⓵ Capitalists make huge profits from fossil fuels.
⓶ Burning fossil fuels causes global warming.
⓷ Global warming dries out forests.
⓸ Wildfires destroy forests at record rates.
⓹ Carbon emissions from wildfires cause even more global warming.
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Canada’s wildfires have broken yet another record — this time, for heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.
This year, climate change has driven Canada’s most severe wildfire season on record. Wildfires in Canada have already emitted more than double the previous record annual amount of emissions.
Greg Evans, an air pollution and public health expert at the University of Toronto, said the emissions create a “feedback loop.”
“The additional release of carbon dioxide is going to result in additional warming, which results in additional drought and additional wildfires,” Evans said.
The devastating wildfires have burned some 30 million acres this year so far, incinerating an area larger than the size of Cuba or South Korea.
Enormous plumes of smoke have choked the air in Canada and neighboring United States, affecting more than 100 million people and at times disrupting flights and forcing the cancellation of outdoor events.
Besides warming the planet, wildfire emissions are also impacting human health. Evans said wildfires make people more susceptible to asthma attacks or heart attacks. He added long-term exposure to the smoke can also make people more vulnerable during periods of poor air quality in the future.
Evans added emissions, like the planet-warming gases from these wildfires, stick around in the atmosphere for 40 years.
“It’s so critical to start taking action now to turn it around,” Evans said. “This is something that our grandchildren will inherit. It's not like we can turn it off and it will all get better.”
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STORY 1 -- https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/08/04/news/canadas-wildfire-emissions-smash-another-record
STORY 2 -- https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fcanada-wildfire-smoke-smashes-emission-record-monitor%2F
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #CO2 #Emissions #Pyrocene
