Biden Raises Firefighter Pay, Plans for Wildfires With Western Governors

Biden Raises Firefighter Pay, Plans for Wildfires With Western Governors

On Wednesday, President Biden convened a virtual meeting with governors from Western states to discuss ways to withstand this year’s devastating wildfire season (which is already very much underway in California).  In this meeting, Biden introduced a short-term pay raise for federal firefighters, alongside other longer-term improvements for wildfire prevention and risk mitigation efforts, setting […]

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Top Ten Stories of 2020: The World On Fire

Top Ten Stories of 2020: The World On Fire

This year will be remembered for literally turning the sky red — wildfires in California were so severe that they cast a red pall across large areas of the state — and the photos were the most vivid sign yet that climate change is not some future apocalypse, but is already upon us.

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The Forest Loses its Trees

The Forest Loses its Trees

by Ashira Morris, ODP Contributing Writer California’s iconic giant sequoias, Joshua trees, and coast redwoods had resiliently survived centuries, weathering fires and droughts. They are among the oldest living things on earth. But this year’s massive wildfires, fueled by the climate crisis, burned four million acres of California and many of its majestic trees. About […]

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Fires Destroyed Millions of California’s Most Iconic Trees

Fires Destroyed Millions of California’s Most Iconic Trees

The New York Times interactive published a look back at the 2020 fire season in California and its devastating impact on three iconic tree species — the coastal redwood, the giant sequoia, and the Joshua tree.  Thousands of them — some of which were hundreds or even thousands of years old — burned in the […]

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California’s Never-Ending Wildfire Season Need Not Be The Case

California’s Never-Ending Wildfire Season Need Not Be The Case

by Natasha Lasky, Our Daily Planet Contributing Writer This past week, California’s biggest utility, PG&E, conducted the largest brownout of the year, shutting off the power for 466,000 people in 34 counties, affecting 1.1 million people. The blackouts have hit small towns as well as densely populated parts of the San Francisco metropolitan area, including […]

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Western Leaders Have No Time for Climate Denial

Western Leaders Have No Time for Climate Denial

Leaders from Western states have vocally come out to draw the nation’s attention to the dire consequences of climate change, as evidenced by the ongoing, lethal wildfires raging across California, Washington, and Oregon. Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown said on Sunday that the wildfires are a “wake up call” for officials to take action on climate […]

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