Fire And Brimstone

As if 2020 wasn't bad enough, with the pandemic, contentious politics and racism running rampant, literally hundreds of forest fires have decimated millions acres of timberlands and grasslands. Many homes located in 11 Western states, including Oregon, Washington and California are witnessing an unprecedented fiery maelstrom.

With most people in these areas already quarantined due to the coronavirus, it is yet another good reason to stay indoors to avoid poor air quality. Those who would dismiss the fires as an unusual situation that will pass are only fooling themselves. These fires are the result of the Earth in distress at an alarming rate.

Fires continue to spread across the western United States. More than 40,000 Oregon residents -- approximately 10 percent of the state's population -- have evacuated their homes and are seeking shelter in Springfield, Eugene and other Oregon cities. The rest of the West is experiencing the same situation.

Climate change and global warming are the cause, and with the current administration backsliding on environmental commitments at home and abroad, we are currently on the fast track to hades. States usually send firefighters to help, but "we're all in the same soup of cataclysmic fire," says Washington Governor Jay Inslee.

Millions of residents smothered in toxic air, rolling electrical blackouts and triple-digit heat waves are pervasive at this moment of time. Climate change, in the words of one scientist, is smacking us in the face. Climate change scientists have long worried about this sort of cascade effect in which a series of disasters overlap.

These scientists say the mechanism driving the wildfire crisis is straightforward: human behavior, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil, has released greenhouse gases that increase temperatures, drying forests and priming them to burn, in many cases near cities and towns with vulnerable residences and businesses.

We have but one choice: take advantage of the upcoming election and vote for politicians who will be dedicated to the environment, restoring the many agencies responsible for public lands and environmental issues, protecting our lives and livelihoods. We need to rectify the situation. If not, there will be hell to pay.