Environmentalists Urge Action by Congress as Global Warming Intensifies Forest Fires

March 16, 2022 by Tom Ramstack
Environmentalists Urge Action by Congress as Global Warming Intensifies Forest Fires
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

WASHINGTON — A congressional panel revived disputes Wednesday over how to manage forests to avoid catastrophic wildfires weeks before springtime brings risks of devastation for more communities in western states.

Environmentalists and lawmakers agreed good science should lead policy decisions but had difficulty agreeing on which strategies suggested in scientific studies are the best.

Some advocated for controlled burning and cutting of trees to reduce the amount of wood that could fuel wildfires. Others said leave the forests alone on the theory nature knows best how to care for itself.

Regardless of management strategies, global warming is giving wildfires an urgency that can no longer be downplayed.

Unless environmental policies change, “We will have 57% more wildfires by the end of this century,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Environment, citing a recent United Nations environmental report on global warming.

Last year’s Dixie Fire that ravaged five California counties served as an example during the congressional hearing of what no one wanted to happen again but everyone expected. The past five years have been some of the worst for wildfires in U.S. history.

The Dixie Fire caused at least $1.15 billion in damage while burning nearly 1 million acres of forests between July 13, 2021, and Oct. 25, 2021. It also killed a firefighter.

Other wildfires were more deadly, such as the 2018 Camp Fire in California. It destroyed nearly 19,000 homes and killed at least 85 people. 

“The climate crisis and misguided forestry policies have given rise to catastrophic burning across our western forests,” said Khanna.

Solutions are complicated by lobbying and influence-peddling from the forestry industry, which seeks to continue cutting trees even when logging could dry out forests and make fires more intense, he said.

“They spend millions of dollars annually on advertising,” Khanna said.

Removing trees also reduces forests’ ability to absorb atmospheric carbon that contributes to global warming.

A countermeasure pending in Congress is the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, H.R. 1755.

It would set aside 23 million acres of federal land in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming as wilderness that could not be developed by industry without special permits from Congress. It also would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to develop ways to encourage biodiversity within the protected wildlands.

“The climate crisis has never been more dire,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who introduced the bill.

Without prompt environmental action, rather than fire seasons being concentrated in the summer, “All seasons will be fire seasons,” Maloney said.

The Biden administration proposes a similar strategy called the 30 by 30 plan. A week after Joe Biden became president, he signed an executive order announcing his commitment to protect 30% of U.S. land and water from development — over 720 million acres — by 2030.

So far, Biden’s plan exists only as a proposal that has not won approval from Congress. Lawmakers have identified environmental provisions of the president’s Build Back Better Act as a potential source for any funding the 30 by 30 program might need.

Some Republicans on the environment subcommittee warned against extremist policies that could hurt consumers and the U.S. economy.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said banning oil and gas leases on federal lands could lead to dependence on foreign oil imports, such as from hostile Middle Eastern countries and from Russia while it is engaged in a war with Ukraine.

He also said the forestry industry could help avoid wildfires if the logging takes into account environmental considerations.

“Science clearly shows that active forest management is the best way to prevent wildfires,” Norman said.

He called suggestions from U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg unrealistic when he said more Americans should switch to electric vehicles. Norman cited figures showing the average cost of an electric vehicle is $55,000 while the average U.S. household income is $67,000 a year.

“He’s disconnected from reality,” Norman said.

Witnesses at the hearing largely seconded points of view expressed by the lawmakers.

Randy Moore, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, recommended removing the underbrush and dense forest growth that can fuel wildfires.

“Our thinning and burning treatment works,” Moore said.

Dominick A. DellaSala, a scientist for the California-based nonprofit Earth Island Institute, warned against allowing forestry companies that are seeking profits to have too much influence over environmental policy.

Tom can be reached at [email protected]

A+
a-
  • Ro Khanna
  • wildfires
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Environment

    March 20, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    White House Unveils Sweeping Rules to Speed Switch to Cleaner Cars

    WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday rolled out an ambitious new regulatory regime aimed at bolstering the standards of... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday rolled out an ambitious new regulatory regime aimed at bolstering the standards of electric and hybrid vehicles by placing new restrictions on tailpipe emissions. According to administration officials, who briefed reporters on the new rules during a conference call... Read More

    March 18, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    EPA Finalizes Ban on Ongoing Use of Asbestos

    WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a rule to prohibit the ongoing use of chrysotile asbestos, the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a rule to prohibit the ongoing use of chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of asbestos currently used in or imported into the United States. The ban is the first to be finalized under the Toxic Substances... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Senate Told Growing Wildfire Threat Needs New Strategies

    WASHINGTON — The number of wildfires driven by climate change has grown but the U.S. effort to control them has... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The number of wildfires driven by climate change has grown but the U.S. effort to control them has not, according to emergency response officials at a Senate hearing Thursday. At least not fast enough to prevent disasters like the fire that ravaged Maui in... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    DOE to Provide Conditional $2.26B Loan for Lithium Project in Nevada

    WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy is extending a conditional $2.26 billion loan to Lithium Americas Corp. to support its... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy is extending a conditional $2.26 billion loan to Lithium Americas Corp. to support its effort to build a lithium carbonate processing plant in Nevada. Once operational, the plant, which will be located in Thacker Pass, about 200 miles northeast of... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    EPA Sets Tougher Limits on Gas Used to Sterilize Medical Devices

    WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized tougher restrictions on ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas commonly used to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized tougher restrictions on ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas commonly used to sterilize medical devices. The new standards specifically target commercial sterilization facilities. The agency called them “the strongest measures in U.S. history to reduce emissions of EtO,”... Read More

    US, Canada and Indigenous Groups Announce Proposal to Address Cross-Border Mining Pollution

    BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S., Canada and several indigenous groups announced a proposal on Monday to address pollution from... Read More

    BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S., Canada and several indigenous groups announced a proposal on Monday to address pollution from coal mining in British Columbia that officials say has been contaminating waterways and harming fisheries on both sides of the border for years. The proposal would... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top