Wildfires Archives - Inside Climate News

The Libertarian Developer Looming Over West Maui’s Water Conflict

By Anita Hofschneider and Jake Bittle, Grist — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 09:55:00 +0000

Peter Martin spent decades guzzling water around Lāhainā. Then came the fire.

By Anita Hofschneider and Jake Bittle, Grist

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.

New Research Makes it Harder to Kick The Climate Can Down the Road from COP28

By Bob Berwyn — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Without immediate emissions cuts, global temperatures will breach the Paris Agreement’s goals sooner than expected, scientists say. ‘Despite decades of warnings, we are still heading in the wrong direction’

By Bob Berwyn

Research released this week raises new questions about how much more Earth may warm, or cool, if and when human carbon dioxide emissions zero out. Best estimates to date suggest that the global surface temperature would stabilize within a few decades, but the new paper in the journal Frontiers in Science examines the uncertainties around that conclusion, including how the planet’s key carbon dioxide-absorbing systems, like forests and oceans, will respond.

Inside Climate News Freelancer Anne Marshall-Chalmers Honored for her Feature Story Showing California Wildfires Plague Mobile Home Residents

By ICN Editors — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 23:08:58 +0000

The Society of Environmental Journalists said her first-place story “finds human beings whose situation and personal traumas easily speak to a situation similar to so many more communities in the U.S.”

By ICN Editors

The Society of Environmental Journalists announced last week that Anne Marshall-Chalmers, a freelancer for Inside Climate News and former ICN reporting fellow, won first place for feature writing in its 22nd annual awards for Reporting on the Environment for her story on the convergence of California’s wildfire and affordable housing crises.

Biden Creates the American Climate Corps, 90 Years After FDR Put 3 Million to Work in National Parks

Interview by Aynsley O’Neill, “Living on Earth” — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

The new workers will remove wildfire fuel in forests, install EV chargers in cities, retrofit thermostats in low-income homes and, it is hoped, move on to union jobs in the clean energy economy.

Interview by Aynsley O’Neill, “Living on Earth”

In Oregon Timber Country, a Town Buys the Surrounding Forests to Confront Climate-Driven Wildfires

By Grant Stringer — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 12:38:32 +0000

A logger, forester and former mayor joined forces to help Butte Falls manage its forests to protect the town and build an economy supported by tourism rather than logging.

By Grant Stringer

This story is produced in partnership with Columbia Insight, an environmental news outlet covering the Columbia River Basin.

Study: Microgrids Could Reduce California Power Shutoffs—to a Point

By Emma Foehringer Merchant — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Researchers report that isolated grids that produce their own power could support communities when the electricity goes out. But that reliability comes at a cost.

By Emma Foehringer Merchant

From the hills of Oakland to the shadows of the Sierra Nevada, fighting the ever-present threat of wildfire in parts of California can mean going without power. In the last several years, some homes and businesses have had their electricity cut again and again by large utility providers aiming to prevent equipment from sparking fires during windy, dry weather.

June Extremes Suggest Parts of the Climate System Are Reaching Tipping Points

By Bob Berwyn — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 09:05:00 +0000

Research shows heat domes, wildfires and vanishing polar ice are the symptoms; unabated greenhouse gas emissions are the cause.

By Bob Berwyn

June 2023 may be remembered as the start of a big change in the climate system, with many key global indicators flashing red warning lights amid signs that some systems are tipping toward a new state from which they may not recover.

Prepare for More Smoky Summers in the Midwest and Northeast

By Aydali Campa — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 08:55:00 +0000

Dry conditions led to massive wildfires in Canada and a flow of smoke into the Great Lakes region this week. It likely won’t be the last time, scientists say.

By Aydali Campa

CHICAGO—Parks, beaches and restaurants offering outdoor dining are typically booming here in the summer months after a long, frigid winter, but smoky skies have kept many residents indoors since Tuesday when Chicago’s air quality was briefly the worst in the world.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada has blanketed parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes this week, with the highest particulate matter levels in parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Iowa, according to air quality tracking by the Environmental Protection Agency. PM2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns—about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair—is a mixture of solid and liquid particles in the air that can harm human health when inhaled.

ER Visits for Asthma in New York City Soared as Wildfire Smoke Blanketed the Region

By Gina Jiménez — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Smoky days can double emergency hospital visits for asthma, which disproportionately affects Black and Latino children. In New York, the Bronx was especially hard hit.

By Gina Jiménez

Morgen Bromell, a web designer in Brooklyn, had plans to visit their cousin in Los Angeles at the end of the summer, but last week air quality in New York City was so bad they decided to move their flight earlier to escape the smoke.

Wildfire Haze Adds To New York’s Climate Change Planning Needs

By Juanita Gordon — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 22:21:04 +0000

Among the takeaways for city officials: Last week’s wildfire-driven air pollution increased outdoor workers’ exposure to PM2.5 and ground ozone.

By Juanita Gordon

Amidst an orange sky and air that smelled of campfire smoke, Amadou Sall offered Central Park carriage tours to those who passed by. While some people wore masks to protect against the unusual haze that clouded Manhattan, Sall did not. He’d left for work without it.