** Wildfire research highlights risks as the season rages on
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Tuesday, August 24, 2021
New research finds wildfire smoke contributes to pre-term births and reduced rainfall, NIOSH ([link removed])

This year's wildfire season has been devastating, with fires raging across much of the West and sending smoke across the entire nation. However, the season is far from over. In California, more than 42,000 people have been forced to flee ([link removed]) their homes as twelve wildfires ([link removed]) continue to burn. Nine California national forests were closed ([link removed]) on Monday, and the explosive growth of the Caldor Fire has become the number one firefighting priority in the nation ([link removed]) as it approaches the populated—and popular—Lake Tahoe Basin ([link removed]) .

At the same time as wildfire season continues, additional research has emerged on the impacts of wildfire smoke. One new study finds that exposure to wildfire smoke during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth ([link removed]) , and that the risk is only getting worse. The smokiest season covered in the study was 2008; however, smoke exposure in 2020 was 2.5 times worse than that in 2008 ([link removed]) , and researchers fear that 2021 will be similar. “Unfortunately, we should think of [2020] as a new normal,” one of the authors said ([link removed]) .

Another new study finds that wildfire smoke is transforming clouds, making rainfall less likely ([link removed]) . Such a phenomenon could kick off a drought-fire feedback loop ([link removed]) that would have devastating effects on the West. Climate models suggest that a smoke-induced drop in rainfall is probably already happening ([link removed]) across much of the planet.

With the risks of wildfire smoke becoming more and more apparent, resolving the climate crisis and reducing associated wildfires becomes more urgent. Although lawmakers in Washington D.C. are working to direct funds to firefighting and increased wages for firefighters, many say it's probably not enough ([link removed]) —and, while a worthy effort, is an attempt to treat a symptom of the problem, not the climate cause.

Efforts such as carbon-offset programs are one way that we as a society have tried to treat the cause of the problem. However, new reporting finds that wildfires in the West are burning vast swaths of specially protected forests that are part of carbon-offset programs ([link removed]) , raising questions about the effectiveness of such approaches. At the end of the day, the best approach to resolving the climate crisis remains addressing the problem at its fossil-fuel source and working to rapidly transition our society towards a renewable, carbon-free future.
Quick hits


** Hunters and anglers come together around conserving 30% of America by 2030
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Game & Fish Magazine ([link removed])


** Colorado's outdoor recreation industry threatened by climate crisis
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Times-Call ([link removed])


** Arizona's record monsoon rains have torn down Trump's border wall
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Gizmodo ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])


** Photos tell the West's climate crisis story
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Time ([link removed])


** Lauren Boebert’s gas problem: lawmaker concealed blatant conflict of interest
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Salon ([link removed])


** Colorado oil company slapped with one of the largest fines ever from state regulators
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Congress nears coal mine cleanup investment, pushes for oil drilling reforms
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E&E News ([link removed]) [Coal] | E&E News ([link removed]) [Oil reforms]


** Grieving over climate change? Colorado experts offer hope amidst the haze
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Denver Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Our water situation has never been this bad. Right now, everybody’s praying for rain. Most farmers and ranchers in this area are facing extinction.”

—Richard Crockett, Farmhand and local watermaster near Central, Utah, Time ([link removed])

This drought is real. Climate change is real. If you don’t believe in science, please, you’ve got to believe your own eyes.”
—California Governor Gavin Newsom, T ([link removed]) ime ([link removed])
Picture this


** @U ([link removed]) SFWS ([link removed])
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What's your success rate when fishing? How many fish do you catch compared to how many times you cast your line in the water? Osprey are incredible anglers, with success rates up to 70%! Photo: Dan Davis at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

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