Scientific Research of Reasons for California Wildfires

Cover Letter

Dear …,

I am writing this letter to discuss the impacts of global warming issues on California in the past five years. This letter’s objective is to alert local stakeholders in California on the direct impacts of global warming. Since Vargas is one of California’s Congressional Districts that includes the southern part of San Diego County, global warming issues are addressed. Due to your recent active role in addressing the spilling of untreated water in New River, it is evident that you are passionate about environmental protection. As an organization, we are pleased to seek your support on this matter, both locally in California and internationally.

According to empirical studies, it is evident that climate change is continuing to drive the impact and scale of wildfires that have raged within California. Their analysis found a fundamental and persistent role played by global heating in promoting fire conditions. California currently has greater exposure to risks of wildfires, according to researchers. Issues, including land management, have contributed significantly to the problem. It has been ascertained that California fires had driven thousands of residents from their homes and caused up to 30 deaths in 2020 alone. As such, the cause of California fires has increasingly become a political issue that can effectively be addressed by a political leader – looking forward to your response to this policy issue as a factor in controlling wildfires. Thank you for your continued corporation.

Very Best Of Luck,

Signed…….xxxxx……………

Pamphlet

Scientific research reviews of the reasons for California wildfires suggest that rising temperatures are the fundamental causes. It has been revealed that wildfires occur in California when natural variability in climate has been superimposed on dry and warm conditions from global warming. Fires have consumed 1.3 million acres of forest in California in 2020, representing a million acres of forest compared to last year. The political leadership in California, such as Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Kamala Harris, and Congressional leader Juan Vargas, has recognized the impact of climate change (Coogan, 2019). The increasing wildfires in California and their impact on global warming have been widely noticed across the globe. Wildfires have scorched 2.9 million acres of land in over 20 fatal fires resulting in 131 deaths. According to the former California Governor, Jerry Brown, the damaging wildfires have been caused by human-made global warming. The destructive wildfires have become the ‘new normal’ that continues to threaten the way of life in California.

There has been an increased threat of wildfire resulting from climate change; California has witnessed longer-drier summers coupled with irregular wet winters. This phenomenon resulted in dangerous conditions of a fire in California. There have been calls for adopting improved wildfire warning systems, good urban planning, and aiding the property owners in the bush clearing as a policy initiative (Coogan et al., 2019). The dangerous situation has attracted wide-ranging attention across the globe leading to the conclusion that the California wildfire results from poor land management and global warming. According to the California legislation report in 2010, it was determined that there had been an increase in tree mortality rates and fire prevalence.

In the past two decades, there has been an existence of restrictions on logging. The objective was meant to protect the forest and other species of animals and trees. The initiative promoted California forests’ development and reduced the level of atmospheric carbon and green gas emissions. As a policy issue, this led to reduced wildfire incidences in California compared to the current situation. According to Coogan et al. (2019), the fundamental connection in all the disturbing trends is the California policies. The adoption of California state strategy to advance the environment through low-emission, low-cost, and energy infrastructure policy has been a significant step in the right direction.

In practice, some of these policies have either developed avoidable problems or failed in meeting critical responsibilities, such as efficient forest management. The adoption of renewable energy sources also provides a key area through which fire incidences can be resolved in the long term. As such, the policy options so far developed should be improved to capture renewable energy sources’ creation and use. The overall global warming effects will be reduced, hence aiding in bridging fire incidences in California. Pearson et al. (2019) have noted that, as climate change continues to occur, causing heat waves and warmer temperatures, it is just one of the decisive factors leading to increased wildfires in California.

While wildfires continue to dominate headlines on an annual basis, it is the California policies on climate that are worsening its environmental stewardship. It also decreases the state’s economic opportunity as it prevents possible potential investments in California. The critical purpose of climate policy in California is the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gas. When measured in isolation, the policy can be deemed fit and working. However, with the perennial increment in global warming effects and wildfires, these policies must be reviewed (Pearson et al., 2019). Such reviews will progress to unparalleled contributions towards the fight against global warming leading to significant long-term gains. According to Pearson et al. (2019), California’s total carbon emission in 2017 was estimated to be 8.7%, which was lower compared to its peak a decade earlier. With this decline, it can be noticed that emphasizing climate change mitigation efforts and proper forest management can reduce wildfire incidences. The state of California has undertaken considerable actions towards the reduction of carbon emissions. Some of their recent points of action include the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. It is in line with the state’s climate policy of adopting dependable low-emission technologies, including wind and solar. Therefore, in line with this policy initiative, the state must maintain increased investments in the renewable vitality sectors (Pearson et al., 2019). The augmentation of renewable energy in the dynamism sector will increase reliable, safe, and sustainable power sources to the economy while creating more employment opportunities.

The use of renewable energy will reduce the dependency on fossil fuel sources, which will, in turn, reduce logging activities, hence promoting a reduction in carbon emission (Burke et al, 2020). Similarly, it will improve environmental conservation, security, and increased employment opportunities. In the long run, the initiative will also promote growth by encouraging general economic growth and development. Empirical research findings have shown that California heatwaves have been linked to climate change (Pearson et al., 2019). Simultaneously, the convergence of state policies has made such events difficult for people both directly and indirectly.

California’s energy grid should further be improved to cater to the non-dispatchable energy sources, such as wind and solar bases. When such initiative is undertaken, the state’s energy output will be ascertained, thereby increasing environmental conservation. Adopting a mechanism that increases the dynamism output of green energy sources will prevent the state from falling back to nonrenewable power sources. The development of sustainable batteries that can store power for a more extended period is required in the utilization of green energy foundations (Richmond, 2019). Additionally, California’s policies provide that energy suppliers must invest scarce resources in politically favored projects. Such policies have prevented various companies from diversifying into other high-value investments to ensure long-term sustainability in the state.

When there is proper policy formulation, scarce resources can be used to improve energy structure that can help prevent the prevailing power shortages. These applications have led to the loss of high-valued investment opportunities that would have supported forest management programs. Loss of such critical investments consequently worsens the prevailing problems of wildfires. Consequently, it has been noted that the establishment of ineffective policies with no premium payments for energy has continued to contribute to the prevailing conditions (Richmond, 2019). Generally, the policies established have failed to reduce wildfire risks and emissions and increase unaffordable energy rollouts. There is an urgent need to promote policies that will enable the development of the green energy sector. With rising concern on the carbon emission to the atmosphere, safer alternative power sources should be made available. Controlling wildfire, therefore, is a mandate of every US government sector but only if supported by law enforcement and key policymakers like congress.

References

Burke, M., Driscoll, A., Xue, J., Heft-Neal, S., Burney, J., & Wara, M. (2020). The changing risk and burden of wildfire in the US (Working Paper No. w27423). National Bureau of Economic Research. Web.

Coogan, S. C., Robinne, F. N., Jain, P., & Flannigan, M. D. (2019). Scientists’ warning on wildfire—A Canadian perspective. Forest Research, 49(9), 1015-1023. Web.

Pearson, D., Ebisu, K., Wu, X., & Basu, R. (2019). A Review of Coccidioidomycosis in California: Exploring the Intersection of land Use, Population Movement, and Climate Change. Epidemiologic Studies, 41(1), 145-157. Web.

Richmond, B. (2019). Beyond the exceptional events rule: How the local implementation of air quality regulations affects wildfire air policy. Ecology Law Quarterly, 46, 343-372. Web.