Wild fires
Sep 7th 2017, 6:13 pm
#31
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2011
Location: WA state
Posts: 3,062
Re: Wild fires
If the forest grows back, then the carbon released from the fire is recaptured into biomass again. So it is effectively neutral. Takes a while though.
Coal is from millions of years ago so the carbon has been out of the atmosphere since then. Not much coal being remade these days, once it is in the air/ocean we are stuck with it unless we get more plants to grow.
Coal is from millions of years ago so the carbon has been out of the atmosphere since then. Not much coal being remade these days, once it is in the air/ocean we are stuck with it unless we get more plants to grow.
Sep 8th 2017, 1:24 am
#32
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Portlandia Metro
Posts: 7,425
Re: Wild fires
Just heard that visibility along the Gorge is down to around 100ft, and the roads are open to small vehicles.
Sep 8th 2017, 1:45 am
#33
I need a walk
Joined: Mar 2014
Location: Okanagan
Posts: 4,899
Re: Wild fires
Surprising no one took a stab at this question. I did a bit of reading; " In 2006, a record-setting 96,385 wildfires destroyed about 9.87 million acres of forest in the United States. According to the Canadian figure, then, forest fires accounted for 47.47 million metric tons of carbon emissions in the United States last year. For comparison, the nation's annual carbon dioxide emissions are said to be around 6.049 billion metric tons" and "This estimate, however, doesn't take into account the carbon released by vegetation that decays once the fires have been extinguished. Nor does it include the long-term effects of losing forests, which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus can help slow global warming". This latter impact seems rather significant.
from Do forest fires have a significant impact on global warming?
from Do forest fires have a significant impact on global warming?
Sep 8th 2017, 4:45 am
#34
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Wild fires
The 'takes a while though' contradicts the 'effectively neutral' ... since it will be many years before the trees grow back, there's a lost opportunity for those trees to remove CO2 from the air for all that time. Also ... if a tree simply falls over and dies, I imagine that puts less pollution into the atmosphere than that same tree burning.
Sep 8th 2017, 4:48 am
#35
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Wild fires
I think people are probably thinking more about the raging fires in Oregon. California , Washington and the 160 odd fires in BC and the direct effect to the people who have lost property, are at risk of losing their homes livestock, livelihoods and the local environment - it doesn't surprise me at all that no one took a stab at your question.
Sep 8th 2017, 4:59 am
#36
I need a walk
Joined: Mar 2014
Location: Okanagan
Posts: 4,899
Re: Wild fires
Ah, right - and of course no one posted any humorous, trivial, casual posts in any other threads on BE because they were all so concerned about "the direct effect to the people who have lost property, are at risk of losing their homes livestock, livelihoods and the local environment". I should have realized.
Maybe one needs to be directly affected by the fires to hit home... right.. strange train of thought.
Maybe I should go and make some humorous quip on the Hurricane Irma thread.... or maybe that would be a little insensitive..to say the least.
Sep 8th 2017, 2:34 pm
#38
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Re: Wild fires
Cut down about 20 trees yesterday, back up today, getting wood in is such fun.
Sep 8th 2017, 3:07 pm
#39
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Sep 8th 2017, 3:54 pm
#40
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Re: Wild fires
I got mine from HD, Echo, cannot afford the big boy Mr P has.
6 ton splitter is toy ish.
6 ton splitter is toy ish.
Sep 9th 2017, 1:09 am
#41
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Wild fires
Er, I live in CA, which I would say is ground zero for Wildfires. I was around when the Oakland Hills fire ravaged the Bay Area in 1991 - 25 killed, 3,400 homes destroyed. I remember wiping layers of ash off my car. In my 34 years here, I've been aware of more Wildfires than I can count. Should we impose 'qualification restrictions' on people participating in threads perhaps?
