2 thoughts on “A Modest Propousal, Eh?”

1. I’m a bit of a “let it burn” advocate. I think it’s a good idea manage areas near human settlements by clearing underbrush and deadwood, and possibly thinning the forests so fires are more manageable when they do happen. Further out though, I figure that if you’re not going to manage the forests consistently, then when it does catch fire, you should let it burn itself out.
   Fire is part of the natural cycle in forests, and if it burns this year, then it’s less likely to burn next year. Also, if it’s already catching this early, maybe it’s better to let it burn in the most fire prone areas now than to really lose control of an even larger area when the forests are even drier.

   The problem is that fire management for this year really began a decade or two ago, and the Greenies have generally forced mismanagement onto governments that just exacerbate the problem once a fire starts.

   Also, if a fire is started with malicious intent, and not just poor campfire management, then the arsonist should be criminally charged for the property destroyed and any lives lost. If it’s merely the result of an idiot camping, I don’t think we need to consider murder charges, but I still think that the person needs to be held to some account for their negligence.

   And sometimes fires are just started by a lightning strike.

2. As a guy who gets to take a lot more of his asthma drugs when the Canadians send their stinkin’ “fresh clean air” down to us, I’m in favor of them doing a little better job controlling their forest fires. I don’t mind occasional smoke, but I think there can be a balance between forest ecology and human health, and I suspect that the fires they had last year suggest something pretty bad about forest health.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.