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As much of the West wakes up to another week of soot-filled skies, new research suggests that last summer's wildfires may have contributed to thousands of additional coronavirus infections.
Harvard researchers looked at Covid data from 92 counties in California and Washington that were hit hard during the 2020 wildfire season. They found that in some counties, nearly 20 percent of the Covid-19 cases could be linked to high levels of wildfire smoke.
The study highlights one of the myriad ways that climate change impacts public health, and the challenges of managing fire across forests that are overgrown from decades of overzealous fire suppression policies. Scientists have warned for years that climate change and the loss of biodiversity make disease outbreaks more common and more contagious.
Lake Powell reveals its secrets
As water levels drop in Lake Powell, writer Elizabeth Kolbert explores the canyons and rock formations that are revealing themselves for the first time in decades. The rapidly-declining levels in both Lake Mead and Lake Powell has given new hope to advocates who want to return Glen Canyon to its natural state, before the Glen Canyon Dam was built, or at least let Lake Mead, which is lower on the Colorado River, refill first.
The fundamental problem, according to Utah State University professor Jack Schmidt, is that there simply isn't enough water to fulfill the terms of the Colorado River Compact.
“I personally am not going to tell you whether Fill Mead First or Fill Powell First or equalization is a better idea, because I’m unfortunately too aware of the complications of each of them,” Schmidt said. “They’re just every one of them a no-win situation.”
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We’re facing big challenges, and so I think that radical ideas need to be on the table and be examined. The main problem, though, is we’re using too much water, no matter where you put it.”
