Old Rocks
Diamond Member
Now even though many here deny that man has anything to do with the present warming, most no longer state that there is no warming occurring. However, some actually state that the slightly less than 1 degree C that has occurred doesn't affect anything.
We have seen, decade by decade, the snows come later, and leave sooner in the mountains in the West. Which means the forests are drier than they used to be by late summer and fall. The warming has also created a situation where the bark beetles and other forest parasites are thriving, leaving a load of dead trees in the forest. Dead trees that are prime fuel for fires. Flying over Montana, the forest is a patchwork of brown and green, in some places, the brown far greater in area than the green.
The forest management of fighting all fires, ground or crown, has left us with a legacy of far too much undergrowth and small trees. And now that we realize that we have to clear this, there is no money left because of the massive fires that consume all of the Forest Services's funds. This is not a policy any more, because we are no longer fighting forest fires, we are protecting small towns, farms, and ranches.
A changing climate has given us stormier weather, that has created storms with higher and more sustained wind velocities, which have created the firestorms with have seen this year. Deny that, if you wish, but anyone that has watched what has happened with the fires in the West this year realizes how different the weather has been.
We have seen, decade by decade, the snows come later, and leave sooner in the mountains in the West. Which means the forests are drier than they used to be by late summer and fall. The warming has also created a situation where the bark beetles and other forest parasites are thriving, leaving a load of dead trees in the forest. Dead trees that are prime fuel for fires. Flying over Montana, the forest is a patchwork of brown and green, in some places, the brown far greater in area than the green.
The forest management of fighting all fires, ground or crown, has left us with a legacy of far too much undergrowth and small trees. And now that we realize that we have to clear this, there is no money left because of the massive fires that consume all of the Forest Services's funds. This is not a policy any more, because we are no longer fighting forest fires, we are protecting small towns, farms, and ranches.
A changing climate has given us stormier weather, that has created storms with higher and more sustained wind velocities, which have created the firestorms with have seen this year. Deny that, if you wish, but anyone that has watched what has happened with the fires in the West this year realizes how different the weather has been.
