got pretty smokey where I am early this week. My lungs are compromised anyway, so I could certainly feel the smoke, but it was nothing like what New York or Toronto have been experiencing today. Yes, a good mask would be appropriate!

 

[silva]

Im in Northeast Ohio, US, and we've been labeled unhealthy air advisory. My son said the skys been reddish most of the day, and I've been staying inside at lunchtime rather than my car or a walk. Hasn't rained in quite some time either.

My left neighbor gets her lawn sprayed and it always impacts that half of mine. Her lawn and my half are brown, (and weedless), the right side of mine is very green!

 

[Tom L.]

I'm in east-central New York State, and I think the air smelled a bit smoky to me when all this started. But I haven't felt any different. Although I've been keeping my windows closed, I've been OK when outside walking or doing (non-strenuous) yard work. The local news reports have been saying we're through the worst of this.

Maybe I missed it, but I'm not really informed as to why so many wildfires broke out in Canada at once.

 

[Kathy Lauren]

Maybe I missed it, but I'm not really informed as to why so many wildfires broke out in Canada at once.

It is not uncommon for this many fires to be burning at once. What is uncommon is for it to happen this early. That is climate change for you.

The other uncommon thing, that is also climate-related is the upper low that is parked over the maritime provinces. It is what is driving out smoke down over the US, where you all notice it. The upper lows are more common and less likely to move because the warming of the arctic has reduced the intensity of the jet stream that would normally have moved them along.

An upper low means that the surface weather will tend not to move. That is bad if the surface weather is hot and dry. After a hot dry spell, it is good when the surface weather turns cold and wet, as it did last week, because it rains continuously for days. That helped get our fires under control here in Nova Scotia.

 

[LukethePrettyGood]

People have said for generations, that if the Earth is attacked, she will fight back. It's hard to believe anyone could still think the Earth is not alive, she is literally the source of all life (outside our maker)!

I hope to goodness we are safe through this and can shift ways, but if we can't, live or die, I side with Mother Earth.

I am sorry to the people who are being unfairly impacted by this.

 

[Lou]

Um..... I don't remember as much "media" sympathy when it was happening in California. Although I do remember that you guys were sympathetic.

but then a lot of the media is in NYC. so its personal. Alex Wagner of MSNBC said something to the effect that it's not so bad for Californians. Maybe she meant that at least we are in California while she is stuck in NY.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/one-year-ago-san-francisco-was-glowing-orange-from-wildfire-smoke-photos/

 

[Jamie in Chile]

I see less about this in the news today and yesterday so is it getting better? How´s it looking in your town?

 

[Emma JC]

I see less about this in the news today and yesterday so is it getting better? How´s it looking in your town?

it's definitely better because the winded shifted - now from the west and I am east of Quebec so much much better - when the wind was comin from the north and somewhat east we were a direct hit - it is so nice to have the windows open

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Lou]

My hay fever is so bad this year. I've been keeping the windows shut.
Probably should get an air filter.
The other thing is that we have had such a cool spring, but I'm not complaining.
Today's high is predicted to be 68

 

[Rohan]

It is not uncommon for this many fires to be burning at once. What is uncommon is for it to happen this early. That is climate change for you.

The other uncommon thing, that is also climate-related is the upper low that is parked over the maritime provinces. It is what is driving out smoke down over the US, where you all notice it. The upper lows are more common and less likely to move because the warming of the arctic has reduced the intensity of the jet stream that would normally have moved them along.

An upper low means that the surface weather will tend not to move. That is bad if the surface weather is hot and dry. After a hot dry spell, it is good when the surface weather turns cold and wet, as it did last week, because it rains continuously for days. That helped get our fires under control here in Nova Scotia.

Yep, this is it. These fires are not caused by climate change but as with nearly all these events, climate change makes it worse/earlier/more deadly etc.

And still we have deniers insisting there's nothing to see here.

 

[majorbloodnok]

It is not uncommon for this many fires to be burning at once. What is uncommon is for it to happen this early. That is climate change for you.

The other uncommon thing, that is also climate-related is the upper low that is parked over the maritime provinces. It is what is driving out smoke down over the US, where you all notice it. The upper lows are more common and less likely to move because the warming of the arctic has reduced the intensity of the jet stream that would normally have moved them along.

An upper low means that the surface weather will tend not to move. That is bad if the surface weather is hot and dry. After a hot dry spell, it is good when the surface weather turns cold and wet, as it did last week, because it rains continuously for days. That helped get our fires under control here in Nova Scotia.

I'm going to quote @Kathy Lauren again just to underline.

This is absolutely spot on. Wildfires are a natural part of the ecological cycle. However, the effect of climate change is increasingly obvious and increasingly dangerous. The fires are occurring earlier, the potential fire season is lengthening and the meteorological conditions are sustaining fire-friendly conditions for longer.

The hard science provides the evidence and it's now got bad enough that most people are starting to pay attention. Unfortuately, I suspect not enough attention though to get most people taking a firm stance.

 

[Rohan]

The hard science provides the evidence and it's now got bad enough that most people are starting to pay attention. Unfortuately, I suspect not enough attention though to get most people taking a firm stance.

The problem is, as brexit and Trump have taught us ... we've had enough of science and experts. Yet we're all armchair experts now!