Larry Glass, NEC Board President
Caroline Griffith, NEC Executive Director
We’ve had an above normal rain season in most of California, which could lead you to think that there is less of a threat of a smokey summer. Before jumping to that conclusion we would do well to remember that climate change is a global phenomenon and that the changes are beginning to initiate climate feedback loops, situations in which the effects of climate change actually accelerate or amplify the change. One example of this is the fires that were burning in Canada in 2023 which are still burning; they never actually went out but kept smoldering underneath the snowpack. When the snow pack begins to get a little thinner in the spring they come back to life.
These “zombie fires” as they are called seem like something out of science fiction, but they are simply a product of the terrain in which the fires are burning combined with the effects of climate change, namely long-lasting droughts and summertime heat waves. In northern Canada around the Arctic Circle there are Muskeg bogs; a peat-forming ecosystem found most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas, also called peatlands. Peat is a highly insulating, and highly flammable, accumulation of partially decayed organic material. Many gardeners know it as peat moss, but it was also used for generations in Ireland and Scotland for cooking and heating fires. Peat fires can keep smoldering no matter how cold it gets; although temperatures may get well below zero, these fires just keep burning undetected under the snowpack and may pop out in new locations in the springtime. Because the peat bogs have been subject to drought and rising heat, they are more likely to burn hot when reignited. Residents in northern Canada are finding holes in the ice where smoke is rising and even flames are visible. It is estimated that as many as 150 of these fires continue to burn underground and have been smoldering all winter. So, when summer comes hot temperatures and wind can blow these smoldering fires into full-fledged wildfires, burning peat and forests and creating lots of smoke that tends to travel south.
Canada’s boreal zone is a mixture of forest and wetlands that makes up more than half of the country. It was reported last year by NASA that wildfires in Canada burned approximately 46 million acres of land, more than twice as much as the previous record in any year dating back to 1983, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. The fires also displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. These Canadian fires are part of the growing footprint of wildfires across North America and other parts of the world as human caused pollution warms the climate, primarily from burning fossil fuels. Canada has vast swaths of boreal forest, so many trees that Canada accounts for some 10 percent of all the world’s forests. Just last year, the fires consumed about 4 percent of Canada’s forests.
Don’t forget about the feedback loop; as these fires have wintered over, they have been burning through carbon-rich peat. Peat fires in other parts of the world, such as in Indonesia, have been shown to release tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, so they will continue to release more atmosphere-warming carbon emissions which will intensify the conditions that created this in the first place. Even absent fire, the thawing of peatlands and permafrost in the northern climates is turning peatlands from carbon sinks to carbon sources, exacerbating the problem. Given how valuable these areas are as carbon sinks and ecosystems, more effort needs to be put into restoration and preservation of peat bogs.
Smoldering underground
As we write this column, I (Caroline) am preparing to take a month-long leave from the NEC. As we’ve reported throughout the years that I’ve been with EcoNews, working on environmental issues in a time of species decline and climate chaos can be pretty heavy. Our day to day work involves looking deeply and critically at the myriad ways that we continue to neglect, exploit, and damage the earth. Sure, there are some bright spots (like the recent designation of critical habitat for the Humboldt Marten) and there are plenty of opportunities for change (teenagers are forming Luddite societies and rejecting “smart” technology), but it can still be overwhelming looking into the fire every day.
Environmentalists and advocates of justice in general are an ideological and driven bunch. We could certainly make more money and have less stress doing other jobs, but we do this work because we care deeply about our fellow beings and want to create (or recreate) a world in which we can all have our needs met without exploiting the earth or each other. Unfortunately we sometimes end up exploiting ourselves with the expectation that we will give our all to the movement. There is no shortage of fights to fight, and it’s easy to get caught up and forget to take care of ourselves.
So sometimes we have to step off the hamster wheel and remember why we do this work in the first place. We need to swim in the rivers that we work so hard to protect, appreciate the fish, the salamanders, the endemic lilies and all the other beings that we are lucky enough to share this space with. We need to spend time in the forests and smell the earth as it’s warmed by the sun. We need to listen to the birds more intently than we are able if we are bouncing from one crisis to the next. If we want to keep doing this work for the long haul (which I certainly do) then we need to remember to pace ourselves and take time for enjoyment. I hope you are also able to take some time for enjoyment and rest this month.