Essays on Wildfires

Colorado Springs:

Colorado Springs located in central east of the United States. It is basically situated in the fountain creek some 97 km away from the Colorado State Capital in Denver. Colorado Springs is blessed with much natural beauty. The mountainous region provides a scenic beauty and a place for tourism. Colorado basically is situated around the base of Pikes Peaks. This city is also the centre of around 24 national sports governing bodies. It was entitled as the best place to live in the USA by the U.S. News and World Report ("100 Best Places to Live in the USA | ...

Obtain the hourly data set of weather observables.

Temperature data: Data taken from Government of Canada (2016) The temperature on May 4th was highest at 15:00 and lowest at 06:00. The timings of these values are very similar to the plot given in the textbook example, which suggests that the minimum daily temperature occurs at 06:00 and the maximum is at 18:00. The highest temperature in the current data occurs slightly earlier, which may be due to the fact that Alberta was observing DST (Botkin & Keller, 2011).

UV Index data

The minimum UV index values are expected to occur during the hours of darkness, approximately between 20:00 and 04:00 on ...

Global warming is one of the biggest challenges the world is facing now. Also known as climate change, global warming is the gradual change in the average temperature of the planet’s atmosphere. This change in temperature is believed to be permanently changing not only the atmosphere’ temperature but also that of the world’s oceans. The increase in the carbon dioxide level and the depletion of the ozone layer is one of the primary reasons that have been accused of the increased climate change. The ozone layer is responsible for the protection of the earth from the dangerous ...

Who

The fire is considered a (singular) wildfire (rather than a collection of wildfires). It has been attributed to warmer-than-average atmospheric conditions, with temperatures rising more than 40o F above normal for this time of year. Strong winds have helped fan the flames and encourage the rapid spread of the fire in all directions from its starting point (Kahn, 2016).

What

On May 1, 2016, a fire started 15 km east of Fort McMurray, prompting local officials to declare a state of emergency, and initiating a mandatory evacuation of the neighborhoods of Prairie Creek, Gregoire, and the Centennial Trailer Park. More ...

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ASU Introduction In the modern times, natural catastrophes have been one of the major reasons for the destruction of the global environment. Although humanity is experiencing advancements in some of the aspects or fields in the society such as technology, health care and economics, environmental problems are still common due to natural catastrophes. Massive typhoons, earthquakes, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions created large amounts of damage to our ecosystem. In addition, the world experienced hundreds, or even thousands or natural catastrophes in only a span of several years. Ecosystem fires or forest wildfires are one of the natural catastrophes which ...

Fritch, Texas was the scene of a wildfire that devastated the small town on May 11, 2014. Prairie fires are not uncommon in the Texas landscape, but they have become more of a threat in recent years secondary to growing populations, the ways in which land is now used, and an ongoing drought in the state. In the nine-year span between 1995 and 2014, more than 157,000 wildfires were reported in Texas with almost 80 percent raging within two miles of residential communities (Warren). The population of Fritch was just over 2000 people. Unlike other small Texas towns ...

The 21st century era is also a mark of technological and advanced researches and experiments that benefit the nation’s population. Millions of people were overwhelmed of the significance that these technologies portrays on everyone’s lives. However, despite the success of our innovations and advancements with regards to the scientific aspect, our environment has been greatly affected. Up to date, the heightened climate change and global warming has really caused massive destruction of our environment on various parts of the world. One of these detrimental effects of global warming is massive forest wildfire on different locations, particularly on ...

Introduction

The 21st century generation has been plagued with various natural catastrophes that have provided significant negative impacts on the present status of the world’s environment. Much of the delight of the current technological advancements that people are experiencing, the world’s natural ecosystem has been left out of concern. In only a span of several years, hundreds, or even thousands of natural calamities have been recorded in different parts of the world. There are massive typhoons, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, etc. that had created massive amount of damage in our ecosystem. These natural scenarios are very alarming since ...

- Develop a hypothesis on which pot you believe will contain the highest biodiversity.

Hypothesis = If one pot has direct exposure to sunlight it will have the highest level of growth and production.

- Based on the results of your experiment, would you reject or accept the hypothesis that you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this.

Accept/Reject = I would accept the hypothesis based solely on that the direct sunlight provided the growth need. The plant with direct sunlight is full in the pot and vibrant. The plant away from direct sunlight looks as though it is struggling. The plant is leaning into the sunlight which shows it really does need ...

Abstract

Present day climatic change is the direct result of human influences, which have so far crossed the bounds of variations of natural. The true source of global climatic change is man-induced alteration in atmosphere’s composition. These issues result mainly from emissions associated with uses of energy resources, more or less due to local and regional scales. Urbanization and changes in land use are also an important aspect. Though progress has been made in techniques of monitoring and understanding climatic change, there are still quite a many scientific, technical and institutional obstacles for precise planning to adapt to and mitigate ...

Part 1: Hazard Adjustments

Fort Drum County is in the northern part of Northern New York. The county is bounded to the east by the Saint Lawrence River and to the west by Lake Ontario. To the east and north Jefferson County is bounded to three other counties namely Lewis, Saint Lawrence, and Oswego.

Fort Drum is highly susceptible to three main hazards. This includes Atmospheric hazards (such as storm, extreme wind, and winter storm) hydrological hazards (like Ice Jams, floods, and drought) and other hazards such as wildfires. Fort Drum County for a long time now has been experiencing very strong winters. Snowstorms, the ...

Introduction

The worldview towards global warming continues to change with time. The situation once thought as mythical, is now a major worldwide concern with factual effects. However, what remains controversial is the difference and similarity of this phenomenon across regions. One side views the economic impact of global warming as varying with differences in geographical locations. On the other end, the opposition suggests that global warming effects remain the same regardless of regional differences. This paper explores the economic effects of global warming and climatic change on countries. It seeks to prove that there exists a difference in this effect between the ...

Ethical dilemma

Since the United States is arguably the most natural disaster prone area in the whole world, it occurred to me that working at the center for Preparedness and Recovery might be wise career choice for me. Besides, helping people in times of need has always been a calling of mine. This work was also very well suited for me since I grew up in a morally strong background. Everyone in my family was involved in one way, or another in giving back to the community. Therefore, this job is much as a duty for my country as much as it is my calling. ...

An Analysis of the Formulation of California Senate Bill

Chapter 5 Discussion SB 4 is the first California law to address the issue of hydraulic fracturing or fracking for natural gas in California. The fracking method had been used in California for several years without any regulation (Freyman, 2014, p. 59). Therefore, the research studied the possible reasons the issue became a part of public conversation, and finally reached the agenda setting level of the California legislature. And, only that, the issue became law in California. Well simulation is the term used in SB 4 to describe three types of the procedure hydraulic fracturing, acid matrix stimulation, ...

Introduction and Background Information

Climate change occurs as one of the topics that have generated immense debate across various settings all over the globe. This can be accredited to the threats that climate changeposes on the environment and health of the populations. The most worrying concern with regards to climate change is the fact that a significant proportion of the populations are not aware of the detrimental effects that climate changes poses to them. While much has been hypothesized regarding the implications of climate change, it is of the essence to note that the effects posed by climate change are dependent on a wider array ...

There are several environmental threats in humanity today. These environmental threats affect every aspect of human life, including social and economic aspects. Wildfires are among the most devastating of environmental threats with adverse effects on the affected regions and the world at large. The region of North America has been a region prone to wildfires in history. A wildfire is also referred to as a wildland fire, grass fire, forest fire and vegetation fire. Therefore, the vast vegetation in the regions of North America is a key factor that influences the experiences of wildfires in that region. A wildfire is an uncontrolled ...

Identifying the problem

Climate conditions The Northern region of British Columbia has unfavorable climate conditions (Spooner et al. 2002). Most employees prefer to work in areas where climate conditions are favorable. According to the information given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the region experiences unequivocal climate system. This problem is brought about by human activities in the region that include the locals releasing greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels. The region also experiences negative agricultural practices and deforestation, all of which create climatic conditions that are unfavorable. According to reports such as the Fourth Assessment, further emission of the ...

The Evolution of ICS to NIMS

Introduction A disaster can strike at anytime and when it does, it can bring untold woes to the country and the population. It can claim the lives of many and destroy houses and infrastructures. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is an example of a costly disaster and so was the 9/11 terrorist attacks on mainland USA. It is important that in such times a comprehensive disaster program is put in place to minimize their impact. For this reason the Incident Command System was created in the 1970s in the aftermath of the California wildfires and the National Incident Management System in ...

Over the past few decades, a global awakening has been boiling up regarding the environmental issues of climate change that is posing a great threat in our planet. Experts agree that one of the major causes of global warming is the excessive greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide which traps heat causing the rise on temperature of the whole planet. The consequences of global warming were believed to be created by human activities where these greenhouse emissions come from burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil that we primarily use as sources of energy and ...

Deforestation is defined as the act of chopping down trees as well as clearing forests without planting others in their place (Debra 1). People cut down trees for different reasons. The increase in population worldwide has escalated cutting down of trees due to the increase in the demand for land for people to build houses to live in and also to obtain land for farming of both subsistence and cash crops, both by individuals and governments. People, particularly those living in rural areas where they cannot access electricity as well as gas, resort to cutting down trees for firewood, ...

Social relations in LA due to 1993 Laguna fire crisis

All over the world, natural disasters have had varying repercussions on the human population in different geographical areas of the world. The impact of the disaster is event whenever such events occur that would not have been able to be experienced in normal circumstances. According to Clay, the 1993 Laguna fire is considered as one of the worst disasters in the history of the nation. Natural disasters bring about the relationships between those living in the place of calamity. From the fires, it is clear that there is the lack of cohesion between the rich and the poor in ...

The world has been facing extreme weather events due to global warming such as wildfires in Yosemite Park and floods in Colorado. Wildfires are not new to California but the strength of recent fires caused people to evacuate their homes. In Colorado a flood recently required helicopters to evacuate people living in the mountains. Homes are lost, people are displaced and emergency organizations are under stress. Clearly something needs to be done to improve the situation. A goal of countries around the world is to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases that enter the atmosphere causing global warming to become ...

Introduction

The reason for global warming and the resulting change is greenhouse gases, which make the planet habitable. According to Wang and Oppenheimer (6), it is human activities, especially the fossil fuel burning and deforestation that have contributed heavily to the increase in GHGs and the subsequent warming trends. This has created a need to reduce these emissions with various governments making efforts. There has been an increase in adoption of renewable forms of energy, and automobile companies are producing energy-friendly cars such as electrics and hybrids to ensure that GHG emissions are reduced. However, global warming has not been without ...

Protracted drought conditions coupled with hot and dry winds which frequently blow over the mountains and across the plains make Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma susceptible to wildfire conditions. Since these areas are ravaged by large and destructive fires, it property owners have been prompted to look for ways of mitigating the risk resulting from the damage. Efforts aimed at protection against wildfire begin with an individual. However, community-wide approach to fire protection is highly effective. The mainstay intent of this paper is to illustrate the responsibility property owners have towards their property. In addition, this paper ...

Environmental Studies

Global Significance The one environmental issue that has the most important significance in the world today is global warming. That is because the rising temperatures at the surface of the earth are responsible for causing negative impacts around the world. The two general causes for global warming are (a) natural and (b) manmade. Green house gases are causing the warming because the amount of manmade greenhouse gases added to those that are formed naturally have created the problem of too much trapped heat in the atmosphere. The sun’s energy plus reflected energy from the surface of the earth becomes ...

Introduction

Water is an important issue. Most people do not understand that water is a very important issue. Climate change has made people more aware of the problem. This year many droughts and wildfires in the United States and in other parts of the world have been discussed on the news. Climate change has been shown to have a negative impact on the quality of life of people everywhere. Dry weather caused the bad droughts and the wildfires. When people have enough water they do not think about water. But when people do not have water they suffer. When people do not ...

Environmental Issue

Climate Changes and Ozone Depletion

The weather is changing but where and when is very unpredictable. Sometimes it is changing in slow ways but sometimes weather events are very extreme and dangerous. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001 reported on the “probability of the world being three degrees Celsius hotter by the end of the century and of a distinct possibility of it being almost six degrees hotter” (Lovelock, 2008, p. vii). This is a very scary prediction Ozone depletion is a different type of problem although Henson (2008) has said that the ozone depletion problem does have some ...

PRINCIPLES OF FIRE BEHAVIOR

Emergency response and preparedness have invited all walks of people to be aware and participate in cases of emergency. Initially most respondents involved the police force and firefighters or those they authorized and appointed to participate. As a project coordinator in the building department operating in tandem with the fire department, my experience here became my main source in understanding how emergency models are used. Even more so than just contacting essential services, keeping in mind the roles of various agencies and promptly reporting to them in detail the type of emergency, determined the timely effort in which an incident ...

The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)

Ausloos and Ivanova (2001, p. 1) succinctly define the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) as a core component or characteristic of the El Nino phenomenon. The SOI data have been collected and analyzed since the year 1866 so as to effectively study and explain the occurrence of extreme climactic events. This makes it possible for meteorologists to understand the outstanding factors of the sometimes catastrophic phenomenon of El Nino and therefore be able to estimate and accurately predict future trends.

In essence, the core aspects of the SOI are derived from studying the cyclical warming and cooling of localized regions within ...

Mitigation responsibilities

Introduction Many Southwestern communities of the United States are facing a very serious and also a growing risk of wildfires. Climatic changes, rising numbers of outdoor recreationists, ecosystem and climatic changes, rapid growth of the population and development in the wildland urban interface area are increasing the risks of wildfires and their impacts. The communities from rural area often have limited resources to deal with unforeseen severe wildfires. They have no structural fire protection and are ignorant of this status of wildfires. The local rural fire protection agencies, federal and the state are very much struggling to keep up with ...

Introduction

A wildfire is any kind of uncontrolled fire attacking combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside of a wilderness area. Wildfires differ from other types of fire due to its extensive size and the speed at which fire can spread from its source. Wildfires may be caused by humans who are working in the forest or by some natural calamities like lightning. Either way, it can cause a lot of destruction both to properties and vegetation cover. Wildfires have the ability to jump vegetation gaps like rivers and roads in the wilderness. Wildfires are very common and occur in almost every ...